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Chapter Fifty-Three

R eign

“Apologies for the delay.” The words spilled out before I could stop them as I joined Ruhl by the hearth in the sitting room. A chill frosted the air of the grand chamber, or perhaps it was merely the absence of Aelia’s body beside mine. Gods, that moment in the bath with Aelia had been everything I’d been waiting for and more. Helroth may have stolen her memories, but he couldn’t prevent new feelings from arising. And I would do everything in my power to remind her of all the reasons she loved me, starting tonight.

The anticipation ignited a flicker of heat below, the fire from earlier that I’d sought so hard to extinguish beginning to burn anew.

Aidan cleared his throat, returning my thoughts to the present. Aelia’s guardian stood on the opposite side of the sprawling chamber by the window overlooking the churning sea beyond.

“Apologize?” Ruhl’s sharp gaze met mine. “That’s highly unusual for you, brother. Is there something you’re feeling guilty about, perhaps?” His dark eyes flickered to the droplets of water dribbling down my tunic from the strands of wet hair.

I cut him a narrowed glare. “Why would I feel guilty about spending time with my cuoré?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because in her current confused state of mind, you’d be taking advantage of her?”

Aidan’s head twisted over his shoulder, wary gaze darting between us.

A twinge of anger bubbled low in my gut, inciting my nox, and tendrils of shadow curled around my form. “I would never take advantage of Aelia,” I hissed.

“You said it yourself, she’s confused about her feelings.”

“She’s not confused!” I barked. “Helroth erased me from her memories and planted you in my place. I just can’t comprehend why. For the sake of a betrothal to the Shadow Prince? To guarantee a place for his Night Court when they rise from the ashes?”

“I don’t know,” Ruhl growled.

“No?” Fury bled through my vision, the corners darkening as a surge of zar rose to the surface as well. “How do I know you’re not working with the Night King? You’ve always wanted Aelia for yourself. This would be the perfect way to get her.”

“Gods, Reign, how could you seriously believe that?” His nostrils flared, irises a turbulent storm of emotion. “I would never…”

Aidan’s footsteps cracked across the stone as he marched toward us. “Now is not the time for this,” he snarled. “Ruhl, tell your brother what you’ve discovered.”

My gaze darted back and forth between the two males before settling on my half-brother. “You told him?”

“I had to. He deserves to know as much as Aelia does. And the two of you disappeared for so long, doing only the gods know what?—”

“Enough,” I snapped. “What did you discover?”

“The battles are real. The timing of each one of Aelia’s nightmares coincided with a real skirmish along the borders.”

“But I don’t understand… Light and Shadow Fae aren’t at war with each other.”

“Maybe not yet. But perhaps it’s been Helroth’s plan all along.”

“To use Aelia to incite a war?”

Ruhl’s head dipped, and Aidan’s expression grew darker by the moment.

“He wants to bring about the prophecy,” I murmured.

“That would be my guess,” Aidan interjected.

“Then we just have to stop her.”

“From sleeping?” Ruhl arched a brow.

“No, from accessing her zar .” My thoughts flew back to the silver bangles I was forced to wear for years. It would be miserable for Aelia, but what other choice did we have? At least for now it would tamp down on that uncontrollable zar . “We fashion a siphoning device, much like the one Draven had made for me. Then once she’s able to control her powers, we can remove them.”

“That toxic buildup of zar , though… it could be too much,” Aidan added.

Again, I allowed my thoughts to return to the past, to my first months at the Conservatory. Gods, it had been hellish. Suppressing my nox had nearly cost me my sanity. But it would be different for Aelia, I would be beside her the entire way. I could help her…

“We have no other choice,” I gritted out. “We cannot allow a war to break out between the Courts. The last one nearly killed us all.”

Both males’ heads dipped in unison, somber expressions mirrored in their faces.

“Where is Kaelith?” I snapped. “It’s time I had another talk with the Night King’s guard.”

“I’ll go with you.” Ruhl moved to my side. “Someone has to ensure you don’t kill the male.”

“I’ll accompany you as well.” Aidan’s pale gray eyes darted between us. “Someone has to ensure you two don’t kill each other.”

The ghost of a smile twitched across my lips. I’d never gotten the opportunity to get to know Aidan, but I had a feeling I’d like the old Light Fae if given the chance. He’d raised Aelia after all, and she was the most incredible female I’d ever encountered. “Fine, follow me.”

We found Kaelith upon the sandy shore below the cliffs. When he wasn’t spending his time training Aelia, he often sat upon the outcropping of rocks staring across the Shadowmere Sea. Was Helroth’s hidden kingdom hiding somewhere in Lunaris or Vesperis?

I often wondered if the king could somehow communicate with his loyal guard through his cursed illusions, or even using astral possessions. There was so much more of the Night Fae powers that weren’t clear. Perhaps, I’d have Gideon perform a more thorough study on our enemies.

“Kaelith!” I called out over the blustering winds.

The big beast cocked his head over his shoulder but didn’t move from his rocky perch.

“Control yourself,” Ruhl whisper-hissed over the roar of the crashing waves. “A dead Night Fae will not reveal the information we need.”

“Right.” I marched closer to the male with Ruhl and Aidan flanking me. Only when we reached him, did he finally pivot his gaze to meet ours. “You’ve been holding back the truth from me, Kaelith.”

“And what truth is that Shadow bastard?” He sneered, showcasing pointy fangs.

Red-hot rage boiled up, but I shoved it down, reminding myself he was only trying to provoke me, and Ruhl was right. Dead Fae told no tales. “What is Helroth doing to Aelia in her sleep? Her nightmares aren’t simply terrifying dreams, they’re real.”

His lips pressed into a tight line, his natural ruddy hue growing a deeper shade of crimson. “I have no idea what you speak of.”

“No?” I spat, surging closer, slivers of shadows peeling away from my form to hover inches from his. “You didn’t know that she was using her powers of astral possession to take over other Fae mid-battle?”

His eyes narrowed, lips puckering as he regarded me.

Did he truly not know?

“Helroth is using her to incite a war, and I need you to tell me how to stop it.”

“I have no idea,” he growled.

“Wrong answer, Kae.” My shadow shot toward him, curling around his massive form. Hellfire appeared in his palm, ruby flames chasing after the tendrils of night, but my shadows were faster. They wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground until he choked and wheezed.

Tendrils of fury coiled tight in my core, awakening a torrent of not only nox but the deeper buried zar . I had no time to consider where the foreign energy came from before it struck out in a wave of inky night, surrounding the Demon Fae.

“Tell me!” I shouted against the onslaught of power.

“I don’t know,” he rasped, legs kicking.

Citrine flashed across his wide eyes as the mix of zar and nox leeched into every orifice. His jaw unhinged, flooded by the darkness, eyes blurring over in the interminable black. I guided my shadows through his thoughts, eager to tear out every bit of knowledge the male held about my Aelia.

My dark minions hunted and scavenged, rushing through Kaelith’s mind in search of Helroth’s grand scheme and what role Aelia was to play in it. Screams ricocheted through the air, the Night Fae’s shouts of pain echoing on the breeze. Power blistered my skin, beads of sweat forming across my brow as I pushed deeper still.

And came up empty.

All the air squeezed from my lungs as I reluctantly called back my shadows and tamped down on the burgeoning zar . It was a wild thing, brutal and savage, unwilling to be tamed. Still, I wrangled it down beneath the nox until its violent lashing finally simmered.

My shoulders sagged, my own breath coming in ragged pants from the intensity of the powers ravaging my system. “He doesn’t know,” I gritted out.

“He doesn’t know anything?” Ruhl moved beside me, his presence a steadying force amidst the chaos pummeling my torso.

“Nothing about Helroth’s grand plan.”

“But he can teach Aelia how to control the astral possession?” Aidan asked.

“He was supposed to be doing that already.”

Kaelith regarded me with a narrowed glare.

“Do you have any idea what will happen to Aetheria if there is another war?” My hands snaked out, fingers curling around the collar of his tunic. “However few Night Fae remain, there will be no more. And then the Shadow and Light Fae will follow suit. We barely survived the Two Hundred Years’ War. There will be no more chances for any of us.”

“You know nothing, Shadow bastard,” he spat.

“You’re wrong about that, Kaelith. I know that if you cannot help Aelia tame her zar , I will loose my shadows on you, and when they’re finished, nothing but soot and ash will remain of your carcass. Then I’ll scatter your wretched remnants across the Shadowmere Sea and even Zaroth himself will be unable to piece them together in the afterlife.”

“Reign…” Aidan appeared beside me, an icy calm settling over his features. “He doesn’t know.”

Just like that, I was transported to Aelia’s cottage in Feywood, to the way Aidan had ripped the truth from me with his illumination sight. Releasing my grip on Kaelith’s tunic, I shoved him back.

His lip curled into a snarl as he regarded me, shards of citrine surging across his dark pupils.

“Now will you help Aelia?” I adjusted my tone to my most polite timbre.

“I’ve been trying,” he barked back. “I’ve never encountered power like hers before.”

“Do you believe Helroth is manipulating her through her dreams?” Aidan asked.

“It’s certainly possible. And if the nightmares she’s having are real, as you claim they are, then she could be responsible for dozens of Fae lives along the borders.”

A gasp ricocheted overhead, drawing all of our gazes up to the promontory above. Aelia peered over the ledge, her expression horror-stricken.

Curses.

“Aelia, wait!”

Before the final word fled my lips, a tornado of shadows coiled around her form, and she disappeared.