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

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

A elia

You’re certain Phantom knows I’ll be here ? The twinge of apprehension in my skyrider’s tone speared straight through my heart. It was so unlike him. He shifted beneath me, his talons digging into the earth below. His eyes were pinned to the line of darkness separating Light Fae lands from the endless night beyond. We awaited along the western border of Aetheria nestled within the Alucian Mountains where the realm joined the rest of the continent of Crescentia, the kingdom of Mysthallia resting ahead of us to the west. Here, dusk was nearly upon us, as only the Raysa-kissed lands were blessed with eternal light.

“Yes, she knows.” I spoke the words aloud, but in a hushed tone to express the reverence they deserved.

Reign had refused to share the details of our dragons’ disastrous pairing, but this time I couldn’t blame his reticence. It wasn’t his secret to share. I only hoped Sol would feel comfortable enough to entrust me with the truth.

“Are you nervous about seeing her?” I hedged.

His long reptilian neck swung around so those luminous golden irises met mine. That traitorous Shadow Fae told you, didn’t he ?

“He didn’t tell me much of anything. Only that the two of you had a past.”

I cannot believe she would tell him …

“She’s his bonded skyrider, Sol. They share important things like that.” I hoped he could hear the flare of annoyance in my tone, because it wasn’t the first time I felt as if he were keeping secrets from me.

Aelia, I have never lied to you .

“Maybe not, but I know for a fact you’ve omitted important details. Like when you teamed up with Reign to keep me from the battle with Arcanum.”

That was different, it was for your safety .

“For someone who doesn’t approve of Reign, you certainly sound a lot like him.” I paused, nibbling on my bottom lip. “Wait, did you know who he was?”

He snorted and plumes of silver smoke floated into the air. If I had, I never would have allowed him near you .

“But you and Phantom can speak telepathically, couldn’t you sense him since they’re bonded?”

Phantom is rather adept at blocking me . Even through the mental link, the bitter edge laced his tone.

“Can you please tell me what happened between you?” The question was easier than the one I really wanted answered. What did he know about the twilight prophecy? Despite Sol being only a few months old in this lifetime, he’d lived countless lives before. Did the memories bleed over from one life to the next?

I would really prefer not to .

“Fine, since you refuse to tell me about that, then what do you know about the twilight prophecy?”

He shifted beneath me, his enormous ribs expanding as he huffed out a breath. Cursed, Shadow Fae bastard . He told you that too, didn’t he ?

“He did. Along with the fact that his father assigned him the task of searching out the child and destroying her—or him. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oh, Aelia, do you have any idea how many prophecies have existed in the centuries I’ve lived? Seers are capricious, and their divinations, even more so. No one knows for certain if this child exists or ever will .

“So you don’t believe I am that child?”

His shoulders lifted, and I squeezed my thighs to keep from losing my seat. I honestly do not know, Aelia . But if Reign believes you are, that is all that matters. You must keep your distance at all costs .

“He swears he hasn’t told his father anything about me.”

Then you’re a fool to believe him .

“Sol!” I cried out, shocked.

I apologize for my bluntness, Aelia, but he is the son of King Tenebris, one of the most notorious tyrants in Aetheria’s history. Only King Helroth of the Court of Infernal Night was more ruthless. Even if Reign does not wish you harm, he will have no choice but to succumb to his sire’s wishes .

A dagger to the heart would not have cut as deeply as those words. I loved Sol, valued his opinion and trusted him with my life, such was the magic of the skyrider bond. So it seemed prudent that I take his words into account. I’d been fighting my impulses to give in to Reign, to forgive him, from the moment he professed the truth. Perhaps, he truly was unworthy of my trust.

“Sol, I don’t know what to do. When I find myself in Reign’s proximity, I lose all common sense. I forget everything he’s done, everything he is. It’s as if the Spellbinders of Mysthallia have cast an incantation over me whenever he is near.”

He released a long, suffering breath and shook his head. Sometimes we are simply powerless to fight what the gods have preordained .

“Like with you and Phantom?” I flashed a quick smile.

Aelia …

“Just tell me, Sol.”

He snorted and golden flames lit up the darkening sky of Mysthallia. Only if you promise to remain ever vigilant around that Shadow Fae .

“Always.”

There honestly isn’t much to tell. We discovered we were mates in a previous reincarnation during the time of the Two Hundred Years’ War. It was a terrible time to be alive, and even more so as a dragon. The Fae sought to use us for our power, and we became nothing more than vehicles of destruction. They pitted us against us each other, forcing us to fight.

In that reincarnation, I was not born into the life of a bonded skyrider. I was a wild dragon, as most were hundreds of years ago. It’s only been in the past few decades that the academies were established, and the gods deigned to bless their most formidable students with skyriders.

On the eve of the war, I was claimed by a formidable Light Fae, while Phantom already belonged to a Shadow Fae female across the river. Once the fighting broke out, we were torn apart.

Forcing mates to live without each other is the cruelest of all tortures. It can drive one mad …

He paused for a long moment, the silence echoing the solemnity of his mood. I waited with bated breath as an onslaught of emotions surged through our mystical bond. Typically, I felt little from his side. He’d learned to block the influx of sentiments from leaking through long ago, whereas I had no such control.

One evening, in the heat of battle, she attacked me. We were both out of our minds with bloodlust, and the forced time apart had meddled with our sanity. In retrospect, I doubt she even knew what she was doing, but that momentary distraction allowed another foe to swoop in, which led to my ultimate demise, along with that of my rider .

I gasped, the inappropriate sound unstoppable. “I thought you said you’d never lost a rider.”

We were speaking of the battles with Arcanum, and this was long before that, little one. And technically, my rider perished a bit after that particular clash, but I often blame my death on his eventual demise. Had I been there to protect him …

“And as a result, you blame Phantom.”

I did. For a very long time, after each reincarnation since then. But when Arcanum attacked the academy and I was too far to reach you, I had no other choice but ask for her assistance. She enlisted Reign’s aid in keeping you safe. I suppose it was her way of atoning for past wrongs .

He fell silent once again, and I took it as the end of our conversation. I searched for words, something to comfort the tremendous beast whose heart, it appeared, was just as fragile as my own, despite the fearsome outer shell. Nothing could encompass the turmoil of emotions battering my chest.

So instead, I leaned across the enormous dragon’s neck and patted his sleek scales. A deep chuffing sound vibrated his barrel chest, and we awaited in silence until Phantom’s onyx wings darkened the skyline.

“There they are,” I whispered.

Guard your heart, little Kin, as I will guard mine .

As if it were that easy. It had been a futile attempt from the moment I set foot upon this sun-cursed soil. While Sol’s gaze remained fixed upon the soaring obsidian beast hurtling ever closer, I wondered if he, too, waged a constant battle with his own heart when his former mate was near.

And was a dragon mate bond severed upon death, or did it truly link their souls for all eternity?

As Phantom’s wings slowed and angled toward the peak where Sol was perched, Reign’s dark gaze locked onto mine. My breaths quickened, my pulse racing as I took him in, even from this distance. My heart staggered, then somersaulted, crashing against my ribcage with that one heated look. In that moment, I knew my answer.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I wished I were simply a powerless, mortal Kin, because I wasn’t certain I could survive an eternity battling my feelings for Reign. The intensity of his gaze, the undeniable pull between us—it was a war I was afraid I might lose, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to retreat.