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Chapter Thirty-Four

R eign

The sound of the gentle crashing of waves soothed the turmoil currently ravaging my insides as I led Aelia toward the house situated on the cliffs of Shadowmere. The island was little more than a jagged shard of darkness adrift in the vast, mist-laden waters off the northern coast of the Shadowmere Sea. Gideon’s grandmother’s secluded home was the perfect spot to keep Aelia hidden from the prying eyes of court, and yet, the idea of her in the same residence as Kaelith had unease tearing at my gut.

I had no explanation, no true reason to keep them apart other than this instinctive feeling I couldn’t shake. Aelia stepped in line with me, her anxious gaze fluttering across every detail of her new surroundings. One hand remained on her hip, her fingers inches away from the dagger sheathed at her waist.

Ruhl had been forced to return to Arcanum, to continue the ruse that all was well in Aetheria and that a vengeance-hungry dead king wasn’t biding his time, waiting to strike. Had I been a better, more selfless Fae, I would have taken the opportunity to kill Helroth when I had the chance yesterday and well before his plans were in place, but choosing between the safety of our realm and Aelia’s life, there had been no question. Endangering her wellbeing by engaging the Night King and his soldiers was a risk I simply couldn’t bear. All of Crescentia could burn if it meant Aelia was safe in my arms.

Still, the thirst for Helroth’s blood gnawed at my insides. Fury surged through my veins, summoning a wave of nox to the surface at the mere thought of the Night Fae King. Shadows curled across my skin, icing my temper. Before this was over, I would have my vengeance on the king who stole Aelia, obliterated her memories and attempted to twist her into his own weapon.

Helroth would die at my hands—the only question was when.

A tendril of shadow slid from my fingertips and coiled around the back of Aelia’s neck. She startled, wide eyes meeting mine.

“They’ve always been drawn to you,” I whispered.

“Likely because of my mother, who was half-Shadow Fae.”

In hopes of understanding Aelia’s twisted memories, Solanthus had recounted all that she had told him to Phantom, who had in turn detailed the account to me. Her bloodline was exactly as I’d surmised, except for the absence of Light Fae blood. That part did not quite add up. Her mother being half-Shadow Fae explained the cuorem bond between us, but still there was much we didn’t know. I’d always hoped I wasn’t the only product of royal Fae infidelity, but still her confirmation came as a surprise.

“Maybe,” I finally mumbled. “Or maybe it’s for another reason all together.”

As we approached the stairs leading to the small fortress crafted of slabs of roughhewn gray rock, Aelia’s gaze drifted across the sea. Thick, fog clung to the black sand beaches below, swirling in eerie patterns.

“It’s beautiful…” she murmured. “It reminds me of—” Her words fell away, a deep line furrowing her brows.

Could she be remembering the isle I’d brought her to along the eastern coast of the Shadow lands all those months ago? It had to have been. It was my first thought the moment we set foot on Shadowmere. It had been my lame attempt at some alone time with the female student I was desperately falling for. Instead, Ruhl had appeared on Mordrin, ruining our moment.

Somehow, my half-brother always seemed to get in the way.

I stopped walking and whirled toward her, that dangerous hope blossoming in my chest at the possibility of her recalling something of our time together. “Do you remember? I brought you to a desolate isle very similar to this one last term.” Gods, my hand ached to caress her cheek, my lips burned to kiss her as I had that night along the shore.

Her head slowly shook, a vein pulsing across her forehead. “I—I can’t remember.” She pressed her fingertips to her temples, a scowl forming across her perfect lips.

I barely restrained the growl of frustration. “But you did remember something?”

“It feels familiar, but when I try to grasp the images from the far corners of my mind, they’re too fleeting.”

“Helroth stole your memories, Aelia,” I growled, my voice raw, shaking with the fury I barely kept in check. “He stole you from me .”

She recoiled as if struck, her head whipping back and forth, a tangle of light and dark hair slashing across her face from the breeze churning off the cliff. “No,” she rasped, voice cracking. “You’re wrong. It can’t be…”

Desperation clawed up my throat. I reached for her without thinking, capturing her trembling hand, and pressed it flush against my chest. The wind raged across the shore, a reflection of the tempest brewing in the mere inches of space between us “Gods, Aelia,” I breathed, my voice breaking. “How can you not remember me? Remember us ?”

Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating as if something—some distant flicker of recognition—fought to the surface. My heart pounded against her palm, a frantic, wild rhythm begging her to feel it, to know me the way she once had.

For a single, excruciating moment, she stood frozen. Then, her fingers twitched, just the faintest shift, but instead of curling into me, she yanked her hand back as if burned.

“I… I don’t know,” she choked out. Agony twisted her expression before she spun on her heel, bolting for the house.

I staggered where I stood, breath sawing from my lungs. It took everything in me not to chase after her, not to grab her shoulders and force her to see what had been stolen from us. But how? How did you make someone remember loving you when their heart no longer knew it should be yours?

Inhaling a deep breath, I followed behind her, the weight of disappointment so heavy on my shoulders each step was a struggle. We climbed the dozens of spiraling stairs that led to the ancient stone manor in silence. A moment before we reached the final step, the front door swung open, the old hinges creaking their annoyance.

Gideon filled the doorway, and suddenly, the ache in my chest didn’t feel quite as oppressive. “Well, hello there, grumpy. Welcome to Duskridge Manor, perched on the edge of darkness, where the sea meets the shadows.” He offered a cheeky smile, and I couldn’t help but mirror it.

“Gideon.” I reached for his hand, but he clasped my palm and jerked me into a full embrace. “I appreciate this more than you’ll ever know, old friend.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find a way for you to make it up to me somehow.”

The thunderous flapping of wings drew my gaze overhead, and Aelia quickly followed my line of sight. Phantom and Solanthus soared above, the sleek onyx and shimmering golden dragons weaving and twirling across the night sky in a dance of luminous light and smoldering darkness.

“They certainly seem to be getting along better than I remember.” Aelia followed their forms across the velvety black.

“At least you remember something.”

Aelia speared me with a glare I likely deserved. Logically, I knew none of this was her fault, and still, the fact that Helroth could so easily erase me from her heart hurt like a blade, twisting deep in my ribs. It was a cruel agony, one that burned hotter than any wound I had ever suffered—because this was a loss I couldn’t fight, couldn’t bleed out or heal from.

It was a slow, merciless unraveling, and gods help me, I didn’t know if I could survive it.

* * *

“Are you certain the three of you will be all right here on your own?” Gideon eyed me as we perched atop the stone courtyard watching Kaelith and Aelia trading blows along the cliffside below. “The Kin, Mera, will remain as well to tend to the cooking and cleaning of the manor, but she won’t be here to babysit.” My shadows bristled, ready to strike at each swipe of the Night Fae’s steel against Aelia’s lightsword. As soon as my friend left, I’d take a more active role in her instruction.

I could just as easily train her to use her rais as I had since her arrival at the Conservatory. Kaelith certainly wasn’t needed for that. His only purpose here was to tame that wild zar .

“Reign?” Gideon’s voice forced my gaze back to meet that of my friend’s. “Are you listening to me?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

“No,” I gritted out, “as tempting as it sounds. Aelia needs him to control that damned zar .” Even now I could feel it pulsing through our bond. The closer her proximity, the more power bled through.

“Perhaps you should take a few lessons as well before it overpowers you again.”

My brow arched as I regarded my oldest and possibly only friend. “Ruhl told you about that little incident?”

He nodded. “With power like that, combined with your nox , it wouldn’t hurt to learn to wield it prudently.”

“Oh, I plan on wielding everything I have when the time comes to confront Helroth again.”

Gideon’s chin dipped, and he placed a warm hand on my shoulder. With a squeeze, he regarded me, an unspoken question written across his wary expression.

“Well, just go on and spit it out,” I urged.

“I’m worried about what will happen when Tenebris discovers the truth about Aelia. She’s not wrong to fear you, my friend. You seem to grow more powerful by the day.”

“I would never?—”

His fingers tightened around my shoulder even as his expression softened. “I know, Reign, but you understand as well as I that a blood vow is impossible to fight. And when the day comes, as it will whether we wish it or not, you must have a plan in place.”

“I already have one.” Between finding a way to return Aelia’s altered memories and that damned vow, it was all I could think about.

“Care to share?”

“I’ll simply have to kill my father before he demands fulfillment of the vow.”