Page 9

Chapter Nine

A elia

The ominous footfalls echoed like the thunderclaps of a wild storm, the ones I feared as a child in Feywood, huddled in my bed beneath the threadbare quilt. But that weak child was long gone. My silly fears were nothing compared to what actually existed out there, I’d learned. Straightening my spine, I steeled my nerves to face the king nightmares were made of.

An endless moment later, a towering form coalesced from the darkness, the eerie crimson light bathing his ebony skin. A pair of piercing fiery orbs met mine, the ruby light of the cell nothing compared to those pits of smoldering bloodred coal. I held that dark gaze, fingers tightly clasped together to prevent the urge to reach up and clutch onto the medallion of my necklace for comfort. A sinister smile curled the corner of his lips as he took me in. “I take it you’ve had a comfortable stay thus far?”

An unladylike snort erupted from between my clenched lips.

The king stepped closer, nearly brushing the twisted bars between us. His silver hair trailed across his broad shoulders, the Cloak of Forgotten Souls fastened to his surcoat with intricate metal clasps in the form of skulls. In my days of endless darkness, I’d remembered the myths of the cloak said to have been crafted by the souls of the damned, punished to spend all eternity protecting their king. My eyes latched onto the familiar silver sheen of the skulls—infernium vein, the same metal that had been used to forge my daggers. Somehow, I was certain of this.

“You are exactly as I expected.” A smirk lit up the intense crimson of his irises.

“Well, I wish I could say the same, but since I thought you were long dead, I’ve been gravely disappointed.” I flashed him a feral smile.

Good one, Aelia . Damned Lucian. I refused to avert my attention over my shoulder, not with the king here.

“What do you want from me?” I gritted out, unable to stand even a moment of silence now that he was finally here. “Why are you keeping me prisoner?”

“I apologize for the appalling conditions, child. They must pale in comparison to the luxury of the Conservatory of Luce, but I’m afraid they were a necessary evil.”

“Why?”

“I had important business to attend to, and in my absence, I couldn’t simply allow you to run free across Helspire Keep. But I am here now, and I assure you, should you prove amenable, your living conditions will be greatly improved.”

“Business for an entire month?” I snapped. Because I’d clearly lost my mind. “Did you traverse the entire content by foot?”

He shook his head, a wry grin curling the corner of his lips. “My affairs are of no concern of yours."

Maybe or maybe not. “What do you want from me?” I hissed.

“I only want to get to know my granddaughter.”

My mind spun, all the air siphoning from my lungs with that one word. “No…” I breathed with the remaining shreds of oxygen I could summon.

No. No. No.

“Oh, yes, my child. You are Princess Aelia of the Court of Infernal Night.”

“It’s not possible…” My stomach revolted, the measly crusts of bread I’d consumed the night before threatening to make a reappearance. My thoughts spun with the meager information Aidan had given me in the past year. “It doesn’t make sense. I am Light Fae, I was blessed by Raysa herself.”

“Those tricky gods can never be trusted, child. We are simply pawns in a much larger game of which we know nothing about.”

This couldn’t be… “But I have Light abilities… strong ones.”

“The goddess may have blessed you with her powers, but you are not Light Fae by blood.”

“But why? Why would Raysa do that?”

“I do not claim to know the gods’ will, Aelia. All I know is that I have waited twenty long years to finally bring you home.”

I jerked my arms up, shoving my hands up to the bars so that the bloodred manacles glowed beneath the dim light. “And this is how you welcome me?”

“I had to be certain you wouldn’t escape, and that no one would find you. I understand you’ve bonded a dragon and have also caught the interest of the Shadow Fae prince.”

Oh gods, the king knew about Reign. But how?

“I had a dragon once, long before the war. He died at my side, fighting fiercely until the end.”

“You’re wrong—you must be. This is some great error. There is no way that I am Night Fae.” I searched the dusty vaults of my mind I’d recently revisited in an attempt to unearth the list of the abilities of the Demon Fae.

Hellfire.

Soul-draining.

Astral possession.

Blood magic.

I stared at the bloodred shackles across my wrists. Gods, at this point I wish I did have zar so I could remove the blasted things.

“You are, and I will prove it to you, but first you must prove to me that I can trust you.”

I nearly choked on a laugh. “You’ve kept me prisoner in this pit of despair for over a month. Why would I ever trust you?”

He waggled a long finger, the tip sharpened to a point much like that of Kaelith’s. “I never said you had to trust me, only that I had to trust you. ”

“What is the gods’ damned difference?” I howled, what little restraint I had snapping.

“If you vow not to attempt to escape until you’ve heard the truth, I will provide unquestionable proof as to who you are.”

“How?”

“Simple. I will unbind your powers.”

My jaw fell open despite my best efforts.

“It was I who had your powers bound at the bequest of your mother.”

“My mother?” The embarrassing squeal escaped, a few octaves higher than dignified, but really, what was I expected to do? Visions of the woman I’d seen in the Veil of Echoes trial raced across my mind.

“Oh, silly girl, I never abandoned you. I only did what was necessary to save you. Believe me when I say that leaving you truly broke my heart.” The apparition had pulsed with shadows and something more. An unfamiliar suffocating energy had floated in the air, thickening the atmosphere. I remembered it so clearly. Oh gods, it was zar. Only I’d been too blind to see it back then.

“My mother was Night Fae?”

“Yes. She was my daughter, Sable of Inferna, and she was slaughtered after the Two Hundred Years’ War by none other than the cowardly King Elian.”

“What? Why?” My heart lurched, ramming itself against my ribs.

“Because he was afraid of her, afraid of you…”

“…The prophecy?”

“Why of course. What would frighten a new king more than the threat of a child with the power to reshape destinies?”

“A child of light and dark,” I reiterated. Somehow, something felt wrong about my grandf—no, I was not ready for that—the king’s story. I could feel the rais running through my blood just as clearly as the pull of Reign’s shadows. Could it all have been fabricated, simply because of the mystical mark carved into my chest? It didn’t seem possible.

“There is no Light blood in you, princess. You belong to the Night.”

No, I still simply couldn’t believe it. I laced my arms across my chest to keep it from cleaving open. This was simply too much. How could I be a Night Fae princess, daughter of the dreaded Night King and the child of twilight? My heart shuddered, the invisible tethers that linked me to Reign making their presence known, as if he could sense my distress. Reign. The cuorem bond. Fated mates alone were rare enough, but across two different courts?

“What about Shadow blood?” I blurted. “Melisara said—” I cut myself off before I gave away more information than I should. Reign had already threatened the poor Spellbinder enough; the last thing I needed was to set Helroth on her.

The king’s unfathomable irises sparked, shards of deep crimson illuminating pitch pupils. “Who is Melisara?”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s dead now.”

“Tell me, child, or you will force me to delve into your mind and rip the truth out myself.”

I slapped my hands on my hips, drawing from a strength I was certain was not my own, but rather from the angry, pulsating cuorem channeling my savage Fae counterpart. “Answer me first.”

He clucked his teeth, the harsh line of his jaw softening a touch. “You are so much like her…”

“My mother?”

His head dipped, and strands of silver hair fell across his brow. For an instant, I could have sworn I saw it, a shred of humanity, as if he’d truly cared for my mother. Oh, Raysa, when had I accepted his words as truth?

The Night Fae huffed out a breath before his fingers curled around the bars between us. “Either you’re extremely astute for a mere girl, or someone else has been feeding you information.”

“So, I do have Shadow blood?”

I must, or Reign had Night Fae blood…

My thoughts whirled back in time to what little Reign had shared about his birth mother. Could she have been Night Fae? It was possible, but Melisara had clearly stated I’d been bound by nox along with rais and zar . Which brought me to yet another question: If I had no Light blood, then how did Melisara detect the presence of rais ? I held my tongue, tucking all the swirling thoughts into the corner of my mind for now. If I wanted answers, I would have to play Helroth’s game.

“I will take your silence as a yes.” I offered the royal a smug grin before unclasping my hands and offering my wrists. “I’ve considered your proposition, and I do wish to know the truth. If that means vowing not to escape in the interim, I will do what I must.”

“Smart choice, princess.” Turning his hand palm up, he dragged his jagged fingernail across his flesh, flaying his own skin. I held my breath as I watched, my stomach performing somersaults. A thin line of blood, so dark it appeared stolen from the night sky, crept across his palm. “Give me your hand.”

Oh, gods, no.

“I will require a blood vow, Aelia.”

Curses . Cringing, I fit my shackled wrists through the glowing bars, careful not to skim the edges. His fingers closed around my arm and forced my hand to turn. Before I could squeal my protests, his pointed fingernail had already drawn blood. I winced as the bright red blood crawled across my palm in a tiny rivulet.

The king pressed his palm to my own and began muttering in a language I recognized as old Faerish, the harsh whispers that pervaded across the dungeons, but I could not understand. “Repeat after me,” he barked. “ Vetharé korin sélan, ai thrysan meyl norath an drévak olaran .”

“What am I vowing to?”

His grip tightened as annoyance carved into his timeless features. “Something along the lines of ‘with this blood vow, I promise to keep my word upon the pain of death.’”

I was not fond of the idea of making a blind blood vow, but what choice did I have? If Helroth truly could unbind my powers, once they were unleashed, I would find a way to escape myself.

Drawing in a deep breath, the strange, ancient words flowed from my tongue as smoothly as if I’d spoken them my entire life. “ Vetharé korin sélan, ai thrysan meyl norath an drévak olaran .”

A strange sensation settled over me, like a thousand spyders racing across my flesh, then burrowing deep beneath my skin. It was nothing like the time Reign had forced me into a vow. This blood magic felt darker, more sinister, icy cold rippling beneath my flesh.

Helroth’s unyielding grip around my arm finally relaxed, tearing me from the downward spiral and allowing me to draw in the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The scent of sulfur thickened the air as a thick fog coiled around his legs and crawled up his torso. The king disappeared, inch by inch, and panic clawed at my lungs.

“Where are you going?” Fear laced my tone, and it wasn’t until this instant that I realized how terribly alone I’d been all these weeks. “Please, don’t go,” I cried.

“I will return soon enough.” His deep voice trembled across the dungeon and, as the last syllables fell away, every shred of light disappeared with it.