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Chapter Forty-One

R eign

“Aelia!” I shouted after the fleeing Rue, half certain I’d lost my own damned mind. But this time I was sure of it, that female was my cuoré. I would recognize Aelia’s soul in any form, and I was convinced now that she had possessed not only the housemaid’s body the other night, but also her best friend’s.

Rue spun around, a dazed look in her eye. “What in all the realms just happened?” Her shoulders trembled, legs quivering as she leaned against the wall. “I completely blacked out.”

“I’m not sure, but I have to find out. There’s something wrong with Aelia.” My words were rushed, anxious to reach my fleeing cuoré. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, just a little woozy. I’ll be fine.” She must have noticed the desperation in my eyes. “Just go to her.”

With a quick nod, I raced down the hallway, my mind spinning with the consequences of Aelia’s new ability, but none of that mattered in this moment. Right now, I simply had to find her.

Gods, Aelia had kissed me. And from the scent of her, she had wanted to do much more.

Finally, after all this time, her feelings were returning. My heart rattled against my ribs, desperate to break free, to reach Aelia. I tried to stifle the intense happiness and focus on finding her, but still a cheek-splitting smile stole across my lips.

Whirling shadows shot from my fingertips, curling around my shoulders, propelling me across the hallway. Dozens of silky tendrils escaped, like cuoré-seeking missiles. I dashed through the winding corridors, the bond directing my feverish footfalls to the curving stairwell that led to the cliffside.

Curses, where was she going?

I quickened my footsteps, the stone walls enclosing the staircase too tight for my wings to fully expand. When I finally reached the bottom, I barreled through the wooden door and sprinted outside.

Full dark consumed the cliffside, even the sliver of moon above was blanketed by endless night. Not the natural one created by Noxus that covered Shadow lands, but by zar . The cloying, pungent scent clung to my nostrils as I searched the promontory, fear tightening every breath.

“Aelia!” My head whipped back and forth, scanning the murky land. “Aelia, where are you?”

Squeezing my eyes closed, I drew in a haggard breath, and instead of relying on my failing sight to find her, I allowed the bond, that invisible tether that never faltered, to lead. Despite the cloying obsidian, my footfalls were sure, following the shimmering filaments that coiled around my heart and soul—something I would never question.

Only a few yards ahead, a glimmer of brilliant light surged through the darkness. Aelia. I released the breath I’d been holding, and the suffocating fear finally relented.

Aelia stood on the ledge, the furious winds off the tempestuous sea tearing through her hair, whipping strands of darkness and light across the side of her face. “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she shouted, her voice raw against the howling gale. Her chest heaved, the sob clawing up her throat nearly choking her. “I can’t tell what’s real anymore—what’s mine and what’s just another lie he’s carved into my mind.”

Tears streaked her cheeks, carried away by the storm, but the agony in the bond was inescapable, a blade twisting deeper. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. “And I miss him, Reign,” she admitted, the words tasting like ash as they hit me. “I miss the gods-damned Night King because he’s in my head, and I don’t know how to tear him out. He’s poisoned my memories, my thoughts—my soul. And now I’m lost. I’m so lost.”

I edged closer, careful, terrified that one wrong move would send her over the ledge. My wings were half-spread, ready to launch, to catch her if she did the unthinkable. A shadow slipped from my fingers, a wisp of living darkness, curling through the air. It slithered over her shoulders, coiling protectively around her throat, a tether, an anchor.

“You’re not lost, princess,” I murmured, my voice barely carried by the wind. “You never could be—because I would always find you.”

She whirled to face me, wild hair lashing across her tear-stained cheeks, and another sob rent the air. “Reign…”

My name on her lips, in that broken timbre, unleashed my last tether of restraint. My wings propelled me forward, and I yanked her into my arms. We crashed together, the force of my hold nearly knocking the breath from both of us. Her fists curled into my tunic, clutching me as if I were the only thing keeping her from unraveling.

“I don’t know what’s real anymore. I just don’t know…” she choked against my chest, her voice ragged, frayed at the edges.

I buried my face in her hair, inhaling the familiar sun and starlit scent of her, branding it into my soul. “This is real, starlight,” I whispered fiercely. “Us. This.”

Her body trembled against mine, and I tightened my grip, pressing my lips to her temple, to the crown of her head. “You don’t have to fight alone anymore, Aelia. I am your cuoré, the other half of your soul, and I love you. If you have too much to bear, I will carry the burden for you—the power, the fear, all of it. I am yours to do with as you please.”

Her breath hitched, and for a fleeting second, she melted into me. But then, just as quickly, she stiffened in my arms.

“I’m so confused,” she whispered, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it over the roaring wind. “My heart and my head want two different things.”

My jaw clenched. Helroth. That bastard still had his claws in her, even now. But I wouldn’t let him win.

I tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze. “Then let me help you remember who you were before the Night King stole you from me.”

Her eyes seared to mine for only a moment, then her head dipped ever so slightly, and it was all the encouragement I needed. I captured her lips in a kiss that was more than just desperate—it was a battle, a plea, a vow. For months I’d waited for this moment, to claim her as mine once again. She gasped against my mouth, her fingers fisting in my tunic, pulling me closer when there was no space left to close.

The taste of her, of light and fire, burned through me, unraveling every tether of restraint I had left. My tongue danced with hers, picking up a familiar rhythm as if no time had passed at all. As if that bastard Helroth hadn’t stolen her for months. My shadows curled around her, wrapping her in the darkness that had always longed for her warmth. And for a moment, she let them.

Then, just as suddenly, she tore away, breath ragged, eyes wild with something I couldn’t decipher.

“This—this isn’t fair to you,” she whispered, pressing trembling fingers to her lips, as if trying to hold onto the kiss, or erase it.

I reached for her, my jaw tight with restraint. “What isn’t fair, princess? That you still feel it? That I can still make you lose yourself in me?”

Her silver-blue eyes flashed, a storm brewing within them. “That I can’t remember us,” she choked. “That everything before is muddled with all the lies he planted in my mind. That he’s ruined us.”

Pain lanced through me, sharper than any blade. But I didn’t let her go. I would never let her go again.

“I’ll help you remember,” I rasped. “He will never ruin us. Let me show you what’s real.”

Closing my eyes, I thought about all the moments between us, from the first day we met in Feywood to the last when Helroth stole her from me. The whirlwind of memories, both beautiful and heartbreaking, swirled through my mind’s eye. Summoning my shadows, I crafted each and every one with a memory, then released them. The curling tendrils surged from my fingertips and swept into Aelia’s mind.

Her eyes widened for an instant, a mask of shock twisting her features as my shadows infiltrated her thoughts. A part of me was hesitant to submit her to more forced memories, but the other part was desperate to have her back, whole.

The full range of expressions flashed across her face as our time together played on a reel, the happiest moments along with the agonizing ones. If we were to reclaim what we’d lost, I couldn’t hold back on any part of our story. Her eyelids slid closed as if she were fully taking it all in. I only hoped it would be enough. With Helroth’s zar warping her mind for so long, I wasn’t certain my nox would be strong enough to overpower him.

But I had to believe that our love, our bond would be stronger than whatever lies he’d planted. I waited, the tempest still whipping around us, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, her eyes slowly opened, lifting to meet mine. Her lips curved, a vein across her forehead pulsing as if her mind was still struggling to put everything together. I stood on the precipice, every agonizing second of the last two months contingent upon this moment.

“Aelia?” I whispered. “Do you remember us?”

She remained quiet, lips pressed into a tight line and that rising hope dwindled.

“Do you remember any of it?” I pressed.

“A little,” she finally mustered, the hint of a smile flashing.

And by the gods, it was something.

“It feels as if it were a dream, fleeting and hard to grasp.”

“That’s okay. We can work with that.” I reached for her, my fingertips tentative across her palm. Her fingers interlaced with mine, squeezing, and my heart nearly somersaulted across my ribcage.

With a gentle tug, I pulled her close, and I could do nothing but smile like a fool when she melted into the embrace. “Let’s get you back to bed, starlight.”

Her cheeks flushed, a tempting crimson hue brightening her countenance.

“You know what I mean…” I cleared my throat, releasing her only to arm’s length, unwilling to lose a single chance to touch her. Then I turned us back toward the manor on the hillside, tangling my fingers through hers.

A soft laugh rumbled in her throat, and I drew her closer as we began to walk back.

“Starlight?” she asked. “It was mostly princess in the memories you just shared.”

“That’s because I didn’t use the name often.” A memory flickered to the surface, a heated one I’d just called forth to share with Aelia. “The first time I said it to you was when I knew you were mine.”

“When?”

“When we went to consult Melisara in Mysthallia, and I tasted you for the very first time.”

Heat blossomed across her cheeks once more, and gods, she looked beautiful beneath the moonlight.

“Do you remember that one, princess?” I cocked a dark brow, and the heated memories flooded my mind, tightening my breeches.

“Maybe…” She grinned up at me.

“I have very few memories of my mother, Aelia, but sometimes, I could swear that she sang me a lullaby, and the only word I clearly remember from the tune is starlight.” I hummed pieces of the ghostly melody, and her lips curved as she regarded me.

“It sounds oddly familiar,” she whispered.

“Perhaps I somehow imparted it to you when I shared my memories.”

Her brows puckered, but she didn’t seem convinced.

“Let’s work on one set of memories at a time, princess.” My mouth slipped into an easy smile, the vacant chasm in my chest finally filling with hope, as I pressed another kiss to her forehead and led her back inside the safety of the manor’s walls.