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Chapter Three

R eign

Another week came and went, and the madness Gideon had warned me about began to set in. The jagged whispers followed me everywhere.

Find her.

You are not worthy of your cuoré.

You have failed her.

The cuorem bond was a nasty, sentient thing, spilling poison through my veins. With every passing day, my control grew weaker and the looming darkness more volatile. Even with the gods’ forsaken bangles stealing my strength, my shadows surged with untamable power. And the voices, they never stopped.

The untethered bond pulsed in my vacant chest, angry and bitter, a constant reminder of what I’d lost, of what I was a careless fool not to claim when I had the chance. Drawing in a calming breath, I willed my addled mind to focus. These days, endless, intense training sessions were the only balm to the chaos within. It was only when I found myself entirely spent that the dark whispers ebbed. My fingers clenched tightly around the hilt of the broadsword as I arced the gleaming blade over my head. The infernal sun razed across my bare shoulders, heating my flushed skin.

Somehow bearing the presence of the incessant sunlight had also grown ever more difficult since Aelia’s absence. I craved the darkness, the cool night. Everything was much too bright, too stark without her. There was nothing I wanted more than to sink into Noxus’s icy embrace.

“Can I offer myself as a sparring partner?” A familiar female voice jerked me from the dreary thoughts.

I spun around to find Liora wielding a sword of pure light. She swept an errant strand of pale blonde hair behind her ear, a guarded look in her eye. A twinge of guilt stabbed at my insides at the sight of my other acquisition. With my mind fraught with fear for Aelia, not to mention my nightly flights across the continent searching for her, I’d had little time for my newest mentee.

Nodding reluctantly, I assumed a fighting stance. With how unpredictably my shadows had been behaving as of late, I dared not take her on with anything but a simple broadsword. I urged her forward, attempting to soften the scowl that had taken permanent residence across my face. “Well, come on then.”

The clang of steel on light reverberated throughout the quiet field, a sound so sharp it sliced through the frenzied chatter of my own thoughts. My broadsword met the radiant glow of Liora’s blade—the ethereal light summoned from her palms. It was blinding in its brilliance, its glow casting long, shifting shadows against the lawn. Despite the distraction, I didn’t falter. I never did.

“You’ve gotten slower, Reign,” Liora taunted, a mischievous grin curving her lips as she danced back, her light blade held steady.

I smirked, rolling my shoulders as I adjusted my grip on my broadsword. She wasn’t wrong. My head wasn’t quite in it—wasn’t in anything, as of late. “Or maybe I’m simply taking it easy on you.”

Her eyes narrowed at the jab, as I anticipated they would, her glowing sword shifting in her hands like liquid sunlight. She lunged with startling speed, her blade arcing in a deadly curve toward my left side. I pivoted, bringing my sword up in a sharp parry, the force of her strike sending vibrations up my arm. Sparks of light exploded between our blades, showering the space between us in golden embers.

“I see you’ve been practicing.” I stepped back just as she spun, aiming a slice at my torso. I barely dodged, the sharp hum of her light blade slicing the air where I had stood moments before.

“And you’ve been slacking,” she teased, her voice dripping with smug confidence.

I didn’t bother with a retort. Instead, I surged forward, feinting a downward strike, only to shift my blade mid-motion, aiming for her exposed side. She caught it just in time, her blade meeting mine in another dazzling clash that sent tremors through the earth.

Her light blade flickered, almost alive, while my broadsword pressed against it with unyielding strength. The golden glow of her weapon reflected in her bright, determined eyes, and for a moment, I almost forgot we were sparring. Almost.

“Your light tricks won’t save you against a Shadow Fae’s abilities.” I leaned in, my voice low, reminding myself I was her instructor, not her foe. And in my current state, I needed the reminder. And by the gods, when had she become so proficient in light constructs?

Her laugh was bright, confident. “Then use them against me.”

Shaking my head, I muttered a curse, refusing to rise to the bait in spite of the onslaught of uncontrollable nox rushing my veins.

“Your brute strength alone won’t win you this fight,” she continued.

But it would have to.

She disengaged with a flourish, her blade twirling as she leapt back. I followed her movement, closing the distance in an instant. This time, I swung with everything I had, my broadsword cutting through the air in a deadly arc. She raised her light blade, catching my strike, but the force of the blow drove her back a step.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Her breaths had quickened, but her smile remained as confident as ever. Her grip on the hilt of her glowing sword tightened. Gods, she was good…

I didn’t respond. Words were wasted energy. Instead, I pressed the attack, forcing her to block strike after strike. For a few blessed moments, all else fell away, nothing but my sword and this battle mattered. My broadsword was heavier, slower, but each swing carried the weight of my strength, and she struggled to keep pace. Yet, Liora was clever—too clever.

She ducked beneath one of my swings, her blade slicing upward in a precise counterattack. I twisted at the last moment, her sword narrowly missing my ribs. The heat of it was startling, even through the layers of my tunic. It was like standing too close to a sunbeam, warm and dangerous all at once. Had I been so blind all this time to her talents?

“That was close,” I grumbled, letting the edge of a grin slip onto my face.

“Next time, it won’t be.” A dangerous lilt framed her tone. She darted forward before I had a chance to contemplate her words, her strikes coming faster now, the light of her blade a blur as it slashed and thrust with practiced precision. I deflected each attack, but her relentless speed began to wear on me.

Realms, clearly, I was out of practice.

She saw the momentary hesitation, the fraction of a second where my guard faltered, and she took it. Her sword sliced toward my shoulder, a blow I barely managed to twist away from. I growled under my breath, my annoyance bubbling to the surface.

“Getting tired?” she asked, her grin practically glowing.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I shifted my stance, channeling my frustration into a brutal, calculated strike. My broadsword crashed into her blade with enough force to drive her back. She stumbled, just slightly, but it was enough. I moved, faster than I thought possible, given my recent state-of-mind, and swept my leg out in a low kick. She hit the ground with a startled gasp, her light blade flickering as it dissipated.

Before she could recover, I was on her, the edge of my broadsword resting lightly against her throat. My shadows loomed over her, dark and imposing, a stark contrast to her glowing form.

“Yield,” I said, my voice low and firm.

Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breaths, her lavender eyes narrowing as she stared up at me. For a moment, I thought she’d argue—fight back, even. But then her lips curved into a begrudging smile.

“Fine,” she hissed, her voice soft but filled with defiance. “I yield.”

I stepped back, lowering my sword and offering her a hand. She took it, her grip surprisingly firm as I helped her to her feet. “You’ve greatly improved in the past few months.”

She dusted herself off, her glowing weapon reforming in her hand like a second thought. “And you would have noticed had you not been so concerned with your other acquisition.”

The pain in my face must have been apparent because her lips twisted before her gaze cast down to the verdant grass between us. “I apologize, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” I gritted out. “But you’re not wrong. I should have noticed. It’s my job to notice.”

As she turned away, the faintest glimmer of amusement danced in her eyes, and it occurred to me I truly knew nothing about my newest acquisition. She’d become a formidable opponent in the past few months while only thoughts of Aelia and the prophecy had consumed my every waking hour.

“Same time tomorrow, professor?” she called out over her shoulder as she marched toward the Hall of Glory.

“Yes,” I shouted in return. At the very least, the sparring served as a pleasant distraction. With the adrenaline slowly leaking from my veins, a dull ache began at my shoulder. Casting a glance at my ripped tunic, I found the source of the pain. An angry red mark singed my skin where her blade had struck. I’d been so distracted I hadn’t even noticed it.

The soft rustle of light footfalls across the lawn alerted me of her presence before she uttered a word. “Now you’re letting Liora get the best of you?”

I whirled around to find Rue walking her Pegasus toward me. Nothing but guilt assaulted my insides at the sight of Aelia’s roommate. In fact, I’d made it my mission to avoid her as much as possible recently. It was a coward’s move, but I simply couldn’t face the disappointment in her eyes every time we met. To deal with my own failings was bad enough, but to see it mirrored in her best friend’s eyes was pure torture.

“I’ve had other things on my mind,” I grumbled.

“Clearly.” Her gaze flickered over my shoulder toward the Hall of Glory in which Liora had disappeared. “You still don’t find it odd that your other acquisition somehow made it back to the Conservatory alone and unscathed the day we lost Aelia?”

For over a month now, Rue had been insistent that there was something off about Liora. “No odder than the fact that you, Devin, and Symon managed to return unharmed.”

“We were together.” She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, seething. “Liora vanished the moment after Heaton appeared and all hell broke loose.” A shudder forced a tremor through her shoulders, and I knew the monsters who’d taken up permanent residence in my nightmares visited hers as well. Liora wasn’t the only student I’d abandoned as of late. Rue and the others had also been through hell that day; to discover the Night Court Fae were still alive, and then to be forced to continue on as if nothing had happened, must have been difficult for the female. Especially considering the person she was closest to in this world, other than her brother, was missing.

“Lower your voice,” I hissed. No one except Aelia’s best friends, Ruhl, and I knew what really happened that day. I’d forced everyone into a blood vow, despite my inclination to rip the truth from their minds. And I’d only done it for Aelia. I knew very well she would want Rue and Symon to know the truth. Returning my thoughts to the present, I heaved out a breath. “I don’t know what to tell you, Rue. I’ve gone through Liora’s files and researched her family. Everything seems to be as it should. There is no reason for us to believe there is anything more to it.”

“What about your gut, Reign?” Releasing her skyrider’s reins, she marched closer. “Don’t be so desperate to save the one acquisition you have left, that you’re blinded by the obvious.”

“There is nothing obvious!” I growled.

“She almost handed you your ass on the training field a second ago, professor,” she ground out, eyes narrowed. “When was the last time one of your students did that?” With a mumbled curse, she leapt onto her mount and Winddancer took to the skies.

I traced her graceful movements for a long minute, considering her words. What if Rue was right? Perhaps I had been too consumed with the overwhelming guilt, fear and pain to see the truth right in front of me.