Page 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

A elia

“I am not sleeping in a room adjoining yours.” I glared at the infuriating male blocking the doorway, his shadows like wild tendrils of night emanating from his muscled form. I wasn’t ogling those muscles; they were simply impossible to ignore.

“Oh, but you are, princess.” Reign held his ground, those damned whispers of darkness surging closer, prickling my skin. “If you are to remain in the same house as Kaelith, then I will remain within shouting distance. It’s either this or in your bed… your choice.” He threw me a wicked grin, the gleam in his eyes filled with a tempting promise.

Raysa… what was it about this male?

And where was Ruhl? How could he just abandon me here with his brother?

I widened my stance and squared my shoulders, glaring up at Reign. “You forget that I spent nearly two months under the same roof as Kaelith.”

“In a dungeon from what I hear.” His lips twisted, and a flash of pain carved into his jaw. On my behalf? “For an entire gods’ damned month.”

How did he hear that? I hadn’t even told Ruhl. Only Sol…

“Sol confided in Phantom, and she told you?” I blurted, my dragon’s betrayal cutting deeply.

“It seems they’ve become even closer than either one of us suspected.” His midnight irises locked on mine, a wave of anger blazing across the darkness. “An entire month, Aelia… and you defend him?”

“Kae had no say in the matter. Do you really think he wants to be here right now? The Night King’s word is law, much like it is here in the Shadow Court or at the Light Court.”

“So, you trust him?”

“I didn’t say that.” Gods, I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Not even my own memories. “Which is why I wouldn’t agree to an adjoining room to his either.”

“Noxus, how did we get here?” He dragged his hand through his disheveled dark locks. “Your faith in me is on par with that of a damned Demon Fae.”

“If you wish to have my trust, then you must earn it,” I spat.

A wry chuckle parted his lips, and he tipped his head back, exposing the long column of his neck. Hadn’t I held a dagger to it once? Or had I imagined that too? “This is not the first time I’ve had to earn back your trust, Aelia, but I certainly hope it will be the last.” Something unreadable flashed across the dark glimmer of his irises. Was he remembering something of our past?

“What did you do to betray me then?” I crossed my arms over my light tunic, suddenly feeling exposed by my own question.

“Aelia, I don’t?—”

I fingered the hilt of the familiar dagger at my hip, its twin at my side. “If you wish to remain in the bedroom adjacent to mine, answer the question.”

Reign heaved out a breath, his broad chest expanding and straining against the taut fabric of his training leathers. “I wasn’t truthful about who I was.”

“And you expect me to believe you now?”

“Gods, Aelia, everything was different then.” His voice was rough, raw with something that sent a tremor through my chest. “I’d spent my entire life being forged into a weapon, a blade sharpened to cut you, the child of the prophecy, down.” He exhaled, his hand clenching at his side. A streak of silver fire flickered across the obsidian of his irises—there and gone in an instant. Had I imagined it?

“But then I met you,” he continued, his voice breaking. “I fought beside you. I watched you burn with a light so fierce it should have frightened me. And gods, I tried to fight it, I tried to deny what I knew in my soul from the first moment our eyes met.” He sucked in a breath, like he was steeling himself for a death blow. “You were—no, you are my cuoré.”

The words shattered something inside me.

“I fell in love with you, Aelia. Irrevocably. And from that moment, nothing else mattered. Not my duty, not my honor, not the blood vow my father shackled me to when I was just a boy. My only purpose in this life is you —to protect you, to love you, and to spend whatever time the gods see fit to give me ensuring your happiness.”

He reached for me, his hand trembling against my cheek, as if he feared I would disappear, or worse—that I would push him away. And gods, every muscle in my body urged me to do just that.

To run away from this male who was forged as a weapon to destroy me.

But somehow, my feet remained rooted to the spot, trapped by the intensity in that stormy gaze, a hint of something trying to break through in my heart, the cuorem bond throbbing with an intensity I simply could not comprehend.

The slap of approaching footfalls sent me reeling back. Reign’s hand dropped from my cheek, disappointment crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“There you two are.” Ruhl appeared in the opposite doorway, the one that led out into the hallway. “Mera let me in; very sweet female.” His gaze sharpened as it bounced between his brother and me. “Everything all right in here?”

“Yes, fine,” Reign grumbled. “I was simply trying to explain to Aelia the necessity of our sleeping arrangement.”

Ruhl’s dark brow rose in a curious arc. “And what arrangement might that be?”

“Simple, adjoining rooms.” He shrugged as if this request were completely normal. “And of course, I insist the door remain open overnight.”

“Of course.” A smirk kicked up the corners of Ruhl’s lips. How could my cuoré be so calm about such a demand?

“I’m not insisting on sleeping in the same room as her.” He said it as if he were doing me a favor!

“No, only Rue is entitled to that,” I hissed. Gods, I missed her, and Symon. Why couldn’t they have come along to this miserable place? I consoled myself with the notion that at least Ruhl was here, and I wasn’t forced to be alone with his mercurial brother.

“But if Ruhl remains then there’s no need for the extra precaution,” I interjected.

Reign’s glare turned savage as it lanced across the room at his brother.

“As much as I would love to remain here for the night, I am afraid I’m needed at Arcanum. With the Umbral Trials in full swing, Malakar is insistent upon our attendance at each event.”

Another memory sparked: real or not real? Ruhl and I searching for runes in the forest, using our combined rais and nox to lead the way. “The trials?” I asked.

“Yes, a new term means a new set of trials. You do remember the Umbral Trials, don’t you, duskling?”

I did, or at least I thought I did. And to think my friends were battling against Arcanum again, this time without me.

“Stop calling her that,” Reign growled.

“Oh, don’t be so possessive, brother. You’re not the only one who can come up with clever little nicknames. Who knew yours would prove so accurate?”

“Oh, shut up, Ruhl,” he snarled.

“Both of you, stop acting so childish,” I blurted. For some reason, I remembered this. This constant back and forth that irritated me to no end. It was all so familiar and yet foreign all the same.

Ruhl inched closer, swinging an arm across my shoulders. I leaned into his body, waiting for the influx of sensations like I’d experienced with Reign’s touch. Only it never came. Disappointment leeching through my chest, I swiveled my head to face my cuoré. Ruhl . Maybe I simply needed to be alone with him. We’d barely had a second to ourselves since my rescue.

Pivoting to face his brother, I forced the oddly difficult words out. “Reign, give us a minute in private.”

His eyes widened, a mixture of raw fury and shock flashing across his face. The came the hurt. “I don’t?—”

“Don’t worry, brother, I’ll be on my best behavior.” Ruhl shot him a wink.

Reign ate up the distance between them, jabbing a thick finger into his half-brother’s chest. “I urge you to keep your word,” he snarled. “Taking advantage of Aelia in this situation with her memories jumbled would make you no better than Helroth who kept her captive for months.”

“I will be nothing but a gentleFae.”

“See to it, brother. Or I will see to the removal of every single finger that comes in contact with my cuoré.”

“Reign!” I hissed. “For Fae’s sakes, I’m standing right here.”

“And I’m sorry, princess, but you are in no state of mind to make rational decisions.”

I rose to my tiptoes pinning my steely glare to his. “You cannot tell me who to love or touch or be with.”

Piercing eyes fastened to mine, he growled, “You’re right, I can’t, but I sure as Noxus can tell my little brother.” With a feral grin, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the bedchamber, a storm of shadows hissing and whirling trailing behind.

“He’s insufferable,” I blurted the moment his shadows slammed the door closed.

“He’s hurt.” Ruhl’s eyes chased to mine, a softness there I didn’t often see—or, at least, I didn’t believe so. Gods, everything was so muddled in my mind. “Come.” He motioned toward a sitting area by the hearth, his hand nearly brushing the small of my back before he tucked it into his pocket.

I barely restrained an eye roll. Was he really going to obey his brother’s no touching decree? I settled into the antique settee carved of the darkwoods that surrounded the shores of the small isle. Through the window, the dark sea churned, winds whipping across the cliffside. It was beautiful and wild, and for the first time since my return, I felt free.

“Now, was there something you wanted to speak to me about, or did you simply want to be rid of my brother?” The hint of a smile lit up Ruhl’s obsidian irises as he regarded me from a chair across the way. The fact that he couldn’t even sit next to me on the rather large settee was ridiculous.

“Maybe a little of both.” Drawing in a breath to force down the irritation, I focused on the Shadow Prince before closing my eyes and willing memories of the past to the surface. Every image that raced through my mind featured him. Late night walks along the Luminoc, flights across the realm on dragonback, stolen heated moments in the shadowed niches of the Conservatory… was any of it real?

He leaned forward, propping his elbows onto his knees, eyes chasing to mine. “You have no idea how difficult this is for me, duskling. I am not a good Fae, never have been. In fact, I’m fairly certain my father wanted it that way. I am to be king after all, and goodness is not a quality necessary of a great ruler.” He paused, gaze flickering to his knotted fingers before returning to meet mine.

“I could easily lie and let you believe you are my cuoré, because, gods, there were moments last term that I wanted nothing more than for that to be true. I could say that there is nothing between us, but that isn’t entirely accurate either. Is it merely a result of the confused cuorem or is it something else? I cannot say and, unfortunately, we’ll never know. But what I do know is that I’ve watched my brother suffer in agony for the past two months trying to find you. I barely recognize the male I grew up with. You changed him, and you’ve changed me. So for that reason, I must be truthful and I must do right by you. You and Reign were meant to be. I am nothing more than a handsome wedge created by Helroth to drive you two apart.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, the ache in my chest blossoming. It couldn’t all be a lie. I felt something for Ruhl, I was certain of it. I slid to the edge of the settee, heart pounding. “You’re wrong, there is a way for us to know.” Leaning forward, I curled my hand around the back of his neck and brought his mouth to mine.

“Don’t…” he murmured against my lips.

“You’re not touching me. I’m touching you.” My lips swept across his, gentle and tentative as I waited for the fire to erupt between us. He kept his tongue behind his clenched teeth, despite my best efforts to coax it free.

Angling his neck to deepen the kiss, I tasted and nibbled on his soft lips, but still his hands remained pinned to his sides. A part of me admired his loyalty to his brother, the other part took it as a personal challenge.

“Aelia…” he growled as I tried to force my tongue between his clenched teeth.

“What?” I drew back, irritation puckering my brow. “How am I supposed to figure out how I really feel if you won’t even kiss me properly?”

“Because I know how you feel. I had a front row view of it for months before you were captured by Helroth. You love Reign.” A twinge of sadness darkened his expression and realization hit.

“But you do have real feelings for me?”

A wry grin curled the corners of his mouth. “Who can really tell with the erratic effects of the blasted cuorem?” He sat back in the chair, blowing out a lungful of air. “Did you feel anything?”

I dragged my tongue across my bottom lip to buy myself another minute. I wanted to feel something. I needed all my memories to be real, because the alternative was just too devastating.

“Aelia?” My name on his lips only cemented the truth in my mind. Somehow, it wasn’t in the right timbre.

With my gaze cast down to the floor, I whispered, “No…”