Page 49

Chapter Forty-Nine

R eign

Streaks of moonlight drifted through the curtains of the open window, illuminating the chamber in a pale blue glow. Morning already. After years spent in Light lands, not waking to the radiant sunlight was still odd. I drew in a tentative breath, afraid to jostle Aelia’s head which still rested on my bare chest. Her eyelids were closed, dark lashes fanned across porcelain skin. My heart stuttered at the mere sight of her. Three days of waking with Aelia in my arms, and I was certain I could never go back to sleeping alone again.

She claimed my presence was the only thing that kept the nightmares at bay, and I was more than happy to oblige her—especially since Gideon still hadn’t been able to confirm if those particular battles had occurred and Ruhl had yet to speak to our Father as he’d cancelled their meeting without explanation.

So, I would continue spending every evening with her in my arms in whatever capacity she willed. Even if restraining the ravenous urges of the cuorem bond would be the death of me. As it was, I’d been waging a constant war with myself, with the unquenchable desire to claim her as mine. Despite vowing to take my time and go slowly with her, I wasn’t certain how much longer I could hold out.

And it wasn’t only me.

I could feel the desire pulsing through our strengthening bond, though she still hadn’t confessed those three words I never thought I’d be so desperate to hear again. Realms, when had I become this lovesick puddle of a male? Aelia consumed my every waking thought, had become my reason to live, to breathe, to fight. Returning her lost memories and protecting her from Helroth were my driving force. I hadn’t given more than a moment’s thought about the threat of the prophecy to the realm, or to the looming war other than how it would affect her, us.

Thank the gods I was never destined to be King of the Shadow Court. Ruhl was much more suited for the role. I would’ve made a terrible ruler when thoughts of my cuoré came before the welfare of the kingdom.

Aelia stirred beside me, a soft sigh pursing her lips. Waves of dark hair cascaded across her bare shoulder, a strand of golden blonde strewn across her forehead. Gently, I swept it aside, pinning it behind her ear. I still couldn’t help but marvel at the pointed tip. It was so strange to see her as fully Fae. Not only Fae, but Light, Shadow and Night Fae at that. She was the first of her kind, that was for certain.

In the quiet of night, she’d recounted all the details of the memories she’d snatched from Aidan and the extra details Solanthus had provided. I, too, shared Phantom’s story and all the facts matched up perfectly.

I still couldn’t believe the skyriders her parents had bonded had been gifted to us by the gods. Did it have something to do with the cuorem bond? It seemed quite a coincidence that the gods had bestowed the same dragon duo to another pair of cuoré so soon after the first.

Aelia’s lids slowly opened, her arm stretching out and fingers easily finding their way to my chest. Her palm flattened against my heart, and the eager thing nearly punched its way straight through my ribcage at the touch. She lifted a sleepy gaze up to meet mine. “Good morning, professor.”

A grin twitched at my lips. “You haven’t called me that in a while.”

Her finger drew lazy circles across the banished mark, her lips puckering with each pass.

“Did you remember more?”

Aelia nodded. “I remember you telling me about this mark, about how Tenebris ruthlessly engraved it into your chest as part of the ruse that enabled your mission to destroy the child of twilight.”

A whisper of unease settled low in my gut, dispelling the quiet calm of the morning. I’d feared that knowing Tenebris had wielded Mordrin as the weapon to cause her father’s death would drive another wedge between us, but she’d surprised me by taking it all in stride. I supposed after everything she’d learned in the past few weeks, there wasn’t much more that would shock her.

“I remember bits and pieces of our time at the Conservatory, and our trip to Mysthallia...” She rolled on top of me, eyes darkening, and the sudden quickening of her pulse vibrated through my bare skin.

Her lips hovered only a hairsbreadth from my own, and every muscle in my body tensed in anticipation. We had yet to do anything more than kiss. I feared I wouldn’t be able to control myself if we went any further. She swept her mouth against mine, closing the space between us, unaware of the battle waging inside.

Kissing in bed was dangerous. Especially with both of us only partially clothed. As she deepened the kiss, the linen restraints of my undershorts grew terribly uncomfortable. My hands closed around her hips in a feeble attempt to keep her body from stoking the ever-building flames.

“Princess…” I growled. “My gentleFae restraint has nearly reached its bounds, and if you continue to wriggle against me like that, I will lose my mind.”

A pleased giggle escaped her lips as she regarded me with a devious smile. “What if I want you to stop fighting it?”

A deep, throaty growl vibrated the air between us. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me, Aelia.”

She sat up straighter, straddling me and increasing the devastating pressure building below my navel.

“Oh, for Fae’s sake, Aelia,” I groaned as she rubbed against me.

Her eyes pierced mine, the silvery-blue smoldering. “What if I said I know exactly what I’m asking.”

“I don’t know that you do… Do you remember how the cuorem bond works?”

She nodded slowly, a flicker of heat brushing her cheeks and setting them aflame.

Wait a moment, was she implying what I think? Was she asking me to…?

Her lips claimed mine before I mustered the nerve to ask the question I wasn’t certain I wanted the answer to. Because if I asked her if she was ready to complete the bond and she said no, I wasn’t certain I could handle the rejection again. And if she said yes, I knew I wouldn’t be selfless enough to keep from claiming what was mine. Despite knowing full well that sealing the bond right now would be taking advantage of her mentally volatile state.

As her kisses became more ravenous, her hand slipped between us, cupping my arousal. Scorching fire kindled through my veins, narrowing my scope of vision to the onslaught of sensations coursing between us. The cuorem bond hammered across my ears like a relentless drum. All thoughts of selflessness vanished.

Fuck it.

I never claimed to be a good male. In fact, I was fairly certain I warned Aelia away from me long ago. My hips lifted to meet her touch, shamelessly grinding against her palm. If this was what she wanted who was I to deny her?

Her lips released mine, skimming the stubble along my jaw before her tongue snuck out, drawing a scorching trail toward my ear. She ran it along the sensitive shell, and her name spilled out on a moan. “Oh, Noxus, Aelia…”

“Do you like that?”

“Yes,” I groaned. We’d never gotten the chance to explore the sensual pointed tip of a Fae’s ear. And I wagered she had no idea of its effects on a male. A few more sweeps of that tongue across my flesh and I’d explode. She licked and nibbled, teasing the pointy tip as her hand continued to rub me. “Slow down, starlight,” I rasped. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

Her eyes were bright, pupils blown out. “I think I do.” She smiled, that rosy hue tingeing her cheeks as she glanced between our bodies, the radiant sight of her setting my heart ablaze. “I want you, Reign.”

“…Want?” The word frosted the heat coating my veins.

Her head bobbed up and down as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

“But you don’t love me?” My hand curled around her wrist, snatching it away from my hard length. I guided her off my lap, gently depositing her on the mattress beside me, despite the sudden irritation spurring me to be anything but gentle.

Her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

I sat up, icy disappointment swirling through every inch of me. How could I have been so stupid? Clearly, Helroth’s hold on her still remained. Was she still in love with Ruhl? Then what did she feel for me? Only lust instigated by the relentless cuorem bond?

“Reign?” Her eyes met mine, confusion, and maybe a little hurt, flickering across her face.

“Do you love me?” I blurted. Curses, who’d taken possession of my tongue?

“I—I…” She wavered for an endless moment, every passing second more excruciating than the last.

“I believe I have my answer.” I leapt off the bed, pure agony tearing at my insides.

“Reign, wait!” Aelia shot up after me, her hand curling around my biceps, halting me midstride. Not just halting me but spinning me toward her in a whirlwind. Noxus, when had she gotten so strong?

The pungent odor of zar filled the chamber, as if it dripped from her pores. Her aura darkened, the typical golden flare eclipsed by something murkier. Thunder clapped across the sky, and the pitter-patter of rain echoed through the open window.

“Please, Reign.” She lifted to her tiptoes, cradling my face in her soft palms. “I’m so sorry. Everything is still a mess in my head, and I feel like I can’t even trust myself anymore.” She pressed a kiss to my lips, and I was so completely powerless to her touch that I let her.

There was nothing I wanted more than to give in, to sink into her familiar feel. But could I do that and live with myself knowing she was still unsure of her feelings for me?

“Then trust in me,” I whispered, the agony consuming me echoing in every word.

“I do.” Her arms encircled my neck, drawing our bodies flush once again. “This has nothing to do with my trust in you, but everything to do with my inability to trust myself. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have pushed. I was only hoping that maybe if we did that , it would help reclaim my lost memories.”

A slow grin spread across my lips, despite the lingering disappointment. The fire that had burned out a moment ago quickly rekindling as she pressed her body to mine. “Oh, princess,” I rasped, my voice rough with desire, “there are so many other things we can do to help trigger those memories.”

Aelia’s fingers laced through mine, and she gently tugged me back toward the bed. Before the backs of her legs hit the mattress, a deafening roar split the night sky. From the corner of my eye, through the open window, I could just make out a slate dragon soaring over the white capped sea before a flash of gold streaked by.

Curses, Mordrin!