Chapter 30

Reign

Noxus, this female had learned nothing in her time at the Conservatory. A favor? Was she out of her mind framing it as such to a Fae?

I stepped between the two before Aelia condemned us both to the treacherous Wilds by some slip of the tongue. "What she means is I have a theory to test for class, and you've been chosen as the lucky participant to assist us."

The Light Fae female's gaze darted to Aelia before circling back to meet mine. Or rather, to fix her eyes at my forehead or my nose or the top of my head. No one ever quite dared to meet my eyes, not the way Aelia did.

Despite my boorish temper and cruel methods, that feisty little Kin never seemed frightened of me.

"It'll be fine, Rue, I promise," said Aelia, those silver-blue eyes alight.

"For Noxus's sake, hold your tongue!"

She tossed her silky raven hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Rue is my friend. She will keep this secret. Won't you?"

The girl's head bounced up and down. "Absolutely."

I never should have allowed this. Her brother, Heaton, was team leader, which meant he must have had a close relationship with the headmaster. If word reached his ears…

Aelia's slender fingers curled around my upper arm and the raging turmoil subsided. At a simple touch. "Calm down, everything will be fine."

I hadn't even noticed the whirlwind of shadows vibrating across my body. The swell of darkness immediately settled at that soothing, feminine voice. At that simple touch. Gods, my powers have never reacted to anyone the way they do around this female. Maybe the years spent in these damned cuffs were finally dampening my nox.

"Let's just get this over with." I jerked a dagger free from Aelia's waistband, earning a satisfying gasp from those pretty pink lips. "Rue, summon a radiant shield."

Her head dipped, ash-blonde bangs curtaining the fear in her pale blue eyes. The golden orb sputtered to life, faint at first, before blossoming to enclose her petite form.

"I will try to break through the barrier with this dagger, understand?"

"Yes, professor." Her voice sounded muffled through the protective bubble.

Bringing the dagger down in a small arc, I sliced at the mystical orb. The blade hit the Fae's rais and deflected, sending a twinge up my forearm. Odd. If Gideon was correct about the weapon's origins, it should wield power over both Light and Shadow Fae.

Perhaps, he was wrong, after all.

My eyes chased to Aelia's, to the thoughts clearly churning in that lively mind. Her aura brightened, a tangle of the most brilliant gold, marred only by an occasional flash of darkness.

She stepped toward me and held out her hand. "May I try?"

"Of course, princess." I handed the dagger over and took a step back.

Ever so gently, she pressed the tip of the blade into the shimmering orb encasing her friend. The glowing sphere popped, and the rais disintegrated into a pile of luminous dust.

"Whoa…" Rue's eyes widened as she glanced between her friend and me.

Good gods. She did it. A whirlwind of questions raced through my mind as I stood there frozen for a long moment. Only Aelia could wield its power, but why?

Slipping on the practiced mask, I forced my expression to neutral despite the tornado of thoughts spinning in my mind. It only took me an instant to make my decision. It had to be done.

My shadows slithered from my fingertips and wrapped around the Light Fae's head. Those luminous light eyes bulged as panic darkened her aura.

"Reign, no!" Aelia shouted. "What are you doing?" Her hands curled around my bicep, jerking my arm as her shrieks echoed across my eardrum.

Ignoring her and focusing on my powers, I directed my dark minions through the girl's mind. I'd long ago mastered nightmare weaving, a skill only very powerful Shadow Fae possess; but along with it, I'd discovered I was able to manipulate memories by placing new ones over the old.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I replayed the scene from only moments ago and replaced the last few minutes with another one of my making: Aelia attempting to slash through her friend's radiant shield and the dagger deflected, much like it had done when I had wielded it.

My shadows hissed and whispered the new memory, weaving through her mind. Pain seared through my temples, and the silver cuffs around my wrists heated, activated by the hefty use of nox. Fire scorched the skin around my wrists and I bit down the howl building in my throat.

I'd grown accustomed to the pain, to the torture every time I wielded too much nox. That bastard Draven and his manacles that attempted to keep me on a leash only allotted for so much energy. Just enough to make me useful, but not quite enough to make me a threat. Or at least, that's what the fool believed.

I felt it the moment my new memories supplanted the girl's. She stopped fighting, and the tense scrunch of her face softened. Aelia's nails still bit into my arm, her screams still echoing. Releasing my hold over the girl, I called my shadows back, and Rue slumped down to the ground.

Aelia's steel grip fell away and she slid down to the grass beside her friend. "Rue, Rue, are you all right?"

The girl blinked slowly, her light eyes focusing on her friend. "Whoa, that was quite a rush." A smile eased across her lips.

Aelia lifted her murderous gaze to mine. "What did you do?" she hissed.

I released one of my shadows and it curled around her rounded ear, whispering my will. "I did what I had to in order to ensure your secret remained safe. She will have no memory of your dagger piercing her shield."

Her dark brows lifted, but her eyes remained tapered at the edges as she regarded me.

"No harm came to your friend," I added.

Still, that piercing look of distrust lanced through my chest. Why did I care if Aelia trusted me or not? In fact, it would be better for her if she didn't. If my suspicions proved correct, she'd despise me once the truth came out any way. Why delay the inevitable?

Find out everything you can about the Kin girl. Draven's gravelly voice replayed through my mind from the night I'd ushered my newest acquisition to the Conservatory.

I heaved out a breath, my hatred for the headmaster only growing with every day I spent trapped on this side of the Luminoc. Noxus, I despised that man. Much like Aelia now despised me. She fussed over her friend, one eye shooting daggers in my direction. I should put some distance between Aelia and me, and having Heaton take over her training would be a good option. I simply couldn't seem to keep away from her.

"Let me walk you back to the dormitory." Aelia's voice drew me from my inner musings. She helped Rue to her feet and directed her toward the path back to the Hall of Glory.

"Aelia, wait. We aren't finished."

She whirled on me, those silvery blue eyes glowing with hatred. "We are. I must tend to my friend."

Rue waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I'm fine. I simply had a little head rush." She turned her smile on me and a hint of guilt pricked at my insides. "The professor's nox was stronger than I expected, that's all. Stay, finish your training."

"No, trust me, I do not wish to." Aelia's hand closed around her friend's.

"Ms. Feywood," I barked, "you are not dismissed. There is much more to be discussed."

Her eyes grew impossibly wide at my frosty tone. Good, you should hate me. "I was not aware that this training was part of my obligatory curriculum, Professor Darkthorn," she bit back.

"Your curriculum is whatever I say it is."

"Go on, Aelia," Rue whispered. "We'll catch up when you're finished." With that, she squirmed free of her roommate's hold and darted across the lawn.

The moment she was out of earshot, Aelia spun at me, a lethal scowl entrenched across those full lips. "How could you do that to her?" she spat.

"I didn't do anything to her," I growled right back. "I simply replaced her memories to ensure your safety, damn it."

"Oh, my safety? This is all about me, then." She barked out a laugh. "Don't tell me it has nothing to do with protecting your ass. You are a professor, and keeping this knowledge from Headmaster Draven would surely have you dismissed, if not worse. Are you not his little lapdog?"

Fury coursed through my veins, inciting my nox and whipping it into a frenzy. Before the fool girl blurted something a passerby could catch, I summoned my shadows and cloaked us in darkness. If she noticed the swell of night, she certainly didn't act like it. Instead, she jabbed her finger into my chest, completely unaffected by the looming tendrils of nox. "You have no idea what you speak of, no notion of where my loyalties lie." I stalked closer, pinning her against a wall of shadows. "I don't give a sun's ray about Draven. But you?—"

"Me, what?" She lifted to her tiptoes, the heat in her eyes so gods' damned tempting.

"Fuck it." Aelia was right, I wasn't a rule follower. I never had been. I was a powerful, selfish Fae who took what he wanted. My hand snaked around her neck and yanked her lips to mine. A gasp escaped, swallowed up in the tangle of rage and desire. Noxus, I'd been dying for a taste since the moment she glared up at me so defiantly through those sooty, dark lashes the day I'd collected her from Feywood.

My mouth moved over hers as my fingers delved into the silky hair at her nape. Gods, she tasted like sunshine and the most glorious starlit night. I laced my free hand around her waist and brought her flush against me. My arousal bit at my trousers at the familiar feel of her soft curves. That night in the pond had been pure torture. The attraction I felt for this female was nothing like anything I'd ever experienced before. In my four years at the academy, I'd never craved a single student, Noxus, in my thirty years on this earth I'd never desired anyone like this, despite many brazen attempts by the female Fae, as well as a few of the males.

What was this between us?

"Reign…" she whispered against my mouth. My name on her lips only fanned the flames building in my core.

"Mmm, princess. You have no idea what you do to me."

As I tilted her head to deepen the kiss, a tether laced around my heart. The mystical bind squeezed the air from my lungs. I sucked in a desperate breath and ripped my mouth free of hers. Noxus, what in all the realms was that? What had I done?

Aelia stared up at me, cheeks a mesmerizing crimson hue, her chest heaving and breasts straining against the smooth fabric of her fighting leathers. "Reign?" Her swollen lips formed my name, snapping me back to my senses. I couldn't do this… I had responsibilities, vows I'd made.

"I—I'm sorry." I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and my shadows slithered across her form, twisting and churning around her. "I never should have?—"

"What are you doing?" Her eyes widened in panic.

"It won't hurt, I promise."

Her lips pursed, and I realized I'd lied. I could already see the hurt plastered across her heart-shaped face, and gods, it bored right into the depths of my soul.

My shadows slid through her mind, and I weaved a new memory, one that annihilated the heated kiss and would surely keep her at arm's length. As I planted the new scene, one in which she insinuated feelings for me and I brutally rebuffed her, my chest constricted, each lie I sewed a painful blade. By the time I was finished, she would surely despise me.

And it was the way it had to be.