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

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

R eign

“ Noxus , will nothing remove these blasted bangles?” I roared as I levered the blade of Aelia’s dagger—the one she still didn’t know I had, or that was even missing—beneath the silver cuff encircling my wrist. Fury rushed my veins, that invisible force a constant in the days since the battle with Arcanum. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. An itch had buried deep within my skin, and there was nothing I could do to scratch it.

And now with Aelia gone to Feywood, I had nothing to focus my attention on besides these damned things. Anything to keep my mind occupied, to force my thoughts away from her . After days of waiting at her door, and nights spent in the shadows of her chamber, I was going absolutely mad. I had to speak to her; I had to explain…

Explain what? That my entire life had been dedicated to seeking out and destroying her?

So romantic, Reign.

Shaking my head free of the ludicrous thoughts, I concentrated once again on the task at hand. The mysterious crystal encrusted in the hilt of the dagger glimmered in the faint light of my chamber, heating against my skin, but the mystical metal held strong. Or rather, the spell that kept the full breadth of my powers bound did.

If Gideon was right about the origin of Aelia’s daggers, they should have been able to break past a rais -imbued spell crafted by the semi-competent headmaster. Draven’s power was far from impressive. It didn’t make any gods’ damned sense.

I forced the tip of the blade farther beneath the cuff and the sharp edge sliced across my skin. I bit out a curse as blood dribbled down my forearm. But it did nothing to halt my determination. I would get these sun-cursed manacles off or slit my wrists trying.

Clenching my teeth, I gritted out obscenities as I continued my attempts and still failed to pry off the cuffs. “Fuck!” I hissed and hurled the dagger across the chamber. It sailed through the sliver of space between the dark curtains and smashed against the stained-glass window. Shards of deep crimson and ochre scattered across the floor, landing alongside the dagger.

I strode toward the broken window, the familiar thrumming of air squeezing through the crack raising the hair at my nape. Shoving aside the heavy curtain, my eyes narrowed on the mass of darkness looming closer.

What in all the courts?

With the rare hour of twilight overhead, casting shadows across the light-filled lands, the slate dragon hovered closer, just beyond the wards surrounding the Conservatory. My nox lurched to the surface, tendrils of night buzzing around my form.

Standing beneath the ornate arch, I wrenched the windows open and loosed one of my shadows to deliver a message to the intruder.

“What are you doing here, Ruhl?”

Even from this distance, I could just make out the twitch in my sibling’s mouth. “Is that any way to greet your dear brother?”

“Dear? It’s been four years and you never dared cross the Luminoc to visit before. And now, twice in a week? Did Father send you?” A whisper of fear lanced through my chest. Had Ruhl told the king about Aelia? Thank the gods, she was far away from here.

“I have my own mind, Reign. I’m not simply Father’s heir.”

I snorted on a laugh. Our entire lives Ruhl had been groomed to take the place of mighty King Tenebris of Umber, while I was trained for one thing only: to seek out and kill the child of twilight.

A child of twilight, born from the dance of light and dark, shall emerge with the power to reshape destinies. From the celestial embrace and the shadow's whisper, a harbinger of cosmic balance shall be brought forth.

A fateful choice awaits her - to heal or to harm, to nurture or annihilate. Her every step shall resonate through realms, influencing the very fabric of existence.

When the child of twilight shall come of age, her choices, guided by the celestial and obscured by shadows, shall determine the fate of worlds. Whether she becomes a beacon of hope or a harbinger of oblivion, the child of twilight shall be the catalyst of an epochal choice - to bring forth a new dawn or plunge all into eternal dusk .

The words of the prophecy rang out in my mind, each syllable permanently entrenched in my skull. Father had forced me to recite it over and over again as he pummeled me with waves of nox .

It was because of it that I grew strong, more powerful than the great Shadow heir.

“Then why did you come?” I growled.

“Simply to check on you.” Ruhl’s dragon hovered closer, a hairsbreadth from the shimmering wards. “Come, let’s go for a ride. Surely, Phantom isn’t far. I’d like her to formally meet Mordrin, Eternal Nightbringer.”

I barely restrained an eyeroll. That was why he’d come. Since I’d been chosen by my skyrider all those years ago, every dragon male had sought to claim her. Dragons were rare in Aetheria, and females, even more so. My brother should’ve known by now that Phantom was not interested in finding a mate.

I’d rather bite Mordrin’s cocky head off than fly by his side . Phantom’s words brushed through my consciousness right on cue.

Don’t you have better things to do than listen in on my thoughts, old girl?

Unfortunately, not. Trust me, there are many things I’d prefer to do than listen to you wallowing in self-pity. Aelia this and Aelia that…

Enough .

Her chuckle rumbled deep in my chest, filling the vacant cavity. Nothing but a gaping hole remained since Aelia’s hasty departure.

Will you come or not? I cannot suffer Ruhl’s company without you.

So you would force me to suffer it too?

Yes, that’s your duty as my bonded skyrider.

It seems Noxus did not choose well for me .

Now it was my turn to laugh, a deep belly one I hadn’t experienced since the dreaded battle. Come on now, you know you miss me.

Sadly, I do, but it is only out of sheer boredom and desperation .

“Phantom will be here shortly,” I whispered through my shadows. “But she has already warned me that she has zero interest in your new skyrider.”

“What makes you think Mordrin would be interested anyway?” my arrogant brother shot back.

“Because he’s a dragon and male .”

Thank Noxus, Phantom appeared across the horizon, putting an end to our conversation. Summoning my shadows, they curled into wings around my back. I leapt out the window and caught the faint breeze, my wings propelling me toward the two awaiting dragons along the border.

Once I was seated across Phantom’s back, my shadows receded and I released a shuddering breath. Now, beyond the Conservatory’s wards, using my powers was taxing, despite the glorious feel of the cool night.

“How do you do it, brother?” Ruhl’s dark gaze twisted in my direction. “To live among the enemy for so many years? To have your nox bound? To suffer the humiliation…”

I raised my hand, cutting off his ramblings before I loosed a shadow to silence him more permanently. Given our ten-year age difference, my younger brother and I were never close, but he seemed to grow more irritating by the day. “It’s my duty, Ruhl. Just as you have yours. And mine is to avert the utter ruin of our courts.”

“By finding the child of twilight.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re certain the Kin, Aelia Ravenwood, is not the one?”

My nox surged to the surface, the fury his words sparked eclipsing the power of the manacles. “I already told you…”

He lifted a hand, donning a placating smile. “Yes, you have. I’m simply not certain I understand what it is between you then.” He motioned at the swirl of darkness I hadn’t realized surrounded me. “Only mere mention of the girl has you in a tizzy.”

“It’s lust you’re seeing, little brother,” I gritted out. “You would recognize it if you’d ever experienced a proper bedding.”

Ruhl threw back his head and laughed.

My brother was predictable, at least. There was nothing like talk of females to get his mind off important issues. He, much like I had been at his age, was quite adept at capturing female attention. Whether it was his title or something more, no one could be certain.

“Trust me, I have never had any complaints in that department.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “But have the females?”

Ruhl clucked his tongue. “I know what you’re doing, big brother, and it’s not going to work. I will find out the truth about you and that little Kin sooner or later. Besides, the new term is soon to begin, and you know what that means.”

Curses, I did. Which explained part of my foul temper. Of all the ill-timed moments for Aelia to refuse to speak to me. She would need my help this term more than ever.

A tornado of shadows whipped around my form, stretching across Phantom’s wide expanse. “If you set your sights on her, Ruhl?—”

“Relax, brother, I won’t kill your precious Kin. Besides, if she is the child of the prophecy, Father will make you do it yourself.” He tossed me a sneer. “Now, tell me, is it true what they say about Kin? That the pleasure is magnified?”

My thoughts flittered back in time unwittingly. To the feel of Aelia’s soft form beneath me, the touch of every curve, the sound of her faint moans as I tasted her, but mostly to the wild drumbeats of my heart and the strengthening tethers lacing around my staggering, battered organ. I hadn’t even claimed her yet, and already I was certain she was mine.

But fate had other plans for us.

“No,” I finally grumbled with my brother’s expectant gaze boring into the side of my face. “It was much like being with any other female.”

I’d never told such a blatant lie in my life, which spoke volumes, since nearly every word I’d spewed in the past four years held some sort of untruth. With the depressing reality boring down on me, I lapsed into silence.

When Aelia returned, I would have to find a way to earn her forgiveness. The prospect of life without her was unbearable; the darkness was suffocating, and even the brightest light had lost its luster.