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

Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

A elia

The ever-shifting landscape stretched on endlessly, and after hours of walking, it seemed as if we were no closer to Thalindra than when we started—despite Reign’s assurances otherwise. The arid valley had long since given way to a lush forest teeming with luminous trees whose branches intertwined in intricate patterns that formed natural glowing runes. They appeared almost sentient, their roots deeply connected to the mystical forces of the land.

With darkness looming ever closer, the thick copse allowed little light to shine through. I never thought I’d miss the never-ending sunlight of the Ethereal Court, but as my footsteps grew wearier, I wished darkness would never come.

“Are we there yet?” I groused for the umpteenth time.

“Not yet, princess.” Reign no longer held my hand, instead, I stumbled behind him, my muscles fatigued from exertion and my tummy grumbling for food.

With each step deeper into this forbidden realm, Reign’s ever-present shadows grew dimmer. I occasionally performed a quick scan to determine the viability of my own rais , which was also dwindling. “How much farther?”

“Just a little longer. If we hadn’t been forced to stop every half hour for snack breaks, we would have been there by now.” Reign hauled the pack on his broad back further up his shoulder.

“I can’t help it. I’m starved. With all this activity, I’ve burned much more energy than normal, and I’m in desperate need of replenishing.”

“There she is, there’s the spoiled little princess I remember.”

“Oh, Fae you,” I growled. “What do you know of hardship—” I bit back the rest of the sentence as slivers of his dismal story rushed my thoughts. I supposed for a prince, he hadn’t exactly had the most comfortable upbringing.

We lapsed into silence as I focused on my footing once again, careful to avoid the maze of thick roots underfoot. According to the good professor, Melisara lived within the deepest parts of this forest. Whereas most of the powerful Spellbinders resided in the capital, she chose to live solitarily in this enchanted wood. Besides that meager bit of information, Reign hadn’t disclosed much else about this mysterious female.

The chorus of birds and rustling leaves that had accompanied us this far was abruptly replaced by an oppressive silence that prickled the back of my neck. “So how do you know Gideon, anyway?” I blurted.

“He was a classmate from Arcanum.” He slowed, and I lengthened my stride to catch up with his long ones. His eyes swiveled across the darkening woods, and that prickle of unease intensified at his pinched expression.

“Then why is he still there?” I continued, all the same. “If you are of the same age, he should have graduated years ago.”

“Instead of joining the Umbral Guard, he opted to stay on as a professor.” Reign moved closer, every inch of my flesh aware of his sudden proximity.

“Oh, what a happy coincidence, both of you instructors at such fine Fae establishments.”

He threw me a good eyeroll before his brows furrowed. “Those students are lucky to have him. I was lucky—” The thunder of heavy footfalls ripped the final words from Reign’s mouth. “Get down!” His massive form pummeled me to the ground, the familiar feel of his icy shadows blanketing my body relieving a bit of the panic.

The whoosh of arrows zipped overhead, metal piercing thick trunks echoing through the air. Shards of wood splintered, landing in a blur all around us.

“Vandals,” Reign snarled, his voice a dangerous growl. “Melisara warned Gideon the miscreants in these parts often dipped their arrowheads in poison, so stay down.”

As the volley of arrows hissed through the air, I snuck a peek from beneath his muscled arm. Sure enough, each arrowhead was tipped with a sickly green substance that glistened ominously in the dappled sunlight.

Muffled voices grew closer, barely distinguishable over the frantic pounding of my heart. “We must move. Quietly and quickly,” he hissed in my ear.

Dark shadows curled around us, the thick impenetrable ones that he often used to conceal us. “Go, now,” he rasped out, a jagged edge to his tone that wasn’t there a moment ago. Perspiration slickened his brow, and a sickly pallor coated his cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered as he hauled me into a crouch.

“Nothing, just move.”

We crept through the forest, staying as close to the ground as possible as the arrows continued their dance overhead. The underbrush suddenly erupted with movement, and dark figures emerged from the shadows, their faces obscured by hoods.

“Freeze.” Reign’s shadow whispered across the shell of my ear. I did as instructed, stilling on all fours behind a thick trunk. He positioned himself beside me so that I was nestled between his rigid form and the enormous tree.

“Where did they go?” A male voice hissed.

“They were here a moment ago,” another one replied.

I pressed my side against the tree, hoping to disappear between it and Reign’s icy shadows.

A cloaked male stood inches away from us, signaling toward the others. “Keep looking, they can’t have gotten far.” He lifted his long nose in the air and breathed in deeply. “They’re not Spellbinders, that’s for sure.”

“Mortals?”

“No, I don’t believe so. Either way, if they’re in our land they must pay the tithe.” He ticked his head to the encroaching darkness. “Find them.”

The dozen or so hooded figures strode right past us, and I drew in a quick breath. I hadn’t realized I’d momentarily stopped breathing. As their hushed voices began to fall away, I stretched out my legs, muscles cramping from the crouched position. The shadows flitting around us began to dissipate, and Reign blew out a ragged breath.

Sweat covered his brow, and a fine tremor coursed down to his hands.

A whisper of fear streaked up my spine at the sight. “Reign? What’s wrong, damn it?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine in a moment. I told you, using nox here is extremely taxing.”

Oh gods, and here we were covered in a cozy blanket of it for the last few minutes. “Why would you do something so stupid?”

“To protect you,” he snarled.

“We could have found another way,” I muttered, the fire lacing my tone already dimming from his sweet reply. “Come on, let me help you up.” I offered my hand, and his unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened.

“Aelia! You’re bleeding…”

“I am?”

His fingers closed around my wrist and twisted, revealing a tiny cut across the top of my hand.

“It’s nothing, barely a scratch.”

Raw fury pulsed through his pitch irises as his eyes fixed on the wound. “It doesn’t matter the size if the poison reaches your bloodstream.” His nonexistent shadows whirled to life, whipping into a wild uproar.

“How do you know it’s from the arrows? I could have scratched it on a twig or the bark of a tree as we were crawling.”

He brought my hand up to his nose and drew in a deep breath, his lips twisting. “Fuck!” he hissed.

Oh, for the love of Raysa. “Now what?”

“Now, I have to get you to Melisara before the hallucinations start.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Getting hauled into Reign’s chest was my only reply. He cradled me in his arms, those shadows slithering over my suddenly warming skin. I could feel the strain in his body as he forced his legs forward. I only hoped we were as close to Melisara’s home as he claimed.

The luminescent trees blurred across my peripheral vision as Reign moved faster. I waited for the onslaught of pain I’d endured when I’d been poisoned by the gloomwhisper, but it never came. Instead, only an enjoyable numbness tingled through my veins, drifting higher up to fog my mind. It was a pleasant haze, much like the one I experienced when I indulged in too much lager or Fae wine.

“This isn’t so bad,” I murmured, a strange, ethereal quality to my tone. “Much better than last time.”

“I’m glad someone is enjoying this.” His jaw was clenched so tight, a tendon feathered across his dark scruff.

“I don’t think we have to rush, Reign. I feel fine; fantastic, even.”

“That means it’s spreading fast, princess,” he growled, only lengthening his strides. His dwindling shadows spread across his back, and those wings of pure night coalesced. Instead of rising off the ground, we only moved faster, darting through the trees at lightning speed.

Another tremor raced through Reign’s body, vibrating my own. Perspiration slickened his tunic, bleeding into my own.

That fear blossomed once again as memories of the last time he’d depleted his nox and passed out at the Darkmania Falls flickered to the surface. “Reign, please, slow down. You’re going to over-exert yourself.”

“I’m fine,” he snarled. “You are the one who is injured.”

“Neither of us will survive this if you pass out from the strain.”

“I won’t pass out, princess. I’ve survived much worse than this, trust me. And you are not dying today.”

“Well, I certainly hope not.”

“No, I mean the poison shouldn’t be lethal. It only has some undesirable side effects. Though with you, I’m never quite sure what will happen.”

“Like what?”

“I told you, hallucinations.” He ticked his head at an enormous tree with roots that extended high into the air. “We’re almost there.”

I blinked quickly, wondering if I’d already started hallucinating, because from here, it appeared as if the tree was walking toward us. “Reign…”

“Yes?”

“Is that tree walking on its roots?”

“It is.”

“Oh, thank the gods, I thought I was hallucinating already.” I squeezed my eyes closed, then blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the haze. “Why is it walking toward us?”

“I sent one of my shadows to deliver a message to Melisara about the vandal attack. My best guess is that the tree is our transportation.”