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

Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

A elia

“No,” I cried. “There must be another way.” The murky insides of Reign’s chamber blurred around me as I processed the devastating truth. One of us must die.

“There is no way out of a blood oath, Aelia. Trust me, I know. Ever since I suspected who you might be and, more importantly, who you might be to me , I’ve been poring through the ancient texts in the library hoping to find some sort of reprieve. The cuorem bond is sacred, gifted by the gods themselves. I cannot fathom them doling out such a cruel fate.”

He curled his arms around my waist so that I was once more flush against the hard planes of his torso. The full body contact set my nerve endings aflame. He pressed his forehead to mine, our breaths mingling.

“Our only hope is to run. Please, Aelia. If my dying would save you from the prophecy, I would gladly offer my soul to Noxus, but I fear what will happen when I’m gone…”

“Don’t say that.” A single tear spilled over, then another. How could I be forced to choose between abandoning everything I’ve ever known and saving the male I love, my mate ?

Reign swept his finger across my cheek, catching the first tear. Then he pressed his lips to my skin, kissing each and every one after. He held me tight against his reassuring form until I could cry no more.

Once the sobs sputtered away and my shoulders stopped trembling, he slowly unraveled his muscled arms from around my back. My body felt the loss of his acutely.

He pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead before shifting and dropping me onto the mattress beside him. “If you choose to stay, we will have to find a way to break the bond.”

“W-what… why?”

“With all the time we spend together, it will become unbearable. Even incomplete, the effects will be debilitating for both of us. I can barely control myself as it is. Then there is always the possibility of undesirable side effects…” He shook his head, misery carved into his jaw. “The cuorem bond desires to be completed, it’s practically a sentient force, compelling us together. If anything were to happen to me, I don’t want you to suffer?—”

“Damn it, Reign, it’s not as if I can simply stop loving you.”

“No, I imagine that will take time to wear off.” A rueful grin ignited a spark in his dark irises. “But there are steps that can be taken to hasten the severing of the connection.”

“Like what?” The notion sounded completely horrifying.

He heaved out a pained breath. “Like… developing feelings for another.”

Pain lanced through my chest at the mere insinuation. Just seeing Reign talking with Liora had sent pangs of jealousy ripping through my insides. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be forced to stand by as he actively pursued someone else.

“No,” I spat. “Absolutely not.”

“There’s no time to argue, princess. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before one, if not both, of the kings discovers the truth. And when they do, we’ll be out of options.” He rose, the bed screeching beneath him, and offered a hand. “Come, I’ll take you back to your room.”

Maybe it was this burgeoning bond, or perhaps, I’d simply come to know Reign that well, but the agony in his gaze rooted my feet to the spot. When I didn’t place my hand in his, those dark brows knitted as he regarded me.

My thoughts were tormented; denying Reign was the most difficult thing I had ever been forced to do. Under any other circumstances, I would have leapt into his arms and begged him to complete the bond. Claws of indecision lashed through my chest, tearing at my ribs. I wanted him, loved him, more than anything.

“Can we pretend, once more, just for tonight?” My words were a rushed whisper, as if speaking them more quickly would erase their very existence.

“Princess…” A rough growl vibrated Reign’s chest as he stood over me.

“I’m not asking you for anything,” I swiftly added.

“I know you’re not. It’s my restraint that worries me.” A wicked grin crawled across his face, and gods, I just wanted to bask in its fierce beauty.

“Please?” I reached for his offered hand and when he reluctantly took it, I tugged him to the edge of the bed so that he stood between my legs. I needed this moment of intimacy, this final time together… for closure. I wasn’t sure such a thing existed, but I had to try.

“This is the opposite of what we should be doing if we wish to break the bond.”

I rose from the bed and onto my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his. A shudder raced through his body so violently it vibrated against my own. “Just. One. Night.” I punctuated each word with a kiss.

By the time the last one fell, Reign claimed my lips with the ferocity of a storm of nox unleashed, each kiss a crashing wave, demanding and possessive, as if he could imprint his very soul onto mine. And a part of me was certain he already had.

We toppled back onto the bed, scrambling from the swirl of sheer power raging between us. Reign hovered over me, his corded arms pinning me to the mattress. A frenzy of shadows whipped around us, icy tendrils crawling over my skin. His lips ravaged mine, devouring my mouth, then moving down to nibble at the curve of my jaw and then down my neck. Every touch was pure heaven, like the gods-blessed rais raining down on me.

Reign wedged his hips between my thighs, his arousal rubbing exactly where I needed it. Gods, I wanted to shred the clothes between us. I needed to feel his skin against my own. A pulsing presence demanded it. It was as if Reign had unlocked something deep inside me when he explained the existence of the cuorem bond.

That pulsating, insatiable sensation had been there all along, only I’d never been able to put a name to it.

He rocked his hips against mine, igniting a fire that could set the entire campus ablaze. Gods, why was I fighting this again? Every touch, every breath, every moment with Reign felt so right.

As his lips assaulted mine, his hands traveled unexplored areas beneath my sleeping gown, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “Oh, princess, the things you do to me…” he murmured, voice laced with desire. “You have no idea how frayed the fine tethers of my restraint are right now.” His fingers crawled up the inside of my thigh until they found the soft silk of my panties. He ran his finger across the sensitive hollow, and I gasped as he hit the taut bundle of nerves at my core.

“I think I do,” I rasped out. Knowing this could be the last time we were together only heightened the heated moment, magnifying every lingering touch. My hips thrust, unbidden, my body moving instinctively against his circling finger.

I reached between us, desperate to touch him. My fingers latched onto the hem of his tunic and dragged it over his head. My hand met warm skin, rippling with finely sculpted muscle beneath. I never thought it would be possible for such an unyielding form to bring so much comfort. He was everywhere, all consuming, his shadows icy tendrils licking over my heated flesh. As much as I reveled in their ghostly touch, nothing was better than his hands, his lips, all of his flesh and blood blanketing me in his essence.

My hand crept lower, fingers trailing each carved indentation of his abdomen until I reached his trousers. I wanted to feel him, revel in the touch of his desire for me . I slid my hand beneath the waistband, and he froze above me, his entire body going absolutely still.

“Aelia…” A warning growl parted his lips.

“I just want?—”

“I cannot be held responsible for what comes next, princess. If you keep pushing me to the edge, it’s only a matter of time until I fall. Or worse, jump.”

A ridiculous smile melted across my lips to think I had that sort of power over him. The great prince of shadows was crumbling beneath my touch.

Before he could stop me, my hand closed around his silky hardness. A moan escaped through his clenched teeth followed by a string of curses to the gods, or maybe they were praises, I couldn’t quite be sure in the thrill of the moment.

He thrust his hips, and I slid my hand up and down his length. He was slick with desire, and the thought alone had me giddy. I had no idea what I was doing, but he seemed to enjoy it. “It’s your turn.” A devious grin stretched across his face as his fingers slid beneath my panties and dipped inside me.

Now I was the one groaning.

Reign had been the only male to touch me there, to elicit that sort of response from my body. It was incredible and terrifying, all in the same instant.

“Gods, you feel so good,” he groaned. “If I close my eyes just right, I can pretend I’m inside you, claiming you as mine.”

A sliver of my heart fractured at the confession. I wanted this, I needed him so badly, but I couldn’t forsake everyone I loved… could I? There had to be another way for us to be together, and I would find it. Promises were broken every day in Feywood. Surely, there must be a way to sever a Fae blood vow.

Running away was not an option, but neither was losing the first male I loved. The male I was born to love.

Reign’s movements grew more frantic, and his devastating fingers followed his pace, drawing me from my dismal thoughts back to the heated moment. That insatiable fire began to build, brilliant embers scorching through my veins. His eyes locked to mine, the dark abyss like molten obsidian, firelight dancing across the night.

I could feel his climax approaching, much as I could feel mine. The raging pleasure soared through me, stealing the breath from my lungs. A tremor surged from the base of my spine down to my toes and all the way up to my fingertips. For an endless minute, I didn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. I was nothing but pure pleasure, caught in Reign’s adoring gaze.

He hurtled over the precipice an instant later with my name on his lips, his entire body shuddering above me, the intense vibrations coursing through my own. We remained there, locked in each other’s arms, neither speaking nor moving as the echoes of pleasure thrummed between us.

Minutes passed—or perhaps even hours. I was too scared to move, to shatter this fleeting moment of pretend. Because once it was over, we would be forced to face the reality: Reign was still oathbound to kill me, and I still refused to run.

He was the first to break the heavy silence, lifting his hand to my cheek and caressing my flushed skin. “If that didn’t change your mind, I’m not sure anything will.” A sinful grin brightened the darkness settling into his expression.

“I love you, Reign, and I promise to find a way out of this, somehow. If the gods chose us to be fated mates, I refuse to believe they would be so cruel as to bestow this bleak destiny upon us.”

“I wish I had your relentlessly optimistic nature, princess.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of my mouth, and my heart sputtered out a dismal beat. “But I don’t… So I must be realistic about our future, despite the agony it will cause me.”

“So our pretend time is over?”

“Soon, yes. But if this is truly to be our final intimate moments together, let us not waste them.” He hauled me into his side, curling his body around mine. “Rest, starlight.”

I must have fallen asleep because at some point in the middle of the night, Reign woke me. I watched him, still groggy from sleep, as he pushed himself off the bed, heaving out a breath. “Come, I’ll take you back to the dormitory. The third Umbral Trial begins in a few days, and it will take place across the river. Everyone will be watching, Aelia.”

And just like that, we were back to professor and student, mentor and mentee. After everything we’d been through, we were once again reduced to this. Clenching my teeth, I bit back another round of tears. I’d let them fall once I reached the privacy of my chambers.

I was Aelia, carved of stone, and I must find that strength if I wished to not only survive, but also to create a future worth living.