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Chapter Twenty-Seven

A elia

“Not bad, princess.” Kaelith towered over me as I tied back my hair, preparing for the next battle. “But you only used rais , and that is precisely why Jordak easily defeated you.”

“I wouldn’t say easily ,” I bristled.

A dark chuckle pursed his lips. “I’ve told you before, you must learn to separate the three energies, or they will overpower you, but if you succeed in controlling them, you will overpower everyone else.”

That was exactly why I only drew from my rais , keeping the other two locked behind an impenetrable wall. When all three were freed, I lost all control, and the looming darkness behind the zar scared the stars out of me. I could see myself easily becoming lost within its twisted, intoxicating power.

Kae signaled toward one of the other Night Fae. This one was taller than Jordak, with maroon hair plaited into hundreds of tiny braids then pulled back into a neat tie at the back of his neck. He carried a curved blade, black as obsidian and inlaid with threads of silver that pulsed faintly, as if teeming with power.

“I want you to use both nox and zar this time.”

I glared up at the overbearing beast, muttering curses. “I’d like to see you use?—”

A growl from the depths of his barrel chest put an abrupt end to my complaints. “Don’t you want to return to your precious Conservatory? The king will never allow it, not until you prove yourself proficient with all three gifts from the gods.”

Right . I heaved in a breath, picturing the sun-bathed lands of the Court of Ethereal Light, then the academy, and of course my friends. Gods, I’d missed Rue and Symon. And Aidan! I couldn’t wait to hold him close once again. Their images lingered on the periphery, so far, I could barely reach them. And Sol… my skyrider. It took all my concentration for his image to coalesce, the adorable golden dragon I’d coddled as a dragonette and the fierce tremendous beast he’d become. I reached for the glistening strands that once connected us, but they’d gone tragically silent.

Ruhl was the only one I could picture clearly. His image was permanently engraved in my mind, in the gentle pulse of the cuorem bond. I supposed it made sense; he was the other half of my soul after all.

“Are you ready yet, Light Fae?” Kaelith sneered down at me.

“Yes,” I hissed. “Let’s get this over with.”

* * *

An hour later and sweat soaked my training leathers, despite the chill in the air, the combination of physical exertion and the strength needed to contain my powers utterly exhausting. I’d taken on each of the Night Fae soldiers, one by one, and only a single remained. I had yet to manage utilizing rais , zar and nox in tandem, but I had been able to knock a few of my opponents on their asses, which was a win in itself.

Kae stalked closer, the twist in his lips a sure sign of his irritation. “All three, Aelia!” he growled.

“I can’t!” I shouted right back, rising to my tiptoes, which still only brought me high enough to reach the giant’s chin.

“You can and you will.” He ticked his head over his shoulder to the winding spires of Helspire Keep. “Or you will spend the rest of your days trapped in that fortress with me as your trainer and jailer.”

“You do not paint a tempting picture.”

“Exactly,” he hissed. “You must find something to ground you, something to focus your mind on to subdue the chaos of the energy swirling inside you.”

“Easier said than done. Any ideas on what I should use?”

His glowing citrine orbs locked on the medallion tucked under my fighting leathers. “Sometimes a familiar object helps. Especially one that has already been imbued with rais , nox and zar .”

Gods, I was an idiot. Of course, the necklace! There had been a reason why that dark Spellbinder had used it as an anchor and why Aidan had gifted it to me only moments before that bastard Reign swept me away to the Conservatory.

Untucking it from beneath the leather breastplate, I thumbed the warm medallion. The amount of comfort it brought from just a touch had my heart swelling.

Kaelith took a measured step back, still watching me. “Now, it’s time to train in earnest.”

The final Night Fae stepped forward, the hair above his ears completely shorn so that only a strip of brilliant ruby spikes remained. His armor glinted like forged obsidian, and his twin swords shimmered faintly, as though night clung to the edges. He smirked at me, baring teeth sharpened to fine points.

With my dagger clenched in one hand, I once again summoned my luminous blade in the other and raised it, the familiar hum of power steadying me. My heart pounded as Kaelith’s words echoed in my ears. Train in earnest. That could mean only one thing—this wouldn’t be a friendly sparring match. I tightened my grip, letting rais and the crackling heat of light unfurl within me.

The male lunged, his swords moving in a flurry of dark steel. I met him head-on, my blade of light clashing with his demon-forged weapons. Sparks erupted as we traded blows, his strikes fast and precise, forcing me to keep moving or risk being impaled by the end of his sword. My muscles burned as I parried one blade and dodged the other, and yet I felt something rising beneath the surface—a dark, coiled energy.

Nox .

It crept through my veins, sinister whispers skimming across my skin. The sensation felt new and yet familiar, reminding me of all the times Ruhl’s icy touch had tempered my out-of-control rais . Focusing my thoughts on the feel of the warm medallion against my chest, I centered the overwhelming influx of energy. With a surge of determination, I allowed it to mingle with the rais already coursing through me. My luminous blade flared brighter, a searing light tangled in whirling shadows that made my opponent falter for a fraction of a second. I took the opening, driving my weapon toward his shoulder. He twisted, but not fast enough, and my blade grazed his armor, leaving a faint scorch mark.

“Impressive,” he snarled, his maroon eyes narrowing. “But not enough.”

His swords somehow moved even faster, and I felt the shift in his powers—tendrils of night unfurling from his blades, reaching for me. They lashed out like vipers, and I barely managed to deflect them with a burst of rais . The clash of energy sent a shockwave through the air, rattling the ring of spectators.

But I wasn’t done. Kaelith was right. If I ever wanted to escape the obsidian walls of the keep, I’d have to prove to the king I could wield all three of the gods’ gifts. I reached deeper, pulling on the third force within me. Zar . The smoky power surged, cold and unyielding, a storm waiting to be unleashed. My radiant blade flickered, and I let it go, summoning a vortex of swirling light and shadow in its place. The energy coalesced into something new, something terrifyingly unstable.

Winds lashed hair across my face, a tornado of light and dark twisting and turning. Raw power bloated my chest, strangling all the organs beneath my ribcage. I could barely draw in a breath from the absolute fury of sensations. My fingers tightening around the hilt of my treasured dagger, I sought solace in its familiar feel.

The Night Fae hesitated, his steps faltering as he took in the undiluted force of the zar -infused power swirling around me. Coils of shadow curled around his form, wrapping around his throat. “What are you?—?”

I didn’t let him finish. I thrust my hand forward, releasing the storm. It crashed into him like a tidal wave, hurling him across the clearing. He hit the ground hard, his weapons clattering to the earth as the shadows surrounding him dissolved.

I stood there, breathing hard, victorious—but the zar wasn’t done. The storm still raged within me, growing wilder, hungrier. My vision blurred as the intoxicating power spiraled out of control, dark tendrils wrapping around my arms, my legs, pulling me under.

“Aelia, stop!” Kaelith’s voice was sharp, commanding, but it sounded distant, like a whisper through a storm.

I couldn’t stop. The power was too much, too vast. It clawed at my mind, drowning out every thought except for the need to release it, to destroy everything in its path. The darkwoods trembled, cracks spidering across the earth beneath my boots.

“Aelia!” Kaelith’s voice was closer now, and suddenly strong hands gripped my shoulders. “You have to let go. Fight it!”

I gasped, the sound raw and choked as I wrestled with the gods’ damned energy threatening to consume me. With every ounce of willpower I could dredge up, I focused on my medallion, on everything it represented and dragged it back, shoving it down and locking it away. The storm began to recede, and I crumpled to my knees, shaking, as everything fell silent for an instant.

Kaelith knelt beside me, his sharp gaze assessing as I dropped my dagger. “You’re strong, Aelia. Too strong for your own cursed good. But if you don’t learn control, that power will destroy you, and that is not simply a warning, but a fact.”

I nodded weakly, the weight of his words sinking in as nothing but a dense silence prevailed. I inhaled slowly, urging the chaotic rise and fall of my chest to subside. Breathe, Aelia, just breathe .

Seconds, or maybe hours later, the crackle of boots crushing dry leaves spun my head toward the tree line. A familiar silhouette emerged from the shade of the snowy darkwoods, and the calm I’d sought so fiercely to obtain vanished. Silky wings of shadow cloaked a tall, muscled form, and my heart catapulted against my ribs.