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Chapter Twenty-Five

R eign

An arched gateway appeared, carved into the monstrous mountain of obsidian stone, towering high and glistening with a faint, ominous sheen. The arch itself pulsed faintly with dark energy, its edges inscribed with ancient runes that twisted and shifted, as if alive. A ghostly mist curled around its base, tendrils of shadow and fog coiling like living things, seeping into the jagged cracks of the ground below.

“Unbelievable… it’s the Nyxian Gate.” Gideon’s dark eyes traced the primeval structure. I could only imagine how many times he’d read about this relic. Perhaps he was right, and it had been time for him to abandon the depths of the library in search of actual history.

“What in all the realms?” Symon stared up at the looming archway, mouth agape.

But it was what lay past the stone carving that had the hair on the back of my neck prickling. Beyond the arch, a void loomed—a swirling vortex of inky black shot through with veins of crimson and deep violet. The air around the threshold was heavy, thick with an unnatural gravity that pulled at my soul, as if whatever was on the other side of that portal beckoned me.

“A pocket realm?” Ruhl asked, eyes wide.

“Seems like it…” I inched closer and gingerly ran my hand across the luminescent ruins. They pulsed beneath my palm, but the now familiar zar was missing. “It wasn’t created by Night Fae though.”

“How do you know?” Rue moved closer, then brought her own hand up to the mystical doorway. Devin watched her skeptically.

“I don’t sense any zar .” I scanned the mist-covered ground, searching for the ancient relic that had delivered us to this gateway. “It must have been the compass. It was imbued with whatever power needed to create this.”

“So, you think if we step through, we’ll be magically transported to King Helroth’s door?” Symon’s wide-eyed gaze bounced between me and the inky void.

“Yes, that’s what I believe, Lightspire.” Extending my hand, my fingers grazed the cool silk of night surrounding the gate. It wrapped around my fingers and a burst of energy shot through my fingertips, streaking directly to the pulsing tethers of the cuorem.

I could feel it in my soul, Aelia lay just on the other side of this doorway. I took another step, and the tip of my boot hit something solid.

It wasn’t possible…

I attempted to cross the threshold again, but it was like trying to walk through a brick wall. And yet, only a second ago, I’d been able to touch the swirling vortex.

“What’s wrong?” Ruhl called from over my shoulder.

“I can’t get through,” I growled.

“Why don’t you read the instructions?” Liora surged forward and pressed her fingertips to each glowing rune until a pale azure light illuminated her soft features.

Ruhl rolled his eyes in my direction, but my only response was a scowl. I wasn’t the only one who read ancient Faerish. He or Gideon could have just as easily made the connection. Instead, it was my newest acquisition to save the day.

Clearing her throat, Liora began, “Let the blood of intent trace the ancient runes, calling forth their slumbering power. Whisper the call, ‘From shadow’s cradle and light’s extinguished flame, by the blood of the willing, reveal the desired path forbidden to mortal eyes.’ Place what is bound to your essence at the heart, and let your power stir the ancient sigils. Only then will the veil shift, but tread swiftly, for the threshold is fickle and time fleeting.”

“What in the stars is the blood of intent ?” Devin asked, a slight tremble in his tone.

A smile slid across Rue’s face as she replied. “It must be like the blood willingly offered from that ruined spire in the cursed mire of Vesperis.”

“Exactly,” I interjected. “ My blood.”

“Wait!” Ruhl snapped as I summoned an umbral blade in my palm. “What of the part about placing your essence at the heart?” His befuddled gaze pivoted between Gideon and me.

I turned to my best friend, slapping his shoulder. “Well, you’re the scholar, Gid. What do you say?”

He rubbed at the scruff on his chin, eyes intent on the shifting runes. “Essence is another word for soul, but how could you give it a piece of that?” He paused, brows furrowed. “Or it could also be the essence of your being as a Shadow Fae…”

“Well, you’re right, I can’t exactly dole out a piece of my soul.” Though if I could, I’d rip it to shreds if that was what it took to get to Aelia.

“Try the nox ,” Ruhl cut in. “I think Gideon could be right about that.”

In addition to the blade, I called upon a whisper of shadow. It crawled across my skin, its icy touch puckering my flesh. Splaying out my hand, I directed it toward the heart of the gate, the very center, then sliced into my palm. My skin parted, revealing a thin line of blood. Holding my hand over the threshold, I squeezed until droplets of crimson coated the obsidian stone. Then I recited the incantation as directed.

“From shadow’s cradle and light’s extinguished flame, by the blood of the willing, reveal the desired path forbidden to mortal eyes.”

A deep rumble vibrated the air, the runes flickering with light, and a burst of energy crackled along the threshold. I watched, barely breathing as I waited for the mystical barrier to dissolve. Just as quickly as the mystical surge began, it dissipated, the sigils blinking out to darkness.

“Curses,” I hissed.

“Maybe it’s not your blood it wants.” Ruhl’s dark brow rose in a challenging arc.

I stood there, gaping at my younger brother like a fool as crushing disappointment ravaged my insides. Gods, what if he was right? What if I’d been wrong about Aelia, wrong about the cuorem?

“No, it’s definitely his blood,” Rue interrupted, shoving Ruhl to the side. “Trust me, we tried everything at that fortress in Vesperis, and it was only Reign’s blood it responded to.”

“It must be the essence part we don’t have right.” Gideon’s fingers ran over the runes, attempting to decipher the cryptic passage.

“But it has to be his nox ,” Symon interjected. “The gods created us with their powers. Light Fae are the embodiment of rais , Shadow Fae nox , and Night Fae zar ?—”

Zar … gods, I was a fool.

“You’re a genius, Lightspire.” I threw Aelia’s friend a grin before I called that buzz of foreign energy to the surface. In the root of my essence, there was no longer simply nox . The blossoming bond between Aelia and me had changed that.

And yet, I never felt rais streaming through the cuorem. It was only the invasive zar that now infiltrated every thread of my being. Why was that? Something to consider after I had Aelia back in my arms.

Calling back the tendril of smoky shadow, I closed my eyes and pictured the well of zar. The physical manifestation of shadow and night were similar, but it was the underlying energy that differed. This time, when I summoned my shadow, I imbued it with the new invasive energy, that velvety, sulfurous power. Every time it seemed easier to access. My new dark minion streaked forward, thick and oily, wrapping around the columns of the archway.

“Good gods, what is that ?” Devin squealed.

“A heady dose of nox coated in zar ,” Gideon replied in a rasp. My friend regarded me as he would a stranger.

I couldn’t blame him. The viscous, tar-like tendrils that had emerged from my fingertips were nothing like the light whispers of shadow that I normally wielded.

“When did that happen?” he asked, but before I could answer, the ground began to tremble.

Another wave of power rose like a mighty tide, dead set on sweeping us under. Locking my knees, I braced my hands along the roughhewn stone. The earth shuddered, and I barely caught Liora before she stumbled headfirst into the archway. “Hold on!” I shouted over the steady rumble.

A beam of vibrant sapphire exploded from the center of the opening and lasered through my chest. Scorching heat razed through my torso, invisible fingers clawing at my very essence. A whirlwind of nox and zar rushed to the surface as the Nyxian Gate sought its price for entry. I could feel it leeching every shred of energy stored in that mystical well deep in my core.

Apparently, my measly sliver of shadow was not a high enough price to pay.

“Reign!” Gideon shouted over the rushing winds.

“I’m all right,” I gritted out. “I have to give the gate what it wants.”

I could feel my power being siphoned from my center, weakening me with every tug. I wrapped my hands around the entryway, fingers digging into the columns to keep my quickly wilting form from collapsing.

“It’s going to kill you,” Ruhl shouted.

“No, it won’t.”

Gods, I’d never felt anything like it. It was like the manacles Draven had fitted me for years ago, only a thousand times more powerful. I was being drained of… everything. Gritting my teeth, I suffered through the pain, the agony of what felt like my very soul being ripped apart.

I bit back the scream forming in my throat, inhaling a fortifying breath to keep from passing out. How much longer could I endure it? By the time the gate sucked me dry of my power, I’d have nothing left to give once I crossed the threshold. How would I save Aelia then?

That fiery heat singed my veins as it drew more and more from me. The corners of my vision darkened, and even with Ruhl and Gideon on either side of me, bolstering my trembling knees, I wasn’t certain I could hold out much longer. Pure agony tore through every inch of me, invading every nook and cranny.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I imagined Aelia and the look on her face when I finally found her. All of the pain would be worth it in that moment.

The cuorem bond ignited, and a sharp snap echoed beneath my ribcage. For an instant, I was certain the overwhelming energy had broken bone, but within seconds, the surge of power began to dull. The intense pain in my chest slowly subsided, and I could finally draw in a full breath without my lungs screaming in agony.

The brilliant blue light receded, and a powerful pop resonated across the archway. I slumped to the side, caught by Gideon’s firm embrace.

“It worked!” Rue cried out.

Before I could loosen my tongue enough to make a sound of warning, she stepped through the threshold. My breath hitched as I waited, certain that Aelia’s best friend would burst into flames or be incinerated by hellfire—but instead, only a satisfied smile curled her lips.

“You did it, Reign. I knew you could.” She held out her hand, and it took everything I had to force my weary legs to step through.

From over her shoulder, I could just make out the murky vortex and the whirling winds summoning me toward it. “I’m coming for you, Aelia!” I shouted before taking Rue’s hand and leaping into the fathomless void toward my cuoré.