But the storm was silent, save the whistle of the harsh wind and the drumbeat of near constant thunder. More ash rained from the pulsing cloud, a steady torrential downpour. Reyna stood still, closing her eyes against the onslaught. The wind tugged at her tunic, and black sand rushed against her legs. But she held her ground. There was nothing the Ruin could do to her now.
She reopened her eyes, smiling. “For dark magic, you certainly don’t seem very smart. Haven’t you figured it out yet? Your godforsaken ash doesn’t do a damn thing to me! I’m immune.”
That certainly seemed to get its attention. She swore she heard a low growl rumble from deep within the pulsing storm cloud. The dark flecks ceased at once, and the wind vanished so quickly it was almost as though it had never even been there. A few lingering flakes fluttered to the ground, slowly, gently, softly.
Reyna stood in the middle of the ash, hands fisted. Around her, she could already see the devastation the Ruin had wrought. Buildings had been reduced to charred remains, smoking black pits of destruction. There was no sign of bodies, though it would be difficult to tell if anyone had died in this place. There would be no bones or flesh left behind when this storm was done with them.
The Ruin reduced everything to ash.
Reyna called upon the power deep within her, gently testing the strands of each one. There were six in total, all unique and far different than the magic she’d felt from the wings she’d sprouted on her back. These six, these were the elements. She felt ice, as familiar as breath. Beside that was air, powerful winds that would knock her off her feet. Next was sea, followed by wood. She was not certain what those would do. Finally, fire and shadow pulsed quietly together. Darker elements but just as powerful as the others. She held all of that inside of her and more.
And she had no idea how to use any of it to destroy the Ruin.
Perhaps she could conjure up every last one of them and blast it all at the storm in one mighty explosion. But that was just as likely to tear apart the entire city, she realized. The power was strong and electric. If she used it all at once, with no idea how to control it all, there was no guessing what it might do.
Ice, she thought. The most familiar of elements. The one she could best control and command. She could fly up into the center of the clouds and freeze the very depths of the storm. Then, once every last inch of it was frozen, she could shatter it with a single blow of her dagger. Right in its heart.
That was how she would defeat the Ruin. With ice.
With a deep breath, she pushed the wings from her back once more, stumbling forward as the pain sliced and popped through her skin. As the wings grew, so did the Ruin. The clouds churned once again, and the black flakes appeared anew, crashing down all around her.
“I told you I’m immune,” she shouted as she took to the skies.
But no matter. If it wanted to waste its energy trying to kill her with the ash, then so be it.
The sky was a storm of wind. It battered her wings as she rose up to meet the Ruin above the city. Heavy gusts slashed at her body, knocking her off course. Gritting her teeth, she beat her powerful wings and set her sights on the center of the cloud where a flash of light split through the black. She pushed against it with all her might. Determination clawed through her, mixed in with sheer desperation. No matter how much wind this godforsaken storm threw at her, she would not let it win.
In fact...perhaps she should use wind herself.
She took a deep breath and called upon the element of air, reaching for the strand of magic she had used against the wood fae. As she found it, she thought of wind and—
A hurricane gust slammed into her body, twisting her wings up behind her and throwing her into a spin. She cried out and reached for an anchor that was not even there. Anything. A rock, a rope, Lorcan’s hand. But she was far above ground, lost in a sea of vengeful air. It threw her halfway across the city. The black stone buildings were a blur beneath her, and the warriors were ants scurrying beneath the shadow of a heavy boot.
Finally, she found the strength to flare her wings and caught herself mid-air. Another blast of wind slammed onto her from above, throwing her down. Terror gripped her heart as the ground rushed up. She flailed in the air, desperately calling upon her wings to work.
A sound as loud as thunder exploded as she slammed into the dirt. Pain lashed through her bones. Her shoulder screamed, and her head thundered from where her teeth had knocked violently together.
Shuddering, she slowly pushed up to her knees, shaking her head to throw the ringing out of her ears. The world swam before her. She blinked, trying to clear the fog out of her head.
Reyna would heal, she knew. Seelie’s powers would make certain of that. But it was not instantaneous. It would take time and rest to allow the healing magic to fill her body with its life, mend her broken bone—her shoulder was definitely broken again—and soothe any other wounds she might have.
It was impossible to tell what those wounds were. Everything hurt.
The storm clouds crackled overhead just as the thunder of footsteps filled the air. Frowning, she blinked again, and the fog finally began to clear. Palms flattened on the black dirt, she peered up toward the sound. Throngs of wood fae pressed in all around her. Several had arrows aimed at her head, and many others held spears at the ready. Fear poked up from deep inside of her, pulsing out a heavy drumbeat in the veins of her neck.
Her eyes caught on the marble statue in the center of it all. A tall winged figure, dipped in paint of gold. A Fomorian statue, one of six scattered all throughout the square. She had landed right in the midst of the enemy, right where Segonax had said they needed to go to protect the city from being sacked. They were all here. Five hundred of them. And she had no one to stand by her side in the fight. She was strong, but was she that strong?
Reyna glanced up to see the storm cloud ripple and crackle and pop.
Then, it went silent and still, waiting.
Reyna understood at once. The Ruin could not kill her with its ash, so it had to kill her some other way. And it was going to try this. A courtyard teeming with enemies. It had picked her up by her wings and tossed her straight into hell.
Smart, she thought grimly. And then she pushed to her feet, calling upon the magic within her. She would not let the Ruin win this way. It was cowardice, this game it played. Instead of facing her head on, it was hiding behind five hundred fae. It was hiding from her.
That means I can win.
Determination a storm within her, she turned to face the wood fae and shot forth a blast of ice.
49
Eislyn
She did not know what day it was, nor did she care. When the guards had first thrown her into the tower, a strange, eerie numbness had stolen across her body and mind. Days passed in a blur. Nothing much ever happened. Vaguely, she wondered if they had already gone to war.
She asked for Vreis a couple of times when the guards dropped off food. It was the only time she ever bothered to rouse herself from the numbness in her mind. They never answered.
One day, things were different. The guards came by at first light as they normally did, but they had no food for her. Instead, they dragged her out of the room. Her entire body was limp like a doll, and her feet scuffed along the stone floor, leaving behind trails of ice down the corridor. She didn’t care enough to consider what that meant.