Court of Aether and Shadows (Crowned Monster Trilogy #1)

35. Moonlit Thoughts

Moonlit Thoughts

~ S PARROW~

Heat pulled me from the depths of sleep, making the silk sheets cling uncomfortably to my skin. I blinked in the darkness, momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar patterns of starlight dancing across the ceiling. The academy room slowly came into focus – all crystal and shadow, luxury I still couldn't quite believe was mine.

"Too hot," I mumbled, untangling myself from the sheets that had somehow wound around my legs like affectionate snakes. My skin felt hypersensitive, every brush of fabric sending tiny shivers through my body.

The floor was blessedly cool beneath my bare feet as I padded toward the washroom, moving on autopilot through the unfamiliar space. Even half-asleep, I couldn't help but marvel at the facilities. The Underground's communal bathrooms with their perpetually dripping faucets and suspicious stains seemed like a distant nightmare compared to this private oasis of marble and crystal.

After taking care of business, I found myself shedding layers – the silk pajamas Nyx had insisted I wear feeling suddenly too constraining. The cool air kissed my bare skin, bringing momentary relief from the inexplicable heat coursing through my body.

On my way back to bed, the window caught my attention. I drifted toward it, drawn by the ethereal light of the three moons hanging impossibly large in the sky. Each cast its own unique radiance – one silver like captured starlight, one gold like ancient honey, and one the deep red of fresh-spilled wine.

"How big is this place?" I whispered to myself, pressing a hand against the cool crystal pane. From this height, I could see the academy grounds sprawling below, each court's territory marked by its distinct architecture and energy. Beyond that, the realms stretched into infinity, filled with wonders I couldn't even imagine.

The very air seemed alive with magic, creating auroras that danced between the moons like celestial veils. It was nothing like the smog-filled skies above the Underground, where we'd been lucky to spot a single star through the urban haze.

A wave of nostalgia hit me unexpectedly, making my throat tight. For all its harshness, the Underground had been home for so long. I thought of my small room there, barely bigger than a closet but mine in a way few things had ever been. The weapon rack I'd built myself, each gun and knife meticulously maintained. The hidden compartment under the floorboards where I'd kept my most precious possessions – a few worn paperbacks, a silver ring I'd found on my first successful mission, a photo of a woman who might have been my mother.

"Wonder if they've cleared it out yet," I mused, tracing patterns in the condensation my breath had left on the window. "Probably gave my weapons to Marco, the bastard." The thought made me snort softly. "Hope they blow up in his face."

Another surge of heat rolled through me, making my skin prickle uncomfortably. I moved back to the bed, slipping between sheets that felt impossibly soft against my bare skin. Despite the lingering warmth, I found myself craving their embrace, wanting to cocoon myself in their comfort.

"Everything's so different here," I told the darkness, watching shadows dance across the walls in patterns that seemed almost sentient. In the Underground, shadows had meant danger – places where enemies could hide, where death could lurk. Here, they felt almost... protective. Like they were standing guard over my rest.

My thoughts drifted to Aetheron, to the way his shadows seemed to reach for me instinctively. To Liam's protective presence and Nyx's fierce loyalty. To Solaris's warmth and Cypress's easy acceptance. So different from the Underground, where every relationship was a potential weakness, every connection a liability.

"No going back now," I murmured, feeling sleep start to reclaim me despite the persistent heat under my skin. The moons' light painted patterns across my bed, their combined radiance creating a gentle glow that seemed to pulse in rhythm with my breathing.

As my eyes grew heavy, I couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring in this realm of impossibilities. What new magics I'd discover, what ancient powers I'd learn to control. The thought should have frightened me, but instead, I felt a thrill of anticipation.

The last thing I saw before sleep took me was a shimmer in the air – something that looked like a protective bubble of void energy wrapped around my bed. I smiled faintly, recognizing Nyx's magical signature.

Home , something deep within me whispered as consciousness faded. This is home now.

The three moons kept their eternal watch as I drifted off, their light blessing the slumber of a girl caught between worlds, between identities, between destinies.

The line between waking and dreaming began to blur as my thoughts turned to Aetheron. My skin still burned, but now it was a different kind of heat – one born of desire rather than discomfort. I could almost feel his shadows caressing me, the way they had that first night in his realm.

"Aetheron," I murmured into the darkness, the name itself carrying power. The sheets twisted around me as I shifted restlessly, remembering how his touch could ignite every nerve ending, how his presence alone could make the air thick with possibility.

What was he doing now, in his eternal twilight? Was he thinking of me too, feeling this same yearning across the distance between us? The academy suddenly felt too far from his court, too removed from the sanctuary we'd shared.

A phantom touch brushed my cheek, so real I could have sworn I felt the familiar coolness of his power. My breath hitched as I leaned into it, craving more. "Please," I whispered, not sure if I was speaking to my memories or the night itself. "I miss you."

The touch became more substantial – a gentle caress down my neck that made me arch slightly, seeking more contact. It felt like his shadows, like the way they would dance across my skin in those intimate moments when power and passion became one.

"Visit me," I pleaded softly, lost in that space between sleep and consciousness where anything seemed possible. "Let me dream of you tonight."

Something cool and silken trailed down my bare shoulder, leaving goosebumps in its wake. The sensation was so vivid, so achingly familiar, that I couldn't tell if I was already dreaming or if somehow...

My eyes fluttered open to find myself staring into familiar molton ones.

Moonlight caught the golden irises watching me, making them glow like captured flame in the darkness. For a moment, my sleep-addled mind couldn't process what I was seeing – who was seeing me. The figure loomed over my bed with predatory grace, shadows dancing around him in patterns that spoke of ancient power and barely contained desire.

Recognition bloomed as one tendril of darkness caressed my cheek with familiar intimacy. Aetheron . My heart leaped into my throat, making it impossible to voice the thousand questions racing through my mind. What was he doing here? How had he gotten past the academy's wards?

As if reading my thoughts, he pressed one elegant finger to his lips, the gesture somehow both commanding and gentle. The meaning was clear – silence was crucial. Through the wall, I could hear Nyx's soft breathing in the adjoining room, reminding me that we weren't truly alone.

I reached for him instinctively, my eyes pleading what my voice couldn't say. Stay. Please stay. The heat under my skin had become almost unbearable, but his presence seemed to soothe it, like shadow offering relief from burning sun.

His perfect lips curved into that devastating smirk I remembered so well – the one that promised pleasure and danger in equal measure. He straightened to his full height, and for one terrible moment, I thought he was leaving. My heart clenched painfully at the thought.

But then his hands moved to the fastenings of his formal robes, and all thought fled my mind. Each layer he removed revealed more of him, like unwrapping the most exquisite gift. The heavy outer cloak fell first, dissolving into shadow before it could make a sound against the floor. Beneath it, his jacket seemed to be made of liquid darkness itself, clinging to his form before joining its companion in the realm of shadows.

When his hands moved to his shirt, my breath caught audibly. His finger pressed against his lips again in playful warning, though his golden eyes danced with wicked amusement at my reaction. The fabric parted to reveal his chest, and I had to bite my lip to keep from making a sound.

He was a masterpiece carved in darkness. His obsidian skin rippled with muscle, but it was the markings that truly captured my attention. Silver runes danced across his flesh like living things, each one pulsing with power that made the very air thick with magic. They told stories in a language I couldn't read but somehow understood – tales of battles won and power earned, of ancient oaths and eternal promises.

Scars decorated him like badges of honor, each one somehow enhancing rather than marring his perfect form. A particularly striking one curved from his left shoulder down across his chest – silver against the midnight of his skin, it seemed to catch and hold moonlight. Another traced his right side, this one darker than the rest of him, as if it had been carved by shadow itself.

But most mesmerizing were the magical enchantments etched into his very being. They weren't just surface decorations but part of his essence, moving beneath his skin like living creatures. Dragons of pure shadow coiled around his biceps, their eyes flickering with the same golden fire as his. Celestial patterns spiraled across his chest, creating constellations I'd never seen in any mortal sky.

Near his heart, a mark caught my eye – something that looked almost like a crown, but made of intertwined shadow and starlight. It pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, and I could have sworn it brightened when his eyes met mine.

He moved with liquid grace as he approached the bed again, each step silent as shadow itself. The markings on his skin seemed to reach for me, dancing and shifting with his movement. Power rolled off him in waves, but it wasn't the overwhelming force I'd felt in court. This was more intimate, more controlled – meant for me alone.

His hand extended toward me, and I watched in fascination as the shadows around him responded to his unspoken command. They wrapped around his fingers like loving pets, eager to please their master. When they brushed against my overheated skin, they felt like silk made from the night sky itself – cool and soothing yet somehow igniting an entirely different kind of heat within me.

Aetheron's expression shifted as he observed my reaction, that perfect smirk softening into something more vulnerable. The mighty Shadow Lord, stripped of his formal regalia and political masks, allowing me to see him as few ever had. The markings on his chest pulsed stronger, creating patterns that seemed to reach for me like eager hands.

I shifted beneath the sheets, making room for him without a word. The invitation was clear, and his golden eyes darkened with approval and hunger. The moonlight painted him in shades of silver and shadow, making him look like something out of the most beautiful nightmare – or perhaps the most dangerous dream.

He paused at the edge of my bed, his power coiling around us both like a protective cocoon. One elegant eyebrow raised in silent question, still giving me the choice despite the obvious desire radiating from him.

My answer was to reach for him, consequences be damned.

The Shadow Lord of the Twilight Court smiled – a real smile, not his usual calculated smirk – and moved to join me in my academy bed, his shadows ensuring our sanctuary would remain undisturbed.