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

Chapter 59

Chapter Fifty-Nine

R eign

Solanthus and Mordrin sailed across the infinite sky, where light battled shadow. The deadly dance of dragons and riders had my heart in a choke hold. I forced my lungs to continue expanding despite the fury and suffocating fear crushing my chest. Standing here, completely helpless was pure torture.

I should have been up there. It was my duty to protect Aelia.

Now flying above Shadow lands, if she attempted a direct strike, Ruhl would figure it out, he would sense the tangle of rais and nox as I had. If he hadn’t already. And I strongly suspected that he had. With all the time he’d spent with her as of late, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. My brother was many things, but stupid was not on that list. What I did not understand was why he still kept the truth, or even his assumptions from Father?

Or perhaps he had not, and my sire was simply waiting for an opportune moment.

I hazarded a glance over my shoulder at the king. The male who had made me a ruthless monster. Maybe Ruhl had shared his suppositions about Aelia, which explained his unexpected presence here today. Had he come to see her in action for himself?

Solanthus soared across the clear blue giving chase to Mordrin who had crossed the boundary into night. No ! If Aelia’s volatile rais was loosed in Shadow lands, Ruhl’s assumptions, which up to now would have been just that, suspicions and suppositions with no proof, would surely be confirmed.

Phantom, where are you ?

Close, just behind the Darkmania Falls, per your orders. Ready to swoop in and save the day if necessary .

Good .

If Aelia were somehow exposed, I was ready to step in. Phantom was prepared to raze both academies to the ground, and I would throw my stubborn cuoré over my shoulder and escape to the farthest corner of the continent, all else be damned. I would not lose Aelia today. Not ever.

My heart hammered against my ribcage as my gaze tipped skyward once more. Aelia soared above the spiraling turrets of Arcanum before diverting back toward Light Fae lands. Good girl . The sunlight glinted off Sol's iridescent scales, a beacon of the power she wielded. Below, the dark form of Ruhl on Mordrin mirrored my own turmoil. He was holding back, but why?

They rose into the cloud banks, a tempest of motion against the serene backdrop of the late afternoon sky. As they emerged, Solanthus gave chase once again. Every fiber of my being wanted to shout for her to pull back, to not engage, but this battle was hers to command, not mine to govern.

As they ascended, Sol's wings beat with a rhythm that pulsed through the very air, powerful and commanding. Aelia maneuvered him with the expertise of a seasoned rider, her body leaning into each twist and turn as they hunted Ruhl through the sky. Mordrin dodged each blast of Sol's fiery breath with a desperate precision. Ruhl’s face was set, focused, the embodiment of the shadows he commanded.

My thoughts flitted back to Aelia’s words after the last trial. Could it be true? Had my brother actually changed in the past four years? No, it wasn’t possible. He was Tenebris’s heir, raised for one thing only. He wasn’t capable of change, of kindness, of growth.

A screech echoed across the sky, and my heart catapulted across my chest as the golden dragon attacked. Another wave of dragonfire burst from Sol’s maw, singeing Mordrin’s left wing. This time, the screech came from my brother’s mount, one of excruciating pain. He dropped a few yards, his wing flaps slowing.

The tension was palpable, a living thing that wrapped its fingers around my throat. I watched, stunned, as Sol gained the upper hand, his massive body outmaneuvering Mordrin with that injured wing. Sol was ruthless, striking again. The slate dragon banked to avoid the brunt of his jagged talons across his good wing.

Ruhl's grip slipped, his body arching away from Mordrin’s. He fell in a slow, horrifying descent toward the forest below.

My breath caught. “No!” The word was torn from me, an unexpected near-silent scream that Aelia must have somehow heard above the roar of wind and wing. In a heartbeat, she directed Sol in a steep dive, her own life suddenly secondary to the male who had haunted us both.

Sol's talons stretched out, grasping, as Aelia leaned far over his side, her hand extended. I watched, paralyzed, barely breathing, as the tips of her fingers brushed Ruhl’s arm. Then, with a strength that contradicted her slender frame, she caught him. Ruhl's body jerked violently as he was pulled against Sol's warm hide, clutched in Aelia's determined grasp.

Good gods. She saved him.

Relief flooded me, sharp and sweet, but it was laced with an ache that throbbed deep in my soul. Why had she saved him? She risked everything, not for the glory of the win or the sanctity of her court, but for Ruhl—my brother, her enemy.

I always knew her compassion bordered on the point of recklessness, but was there more to this? Had the cuorem bond actually spun true feelings for him?

No. It couldn’t be. As I watched the pair descend, I tossed the fear aside. It was simply Aelia, exactly what I loved about her, the depth of her courage and the boundless expanse of her heart.

Sol landed in the middle of the flight field inciting a tremor across the verdant land. Overhead the battle had grown quiet with no remaining members of either squad still left to vie for the final spot and a chance at victory.

Aelia had won her match.

From across the way, I could just make out Ruhl’s scowl as he slumped behind Aelia between Sol’s impressive wing bones. Her expression was unreadable, and a pang of uncertainty trampled across my insides. I watched from the dais, keeping my countenance an expressionless mask, torn between surprising gratitude and a gnawing fury.

Movement across the platform turned my attention to Father who barreled by his guards and leapt onto the lawn below. Curses . I rushed down the steps behind him, keeping a few strides between us. Aelia was my acquisition and mentee. It made absolute sense that I would go to her. Or at least, those were the lies I told myself, because staying away from her at this critical juncture was impossible.

“Ruhl,” Father bellowed, the wrath and disgust in his tone palpable. A torrent of shadows trailed his form, blanketing him in endless night. “What in Noxus’s name was that ?”

Moving out from behind Aelia, Ruhl slid down Sol’s leg and faced our sire with surprising calm.

Oh gods, Ruhl knew somehow. That could be the only reason he would act so composed in the face of the king’s ire.

“I fell.” His shoulders lifted calmly, as if falling from his dragon was a common occurrence.

A vein popped across the king’s brow, his entire demeanor edging on the brink of total rage. His shadows whirled faster, a wave of nox draping the air in dark energy. “What do you mean you fell ?” he gritted out. “You’ve trained your whole life for this moment, Ruhl!” His roar echoed through the trees, powerful and deadly. “Did I choose unwisely in selecting you as my heir? Perhaps I should have designated your brother…”

I halted midstride, all the air expelling from my lungs at the word.

“I’m sure Dom will make a fine king one day.” Ruhl’s reply forced my errant organs to once again comply. Of course, Father was speaking of Dominion, his youngest heir, certainly not me, the bastard. “And I’m sure even great kings occasionally fall from their dragons. In fact, I remember such a royal in recent history, King Alaric of Ether. Surely, Father, you remember the name?”

Noxus, perhaps Aelia had been right, and the sniveling child who doted on Father’s every word had changed. I had never seen him speak to the king in such a manner.

“Excuse me, I must tend to my student,” I muttered through a gritted jaw. Forcing my legs to move around the arguing royals, I marched toward Aelia, compelling my face into a mask of calm when all I wanted to do was run to her and drag her into my arms. She slid off Sol at my approach, wiping the perspiration from her brow.

“Are you all right, Miss Ravenwood?” I managed.

She dipped her head. “Yes, professor.”

“You did quite well up there. You were the last student from Flare team left airborne.”

“I was.” Her eyes chased over my shoulder to where Ruhl and my father stood, tangled in a hushed, heated debate, then began scanning the field around us. “Did everyone else from my team survive?”

I could read the fear in her eyes for her friends. “Yes.”

“Thank the goddess.”

“Did anything of consequence occur that you need to share?” Namely, did my brother discover your secret? The real question sat poised on the tip of my tongue.

Aelia released a careful breath before shaking her head and meeting my eyes. “No, nothing that we cannot discuss later.”

“Very well.”

“I suppose I should meet this valiant Light Fae initiate who saved my heir’s life.” The king’s voice over my shoulder iced the blood in my veins.

No. No, damn it, Ruhl.

I cast a murderous glare in my brother’s direction as he and the king stepped closer. The little bastard’s smirk remained perfectly in place.

“As I told you, Father, I was paired with Miss Ravenwood in the last trial. She proved quite a worthy partner, despite her Lightness.”

The shadow of a smile cracked my father’s thin lips. Dark tendrils of nox oozed from his pores, circling Aelia. “Isn’t that interesting?”

Get ready, Phantom . I shot the command through our mental link, prepared to take on my father and his entire retinue of Umbral Guards if that was what it took to keep Aelia safe.

Ready when you are .

Aelia dipped into a quick curtsy, her gaze remaining pinned to the grass, but the flare of rais was unmistakable. It seemed I wasn’t the only one prepared to fight our way out. “An honor to meet you, Your Umbral Highness,” she murmured.

“Yes, I suppose it would be.” He tipped her chin up, forcing her gaze to his curious one. Nostrils flaring, his cold, hard eyes razed over her.

Every muscle in my body coiled, poised to strike. My shadows twisted along my arms, gathering across my shoulders. She was within arm’s reach. I’d grab Aelia and shoot into the night sky before Tenebris could strike.

The air crackled with intensity. I barely dared to breathe at the slow, agonizing scrutiny. Noxus, how I wished I could tear these damned manacles off. Even now I could feel their siphoning energy inhibiting my power. An endless moment later, the king released her, drawing in a slow breath. “I do hope you’ll attend the celebratory ball at Arcanum this evening, Miss Ravenwood?”

Aelia’s wary gaze flitted to find mine then pivoted to Ruhl’s. A barely perceptible nod from my brother.

“Of course she’ll be there,” he replied. “It’s poor manners to deny a prince.”

“Or a king,” Father snapped.

“Of course.” Despite the calm edge to her tone, tension vibrated from her aura. Her fingers lay mere inches from her blades, and I could practically feel them twitching to reach for their comfort.

As if one royal wasn’t enough, I barely restrained a groan when I caught a glimpse of glittering movement over my father’s shoulder. King Elian, in all his radiant splendor, marched toward our semi-circle with an entourage of Royal Guardians.

“Tenebris,” Elian grumbled. “I believe you’ve harassed my citizen enough for the day. The female initiate only just finished a trying battle, defeating your great heir. Perhaps, you should allow her to be dismissed with the rest of her team, so that you too may return to your side of the Luminoc.”

Father’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits of darkness. “If I didn’t know better, Elian, I would think you were trying to dismiss me .”

A tight smile crept across the Light Fae king’s lips. “I would never be so ill-mannered.”

“I didn’t believe so.” Tenebris glanced to Ruhl before turning to his guards. “I suppose we should return to Arcanum to ensure Malakar has everything ready for the grand feast tonight.”

Not once in the entire conversation did my father’s gaze flicker to mine. Did he truly believe me to be so inconsequential, or was his control simply that impressive?

Either way, I was certain of one thing. If I wished to pose a challenge to my father when the fateful day came that he discovered the truth about Aelia, I would need to be at full power. And the only way to do that was without these damned cuffs.

And with my cuoré at my side.