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

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

A elia

My heart was so heavy with guilt I’d been unable to drag myself out of bed this morning. Sunlight streamed through the skylight overhead, dappled rays forcing my eyes closed. Burying my head under the covers, I wished for the blasted sun to sink across the river and never return. I’d lied to Rue at Reign’s insistence, telling her I was ill because, according to the masterful liar, the fewer souls that knew what happened to Kian the better . Lies came as easily to him as breathing. I must never forget that.

Missing Aurora Weaving with Professor Gleamer would surely come back to haunt me, but I simply couldn’t summon the courage to face Belmore. Or worse, Lucian. Did they know their friend was dead?

After Reign’s shadows obliterated Belmore’s memories of the entire incident, he hauled Kian’s body over his shoulder and shot across the river, those dark wings forming a shroud around the fallen Light Fae.

Oh, gods, the whole thing was simply awful.

Of all my regrets from that fateful morning, the one that hurt the most was Reign forcing Belmore to forget that instant of indecision before the chaos ensued. For a moment, I was certain I’d won him over, and now, all would be forgotten.

A prickle of awareness lifted the hair on the back of my neck. I shoved the covers back as that all-consuming presence filled my room. In the form of shadows.

“Get out, Reign,” I snarled. “Neither you nor your murky minions are welcome in my chamber.”

The cluster of shadows—Reign, but not Reign in physical form—twisted and hissed, as if truly insulted by my words. “Good morning to you, too, princess.” His words echoed across the dark whorl.

“I have no desire to see you.”

“Precisely why I’m not actually here.”

“Or speak to you,” I spat, sliding beneath the coverlet. “Just go away.”

“Alas, I cannot. As if your sparkling personality wasn’t enough of a draw, I’ve been tasked by the headmaster to continue in my efforts?—”

“Of stalking?”

“I prefer the term personal bodyguard, but whatever you wish.”

I re-emerged from beneath the covers, irritation puckering my brow. “And what if I refuse your constant presence?” My gaze flitted across the room in search of those damnable speaking shadows. Now I just felt silly shouting at the indistinct haze. “Just come out already, Reign. This is ridiculous.”

My professor materialized from the whirling darkness, shadowtraveling from gods knew where, all sharp angles and lethal stares. “You cannot refuse, Aelia, just as I cannot. We do not have the luxury of denying the headmaster.”

“Well, I certainly cannot , but you? A prince?”

Those midnight irises narrowed as he stalked closer, a finger pressed to his lips. Within the space of a heartbeat, his shadows blossomed, cloaking us in their icy touch. “Careful, princess.” He eyed the hanging vines curling around my bed, forming the canopy of colorful flora. “You never know who might be listening.”

His words sent a chill up my spine, and I stood, my gaze darting to the nightstand where my daggers were not so well-hidden.

Reign’s dark gaze raked over my flimsy nightgown, as if he hadn’t seen me in it many times before when he kept watch overnight on my settee. That piercing stare warmed my cheeks and forced my arms up, knotting across my chest. He cleared his throat, his shifting boots causing the floorboards to let out an ominous creak. “About your daggers,” he muttered, “we need to find a more secure location to house them.”

“ We ?”

“It is our secret, is it not?” He inched closer, those shadows spinning tighter between us. “As you love to remind me, I would be in as much trouble as you for not disclosing their existence.”

“Why do you do it?” My eyes drifted to the spot beneath his tunic, to where the mark of the banished marred his flesh. “Why remain here and pretend to cower beneath Draven’s boot? Hostage to those cuffs?”

“I will always be where you are.”

It was as if the male had a direct link to my soul, every word piercing straight to my marrow. Raysa, I despised it. Hated how weak I felt around him, how out of control. And mostly, I hated myself for wanting what I should despise.

“So that you may betray me when the time is right?” I spat.

“Aelia, you know I would never?—”

I staggered back a step as he moved to reach for me and hit the foot of my bed. My body could not stand to be in this close a proximity to this Fae and still succeed in forming coherent thoughts. “And how would I know—” I stopped myself, taking a deep breath to gather myself. “You know what? Never mind. Why did you come in the first place?” I finally managed.

The corner of his lip curled. “Are you finally ready to hear the truth?”

No, of course not . But instead of speaking the truth, I replied, “I suppose ignorance isn’t always bliss. And since I plan on remaining in my chambers until this cursed code of conduct ban has come to an end, I suppose I have the time to listen.”

“Thank the gods.” He erased the space between us, his hand settling on the small of my back, the chill from his palm penetrating the thin fabric of my sleeping gown. The faint touch sent a jolt of awareness straight through me. I wriggled free of his hold, the deliberate move requiring everything I had to escape that intoxicating sensation. He held his offending hand up and motioned toward the sitting area by the hearth. “I only want you to be comfortable.”

“Before you deliver the death blow?”

The corner of his lip twitched as we traversed the chamber. “So dramatic, princess.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from the prince of shadows.” As I spoke the words, realization crashed into me like a tidal wave, overwhelming and inescapable, leaving no part of me untouched. “Wait, is that why you’ve always called me princess? It was some sort of ironic twist?”

His expression shuttered as he folded onto the settee across from the crackling hearth.

“Tell me,” I snapped as I plopped down beside him, unaware my traitorous body had inched so close to his. I scooted over, attempting to create some much-needed space.

“It was not spoken in irony.” Those impenetrable orbs of night focused on the fire, avoiding my gaze entirely. “I had mistakenly assumed that the day I was sent to acquire you would be like any other mission. I had been sent on countless tasks to seek out worthy Light Fae for the Crown, but I had never encountered anyone quite like you. Your radiance was undeniable, but it was the brilliance within that truly captivated me. I had never beheld a fiercer soul. While most royals are entitled and lazy, bred in a world of indulgence, you were different. A true princess must be as lethal as she is well-mannered, and I could see that in you, from the fire blazing within those mesmerizing pools of iridescent silver-blue.” He paused, his eyes finally chasing to mine. “You may have been raised a simple Kin, Aelia, but you possess the soul of a princess.”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly much too dry. Why did he have to spout out those beautiful, terrible words that streaked straight to my heart and forced me to question everything?

“So, it wasn’t ironic?” I blurted, if only to dispel the building tension coating the air.

A rueful chuckle pursed his lips. “No, princess, it most certainly was not.”

I sat back in the settee, relaxing the tense set of my shoulders and allowing them to gingerly rest against the cushion.

“Are you ready now?”

I nodded quickly before I could think better of it. I could only escape the truth for so long before it came for me, a thief in the night to steal the false sense of security I’d built around myself.

Reign released a slow breath before pivoting to angle his body toward mine. His knee brushed my thigh, and sparks ignited across my bare skin. I jerked from the contact, crossing my legs to avoid further accidental touching. As it was, I could barely focus with him so close. His wild, musky scent assaulted my senses and interrupted the steady thrumming of my heart.

Apparently, the effect was mutual, because despite the slight part of his lips, Reign had yet to mutter a word.

“Well?” I finally forced out.

A wry smile appeared, lighting up the gloom in those fathomless irises. “I’ve spent countless nights practicing this very speech, and now that the moment has come, I find myself at a complete loss for words.”

“Just tell me, Reign. You were right, I must know the truth. Hiding from it isn’t going to serve me well in the end.”

His shoulders rounded, a sharp exhale puckering his lips. “My entire life has been focused on duty, on a single essential mission forced upon me by my father. That task has guided my steps for as long as I can remember, practically since I was old enough to wield a sword.”

He lapsed into silence once more, the hard set of his jaw like stone.

“And that is?” I finally blurted, the quiet having grown unbearable.

“To find and destroy the child of twilight.”