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Chapter Sixteen

R eign

I marched across the training field, my strides growing quicker as students and skyriders began to fill the sun-kissed clearing. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Liora, her curious gaze fixed in my direction. I moved faster, eager to disappear before she came after me. In the past week, I’d done my best to avoid my newest acquisition, and unexpected guilt had come along with it. I truly couldn’t believe she was at all responsible for the events of that horrible day at the border of the Wilds, but perhaps Rue was right and I was overcompensating for the loss of Aelia.

Moving past the edge of the training field, I lengthened my stride. The good professor, Lumen, was more than eager to comply with my request to assume the role of flight class instructor for the day. In Aelia’s absence, I’d relied on him, as well as a number of other faculty members, to cover for me. Draven either hadn’t noticed or was too busy to care about my sudden lack of attendance. The only reason I remained at all was to ensure I was abreast of the comings and goings of the Light Court.

Now with a direct line to the king, perhaps it was time to make my absence more permanent. Then what would I do when Aelia returned to the Conservatory? Was I a fool to believe that things would ever go back to how they once were?

“Where are you going, professor?” The familiar female voice stopped me in my tracks.

Curses . I whirled around to find Rue and Symon regarding me expectantly. The Liteschild female had her arms folded across her chest, glaring up at me, a twist of determination and annoyance present in her expression.

“Lumen is taking over your class again?” she asked.

“Yes, clearly.”

“Why?” She stalked closer, her piercing scrutiny nearly making me squirm. Me !

“Is this about Aelia?” Symon whispered.

I pressed my finger to my lips and hissed, “Shh! Quiet, both of you.” Gods, I knew I should have wiped both of their memories of what happened that day. And I would have had it not been for my concern of how Aelia would take it. Back then I never thought she would be gone for so long, and the pair have been nothing but a nuisance since her abduction.

Rue inched closer, rising to her tiptoes to whisper, “Tell us what you’re doing, or we’ll simply follow you.”

“Are you really threatening me?” A storm of shadows hissed and sputtered to life, whizzing around the irritating Light Fae, but I wasn’t sure anyone could be less intimidated in that moment than Rue was. It was infuriating.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you simply let us help.”

“She makes a good point.” The Lightspire male wagged a finger at me.

“Not to state the obvious, but you don’t seem to have made much progress in the search for Aelia on your own all this time.” She slapped her hands on her hips, her gaze only narrowing.

It took every ounce of restraint I possessed to keep my nox in check when all I wanted to do was scream… among other more violent things. “I’ve done everything I could!” I hissed. “I even went to see your damned king!”

“King Elian?” Symon’s eyes grew wide as he cocked his ear in my direction as if to ensure he’d heard me correctly.

“Yes, and I finally have a lead on how to find King Helroth.”

“Oh, goddess, that is fantastic news!” Rue flitted up and down on her tiptoes as if she actually possessed ethereal wings and was about to take flight. “How?”

“There’s an article I must find. According to the Light King, once I’ve procured it, it will lead us directly to Helroth.”

“ Us ?” Rue’s light brows perked up, reaching the line of her curly head of blonde hair. Hope began to burn in her eyes—something I had no intention of igniting further.

“My brother will be accompanying me,” I grumbled.

“And that’s where you’re going now?” She continued the inquisition, seemingly ignoring my previous statement, and each second that passed only elevated my rising pulse further.

“Yes,” I gritted out.

“Perfect! Then we’ll go with you.” Rue ticked her head toward the flight field. “Our mounts are ready to fly.”

Symon’s head bounced up and down eagerly.

“Absolutely not,” I snarled, and tendrils of shadow streaked from my fingertips, concealing us all in a barrier of pure darkness. “We have no idea what we’ll encounter in Vesperis, and the last thing I need is the two of you tagging along. I don’t want more children to babysit.”

“Vesperis, the land of the Immortalis?” Rue echoed.

“Yes.”

“Gods, maybe he’s right, Rue.” Symon’s complexion mirrored Ruhl’s when we’d discovered that old tome. “Maybe we should let the Shadow Fae deal with this.”

I couldn’t help but feel that it had been Aelia herself to lead me to that book. We’d been searching the archives for days, and had I not gone on that tirade, who knew how long it would have been before we came across that particular text.

“No, we should not.” Rue shook her head, jaw clenched stubbornly, and already I knew this was not going to be a battle I would win. “As a matter of fact, as Light Fae, and expert wielders of rais , we should most certainly accompany them.”

Realms, I hadn’t even considered it, but the female wasn’t entirely wrong. Rais , the luminous energy from the goddess of Ethereal Light, would prove much more potent against the avar -wielding Immortalis. Much like the Court of Umbral Shadows, Vesperis was also cloaked in constant darkness. When the God of Eternal Hunger, Avarnok, created his children, they were nocturnal, preferring to lurk in the shadows to lure their prey. Over the ages, Avarnok bathed the realm in eternal night as a reward to his faithful followers. As a result, the Immortalis are particularly vulnerable to sunlight, and therefore, rais .

After centuries, the Death Drinkers became more civilized and the stories of the monsters of the night only remained intact to frighten small children at bedtime. Apparently, they had worked too well on my brother.

Now, the Immortalis, much like the Fae, are divided into courts with royals ruling each one. Father claimed they still lacked all the manners of polite society, given their insatiable bloodlust, but overall, the wild, bloodthirsty beasts no longer existed.

In theory…

“Reign, are you listening to me?” Rue’s casual use of my first name snapped me from my internal musings.

“For the love of Raysa, Rue, can you at least pretend to respect me as your professor?” I growled.

“Fine, Professor Darkthorn , are you listening?”

The truth was I’d zoned out minutes ago. “No.” I huffed out an irritated sigh. “Because I was actually considering the merits of your argument.”

“So, we can come?” She once again bounced on her tiptoes, clapping her dainty little hands too.

“I have not yet made my decision. I said considering…”

“Considering what?” Another familiar female voice infiltrated the conversation, and it was only then I noticed my shadows had slithered away, revealing the three of us and our furtive discussion. Gods, they truly were out of control.

Realms, not her .

Liora stood behind Symon, her curious gaze flickering between us.

No one spoke for a long moment before Symon opened his blasted mouth. “We may as well tell her. She already knows about Aelia’s disappearance anyway.”

“No…” Rue gritted out.

“We aren’t considering anything, Liora,” I echoed before pausing to contemplate once again.

Liora had gotten inordinately skilled with her rais in the past few months. As much as I hated to admit it, the three of them could prove useful in case we ran into trouble with the Immortalis. Though they claimed to have a strong handle on the bloodlust, the farther one strayed from the populated areas of the capitals within their respective kingdoms, the less polite the residents became.

Though I’d never been to the mires in the northern reaches of the land, I felt it safe to assume they were not lands in which the royals roamed. We really had no idea what we’d encounter once we crossed into their borders. And the Immortalis, much like the Spellbinders, were leery of outsiders trespassing into their territory, which meant traveling by dragonback would again be impossible. All three of the Light Fae students’ skyriders, the Pegasus, gryphon, and phoenix, would make for much more discreet travel companions.

And if I was being completely honest, I’d prefer their company to that of my brother’s alone. Everything had been so much easier when Ruhl and I had lived completely separate lives, driven apart by our father’s clear preference for his heir. Now, things had gotten exceptionally awkward between us. I felt as if Aelia existed between each sentence, each tension-fraught moment. Neither of us wanted to admit the truth—mostly, not me—but Ruhl had developed an attachment to her. And I was leery of what it could mean.

Well, are you coming or will you force me to suffer through Mordrin and Ruhl’s company alone for much longer ? Phantom’s voice echoed through my spiraling thoughts.

Curses, everyone was waiting for me and here I was waffling like a fool. Gods, Father had been right, love did make a male weak. Before Aelia, I was strong, decisive, and I couldn’t care less about the consequences. Now I second-guessed every action, questioned every step, considering the ramifications for Aelia.

I’m coming , Phantom . I sent the thought through our mental link. But I wouldn’t be all together upset if you chased Mordrin and my brother away .

I would if I didn’t think you’d need them.

Seriously ?

Do you forget that I can feel every damned emotion coursing through you? That untethered cuorem bond is doing something to your powers. I feel it as much as you do .

I couldn’t argue with my old friend on that one. Ever since Aelia’s disappearance, my nox had become uncontrollable. Stronger, yes, but also more temperamental. It was as if a foreign entity had infiltrated the well of power that once contained it and corrupted it into something darker, something more volatile. My nox no longer obeyed me—it thrashed and writhed, slipping through cracks in my control like smoke from a dying flame. Every time I used it, it demanded more, clawing at my soul with an insatiable hunger that mirrored my growing desperation. And I attributed that desperation to the ease with which I overtook the Light King and his Royal Guardians.

But is it the cuorem or something else ?

I am afraid I cannot say, Reign .

“Professor Darkthorn?” This time it was Liora’s voice that drew me from my dark contemplations.

“Yes, Liora?”

“I want to help.” She stepped closer, enveloping my hand in hers, light lavender irises fixed to my own. The feel of her skin was foreign against my own, and I barely suppressed the urge to tear free of her hold. “Aelia was my friend too, and I simply can’t help but feel like what happened to her was somehow my fault. I was the one who suggested we go that way after all. It’s been eating at me ever since.”

Rue snorted, barely muffling the sound with her hand.

Perhaps Aelia’s best friend was right about my new acquisition, but what better way to test her allegiance than during an unsanctioned trip to Vesperis? I’d task Ruhl with the duty of keeping an eye on her, taking out two flames with one breath. Then, if she did prove to be a traitor, it would be easy enough to abandon her in the hands of the Death Drinkers.

“Fine, you can all come, but it is at your own peril. I will not coddle or protect any of you.” I drew my hand free of Liora’s and turned my gaze to Symon. “Fill her in on the way. We must move immediately.”