Page 79 of The Realm That Falls to Her

“I think he was genuinely shocked when Ruskin accused Turis. He didn’t expect such treachery in his own court. Maybe it convinced him to set an example,” Destan replies.

It makes sense. Lisinder perhaps realizes now that pandering to the uglier opinions in his court has only gotten him murder and betrayal, rather than a more secure position with his people.

Servants see to clearing away the blood after removing the bodies. The last traces are wiped away as members of the court start to rise to leave the chamber. I’m still bewildered by the twists and turns of what I just witnessed, but aside from a few downcast faces, the mood of the rest of the court doesn’t seem negative. A challenge was issued, justice was served. I suppose for the Unseelie it really is a simple as that. I don’t linger too long on reading their expressions, however, instead striding down to Ruskin with relief in my heart.

“Are you all right?” I ask, first and foremost. When he nods, I let the fire spark in my eyes.

“And when, exactly, were you going to tell me about that particular party trick?” I say, resisting the urge to wrap my arms around him, instead crossing them in front of my chest. “It would’ve gone a small way to me being less terrified.”

He has the good grace to look a little sheepish. “The transformation is new, and I didn’t think I would need it, fighting one on one. Until now my ability to call on it has been somewhat unpredictable…Maidar’s only helped me achieve it once properly before.”

“Maidar knows about this?” I ask, realizing the sneaky old fae has been keeping secrets for the both of us.

Ruskin strokes a soothing hand along my arm. I’m annoyed to realize that it works, his touch automatically unwinding some of my tension.

“The ability first started showing itself during our experiments, but it only came in flashes, and we weren’t sure what it meant at first. But it seems in my attempts to unlock more of my Unseelie side, I did in fact gain something.”

I think back to the times I encountered him in the middle of one of Maidar’s spells. In hindsight, I could see the beast within, struggling to get out. It seems that maybe this is Interra’s gift to him—losing his memories might’ve been a curse in some ways, but it allowed Ruskin the freedom to explore this other side of himself, and gain a new power. Evanthe’s experience is double-edged too—she’s more powerful thanks to Interra gifting her some of its darkness, but that darkness has driven her sanity from her.

And me?

Destan meets us on the way out of the cavern, along with the fae I now consider our Unseelie friends: Jasand, Elias, Wistal, and Vaccia. Vaccia congratulates Ruskin on his strategy, while Jasand and Wistal exchange notes with him on the transformation process. Destan falls into step beside me as we let the others walk a little further ahead, deep in conversation.

“Are you all right?” he asks, and we exchange a look of weary relief. Neither of us found that easy to watch.

“Just about. You?”

Destan shrugs. “At this point, I’m rather used to people trying to kill Ruskin, he just so rarely goes looking for it.”

His tone is joking, but his comment resonates with me. When I look ahead, Ruskin and the Unseelie appear confident and at ease together, all of them so at home in this world of brightest light and darkest shadow. To live in Faerie, in either court, is to live on the constant knife’s edge of existence. But the expression on Turis’s face still lingers in my mind—he was so sure of his choices, that his scheming and murder were right and just, even necessary. How could he and all his followers be so ruthless that killing their own prince seemed preferable to living in a world at peace?

And that’s what I’m afraid is my cursed gift from Interra. It made me stronger and less vulnerable than ever before, but with it, I feel like I’m trading away my humanity. I’m not just more willing to accept the violence of this world—I’ve even started to contribute to it. And I know this won’t end without more blood on my hands. Then again, maybe that’s just my destiny. My true name means “sword,” a weapon for the Unseelie. And weapons are made to be used.

Ruskin looks over his shoulder, searching for me. Small lines appear between his brows when he sees me hanging back with Destan, and he nods a goodbye to the Unseelie before striding back to me.

“Walk with me,” he says softly, extending his hand.

“I think I’ll go see if Dreidana’s busy,” Destan says airily, before ducking away down a side corridor.

Ruskin raises an eyebrow, watching his friend go, but then turns his eyes on me with a concerned look.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. “I’m sorry about keeping the transformation from you, but I genuinely didn’t think I would need it today, and I wanted to wait for the right time to show it to you.”

I shake my head, dismissing his apology as we reach our room. “I’m not mad about that, not really. In fact, I’ve been waiting to tell you about some changes of my own too.”

In our room I explain my discovery about being able to eat and drink fae food, repeating Maidar’s explanation about our bond being used by Interra to make me strong like a fae—to heal like one too.

As I talk, I watch Ruskin’s face shift into an expression of utter joy. I’m barely finished before he pulls me in for a bruising kiss, his hands encircling my waist, holding me tight.

“Do you understand what this means, Ella?”

I think of all my fear of losing myself, but I guess he doesn’t mean that. “What?”

“When I fell in love with you, I knew I would love you forever—but I also knew I couldn’t keep you with me forever. You were fully human, and so the years we had together could only ever be vanishingly short. But our lives are truly tied together now. You’re strong as a fae, your body can be nourished by our food. This must mean that you now have our lifespan too.”

I blink at him, trying to process what he’s saying. Why didn’t this occur to me before? Of course, I knew Ruskin was hundreds of years older than me, but I suppose I never really considered what the future held. Well, when would I have had time for those questions? I’ve been too busy fighting for my life—for both our lives. But now the future looks very different.

“You mean I’ll live as long as the fae? As long as you?” I ask. I suddenly feel unsteady, like the floor beneath me is moving.

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