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

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

A elia

Professor Lumen regarded me in horror over the rim of his circular spectacles as I fought my uncontrollable rais . In the past hour, I’d learned that Luminous Enchantments required a level of control I had yet to master. Imbuing objects with light magic for enhanced abilities and protections sounded simple enough in theory, but when only a tiny trickle of rais was needed and mine came out in floods of wild power, it resulted in the creation of an enormous man-eating plant, intent on the destruction of its maker, instead of the innocuous daisy meant to provide its owner with enhanced speed.

“That’s enough, Miss Ravenwood,” the professor barked from across the great hall. “We cannot risk yet another disaster today.”

With a huff of resignation I returned to my seat before glancing up at the enormous skylight I’d recently added to the chamber. Streams of vibrant light streaked into the hole I’d blown through the roof of the Hall of Luce, echoing its namesake. Who knew after a week of bottling up my rais , the results would be so catastrophic?

“Professor Darkthorn, if you would be so kind?” Lumen ticked his head at my dark shadow. He emerged from the corner of the hall, his shadows streaking from his fingertips like bloodthirsty wraiths. They twisted and coiled around the monstrous daisy, siphoning out the overabundance of rais I’d imbued it with.

“So creepy,” Sy whispered as we watched the plant shrink back to its original size and the influx of nox return to its owner.

“Agreed.” Rue’s head bounced up and down.

Once Reign had slunk back to his hiding spot again and Lumen’s attention was on the next student, I hissed out a curse and spun on my roommate. “And you said things would be easier this term.”

“She lied. Clearly.” Sy threw me a smirk. “I’m afraid every term, every year, will only get harder for us all, unfortunately.” He reached for my ear, but with my foul temper flaring, I swatted him away.

“I’m never going to master my goddess damned powers.”

“Don’t say that,” Rue hissed. “You don’t want to anger Raysa.”

“I’m fairly certain it’s too late for that.” I leaned my chin on the desk and rolled my eyes.

“Are you kidding me, A?” Rue reached for the collar of my tunic, tugging it down. The glittering Light Fae mark twinkled along my pale skin. “The goddess chose you among all the other Kin of Feywood. That does not happen by accident.”

“Light Fae,” Symon interjected.

“What?” Rue pivoted to face him.

“You said Raysa chose Aelia among all the other Kin of Feywood, but clearly, she’s Light Fae. I mean, just because Aidan won’t admit the truth?—”

Throwing my hand up, I called upon my rais and drew a familiar shape in the air. The celestial glyph sparked to life, immediately silencing my big-mouthed friend. Despite Reign’s apparent disappearance, I knew very well he was still lurking in the shadows, and I had yet to tell him the truth about Aidan.

If I was being perfectly honest, I was afraid to. A part of me was certain that if he knew Aidan held the key to my mysterious origins, he’d stop at nothing to force it out of him. And given my professor’s ruthless tendencies, I resolved keeping it a secret was the best course of action, despite my own eagerness to learn the truth.

I threw Symon a glare, pressing my finger to my lips, and his jaw clamped shut. Waving my finger in the air once more, I removed the silencing glyph, praying to all the gods Reign hadn’t heard my friend’s slip of tongue.

“Well, you’ve certainly gotten a hang of celestial glyphs,” Sy muttered.

“Why, thank you, my friend.” I dipped my head into an elaborate bow. “And that was mostly thanks to your tireless tutelage.”

“And now the round-eared student surpasses the teacher.” He clucked his teeth, grinning sheepishly.

“Very well, initiates,” Professor Lumen’s voice boomed across the chamber, amplified by the ordinary pen he held in his hand which Ariadne had imbued with rais . “That’s enough for today, you are all dismissed.”

She stood beside him, an obnoxious smile spreading her pink lips, Belmore hovering protectively behind her. They truly believed themselves to be the power couple of the Conservatory—or of the initiates, at any rate.

Belmore’s frosty gaze swiveled in my direction, and my hand instinctively reached for my dagger. Dagg ers , plural. Now that I had both back in my possession, I felt whole once more. Or at least as whole as I’d ever been.

“You know,” Rue whispered, eyeing my blades, “I was thinking about it, and perhaps, hiding from Belmore, Kian, Lucian and those other Fae imbeciles is the wrong approach.”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe we should take the offensive and rid the Conservatory of them.”

Excitement flared, waking my wounded heart, and I leveled my gaze on the cocky Fae male. “It’s not a bad suggestion.” Then, that weak Kin sensibility kicked in, reminding me it was wrong to instigate a fight. And judging by the wicked gleam in my roommate’s eyes, it wasn’t just a fight she was looking for, but the end of a war.

“What do you say, little Kin?” Symon draped an arm around my shoulders, his nose nuzzling my ear.

Could I, in good conscience, take the life of one of my classmates, unprovoked?

Likely not. Even if it was well-deserved.

“Oh, I can’t,” I grumbled.

“Told you.” Sy threw Rue a mischievous grin and held out his other hand, palm up. “That’ll be five gildings, please.”

I reached up and smacked my friend in the shoulder. Hard. “You took bets on this?”

“Oh, Aelia…” Rue weaved her arm through mine and tugged me toward the exit of the hall. “You’re too good to be at this Conservatory. You’re much more kind-hearted than even the best of us.”

“And that would be you two? I truly am in trouble now.”

My friends laughed, and I joined in for a moment of lightheartedness. It felt good after the stress of the first day. Only four months to go, and I would have survived my first academic year at the Conservatory. Raysa, help me!

After my epic defeat in the classroom, I decided it was time to spend some one-on-one time with my rais . I’d simply start with the basics, practicing like I used to do with Reign. As I walked past the gymnasium, I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. To his credit, my professor was keeping to his word by maintaining his distance. I could always sense his aura nearby, but he kept to the shadows and limited engagement.

I hated how much comfort his quiet presence brought. Gripping my dagger in my fist, I reminded myself for the umpteenth occasion how many times he’d lied to me. I had to stay strong, regardless of all the things he’d said to me just that morning. Compelling my feet forward, I continued on to the outskirts of the campus, behind the gymnasium. If I would be taming my volatile rais , I needed to be as far away from everyone as possible.

I’d never wandered this far from campus before by myself, always preferring to remain within the busier sections, but today, I craved the solitude. Here, I could pretend I was back in Feywood, in the field behind our old cottage, training with Aidan.

As I turned the corner around the grand hall that held the gymnasium, the encircling grove stretched out before me radiating an otherworldly beauty. The air was infused with the soft, sweet fragrance of blooming flowers, mingling with the fresh scent of dew-kissed grass. Towering trees with silver-barked trunks and leaves that shimmered like emeralds formed a protective canopy, allowing only the gentlest rays of sunlight to filter through and dapple the ground in a mesmerizing dance of light and shadow.

Rais hummed beneath my skin, the serene haven of nature drawing it to the surface. Closing my eyes, I focused on the kiss of sunlight across my bare shoulders and the embers of energy in my core. As the power grew steadily, my lids fluttered open and I focused on the constant buzz. Holding my hands out, palms up, a flicker of light danced across my fingertips. A smile stretched across my face as I watched the shimmering spectacle.

“Okay, you can do this, Aelia.” My thoughts flew back in time, not to Aidan, but to Reign, all those months ago. Imagine a balloon in the farthest depths of your core. You can blow harder to inflate it, or you can release some of that air so that it becomes more manageable .

I imagined the balloon growing bigger, but only slightly so, and power thrummed through my veins. The flicker along my palms blossomed into a fiercely burning orb between them. The heat skimmed my flesh, warming my skin all the way up to my elbows. Before the energy grew out of control, I pictured that balloon and released a bit of air. The glowing sphere tapered, and I shifted it around my palms before tossing it from one hand to the other.

I could do this. I was in control.

A slow clap echoed from behind me, shattering my concentration. The gilded bubble burst, and my rais receded to the depths of my core once more. Spinning around, I scanned the grove for the source of the interruption.

Two familiar heads of blonde hair bobbed between the trees, and my heart sank. Belmore’s gaze caught mine first, a snide grin twisting his lips. Kian snarled as he emerged from behind his friend, only accentuating the gruesome scar that ran from his forehead down across his upper lip. Courtesy of my Shadow Fae protector.

As if my thoughts had summoned him, a whisper of darkness curled around my neck, raising the hairs on my nape. I could feel his unspoken question in the frantic state of his shadow minion.

“I’ve got this,” I whisper-hissed and unsheathed one of my daggers. The dark wraith settled across my shoulders, but still, I could feel its master’s overwhelming unease.

“What a fortuitous meeting,” Belmore crooned as he crept closer.

“Fortuitous? I thought you would have been planning this encounter from the moment Draven nullified the code of conduct.” I paused, a smirk slanting my lips. “Let’s be honest, we both know you’ve wished for this moment ever since initiation day.” I ran my finger over my rounded ear then pivoted my gaze to his pointy one. A faint scar still remained along the tip, only widening my smile.

“How very conceited of you. As if you are that important to me. That little incident was forgotten moments after it occurred.”

“Oh, really?” I grunted. “Is that why you sent Lucian and Kian after me?”

Belmore’s gaze swiveled to his friend. “I cannot be held responsible for their actions.”

Kian’s smile turned angelic, the picture of innocence. But now that scar Reign had gifted him marked the monster that lay beneath the beautiful surface.

“I was there, you imbecile,” I hissed. “You told them to welcome me to the academy.”

Belmore shrugged. “I only meant for them to show you a good time. I figured you’d be pleased. It isn’t often a Kin like you would get the chance to associate with Light Fae males.”

Kian chuckled, his thin lips twisting. “And it would have been a great time had you only given us the chance.”

“In fact, I haven’t seen you with any males since your arrival. Are you not attracted to males? Do you prefer the fairer sex?”

“Oh, shut up, Belmore. Enough of the idle chit-chat, let’s get this over with.” Clenching my dagger in one fist, I flashed him the blade.

“ Be very careful, Aelia .” Reign’s warning hissed through his shadow, reminding me of his ever-watchful presence. I had been pleasantly surprised he hadn’t interrupted sooner. “ If either of those males discover what your daggers can do, I will be forced to end them. And I will enjoy every moment of it.”

I wouldn’t say I was exactly sorry to hear that.

As if he had read my mind, he added, “On second thought, show them what your daggers can do so we can be done with them once and for all.”

“Reign…”

“You think that measly dagger can defeat our rais ?” Belmore’s words drew me from our whispered conversation. He chuckled as his entire body lit up, energy pulsing around his form.

“No, but this can.” I splayed my free hand, calling on the power lingering just below the surface and rais burst from my palm. The wave of pure light crashed over the males, sending both sprawling across the lawn.

Shaking his head to drive off the daze, Belmore muttered a curse. He pushed off the grass, leaping to his feet despite the shock embedded in his fine features. “You are going to regret that, Kin.”

“I’ve found there’s little I feel remorse for in life, Belmore. In fact, it’s only when I failed to act that I’ve regretted it. And I’m tired of fighting you.” I nodded to his friend. “And you, Kian. There are much worse things out there beyond this university. So if you choose to act upon this silly revenge plot, let’s finish it today.” I seared them with my steeliest glare, hoping they’d fall for the icy edge to my tone. I had no desire to kill either of them, but I also couldn’t spend the rest of my days at the Conservatory looking over my shoulder.

“Well said, princess.” Reign’s silky voice caressed the shell of my ear. “But know, if they lay a hand on you, I will gut them from spine to sternum.”

Belmore’s shoulders rounded, the dark glint in his ivy-green eyes receding. I lowered my dagger at his faltering resolve. He was my teammate, after all, and if we wanted to survive this year, our best chance lay in working together.

As I basked in the momentary respite, Kian lunged.