She fell. The pool stretched wide like an open maw as she hurtled past stone after stone after stone. Her heart flailed wildly inside of her as a scream built up in her throat. Time became meaningless as the darkness deepened into an impenetrable black. She could no longer see the hole above her. No light speared this terrible darkness. Suddenly, something yanked on her waist. The rope, slowing her fall.
She came to a sudden stop, her body jerked like a rag-doll. For a moment, she just hung there, swinging back and forth in the darkness. It was quiet down here. Too quiet. So quiet that she could hear nothing but the trembling breath on her own lips.
A voice boomed, making her lurch in the rope. “Reyna Darragh.”
The voice was endlessly deep and loud. It burned with power, every word dripping with pain and fear and death. She trembled, her hand twisting up to grab the rope. This was wrong. She shouldn’t have come here. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good. She could feel the darkness whisper across her skin.
“You came here for power, did you not? The power to stop the plague spreading across your kingdom’s dying lands.”
She stilled, her breath frosting before her. Suddenly, it was very cold. As cold as ice. Never before had she feared ice, but it terrified her now.
“I came here to find a power great enough to stop the Ruin,” she whispered to the voice.
“The Ruin?”
Fear stole through Reyna’s heart. The power did not know of the Ruin. And if it didn’t know, then it would not know how to fight it. She needed to get out of here.
But she tried one more time. “Yes, the Ruin. It’s a powerful dark magic destroying the kingdoms of Tir Na Nog. Ash falls from the skies, and—”
“The Ruin is what you call it.”
Reyna’s heart pounded. “Does it have another name?”
“Many have seen the Ruin but few know the truth of it. Some have called it the Great Ash. Others have named it the Dionadair.”
“Then, you do know what it is,” she whispered, breathless.
“All of us in Inishfall know your Ruin. The Dionadair of Tir Na Nog.”
“Tell me,” Reyna said. “Please tell me how to stop it.”
“Only you can stop it, Reyna Darragh,” the voice rumbled. “But only if you choose well.”
Choose. Just like Tarrah had said.
“How?”
The rope at her waist suddenly unravelled. She broke free, and the pit beneath her stretched its maw wide. A scream ripped from her throat as she tumbled into darkness. She flailed, reaching up for the frayed edges of the rope, but her fingers found nothing but air.
Her heart thudded in her chest, and the scream died on her lips. The wind rushed up around her, death beckoning her further into the pit of the world. She had never been more scared in her life. The terror was the heartbeat racing in her chest, the frantic grasping for breath by her lungs. Reyna was going to die here. She would never get out. The power would swallow her whole.
The winds began to slow, and her feet hit the ground. Gently, she fell to her knees on moss as black as night. Another pool lay a few steps away, glistening from an indigo glow that came from within. She pressed her hand to her heart, trying and failing to catch her breath.
She reached for her dagger, but the voice broke through her thoughts. “You will not sow violence here.”
With a gasp, she dropped her hand. “Where am I?”
“You are in Inishfall, the birthplace of the gods.”
She swallowed hard, pushing up to her feet. “Are you a god?”
“Look into the pool. You will see two reflections before you. Two paths for your life. Two powers you may claim. Choose wisely, Reyna Darragh.”
“What am I choosing?” she whispered, taking a slow, timid step toward the pool.
“A power and a path.” The voice paused. “Inishfall has deemed you worthy. You may have what you seek. But you must choose.”
Reyna could not help but notice that this invisible voice was stubbornly refusing to chat about anything other than the choosing business. She wanted to know so much more. What the Ruin was and how these powers would help her stop it. And what would happen when she made her choice. She wanted to know it all, but when she tried voicing her questions aloud, the voice went silent.
“All right,” she said, whispering to herself. “Step up to the pool and look inside. Nothing terrifying about that, right?”
Squaring her shoulders, she knelt beside the cool, slick water. It was a beautiful blue. The color of the sky after a fresh snowfall when the clouds had blown so far away that nothing was left but an endless expanse of cerulean. She pressed her hands against the edge of the rock and leaned forward, gazing into the very depths of the pool.
Reyna saw her own face. Her silver hair was wet through, hanging in clumps around her shoulders. Her eyes were hollow and full of fear, but there was strength in them, too. Rosy lips, long slender neck. Her mother’s ice glass ring dangling to her chest from a chain.
“I only see myself,” she said.
The pool began to shimmer, transforming Reyna’s face into blurred ripples. A featureless face. When the waters stilled, she was still there, but she was different. Older, stronger, wiser. A crown perched on her head, and a glorious golden light filled the sky behind her.
The voice was back again, speaking in an insistent tone. It sounded as though it were behind her, lurking in the shadows. “If you choose this power, you may have everything you want and more. There will be a crown on your head and fae will kiss your feet. The powers of the fae will fill your mortal form, blessing you with immortality. The elements will bow to your will. Your wings will take flight. You will be unconquerable.”
Reyna’s heart thundered. “Will I be able to defeat the Ruin?”
A small pause. “You will be able to defeat anything or anyone that you wish, Reyna Darragh.”
A thrill went through her. This was it. The answer she had been searching for all this time. She imagined Eislyn’s face when she finally told her. Glencora would awaken from her unending slumber. She would be able to see once again. Villages would be restored. Lives would be saved. So many lives. The Ice Court would be a great kingdom for centuries to come.
“But,” the voice whispered, and her heart froze. “You must give something in return. A very, very small piece of your soul. You will give it up, and it will belong to me.”
Reyna frowned. “A piece of my soul?”
“Oh yes. Only a tiny little piece. It is a small payment for such a great gift, is it not?”
Reyna’s frown only deepened, though the reflection’s smile never died. Her face began to shimmer once again, replaced by a very different version of herself. This one was older as well, and strong, but she looked sad. There was no crown or golden skies. Just Reyna, surrounded by a grey murkiness.
“This is your second choice. Much like the first, you will gain everything you might need to defeat your Ruin. Immortality, strength, power over the elements. You will become what the fae once were, before the terrible Fall that stole their strength. And you will keep all of your soul.”
“What’s the payment for this one?” she whispered, terrified to know the answer.
“You must give up your greatest desire.”
Her blood churned hotly through her veins as she stared at the sad Reyna in the pool before her. “My greatest desire is to stop the Ruin.”