“It is not,” the voice replied sharply. “Inishfall can see into the very depths of your soul, Reyna Darragh, and you desire something else far more.”
“What is it?” she asked, her voice cracking, knowing at once what he would say.
“Your greatest desire is to live a normal life with Lorcan Rothach.”
Pain was a knife in her gut. She sucked in a sharp breath and pulled back from the pool. The vision of her sad eyes vanished into the blue, leaving nothing behind but a blank, unending darkness. Trembling, she stumbled back, desperate to get away from the voice, this strange power, and the choice that it demanded from her.
She could give up a piece of her soul. Or she could give up Lorcan.
“This isn’t fair,” she hissed, hot tears bubbling up in her eyes. Her chest felt on fire, as if her very soul was burning up inside.
“Power, Reyna Darragh. You will have the power to change the world. That cannot be given freely. You must choose.”
It was an impossible choice. She new what the first power would do. It would take a part of her, and it would use it for its own ends. Much like her vow to the shadow king, she would be trapped. Forever bound to it, for as long as the world continued to spin.
“You must make your decision now, Reyna Darragh,” the voice whispered harshly in her ear. “Now or we will offer up our power to another soul. Someone else. Someone who is willing to make the choice that you resist. And then you must go and destroy the Ruin in the place where it began.”
That first power, the one that wanted her soul, was Unseelie. She knew it in her bones, even as the voice whispered his own name into her ear. I am Unseelie. I am that power, it hissed.
But the second power was something else, a forgotten power that the fae of Tir Na Nog did not know. It wasn’t the Dagda. Suddenly, memories of the world sparked to life in her mind as the powers washed knowledge through her like a storm.
The second power was Seelie.
If she chose Seelie’s power, she would keep her soul but lose him. Great sobs shook through her as she stared at the pool. She could leave this all behind and walk away from it, she knew. But she would never again find a way to save her kingdom from certain death.
“I choose Seelie,” she whispered, her shoulders sagging forward. All the happiness she’d felt during the past weeks with Lorcan got sucked out as the magic poured in.
41
Tarrah
Tarrah stumbled back from the pool, gasping as the rope unravelled in Lorcan’s hands. The prince roared in frustration, throwing the rope at the ground and shouting down at the pit. Suddenly, a soothing calm washed over her, and a familiar voice spoke into the very depths of her soul. She did not know if she should trust it, but it had been with her for so very long.
It is all right, Tarrah Glas, the deep, dark voice said into her mind. Reyna Darragh is alive. She will return to you soon.
Relieved, she stumbled toward Lorcan. “Reyna is fine. She’ll be back soon.”
“How can she be fine?” he said, pounding his fist against the ground. “The rope broke. She’s down there, alone and trapped, and I have to go after her.”
He started to throw off his clothes, but a strange rumble shook the ground. Nollaig stumbled back from the pit as the waters frothed, splashing white foam onto the banks. A face crested the waters, a face framed in silver hair.
Tarrah sagged in relief. Unseelie had been right. Reyna was here.
Coughing, Reyna swam to the bank. Lorcan rushed to her side, hauling her into his arms with a kind of ferocity that made Tarrah’s heart ache. She would never experience love like that. Teutas had been taken away from her forever.
“Reyna,” Lorcan said, pulling back to press the damp hair away from her face. “Reyna, are you all right? The rope broke. I thought you were…” His voice broke with emotion.
“I’m fine,” she said stiffly, pulling out of his arms. “The gods broke the rope so I could reach the bottom of the birthplace, and then they sent me back.”
“What in the name of the Dagda are you talking about?” Lorcan demanded. “What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you look at me?”
Reyna cringed away from him, and the smile slid from Tarrah’s face.
“The Dagda isn’t a god. He was a Fomorian,” Reyna whispered with a haunted fear creeping into her silver eyes. “Those two powers down there are the ones that began this world, not him. I had to make a choice between them. The light or the darkness.”
Lorcan just gaped at her, incredulous.
Tarrah’s heart pounded in her ears. “What did you choose, Reyna?”
Reyna gave her a sad smile. “I chose light.”
Tarrah let out an audible sigh, smiling. She knew Reyna would choose the right option, unlike her mother. “I knew you would. I knew it! My mother chose the wrong power, but you didn’t.”
Reyna stood and pushed the damp hair away from her face. She gazed at Tarrah almost…sadly. “You’re right. Your mother chose Unseelie, Tarrah. She had to give up a part of her soul for his power, and some of that power got passed onto you through her blood. Not all of it, but some. Enough that it’s been with you every day of your life. It’s why you’ve been able to see his visions and hear his voice in your mind.”
Tarrah hissed and stumbled back. “Unseelie’s power isn’t here. Stop it. You’re full of lies now. Just like everyone else.”
The voice began to rumble in her mind again.
Reyna isn’t lying. It is me, Unseelie, in that pit. I thought I could trust Reyna to make the right decision, but I was wrong. She chose the god of destruction instead of the god of light. You must kill Reyna, go into the pit, and take my power so that you can become the one to fight the Ruin. If you do not, Reyna will destroy the world. Seelie is the dark god. I am the god of light, don’t you see?
Tarrah hissed when Reyna got too close. Her mind was full of whispered words and fear.
“Tarrah, what are you doing?” Nollaig asked from where she stood firmly by Reyna’s side. “This isn’t like you. Reyna has shown you nothing but kindness.”
Has she shown you kindness? She punched you once, remember?
“She punched me,” Tarrah whispered.
“Tarrah, you tricked her into thinking the king had her sister.” Nollaig gestured at the princess who had taken the darkest power in the world. “That was weeks ago besides. Calm down and get over here. We need to get Reyna dry and hear what happened down in that pit.”
“I know what happened in that pit. She chose Seelie. She chose the dark god. Reyna Darragh will destroy the world.”
A tiny part of Tarrah’s mind wondered if she was wrong. Unseelie had given her so much truth, but he had also given her lies. Teutas was dead. Desperately, Tarrah tried to grasp onto that memory, even as it tried to slip through her fingers like sand.
Nollaig turned to Reyna. “I fear the power here is getting to her mind. She is not being herself.”
“It’s in her blood, and Unseelie gains strength through blood,” Reyna said softly. “But yes, the power is strong here, too.”
You must kill her, Unseelie whispered into her ear, every word drenched in anger. She chose the wrong god. The evil god. The one that twists minds and spreads lies about my power. I told you about him. You must kill her.