Page 115 of Reaper's Ruin
He nodded. “All Storm Court fae are resistant to lightning. It’s an innate trait of your bloodline. However, no Storm fae is immune to combined blasts from multiple Storm Warriors. One can’t hurt you but if several combine forces, it’s still deadly.”
“Wow. So it’s officially official then. I’m a Storm Court fae.” I palmed my face still mindblown by the truth in my heritage. “But I couldn’t like, summon it or control it or anything,” I said, remembering how some of the Storm Warriors had wielded lightning like weapons.
“No. Those powers come only after completing the Storm Trial.”
“Tell me more about this trial. You mentioned it once before. Each court has one?”
“Yes. Each court has a sacred ritual—a trial that grants full access to their elemental powers. For the Storm Court, it involves climbing to the peak of the Thunderspire Mountain during the worst storm of the season and allowing yourself to be struck by lightning, harnessing it and channeling it. The lightning at the peak is so powerful it will kill even Storm Fae.”
I stared at him. “That sounds... fatal.”
“It often is,” he agreed. “More fail than succeed. That’s why most fae are content with their innate abilities. Only the ambitious or power-hungry attempt the trials. They must open themselves to the power of the lightning, harnessing it and claiming it. If they aren’t ready, it kills them. But then, even after that part is finished, they must now ride the wind. They must endure winds powerful enough to strip your skin and harness it, then use it to ride to the floating islands above Thunderspire you saw. They float on the never-ending current of wind strong enough to kill anything that passes through it. But to finish the trial, they must harness it, ride it and claim their heritage at the top of the floating island.”
“Wow,” I breathed, imagining these fae trying to complete this deadly trial that seemed impossible in my mind. Harnessing lightning? Channeling wind? Riding it like a surfboard to a floating island to prove you could?Insane.
“Your father was also a Realm Walker,” Rhyker continued. “One of the few fae born with the ability to travel between realms. It’s an exceedingly rare gift, not tied to any specific court.”
I frowned. “So, my dad, the King, could Realm Walk, but if it was illegal to go to the Mortal Realm, why did he go there? To sire heirs there where they’d be safe from his sister?”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps he simply enjoyed exploring other worlds. Realm Walkers are known for their wanderlust. And King Aric was known to be quite mischievous. A rule breaker. I’m sure he felt a thrill in breaking Faelora law just crossing into your realm.”
“And we’re thinking that I’m a Realm Walker too? That’s why I was able to come to Faelora and return?”
He shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know but it certainly makes sense. It’s not always passed on to children, in fact it usually skips generations, but you could be the exception.”
“How do I do it? How do I, you know, Realm Walk? It’s only happened on accident when I first got here. When I was really scared. In fact, I’m surprised it didn’t happen when we were attacked in the castle. I wassuperscared. For a second there, I wondered if I was just going to poof away again. But I didn’t.”
Despite the terror of guards charging at us, blood spraying, and the fear of death crushing down on me, I supposed a part of me hadn’t wanted to escape. Hadn’t needed to flit off to safety. There was nowhere in any realm I felt safer than with him.
“I don’t know anything about how to control Realm Walking powers. That’s very rare, and I assume it would require some training to use it properly. Perhaps when you were a soul, untethered to a body, it was easier to access. Now in physical form, it won’t come easily until someone teaches you to use it.”
“Ah.” I nodded, lips pursed as I contemplated his words. “That actually makes sense. So I would need to find someone to show mehow to do it in human form. In spirit form, I was just a soul so it was likely easier to realm walk without a physical body.”
He nodded. “I’m not sure, of course, but it would make the most sense.”
“And usually you inherit it, so I’m assuming your family teaches you?”
“Yes. It’s not always directly inherited though. It often skips many generations, but anyone with Realm Walking in their bloodline would have someone in the family to help them harness it if the power showed up.”
“But my father, the fucking Storm Court King, is dead. And Lord Cassius, that asshole, is also dead. And I don’t think we know any other Realm Walkers. So, pretty much screwed on the whole someone teaching me how to use this power, huh?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have an answer to that either. I just know that certain fae can travel to different realms, or even in some cases, travel to different spots in their own realm. Kind of similar to how I could slice through shadows and go anywhere.”
“And why is that illegal?”
He shook his head. “Honestly, we don’t know. Centuries ago, when they wiped out humanity, it was like fear of humans seeped into the fae like poison. They killed us all and even made realm travel to the Mortal Realm punishable by death so no human could be brought back here. I honestly couldn’t tell you what caused the panic. There are stories, of course, but so many versions we’ll never know the truth of it. But whatever it was, it was enough to turn every fae in this cursed realm into human-slaying monsters.”
I picked at a loose thread on my torn dress, trying to reconcile these new truths with the life I’d known. “And I’m one of them.”
“Half,” he corrected. “You’re still half-human,”
“But I’m half-fae. An heir to the Storm Court throne. And I can’t get my peace and move on until what? I kill the Queen Mother? Take my rightful place as princess? What?”
“I don’t know,” Rhyker admitted. “Only you can determine what will bring you peace.”
His words were reasonable, logical even. But they didn’t touch the real issue burning between us like lightning—the issue he was so carefully avoiding.
“And if... something else is what is keeping me here even after I get this vengeance we think I need? Then what?”
