Crown of Flames and Ash (Courts of Aetheria #2)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A elia

The lush greenery of Feywood Forest stretched out below us, and for the first time in months, the dragon-sized weight on my shoulders lifted. I was almost home. Safe and sound with Aidan, where I could spend the next week without the constant threat of jealous Fae students, without having to constantly look over my shoulder.

Goddess, it would be glorious.

I patted the dagger strapped to my hip and for a few precious moments, all was right in the world. Even memories of Reign would not spoil my homecoming.

With some death-defying maneuvering, I’d managed to escape my dormitory without running into my now-ex-professor. According to Rue, he’d been rooted outside the door all day. My getaway had involved sneaking out through the window and leaping onto Sol’s awaiting back.

As we soared above campus, I could have sworn I felt his furious shadows on our tail, but once I steered Sol into the Court of Umbral Shadows to test my theory, the sensations sputtered away. Though, I could have imagined the whole thing.

Once I was certain I’d lost my shadow tail, I guided Sol back toward the light of Ethereal lands which rimmed the Feywood Forest.

Where to, Aelia ?

I narrowed my eyes to make out the land miles below before I remembered there was an easier way. Calling on my rais , the tip of my finger began to glow, and I traced a symbol in the air. The celestial glyph burned to life, amplifying my mortal vision. The ground below was suddenly clear, each detail perfectly magnified. Just past those trees to the right. Do you see the small cottage ahead ?

The one with the white smoke coming from the chimney ?

Yes . Our home stood at the foot of Feywood Forest, just south of the border between the two courts. Excitement brewed in my belly, a flutter of nerves suddenly battling my insides. I hadn’t seen Aidan in months. How would he look? How had he fared all this time without me?

Sol angled his wings toward the ground, the flap of his mighty appendages slowing. I’ll land in the field to the right. We don’t want to startle your adoptive father .

Oh yes, good thinking . I was so excited I was not thinking clearly. A dragon landing beside our cottage would likely send poor Aidan to an early grave. It was a pity I hadn’t been permitted to send word of my arrival.

As Sol slowly descended, circling the wide swath of land beside our home, I took it all in. The last rays of sunlight sinking into the horizon, bathing Feywood in a riot of warm ochre and deep magenta. Goddess, after months of endless light, I’d forgotten how beautiful a true sunset was.

A blast of brilliant light streaked across my peripheral vision, and Sol banked to the left, the scorching flare just missing his right wing.

A warning would have been nice, Aelia! Sol growled through our bond.

What in all the realms?

Another wave of searing light surged in our direction. I gripped onto Sol’s wing bones as he veered yet again, barely escaping the assault.

My head swiveled over my shoulder in the direction of the flash of rais. The front door of our cottage was swung open, and Aidan stood in the doorway, long silver hair blowing on the breeze and both hands splayed out toward the sky. Blazing ethereal light emanated from his palms.

No… it couldn’t be. A tangle of disbelief and amazement lit up my insides as I attempted to process what I was seeing. Aidan with rais ? How could it be? All this time, he’d lied. An invisible hand fisted around my battered heart.

“For Fae’s sake… Aidan !” I finally shouted when the initial shock waned. “It’s me, Aelia.”

My adoptive father’s pale gray eyes widened, mirroring the curve of his lips. “By the goddess, Aelia…” He dropped his hands, gaze intent on me.

Sol swooped down, landing a few yards away from the chicken coop. The poor little things trembled with fear as my dragon’s talons hit the ground, vibrating the earth.

I leapt off his back and raced toward Aidan, who still stood frozen in the doorway. I wasn’t certain who was more surprised at the moment, him or me. A flicker of light still shimmered along his fingertips, his arms at his sides.

“You’re Light Fae.” I whispered the confession as if it were my own. How could he have kept this secret from me my entire life? Another devastating tangle of shock and betrayal surged through my system. Of course I’d assumed he’d been keeping things from me all along, but this?

“And you have a dragon.” His bulging eyes razed over Sol’s immense form. “I thought for sure he belonged to one of the royals…”

“He’s my bonded skyrider.” I pointed toward the gigantic golden beast. “Aidan, meet Solanthus, the Sun Chaser.”

Aidan’s complexion grew paler, still, until finally his head dipped. Sol mirrored the faint movement, and I watched the pair as if I were some intrusive bystander.

Do you two know each other ? I shot the question through our mental link, hoping Sol would be more candid than the man who raised me, who’d apparently lied to me for two decades.

No, I do not . Sol’s answer was clipped and far from satisfying.

“Well, estellira , after all this time, are you going to offer me a hug at least?” Aidan held out his arms, and despite the flare of irritation at him having kept this enormous secret from me, hearing him call me “little star” knocked away some of the anger, and I fell into his embrace. I would be angry later. “Welcome home, Aelia.” He held me tight against his warm chest, his familiar scent filling my nostrils and immediately setting my heart at ease.

“I missed you so much, Aidan.” Hot tears burned the corners of my eyes, and for once, I let them fall unhindered. Because today, I didn’t have to be strong. I didn’t have to be Aelia, carved of stone. I was home.

I sat across the rickety table from Aidan inside our quaint cottage with my fingers laced around the warm mug of tea. Everything was exactly as it had been when I left four months ago—and yet, it couldn’t have been more different. Aidan was Light Fae, and I was… who knows what. I couldn’t keep my gaze from darting to the tips of my adoptive father’s rounded ears. Round not pointed. How was it possible?

After the initial pleasantries, we’d found ourselves sitting here in silence.

“You cannot keep the truth from me any longer, Aidan.” I’d already attempted to extract an explanation more than once, but had been rebuffed each time.

“I simply cannot say more, Aelia,” he muttered, light eyes fixed to the cup in front of him.

“ More ? You haven’t said anything!” I shouted. “If I hadn’t caught you using rais , would you have even admitted you were Light Fae?”

His lips pressed together.

“You wouldn’t have, would you?” I slammed my palm against the worn table and the legs shuddered. “Goddess, this is so unfair. I deserve the truth, damn it.”

“To what end, estellira ? Do you not understand that there is a reason for all of this? That the lengths we went through to protect you?—”

“We?” My voice hitched at the word.

Aidan huffed out a breath and dragged his hand through his long, silvering-white hair. It was now neatly tied back as he always wore it. Somehow seeing him like this made the surreal moment seem less so.

“Who is we ?” I repeated when he remained silent.

“The people who loved you most in this world.”

My breath hitched, all the air siphoning from my lungs in one swoop. “You knew my parents?” I rasped.

His head slowly dipped.

“How could you keep this from me? How could you lie to me all this time?” I shot up, anger rushing my veins. Good gods, first Reign, now Aidan? Was anything in my life real?

“It was only to protect you, Aelia!” Aidan rose, mirroring my pose. “I’d lie to you a hundred times over if it meant keeping you safe. That is what I was charged to do. It’s been my greatest honor.”

“What? Lying to me?”

“You know that is not at all what I meant.” Exasperation laced his tone.

“And by whom? Who are my parents? Why did they send me away? Who did I need to be kept safe from?”

“It is not my place to share.”

I threw my hands in the air, frustration filling my being. “Aidan, you cannot be serious. You are the only link to my past, and you’re telling me that it’s not your place to share? Then whose place is it?” I stomped around the small kitchen area, my strides growing angrier with each step. “Are my parents truly dead? Or was that a lie as well?”

“I cannot say…” he growled in irritation, whether it be at me and my questions or the situation in its entirety, I couldn’t be sure.

“Gods, I cannot believe this, Aidan!” I dragged my hands through my hair, tugging at the long, blonde streak. “First, I discover I’m Light Fae, but once I arrive at the Conservatory, my powers are mysteriously lacking. And yet somehow, in the presence of my Shadow Fae professor, my finicky rais blooms. He has all these theories about me, but I’ll never know if any are true because he’s been lying to me all along as well—” I snap my mouth shut as my spiraling musings bubble out without my control.

“The Fae male who came to collect you?” His light brows arched.

“Yes.”

“Why is a Shadow Fae teaching at the Conservatory?”

“Honestly, I have no idea, Aidan, because every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie, much like yours.” I clenched my jaw to keep the slew of curses at bay. A part of me understood his misguided attempts in protecting me, but the other part was too furious about all the lies to even attempt to see reason. I sprinted toward the door, anxious to take in a breath of fresh air. “I need to go before I say something I’ll regret.” I paused with my hand on the handle and spun back, a last bit of hope unfurling inside me. “Unless there’s something you’d like to tell me?”

A sigh parted his lips as his head slowly shook from side to side. “I’m sorry, estellira . It is safer for you to despise me than for the truth to see the light of day.”

A tornado of fury and pain whirled through my chest. I pressed my hand to the spot in an attempt to alleviate the ache before I turned to the door and stormed out. How could the two men I cared most about in this world have been lying to me all along?