Chapter 15

Aelia

"Come now, Rue, we can't be late." I tugged my friend down the spiraling staircase, weaving between the crowd of Fae.

Miraculously, I'd survived my first week at the Conservatory of Luce, standing shoulder to shoulder against much more powerful Light Fae. I was still the only one without a hint of magic, or rais, as everyone continued to remind me, while all the other students had already manifested basic skills like illumination sight and photokinesis, even before setting foot on campus.

At least today, I hoped to level the playing field. Combat would surely be the one class I'd excel in. After all, I'd trained with Aidan nearly my entire life. I'd mastered a variety of weapons, I was strong, nimble and most of all, I couldn't wait to prove to my team that I wasn't just a worthless, magicless Kin.

We crossed through the enormous, gilded doorway of the Hall of Glory, and the brilliant morning sun brushed my shoulders. I'd reverted to my old, worn tunic this morning. The sleeveless top would allow for freer usage of my arms when wielding weapons. And I needed every advantage I could get.

"Looking good today, Aelia," Symon called out from across the lawn. He stood beside a few of the male members of Flare Squad, Zephyr and Silvan, I believed were their names.

My cheeks heated as they always did when my new friend called unwanted attention to me. Though an entire week had passed, the glares that constantly followed hadn't subsided one bit. On the positive side, I hadn't been attacked, and I'd yet to see Lucian at all. Stranger still, according to rumors, Kian had been assaulted in his dormitory and had spent the past week recovering at the healer's.

Symon jogged up to meet us, toting the two males behind. Neither had been particularly nasty, but no one from the team besides Rue and Symon had bothered to speak more than a few words to me. In general, the males' curious glances paled in comparison to the females' wicked glares. I blamed my midnight hair with the freakish blonde streak. And of course, my ears. Symon eyed them like he was a second from reaching out and caressing the rounded curve.

"Don't you dare," I hissed. It was one thing when he fondled my ear when it was only Rue and me, but in front of the others? Absolutely not.

"You're no fun at all, Aelia."

"As it should be. Your years spent training at the Conservatory, especially as first-years, should be anything but fun." A deep voice vibrated the air behind me and Reign's booming presence pressed into my back. The man moved like a wraith. I twisted around, a pair of fathomless orbs capturing me in their mesmerizing gaze.

My heart pitched forward as if I'd suddenly taken flight. But, of course, that was impossible since I lacked the necessary luminescent appendages. Our Shadow Fae professor's wings of shadow were on full display, towering high above his shoulders and head. They were all at once terrifying and exquisite.

His eyes darted to Rue and the males, finally releasing me from their piercing gaze. "No dawdling, Flare Squad, I wouldn't want you to be late to my class. The punishment would be severe." A smirk hitched up the corners of his mouth as his gaze traveled to mine once more.

I swallowed hard as the terrifying images of what Reign had done to Kian and Lucian surged to the forefront of my mind. A tiny part of me wanted to believe he'd done it to protect me, but then the logical side told me to stop being so stupid.

I was nothing more than his acquisition.

When my scroll appeared late last night with today's schedule and I'd discovered Reign would also be my Combat instructor, a tangle of unease and excitement had assaulted my nerves. Much like I felt right now in his presence.

"See you all in class." Reign spun on his heel, those ominous shadows cloaking his muscular form. My traitorous gaze followed him until he disappeared in a shroud of night.

"I wish we could travel through sunbeams like they do with shadows," said the male with the closely shorn hair. I was ninety percent certain his name was Zephyr.

"Hmm, it would make traversing this enormous campus much easier," Symon replied.

"If you think about it, the Shadow Fae have much more impressive abilities than we do." The other Fae male pulled his long, ashen locks into a high bun.

"Bite your tongue, Silvan," Sy snapped. "If the headmaster hears you talking like that, you'll be succumbing to Reign's lethal shadows much like poor Isaac."

My stomach pitched.

"You do remember the first-year who was killed by Reign's corruptive touch on orientation day, right Sil?"

I would certainly never forget it.

"Corruptive touch?" I squeaked, the embarrassing sound erupting through my clenched lips.

"I thought it was his power of umbral constructs that did him in," Zephyr interjected.

Clearly, I needed to study my Shadow Arts manual more thoroughly this evening. Corruptive touch? Umbral constructs? How many abilities did the blasted Fae of the Umbral Court possess? After a week of class with the mercurial professor, I hadn't learned nearly enough about his powers.

Sy waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever it was, I have no desire to meet a similar fate."

Everyone in the circle nodded, myself included. It had seemed like a horrible way to go.

"Can you imagine the breadth of Reign's powers if those manacles ever came off?" Silvan's broad shoulders trembled.

"No, never." Sy's expression grew haunted.

"So it's true, then?" I asked. "Those silver cuffs inhibit his power?"

The males all nodded.

"My brother graduated from the Conservatory the year Reign arrived," said Zephyr. "He said the professor was like a wild animal. He'd used his umbral daggers to try to cut off his own wrists to remove them."

An icy chill zipped up my spine at the grisly image.

"If it hadn't been for the healer," Zephyr continued, "he would have bled out."

No wonder Reign had been so reticent when I'd asked about them.

"That's awful," said Rue, her lips screwing into a pout. "He scares the sun out of me, but no one deserves to have their abilities imprisoned like that."

"Imagine what that buildup of nox must be doing to him," Silvan whispered.

A long moment of silence settled over us. From what little I'd learned about Reign so far, his ill-tempered disposition began to make more sense. But if he was so powerful, why did he remain here? If he'd been banished from the Court of Umbral Shadows, surely, he could have found another territory to reside in beyond Aetheria. Crescentia was a large continent with varied peoples and lands.

"Anyway," said Sy, interrupting my musings. "I'm not looking forward to our first battle against our dark colleagues across the river. If any of them have powers even close to Reign's…"

"When will that be?" I blurted.

"At the end of the term. It's our final test to determine if we are allowed to remain at the Conservatory." Rue offered me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll all be much more advanced in our training by then."

Gods, I hoped so.

She threaded her arm through mine and tugged me toward the training field. To the west of the main building, the Hall of Glory, was the immense parcel of land dedicated to combat training. In addition to the acres of land outside, an indoor gymnasium stood at the center to house the myriads of weapons the Conservatory supplied, as well as serving as a secondary training location in the case of inclement weather.

From across the verdant field, a swirl of shadows coalesced at the door to the gymnasium. Noxus, we were going to be late.

"Hurry." I pulled Rue into a jog as Sy complained from behind us, huffing and puffing as he picked up the pace. We darted across the lush field as our fellow first-years lumbered toward the gymnasium.

According to the mystical scroll, we were to assemble here and await Reign for further instructions. Rue and I darted up the marble steps, through the gilded columns to the domed building with Sy, Zephyr and Silvan trailing right behind us.

The enormous metal doors were open, and across the gleaming parquet floor stood Reign, a hood cloaking his menacing form. "Ten seconds," he barked.

We raced through the threshold and filed into the massive chamber. No one spoke, a charged current weighing in the air. The doors began to close, the ominous creaking spiking my pulse. Two first-year females slid between the crack, right before the doors slammed closed with a depressing ring of finality.

I glanced around the crowded space at the eight teams made up of the initiates. By a quick count, all twenty of us from Flare Squad had made it, along with Heaton, who stood at the back of our group.

Some of the other squads weren't as lucky, with a few missing members.

"Now, let's begin." Reign's booming voice filled the gymnasium and all excited murmurs instantly fell away.

Sharp pounding at the door swiveled my gaze over my shoulder.

"Oh, no," Heaton muttered, shaking his head.

I pivoted just in time to see the swarm of shadows peeling from Reign's body. They zipped across the room, flying over our heads and slid through the cracks in the door. My heart rammed up my throat. An impossibly long moment later, a spine-tingling shriek echoed just outside the door.

A gasp escaped, and I squeezed my eyes closed, imagining that Isaac boy again and the look of sheer terror on his face. Before I could chase back the grisly images, Reign's shadows reappeared and once again coiled tightly around their master.

I glared across the chamber at the bloodthirsty Fae, all previous notions of understanding the twisted male vanishing. His gaze caught mine, and as if he could read the hatred in my expression, his dark eyes tapered.

They locked on mine, and for a moment, it was as if we were the only two beings in the room, as if he were speaking directly to me. "Some of you may not understand why it's necessary for brutal punishments to be inflicted. But you will once we cross that river."

His lethal gaze drifted from mine, releasing me from its mesmerizing hold. I loosed a breath and glanced between Rue and Symon. Neither seemed as affected as I was. I didn't think I could ever get used to the rampant cruelty or its complete acceptance at this academy.

"Now, I need all of you to break up into your teams and find a partner. Then I will allow each of you by squad to choose your weapon of choice. Today, we will alternate between that chosen weapon and hand-to-hand combat."

I pushed down the inappropriate anger and reminded myself why I was here. I was not here to find a shred of decency in a male that clearly held none. I was not here to judge the brutal ways of the Light Fae. I was here to survive.

"Aelia, will you be my partner?" Rue stepped forward, an excited grin flashing across her face.

"I would love to."