Page 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

R eign

Gasps rolled through the clearing, my own sharper than the rest. Helroth’s granddaughter? Gods, no. This couldn’t be. All the air siphoned from my lungs, and a crushing weight slammed into my chest, locking my ribs in a vise.

And yet, it would make perfect sense…

It was perfectly in line with what Melisara had predicted: All three gifts of the gods bound by someone powerful.

“You’re a Night Court princess?” Symon blurted as the others shared matching expressions of shock.

“…Kind of.”

“Noxus’s nuts!” he cried out.

“Oh, Aelia…” Rue clapped her hand over her mouth.

Aelia nodded, the twist in her lips at least confirming her displeasure with the knowledge. Then maybe at least Helroth hadn’t wiped out all her memories. “There’s a lot I need to catch you up on.”

“Well, I always knew you were special.” Ruhl threw her a smirk that had my blood singeing my veins.

“And I want to go home, Helroth.” Aelia turned her icy glare on her grandsire.

Without missing a beat, the Night royal glanced at the behemoth to his right. “Kaelith, how is the princess doing in her training?”

“She’s progressing well, your Infernal Highness, but the power she possesses is volatile and often becomes overwhelming for her.”

That was what I’d felt through our bond the past few weeks. She’d been channeling the excess power to me to cope with the onslaught. If that wasn’t proof enough that we were meant to be together, then nothing was.

“I’ve felt it.” The confession seethed forth before I could still my lips.

For the first time since we arrived, Helroth’s arrogant smile faltered. “What do you mean?”

“Through the cuorem.”

Aelia’s glare snapped in my direction, her frosty stare turning glacial. “It’s not possible. Ruhl is my cuoré, not you.”

My brother cleared his throat, and, to his credit, he had the decency to throw me an apologetic smile. “At times, an unbonded cuorem can cause unwanted side effects. It may attempt to make a connection with the nearest blood relative in an effort to satiate the maddening effects.”

So, this was his plan? To simply pretend Aelia’s delusions were real? I was going to strangle the life out of my brother the moment we were free of this hellish land.

His conflicted gaze darted to meet mine. “I’m sure once we all return home together, we can solve this unfortunate misunderstanding.”

My fingers rolled into tight fists, nails digging into my palms. That dark well of new power overflowed, begging for release. I hazarded a glance toward Aelia and found her eyes pinned to mine. Even now, was she unknowingly channeling her power to me?

“Yes, you’re right, brother,” I finally forced through clenched teeth. All that mattered was getting Aelia away from here. Everything else we would solve upon our return. Even if that meant loosing my shadows’ wrath on my traitorous brother.

“So that you can deliver me to the Shadow King?” Aelia hissed. “Never.”

Rue reached for her friend, twining slender fingers through hers. “Aelia, Reign would never hurt you. He’s spent the last two months attempting to move the sun and stars just to find you. He l?—”

“Because of his vow,” she snarled.

“No!” The denial burst forth, wild and menacing.

“A, I think you’re confused.” Rue patted her friend on the shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot and?—”

“We can discuss all of this at a later time,” Ruhl interrupted before his eyes lifted to meet the king’s. A storm of shadows curled around my brother’s form. “Now, are we free to leave, or must we fight our way out, Helroth?” An umbral blade materialized in his palm, and though he held it at his side, the threat was clear.

“Please say fight,” I snarled.

“Reign,” Ruhl barked. “It would be in everyone’s best interest if we parted amicably.” Lowering his voice, he hissed, “Or have you forgotten what we’d discussed?”

“I couldn’t agree more, Prince Ruhl.” Helroth cast a satisfied glance in my direction. “Once all of this nastiness with your brother and the vow your father has demanded of him is resolved, I look forward to uniting the Night and Shadow Courts in a mutually beneficial alliance as we once enjoyed centuries ago. A betrothal seems the best option.”

A betrothal ? Molten fury surged through my veins, a volcano of wrath igniting in my core. So this was Helroth’s plan… to herald the return of the Night Court with an alliance with Tenebris. Father would never stand for it, not with the prophecy looming. This was precisely what everyone feared.

“If you’ll agree to my terms, I will release Aelia today.”

“An engagement?” I hissed, my head spinning. Good gods, what else would I have to endure today? Rage coiled around my heart, growing more venomous with every turn.

Ruhl’s eyes chased to mine, an unspoken question lingering between us. He wasn’t actually asking for my permission to agree to this betrothal, was he? My brother could not be stupid enough to believe I would ever stand for this. But he would agree to the pretense… And fuck, I would be forced to as well, if it meant getting Aelia out of Helroth’s clutches.

I dipped my chin, despite the suffocating reluctance to agree to his terms, even if it were simply only a means of escape. Once she was freed from Helroth’s hold, how could he enforce this ridiculous union?

“Don’t I get a say?” Aelia snapped, her narrowed eyes darting between my brother and her grandfather.

Oh gods, for once, princess, keep your mouth shut.

Ruhl’s arm curled around her shoulders, tucking her into his side, and it took every last ounce of restraint I could find to keep my shadows from snaking out and physically prying her away from him. “She agrees.”

Aelia’s lips twisted, but thank the goddess, she kept quiet. Perhaps Ruhl had sent a silent soldier to whisper a message begging for her silence.

I waited for the blood vow that the king would require for the trade, but it never came…

“And what of the prophecy?” I ground out, pivoting to the king. “Are you so arrogant as to believe the royal seer’s visions would have no impact on you and your court?” I turned his earlier words on him.

“Why would they? Aelia has my blood running through her veins. Whatever chaos the prophecy has proclaimed would surely only be to my benefit.” An ominous smile curled his lips, gleaming against the coal-black of his skin.

“Good, then that settles it, and we can go.” Aelia’s hand instinctively reached for the dagger sheathed at her side while the other dipped beneath the collar of her tunic. The move was so Aelia, so familiar, that it sent a pang through my chest, a reminder of all the times she’d reached for her beloved medallion for comfort.

“Under two more conditions.” Helroth strode toward his granddaughter, and every muscle in my body locked, ready to strike. “You take Kaelith with you so that you may continue your training, and he may ensure your safety as my heir.”

I wasn’t certain who looked more surprised by the order, Aelia or the king’s guard.

“Now that my presence has been made known, I am certain it will only be a matter of time before Tenebris or Elian deem it necessary to strike.”

“How can they?” Aelia asked. “You’ve managed to slip by undetected for decades in your veiled pocket realms.”

“Because the time for hiding is over.” His crimson glare slowly pivoted in my direction. “Which brings me to my second request.” He held out his hand, eyes narrowing, as they scanned the folds of my cloak. “I’ll take that compass, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Over my dead body,” I hissed. As if I would ever allow the Night King to have the one item that ensured I could always find him. I was convinced allowing Aelia to leave was only some clever ruse to distract us. But for what I wasn’t entirely certain.

Would he assemble his army and seek revenge against the two remaining courts?

Would he return for Aelia and imprison her again, only to use her power for his gain?

The possibilities were endless and each one worse than the last. No, I would never concede to this demand.

And if it was, indeed, a trick, I would need this compass to ensure I could find my cuoré if he took her… again.

“I’ll take it.” Aelia marched toward me, the hatred in her eyes palpable. “If you really are telling the truth and have no intention of turning me in to King Tenebris, then give me the compass. I will keep it safe while also ensuring I have a place to run should the need arise.”

“I would never—” I gritted out.

“So you say.” She held out her hand, cold gaze locked to mine.

The cuorem pulsed, angry and violent, squeezing the air from my lungs. Could she still feel it? I searched for an answer in those glistening orbs but found none. My shadows vibrated along my skin, awakened by her proximity. A tendril slid free and wrapped around the shell of her now pointed ear. Gods, I could barely restrain the urge to run my finger over the newly sharpened tip. “Don’t give it to him, princess,” I whispered through my shadow messenger. “I beg of you.”

She stilled, her entire body going rigid at my words. I placed the Ebonshard Compass in her hand, my fingers grazing hers for an instant. She drew in a sharp breath through gritted teeth, and her eyes found mine and held.

A glimmer of warmth returned to those radiant silver-blue orbs as they regarded me, but just as soon as it sparked, it vanished without a trace. She jerked her hand back and closed her fingers around the device.

“Let’s go.” Aelia ticked her head at Kaelith then toward the king. “I’ll hold onto this for safekeeping.”

“Ensure that you do.” A menacing edge laced his tone, one that had my hackles rising and my shadows begging to be unleashed.

Whatever Helroth had done to Aelia, he hadn’t been able to shatter the bond between us, and he never would. And with the steady stream of power rushing through our connection, I had no doubt in my mind I could bring the king to his knees.

“Don’t even think about it.” A familiar shadow curved around my ear, whispering my brother’s warning.

I shot him a glare over Aelia’s head in response.

“I know you believe you can subdue him, but let’s not risk it now. Not when we are so close to getting Aelia home.”

Rage crackled through my core. Of course, my brother was happy. He’d gotten everything he wanted.

Tamping down on the fury, I reminded myself this wasn’t simply about me or what Helroth had stolen. I was responsible for the lives of four of my students along with that of my best friend. If I attacked the king now, one of them could pay the price for my reckless decision.

And once I’d gotten Aelia back, the real Aelia, she would never forgive me if her rescue had cost the life of one her friends.

“Now, how do we get home?” Aelia’s question drew me from my dark musings.

“You stay where you are, and I will be the one to move.” The Night King signaled to his soldiers, and all but Kaelith turned toward the shadow of the keep. Inching toward Aelia, Helroth offered a tight smile. “You may return when you wish. I hope that one day, you will consider Helspire Keep as much your home as you do that tiny cottage in Feywood.” He hinged at the waist, so his eyes were level to hers. “Just remember everything I did was to bolster your strength so that you could wield your powers, to harden your resolve, and to prepare you for what’s to come. Do not forget, you are Princess Aelia of Inferna, heir to the throne of the Court of Infernal Night.”

My stomach twisted at the title before focusing on his preceding words. Noxus, what had she been forced to endure? The king almost seemed penitent.

She dropped her chin before moving to stand between Rue and Ruhl, and that surge of jealousy once again blossomed deep in my core. I needed to get out of here before I lashed out at my brother and risked everything.

“Well, if that is all,” I hissed, “by all means, open your pocket realm and drop us out as you go.”

“That isn’t quite how it works, Shadow bastard.”

I bristled as the king’s crimson eyes blazed with amusement like coals on the hearth. “Better to be a bastard than dead.”

“Don’t you worry, Reign of Umbra, I have no intention of remaining a ghost for long.” A cloud of thick gray smoke curled around his legs, and the pungent odor of zar bloomed so potent it invaded each and every pore.

The air around the monstrous keep blurred, then distorted, sending a wave of nausea rolling through my gut. Night blotted out the emerging crescent moon, it’s pale light eclipsed by the all-consuming zar . I blinked quickly, ridding my vision of the warped image, and the fortress disintegrated, like tiny specks of onyx snow, right before our eyes.