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Chapter Twenty-Four

R eign

“I never agreed to this…” I glared at my brother, then pivoted my gaze to the assembled Light Fae students armed to the teeth surrounding him along the southernmost tip of the Conservatory grounds. He’d amassed the same squad who had been with Aelia the night she was taken: Rue, Symon, Liora, and that fellow the Liteschild female was seeing—Devin, I believed was his name. And one other male I’d never expected.

“Gideon, what are you doing here?”

My old friend cocked his head to the side, giving me that sly grin that reminded me of our youth, of a much less complicated time. “It’s time to un-retire my blade, I think.” His silky shadows dribbled from his fingertips, forming the immense broadsword he always preferred for sparring.

“Gideon…” I hadn’t seen him outside the confines of the Shadow Lands in years.

“Not another word, Reign. I’m good for more than just research.” He lifted a hand to my shoulder and squeezed. “And if there was ever a good reason to take up my sword again, it is this. Let’s get your cuoré back.”

Rue’s gaze flickered to mine while the rest of the students seemed to have missed my friend’s careless remark. Or perhaps they didn’t know what a cuoré was at all; most were likely too young to remember.

Phantom and Solanthus shifted behind me, their hot breaths razing across the back of my neck. It was enough of a distraction to ignore Rue’s probing glare for now. My skyrider snorted before the shimmery threads that made up our connection surged to life.

We’ll need all the help we can get . Her rumbly voice filled my subconscious. Even Solanthus agrees .

I’m shocked the two of you agree on anything.

You aren’t the only one . Something that sounded like a chuckle caressed the inside of my skull.

“Are you listening to me, Reign?”

Drawing my thoughts from my internal conversation to the one going on just in front of me, I focused on my brother. I had been vaguely aware of his flapping lips as I carried on the mental dialog with my skyrider.

“What?” I barked.

“We agreed we would have a plan, right?”

I nodded, uneasily.

“Seeing as it was nearly impossible to formulate one since we have no idea what we’re up against, I decided the more bodies we had to use as fodder for those monsters, the better.”

“Hey!” Rue squealed. “We’re good for more than just a distraction.” Devin, who stood beside her protectively, bobbed his head in solidarity.

“Yes, she’s right.” Liora marched forward, her phoenix mirroring her footsteps. “We can fight those demon—dragon things—whatever they are.” She turned toward her skyrider and gave her an indulgent smile. “Right, girl?”

The creature cooed, the deep sound rumbling in her throat.

“What about you, Lightspire?” I pivoted my gaze to the male. He’d fought valiantly at the cursed mire against the Immortalis, shockingly even willing to give his own blood for Aelia at that mystical door. Perhaps all his blustering was only for show.

“You want me to take on an entire battalion of demon Night Fae with their monstrous flying beasts and reclaim Aelia from the hands of legendary King Helroth? Sure, why not?” He grinned. Rue sank her elbow into his side, and he buckled over dramatically. “Anything to one day be able to stroke the tempting ears of my little rounded-eared Kin.”

A growl vibrated deep in my chest, the feral sound more ominous than that of my dragon. “Symon, I swear to all the gods, if you ever touch her?—”

He raised his hands in defeat, blanching. “It was only a joke, professor. I would never?—”

“Enough,” Ruhl barked. “The Light Fae makes a good point about our numbers. We will be heavily out numbered which is why we need everyone we can trust with us now. Even with all of us assembled here, the only real chance we have is the element of surprise.”

I clutched the compass tighter in my fist, and the dial spun in a frantic circle. “And we should have that. The Ebonshard Compass has been missing for decades. Helroth must be convinced he’s safe in his stronghold, wherever it may be. His guard will be down, and we’ll take advantage of it.” I met the gaze of each Fae standing before me, one by one. “Now, I know my students have yet to study the Night Fae thoroughly. As a reminder, their powers include: infernal manipulation, cursed illusions, soul-draining, necromancy, astral possession and, of course, nightmare realms. Zar is nothing like rais or even nox , it’s born from a much darker place, its power insidious and entirely overwhelming. You must be prepared.”

I drew in a breath and took in the rag-tag lot in front of me. A mixture of determination, anger and fear stared back at me. “I commend you all for being here and, more than that, I thank you.” I gritted out the final words, my tongue unaccustomed to forming them. “That said, King Helroth is mine, and I urge the rest of you to be very careful. This is an extraction mission, and if we can avoid engagement, it would be safest for all.”

Murmured assents echoed around me as the dragons shifted impatiently. I could feel Solanthus’s claws digging into the earth. Sometimes I wished we could communicate directly. I couldn’t imagine the pain he must be suffering without his bonded rider. I added him to the mental list of all those I’d failed since Aelia’s capture.

Don’t do that, Reign . Phantom’s voice sailed through my thoughts. Solanthus does not blame you for her loss. He blames himself .

Right. Well, all of that ends today .

* * *

Soaring over the Darkmania Falls, Phantom led our rescue squadron toward the long-deserted Eryndral Isle. The island, situated to the north of Aetheria and just east of Mysthallia, was said to be cursed by some unknown ancient magic. Once a thriving outpost of Crescentia, it had lain abandoned for decades. According to legends, it was the site of a great betrayal, and those who dared to set foot on its soil never returned the same.

A chill coursed up my spine as the isle grew closer and the Ebonshard Compass’s dial more erratic.

I believe we’ve found our destination . I threw the thought across our mental link and Phantom grunted in response.

I cannot say I’m surprised. What better place to create a pocket realm than on an abandoned land mass ?

I’d flown over the isle countless times in my search for Aelia over the past month, but I’d never encountered anything but jagged ice-capped mountains and endless snow-covered forests twisted with frozen vines.

How have I been unable to sense my own cuoré ?

Just because the compass says Helroth is there now doesn’t mean he’s been there all along. You know how pocket realms function. He and his Night Court could have constantly been on the move .

As we drew ever closer to the rocky shore, the compass grew warmer in my palm. The needle ceased to move so quickly, instead, pointing directly toward the middle of the isle.

This was it. Aelia was somewhere on that island.

My heart kicked and punched at my ribs, desperate at the notion that its cuoré was near. Splaying the fingers of my free hand, I loosed an envoy of shadows to each of the riders surrounding me.

My shadows slithered to each of their targets, carrying my voice along with them. “We’re here.”

Ruhl’s dragon, Mordrin, dared to inch closer, and Phantom tensed with each nearing flap of his mighty wings.

“Don’t do anything stupid, brother,” I shouted against the wind. “Not when we’re so close to finally finding her.”

“I’m sure Phantom can put up with Mordrin’s proximity for a few moments longer,” he called back.

The growl that vibrated beneath my thighs said otherwise.

“What are we going to do if Helroth has gone underground as he did in the Wilds?”

That had been what I’d feared most. How were we to reach an enemy buried beneath the earth? “I don’t know.”

“It seems like a lack in foresight on our part that we hadn’t planned for such a situation.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll claw at the gods’ damned earth until I reach her if I must,” I barked. “How is that for a plan?” I shot my brother a narrowed glare. “We have multiple hands and even more claws and talons. Between all seven of us, in addition to our skyriders, I’m certain we’ll find a way.”

Phantom angled her wings toward the earth, and the rest of the team followed her lead. With every yard closer to the ground, my heartbeat grew more uneven. I drew in a breath to regulate the erratic pulse, using Phantom’s steady wingbeats as a measure. Today, I needed to be in control. If I had any hopes of defeating Helroth, of getting back my cuoré, I had to be at my pinnacle of power, a perfect blend of nox and the zar Aelia was pumping through our bond.

The moment Phantom’s talons sank into the earth along the rocky shore, the mystical tether that bound me to Aelia snapped tight. The sharp twang seared across my ribs and for the first time in weeks, I felt alive.

Aelia, I’m coming !

The remaining skyriders landed around Phantom, the smaller beasts obscured by the thick woods inching toward the Stygian Gulf. The heat of the compass suddenly became unbearable, scorching my palm. It fell from my hand and fear surged across every inch of my being as I leapt off my dragon to retrieve it.

The silver trinket hit the dark earth, and a sharp crackle hissed through the air as slivers of smoke rose from the ground at the contact. A wave of pitch black curled around the compass, then the ground shifted beneath my feet. The tremor raced across the shore, my knees trembling from the strength of the quake. The skyriders squawked and growled, my Fae companions yelping in surprise as a jagged cliff of pure obsidian cracked the earth and jutted up to the sky.