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

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

R eign

I stood in the middle of the field, the sun’s relentless rays boring down on me, and watched Aelia march toward the Hall of Elysia. I had pretended to give her some space, as she wished, but I’d follow her into the banquet hall cloaked in shadows all the same.

That little Kin was the most stubborn, willful, frustrating, incredible… The litany of adjectives took a turn for the positive, and I halted my mind’s useless wanderings. An entire week apart, and whatever this was blossoming between us had only grown stronger.

Since her return, it felt as if I had to physically restrain myself to keep my legs from instinctively moving toward her. And if I caught her?—

Shaking my head, I loosened the completely inappropriate thoughts that had become a constant companion. Ever since that night in my chambers, before everything went to hell. Every second replayed in my mind—every guarded look, each heated touch, all the sweet sounds I coaxed from those pillowy lips. My heart stomped out a manic beat, battering my ribcage at the fiery memories.

Realms, what if Elisa was correct?

My thoughts flitted to my conversation with the healer all those weeks ago when Aelia had nearly died in the Skyrider Flight.

“Are you familiar with the cuorem?”

“Excuse me?”

She leaned closer and whispered, “The cuorem bond? Have you ever heard of it?”

My brows slammed together, her words like a vice grip around my lungs. The cuorem…twin flames. I searched my memories for what little was known about the Fae mate bond. A profound and mystical connection believed to exist between two souls, making them perfect counterparts of one another.

A true cuorem bond had not been seen in decades between Fae, and between Fae of opposing courts? It was simply unheard of. It couldn’t be.

Unless…

Unless, Aelia truly was the child of twilight, a blend of Light and Shadow. Our bond could be from the Shadow side. But then why hadn’t her nox emerged?

Maybe… No, it couldn’t be. I would not allow it to be. Because if it were true, all my training, all the years of torture at my father’s hands, it had all been for this moment. To find her . To kill her .

I would take my own life before fulfilling my duty.

“Professor Darkthorn.” A deep, gruff voice set my shadows into a tailspin. Oh, Noxus, save me from this insufferable male.

Glancing up, the headmaster’s beady eyes latched on to mine. He marched down the steps of the Hall of Luminescence, his billowing robes trailing across the marble stairs.

“Yes, Draven?”

The corners of his eyes narrowed, deep crevices wrinkling his pale skin at my informal tone. “I wish to speak to you.”

“Well, here I am.” I stretched out my arms, nox curling around my form, twisting and weaving. After the failed battle with Arcanum, I did not find myself in the headmaster’s good graces. As such, I cared not if he observed my blossoming nox .

I’d been forced to skulk into his mind, along with that of nearly the entire first-year class and a few other professors, to erase all traces of Phantom. Or at least, I hoped I found everyone… I’d been so depleted of my powers after, I could barely stand. Still, I found my way to Aelia’s dormitory in a vain attempt to explain my inexplicable past. That obstinate little thing had managed to evade me at every turn until she and Sol departed for Feywood, her having taken avoidance to a whole new level by leaping out of her window. It had been an excruciating week apart. Thank the gods for Phantom and her never-ending patience as I dove headfirst into a desperate spiral.

If Draven knew the skyrider bond was still intact, he would have forced me to procure her. And knowing the twisted male, he would have fashioned a matching pair of cuffs for my dragon. Phantom would never have stood for that.

Besides the stunt I pulled with Aelia, the old bastard blamed me for the first-years’ loss. He insisted I hadn’t trained them well enough, hadn’t been as brutal as needed. As such, he had warned me that if I did not step it up this term, I would find myself without a position at the academy come the next.

Little did he know, I had no reason to stay any longer.

Except for her .

Draven snapped his fingers inches from my nose, and it occurred to me I’d been silent for too long.

“Hmm?”

“I said, has the second term curriculum for the first-years been prepared?”

I pointed at my temple and grinned. “It’s all right here, headmaster.”

“That is not good enough, Darkthorn. I need these initiates challenged. I must have a guaranteed win against Malakar this term. He’s been a thorn in my side for far too long. I want Arcanum taken down.”

“And they will be,” I huffed out. The only positive to all of this was that with Draven’s focus across the river, he’d mentioned little about Aelia. Perhaps Ruhl’s appearance had been fortuitous, after all. If my secret hadn’t emerged, if her focus hadn’t been taken away from the battle, who knew what sort of attention Aelia would have mustered atop Sol in the final trial.

If I had it my way, I would scoop Aelia into my arms and fly her far away from here. My chest tightened at the thought, invisible bands encircling my dark, hollow heart. It seemed to beat quicker now, to rejoice in a life that was nothing but darkness before. To hell with the Conservatory, with the prophecy, with the blasted kings… None of it mattered anymore, nothing but her.

Fuck . It had to be the budding cuorem bond. There was no other logical explanation.

Another close call… if I had bedded Aelia that night, the way things had been headed, the bond would have formed, or at least, that was how I remembered it solidifying based on the ancient tomes I’d read at the Arcanum library. That overwhelming sensation I felt the first time we kissed, one I’d never felt before with any other female—and gods knew I’d had plenty of opportunity—must have been when it was first triggered. We would have been tethered together for life, and that was a fate I was certain Aelia did not deserve.

But did I want it all the same?

“Reign, are you even listening to a word I’ve said?”

My brows furrowed as I regarded the silver-haired Fae. Had he been speaking? “Yes, of course I am.”

“Good, because King Elian will be here next week.”

“Excuse me?” I blurted. It took all the years of discipline I’d been forced to master to maintain the mask of calm.

“He wishes to personally address the entire Conservatory as to the situation along the border with the Wilds. It appears the fourth-years may be called into service sooner than expected.”

Before graduation? “Has the situation truly grown that treacherous?” And to think Aelia was alone near the volatile boundary only a few days ago. My heart pitched up my throat at the thought.

“I suppose we’ll all find out soon enough.”

“And you believe it wise for the king to come while the first-years are at each other’s throats with the temporary lifting of the code of conduct?”

A devious grin curled up his trailing mustache. “It’s the perfect opportunity for His Ethereal Highness to see exactly what sort of ruthless talent we house here at the Conservatory.”

I grunted, shaking my head. If the code truly was lifted, that meant that Aelia and I could?—

Gnawing on my bottom lip so hard I drew blood, I tossed aside the ludicrous thought. She won’t even speak to you, imbecile . The dark voice sounded suspiciously like that of my father. What did it matter that for a few short days the rules forbidding student and teacher relations would be no more? Clearly, that was not the headmaster’s intent. He wished only to allow the first-years to tear each other apart.

“Do you have a problem with my methods, Darkthorn?”

I momentarily lost control of my tongue as I loomed over the simpering idiot. “It only seems to me that if the situation along the border is so dire, it would behoove us to conserve as many bodies as possible. Should a war erupt, we will be found greatly lacking.”

“Not if you do your job right,” he snapped.

For a Fae who lived through the Two Hundred Years War, the male seemed to lack even the most basic understanding of battle. But I would not win this argument today, and I had more pressing matters to attend to, anyway. I vowed to remain at Aelia’s side until this newest threat had passed, and I would keep my word. “As you say, headmaster,” I gritted out. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my supper is waiting.”

Without waiting for a dismissal, I trekked across the field toward the Hall of Elysia, quickening my strides with every step that got me closer to Aelia.