Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,45

tents to approach. Some held swords. Others fisted their hands. Reyna couldn’t tell if they were coming to her defense…or to knock her on her ass.

“Princess,” Moina said in a dangerous voice. “Why can you lie?”

She swallowed hard. While she did not care what Aengus thought, she needed this captain and her warriors on her side. Or else she doubted she would ever be able to get close enough to the wood king for it to matter.

“I don’t know,” she said, opting for honesty.

Moina scowled. “How could you not know? You must have done something to gain that freedom.”

“I didn’t.” Reyna lifted her shoulders toward her ears. “I don’t even know how long I’ve been able to lie. I tried it one day, and I just could.”

“Then, what does it mean?” Moina demanded.

“I don’t know.”

“How can I trust you?” she said, voice breaking.

Reyna closed her eyes. She had brought the air fae hope. She had brought them a purpose. Their High King had returned to them. An alliance had brought the warring courts together in a way they had not been for a hundred years. It was all going to be over soon. Reyna had seen the shine in Moina’s eyes while they’d discussed the plan. There had been so much hope there, so much yearning for peace.

And now Moina did not know if she could believe a single word of it.

None of them did.

“With faith,” Reyna whispered.

“Faith is not enough,” Moina hissed. “Prove to me that our High King sent you here.”

Reyna let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t. You either have to believe me or not. That’s your choice. I can’t force you.”

The warriors edged closer as Moina once again began to pace. She shoved her fingers into her braided hair and growled as she stomped from one tent to the next. Aengus grinned and slid his rapier right back into its scabbard again. Now that he knew the others did not trust Reyna, he would no longer pretend he was willing to get his hands dirty.

He’d pass the deed onto someone else.

Reyna glanced over her shoulder. If she ran, she might be able to reach the forest before they caught her. There, she could melt into the green, hiding until they stopped searching. But she’d have to run past several wood fae tents to get there. And they would likely stop her in her tracks. Now that everyone knew Reyna Darragh was in the camp, anything unusual would stand out like a dragon on a field of snow.

“Captain,” one of the warriors whispered, before motioning for her to join him by a nearby tent. With one last glare in Reyna’s direction, Moina stomped off, joining him in a small circle with a few others.

Ruin reared his head. They know you cannot be trusted. They will turn you in to the wood king. He will rip open your throat, feast on your blood, and then throw you to the fire. Your death will be a celebration for everyone who lives.

Reyna squeezed her eyes tight, battling the urge to scream.

“Something the matter, Princess Reyna?” Aengus cackled.

She glared in his direction. “Yes. You.”

“You look like someone just told you that I ripped your sister apart limb by limb,” he said sweetly.

Reyna froze. Terror stormed through her veins. Her entire body went hot, fire burning through her with a ferocity of a thousand stars. Nostrils flared, she felt her body curve instinctively, as if it were preparing itself to pounce.

“What did you just say?” she asked in a voice that was so dark and dangerous that it did not sound like her at all. She didn’t care.

His lips curled. “I said I ripped apart your sister’s broken body limb by limb. She begged for mercy near the end. I did not give it to her.”

Hot, blinding rage filled her chest with flames. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t speak. She could do nothing but stare at the creature whose heart she would rip right out of his chest. She shuddered, welcoming the rage into her soul. Without it, she might have to truly face what he’d said. She’d have to—

“He’s lying,” Moina cut through her shattered thoughts.

Reyna blinked away the images of Aengus’s raw heart in her bloodied hands. “What?”

“He’s lying.” Moina stalked closer. “He’s trying to make you go for him so that we have an excuse to step in and fight you.”

Slowly, her head swivelled back toward Aengus. Thoughts clicked into place. No one knew where Aengus had come from.