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

Chapter 52

Chapter Fifty-Two

A elia

The toe of a thick boot slammed into my shin, and I hissed out a curse, lifting my gaze across the banquet table. “What the stars?” I squealed at Sy.

“Quick, distract her,” he mouthed from across the assortment of platters. Glancing past the trays of Fae delicacies, I caught sight of the blonde, spikey-haired male who had run my best friend’s heart through a meat grinder this term. Devin stalked by, his eyes red and swollen, as they had been for the last three days since his beloved Mariana failed the last trial and had been banished to Arcanum.

The sight of him pining over his girlfriend had driven Rue into an uncharacteristic state of sullenness. Turning my attention to my roommate, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Rue, do you have any lager left from home?”

She pushed stringer beans across her plate, staring listlessly at the deep green vegetable. “I’m not sure, why?” She didn’t even look up at me as she spoke.

Which at least allowed for the moping Devin to pass by unnoticed.

“We have yet to celebrate our third win this term.”

Rue blew out a breath and dropped her fork onto the plate, the clatter ringing out across the table. “I’m not sure if Heaton had any left…” Her bottom lip quivered, and my heart sank.

“Nice distraction, Aelia.” Sy tsked, shaking his head. “As if bringing up her missing brother would help.”

Ugh . “Oh, shut it, Symon.” Wrapping my arm around Rue’s slim shoulders, I drew her into my side. “I’m sorry. I—I didn’t think. I was only hoping to get your mind off things.”

“A night of drinking copious amounts of alcohol could help…” Sy threw Rue a devious smile, waggling his light brows. “It could be just the three of us.”

“Yes!” I squeezed her tighter, and the faintest smile appeared.

“I don’t know if we should. We have classes tomorrow, and the final trial is next week. Shouldn’t we be in tip-top form?”

Sy’s brow lifted into an incredulous arc. “Who are you, and what have you done to our friend Rue? Since when are you the responsible one?”

“Symon’s right, and now that I think about it, why limit it to only the three of us? Maybe what you need is a little distraction from the opposite sex.”

“Oh, yes, I concur.” Sy’s head bobbed up and down. “Forget a BFFF night, let’s get drunk and have meaningless sex with other first-years before we all die.”

A chuckle squeezed out as I regarded my ridiculous friend. “Wait a second, BFFF?”

“Yes, best Fae friends forever. Duh, Aelia, where have you been?”

“Too busy pining over a certain professor,” Rue interjected. “I’m not the only one in need of a distraction.”

“You know what they say,” Symon interjected, “the best way to get over someone?—”

“Is to get under someone else,” Rue finished, cackling gloriously. She reached for her cup and downed the remnants of honey wine. “You know what? You two are right. This Devin thing must stop. There are dozens of eligible males at this academy, so why limit ourselves?”

“Or…” Sy’s lips twitched into a mischievous smirk. “Why limit ourselves to this side of the river?”

“Wait, what?” I squealed.

Rue clapped her hands, the murky curtain across her typically expressive irises finally receding. “Yes! I am all in. Did you see some of those Shadow Fae males? There’s something to be said about the bad boys, those sprawling midnight tattoos and muscles for days. They make Devin look like a pathetic, washed-out weakling.”

I barely kept my head from bobbing up and down in agreement. Maybe it was the Shadow Fae in me, but there certainly was something about the darkness that called to me. Not that I’d ever admit it out loud, but there was even something about Ruhl… And with him, I couldn’t even blame it on the cuorem bond.

Shaking my head to toss out the wild thoughts, I focused on this more important bit of insanity. “We cannot just sneak across the river and go hunting for Shadow Fae hook-ups. What are we going to do, just skulk into their dormitories?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, my round-eared friend. With the Umbral Trials in full force, there are plenty of other Light Fae lumbering around the campus.” Sy ran his finger over the shell of my ear. “And thanks to your newfound friendship with the Shadow prince, you are the one that will get us in.”

I was already shaking my head before he finished the sentence, despite knowing how futile it was.

As it turned out, Heaton had left an entire barrel full of lager in his dormitory, and amid tears toasting our absent team leader, the three of us finished half of it before curfew. Rue’s smothered giggles echoed across the foyer of the Hall of Glory as we tiptoed out the gilded doors.

The chilly air skimmed over my face, blowing strands of dark hair and the occasional platinum streaks across my eyes. Tucking the loose locks behind my ears, I led the way toward the Luminoc. As I brushed the rounded tip, I wondered if Melisara had been able to break the spell binding my powers, if my ears would sharpen to points like those of my friends.

Thumbing the warm medallion at my chest, I couldn’t wait for this term to be over so I could confront Aidan once again. There was no reason for him to keep the truth from me any longer. It was clear I was the child of twilight, and whatever he was keeping hidden from me couldn’t be worse than that.

“Eek, it’s so cold!” Rue’s shrill voice turned my attention to the present where she stood beside the river, dipping a finger into the murky waters. Arcanum Citadel loomed just across the narrow expanse, the spiraling turrets reaching into the starlit sky.

“Come on, Aelia, can’t you whip up one of your luminous creations?” Symon stood at the edge, shivering.

“Why can’t you?”

Symon leaned against Rue who had finally straightened, the pair staggering on the breeze. “Because clearly you had less lager than we did.” They laughed, and then Sy twirled Rue in a circle.

I held my breath as she teetered on the edge, a second away from plunging into the frigid depths. “Okay, okay, I’ll try. Just keep still.”

Rue curled her arms around Symon, the two huddled together for warmth, and possibly more. Oh gods, I only hoped they wouldn’t take things too far tonight and ruin a good friendship.

No, if all went well, they would each find a Shadow Fae to rub up against for a few hours, and we could make our hasty retreat back to the Conservatory before anyone was the wiser. And if everything went terribly… well, we could be spending the rest of the term stuck at the brutal academy.

“Come on, Aelia!” Rue cried out. “We have to get over there before my buzz wears off.”

I didn’t think there was any chance of that judging by her dreamy expression and the glimmer in her unfocused gaze. Drawing in a breath, I searched my core for the flicker of rais then turned my attention across the river. Nox pulsed from the earth, the dark vibrations skimming over my skin.

I barely had to call on my powers, energy erupting from my fingertips in a fiery surge of ethereal light. A luminous bridge spanned the dark waters, wide enough for us to walk two across.

“Raysa’s tits,” Symon blurted as the light formation appeared. “Looks like Lightweaver’s Craft is really paying off.”

I shrugged lamely. “Sure is.” Steering my inebriated friends toward the bridge, I hurried them along the shimmering expanse. The moment my first boot hit Shadow Fae soil, a swirl of dark energy filled my core. Moonlight glistened across my shoulders, and I reveled in the sudden cool darkness after the overbearing sunlight. I could almost feel invisible curls of enticing nox invading my insides.

All the other times I’d traveled into the Shadow Court, I’d never felt anything quite like this. The energy expanded, growing and swirling with my rais in a tangle of heady sensations. It reminded me of the time I’d managed to siphon some nox from Ruhl in the Mirror of Illusions trial. A storm of power battled it out in my core, squeezing my lungs and quickening my heart rate.

“Hey A! Are you coming?” Rue’s airy voice pivoted my attention from the brewing tornado within. She and Symon were already at the tree line, steps from the Twilight Forest that surrounded the citadel.

“Yes, be right there.” Waving my hand, the luminous bridge disintegrated along with the vice grip around my lungs.

Good gods, what was happening?

The only thing that had changed since my last visit across the divide was that odd encounter with the ghostly version of my mother, which could have just been a hallucination. There had also been the revelation of the cuorem bond… Could either of those be the cause for my sudden surge in power?

As much as I hated the prospect given our current situation, I would have to consult Reign. My cuoré had remained as distant as ever after the revelation that Aidan had informed him of my mysterious bloodline. The fact that he knew more about my heritage than I did only infuriated me more.

A rustling of leaves from the forest had every hair on my body standing on end. Even Rue and Symon, despite the abundant amounts of lager they’d ingested, froze amidst the shadows.

“Well, well, well, what are you doing on my side of the Luminoc, yet again?” That taunting voice permeated the air an instant before its owner emerged through the dark copse. A whirlwind of shadows danced around Ruhl’s form, a cape of utter darkness blanketing the shadow heir. A smirk pulled up the corner of his lip as he regarded me. “It would seem you’re making a habit of this, duskling. Did you miss me already?”