Page 20

Chapter Twenty

A elia

“Again!” Kaelith growled. The big brute towered over me as I lay flat on my back, my insides nothing more than flayed ribbons. Over his head, the metal rafters soared, their crisscrossed lines a familiar sight from this all-too-common angle in the sprawling training room.

After two days of intense zar instruction with the Night Fae, the trio of powers coursing through my veins only seemed more volatile. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t seem to force them to work in tandem. They endlessly clashed against each other, destroying my insides in the process.

Worse, I could feel the bitter zar leeching into my mind, twisting my thoughts, corrupting my memories. Whenever I conjured images of my time at the Conservatory, a heavy cloud loomed over them, distorting the few happy moments.

Was I losing my mind?

Even memories of Reign were growing ever more hazy.

He’s yelling at you, duskling .

While Ruhl, on the other hand, seemed to be making even more frequent visits. “I know that,” I hissed, pressing my hands over my ears. “I’m ignoring him.”

“Who are you speaking to?” Kaelith hinged at the waist, glaring down at me with those preternatural citrine orbs.

“Myself,” I hissed right back.

“Stand up.”

“I’m tired. I’ve had enough for today.”

“I’ll be the one to tell you when it’s been enough.” A wave of night crashed over us, consuming the immense chamber. His lips twisted in satisfaction, as if his measly display of zar could possibly frighten me.

My own power surged to life at the onslaught, that torrent of rais , nox , and zar rushing through every inch of my weary form. Light and shadow twisted and churned, hissing and spitting like droplets of water across a raging hearth. My entire body trembled, but I compelled myself to stand all the same. Knees wobbling, I forced my joints to lock as I glared up at my instructor.

A new presence seeped in at the edge of my subconscious, and I whirled around the chamber in search of that now familiar form. Helroth was nearby. Was he hidden in the dark crevices watching us? Was he disappointed by my failure, or was it exactly what he wanted? My powers completely out of control so that I’d bring about the destruction of Aetheria. Realms, I hated how little I still understood.

“You must channel the energy, Light Fae,” Kaelith muttered, bringing my attention back to him as he closed the space between us, “each one within its own pocket or it will consume you and all of Helspire Keep along with it.”

“I can’t!” I growled.

“You must!” He reached for me, but I dodged his grasp, the molten fire filling my veins already too much. “We Fae were not made to contain so much of the gods’ energy.”

“Then why do I exist?” I snarled, rising to my tiptoes to glare directly into his luminous eyes.

“It is exactly why you shouldn’t.”

The intense building fire raging within was doused with those few words. The prophecy. It was why the kings wanted me dead. Were they right? Was I simply too much of an abomination to exist? My shoulders rounded, and the fury of energy waned until I was certain my chest would cave in on itself.

Kaelith’s lips pressed into a hard line, and I could nearly hear the grinding of his jaw. “I did not mean that, Light Fae…”

“Yes. You did.” I spun away, moving toward the cool recesses of the chamber. “And maybe you’re right.” My skin burned, every inch of me ablaze in a desperate tangle of emotions. That new, insufferable zar infiltrated every pore in an attempt to strangle the rais . My thoughts felt muddled, that haze once again returning.

Don’t listen to him, duskling. You’re doing just fine .

My head spun over my shoulder, and a frown twisted the corners of my mouth. Clearly, I wasn’t. Or I wouldn’t be hallucinating my cuoré’s brother watching me from a dark corner of the room.

Realms, he looked so real.

And I realized… I actually missed him.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I shook the apparition loose from my mind. No, it wasn’t Ruhl I missed, it was Reign . I blinked quickly, trying to dislodge the image of the smirking younger Shadow Prince.

Go away, Ruhl !

How many times must I tell you I can’t? I am not the one in control here. You are .

Then why couldn’t I summon Reign at will? There was nothing I wished for more than to be with Ru—Reign. Gods, what was happening to me?

* * *

I tossed and turned in the lavish bed, the silk fineries doing nothing to allay my fitful sleep. Exhaustion filled every inch of my being, but a restless energy rankled at my nerves, making it impossible to rest. Every time my weary eyelids drooped, a reel of unending dark images played through my mind. Sweat trickled down my nape, dampening the back of my nightgown, but even still, an unearthly chill swept through my body. Willing my eyes to close and forcing away everything else, I drew in a deep breath and focused on Reign, on the feeling of security I only found when wrapped in his arms.

Finally, my subconscious gave up the battle, and I drifted into peaceful slumber.

“Wake up, princess…”

That voice. It had such an overwhelming hold on my being that it could draw me from the brink of death.

My eyes snapped open to meet a pair of velvety midnight orbs. Ones I’d dreamt about for months before being brought to this hellish place. “Reign?” My breath hitched on his name.

The silky onyx curtains of the canopy blanketed his large frame as he leaned over me, the familiar twist of his lips so heartbreakingly beautiful that hot tears pricked my eyes.

“Reign, is it really you?”

His warm hand cradled my cheek, the rough pad of his thumb caressing my skin. “Yes, it’s me, princess. I’ve come to take you home.”

I pushed back the silk coverlet and wound my arms around the back of his neck, drawing him close. “Oh, Reign, I—I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Shh,” he whispered, his warm breath skating across the shell of my ear. “I’m right here, and I’ll never leave you again.”

“My powers are unbound,” I confessed against the fabric of his familiar black tunic.

“I know… I felt it when it happened.”

“I’m scared, Reign. I feel so out of control.”

“Everything is going to be okay now. I’m here, and I’ll take care of everything, princess.”

His lips brushed mine, gently, and a thousand fires brightly burned to life between us. I would never question my feelings for this male again. My heart and soul came alive at the sight of him. I loved Reign more than the stars loved the night sky, more than the earth loved the rain—more than anything I had ever known or would ever know.

His hand moved down to cradle my neck, strong fingers delving into the fine hairs at my nape. He tilted my head to deepen the kiss, his tongue reacquainting itself with my own, tasting, savoring, exploring. The logical part of my brain warned me that we were wasting precious time—that we needed to escape before we were discovered—but my body moved of its own accord, completely captivated by the appearance of its long lost cuoré.

“I was so stupid and stubborn before, Reign,” I whispered against his lips. “We should have completed the cuorem right away. If we had, perhaps we could have avoided all of this.” My thoughts flickered to our bond, to the trail of shimmering light that pulsed ravenously between us.

It was silent.

Pausing to confirm the absence of the familiar sensation, I pushed free of Reign’s embrace and glanced up at the male whose lips were pressed to mine only a second ago. A smirk hitched up the corners of Ruhl’s mouth as he regarded me, sitting between the spiraling posts of my bed.

“What’s wrong, duskling?”

“Ruhl?” I shrieked, leaping back.

“Of course, it’s me. Who did you expect?”

I scrambled off the four-poster bed so that the immense mattress spread between us, creating as much space as possible. “No, no, no, you shouldn’t be here.”

“But of course I should. I am your cuoré, and I have come for you.” He rose and sauntered closer, inching around the darkwood footboard, piercing eyes pinned to mine.

I blinked quickly and Ruhl’s face blurred, replaced by Reign’s once again. Squeezing my eyes closed, when I reopened them, the younger Shadow Prince appeared yet again.

For the love of Raysa, I was losing my mind. There was simply no other explanation.

“Where is Reign?” I snapped.

“Probably planning your demise as we speak. Now that your powers have been unbound, everyone will know you are the child of twilight. And he will have no choice but to make good on his vow to our father.”

No. This couldn’t be happening.

Ruhl crept closer, that characteristic smirk firmly in place, twinkling eyes assessing me. “Don’t worry, duskling. I’ll never let him hurt you.”

“He would never…”

“Reign took a vow. He has no choice in the matter.”

Oh gods, was that why he hadn’t come for me? Had he really abandoned me this time? Seeds of doubt sprouted feverishly through my hazy mind: He didn’t love me, maybe he never really did. A thousand whispered voices echoed through my skull, battering incessantly.

You’re nothing but a lowly Kin.

Reign doesn’t love you.

Ruhl will protect you.

Ruhl is your cuoré …

Clapping my palms over my ears, I sprinted across the room, farther away from Ruhl. “No!”

“No what?” His eyes were wide as they regarded me from across the chamber. “Why are you trying to fight this? I am the one you are destined to be with, not him. Do you have any idea what we could achieve together? The Princess of the Court of Infernal Night and the Prince of the Court of Umbral Shadows; we would be unstoppable.”

My brows furrowed as I regarded him with the same intensity with which he threw at me. “This isn’t real. You’re not real. Ruhl doesn’t know that I’m the Night Court princess…”

His lips twitched. “Touché, duskling. You are more perceptive than I’d imagined. That’s good news for us all.”

Smoke billowed around his boots before it rose higher, blanketing his legs then torso. Before long, his entire body was concealed by the murky fog. It was as if he’d never existed at all.

That familiar presence I’d felt for days slammed into me, then the distinct sulfurous smell of zar filled my lungs. Where Ruhl once stood, the towering form of Helroth now appeared.

“Well done, Aelia. Only a few days with your powers unbound, and you were able to detect my cursed illusion. I’ve been infiltrating your thoughts while you sleep for weeks, and this is the first time you’ve detected me.”

A gasp squeezed through my clenched lips. “You’ve been doing what ?” I cried. An onslaught of images raced through my mind: Ruhl, Lucian, all the endless conversations… they had all been his doing. None of it was real. My grandfather had been stealing into my mind and planting illusions all along. “You’ve been manipulating me!”

No wonder I’d been having a more difficult time visualizing Reign, remembering our time together at the Conservatory.

I marched toward my grandsire, anger rushing my veins. “Why are you doing this?”

“It is just as the vision of Ruhl said, princess. You and the young Shadow Prince together would be unstoppable.”

“No, Reign is my cuoré, we belong together.”

“Tenebris’s bastard is no match for you.” A wicked grin curled his dark lips. “Besides, you won’t feel that way for much longer. I’ve seen to that, my child.” The smoke once again reappeared, drowning the king in a swath of pure night.

Before I could squeeze out another irate word, he vanished.