Chapter 36

Aelia

"Reign!" I shrieked.

With a loud pop, the golden sphere disintegrated as I dropped to the ground and crawled toward my professor. "Reign, are you all right?" My heart punched at my ribcage at the sight of his still form. Lifting his head into my lap, I hovered over him, desperately scanning his body for injury.

Nothing. He seemed wholly unharmed.

Had I done this to him? Had my rais somehow knocked him out?

The slow rise and fall of his chest momentarily eased the building panic. He was breathing. Well, that was a good sign at least. Then why was he so still? And his eyes closed? "Reign, wake up!" I slapped his cheek—perhaps a bit harder than intended—but the tremor in my hand and the fear blossoming in my chest had me at the point of hysterics. "Reign, please…" I murmured.

Sol ambled over, chasing a silkworm weaving through the tall blades of grass. His oversized feet and tiny wings threw off his balance, and his prey managed an escape. Now that I'd heard his commanding voice in my mind, I couldn't quite reconcile the deep timbre with the bumbling little hatchling.

"Sol, what's wrong with him?"

The dragonette sniffed at Reign's head, then moved further down his motionless body until he reached his hand. He released a sharp squeal and bared his sharp little fangs before chomping down on the silver bracelet.

"Sol!"

Grinding his teeth, he attempted to tear the cuff from Reign's wrist. Even though his teeth were small, irrational fear gripped my chest. What if he bit off his hand by accident?

"Sol, don't!"

The little dragon peered up at me with the manacle clenched between his fangs and warm golden irises aflame beneath the silver of moonlight.

"You're trying to help him, aren't you?"

He dipped his head.

"The cuffs are draining his nox, that's it, isn't it?"

He nodded once more.

Oh gods, Reign must have drained his energy to shadowtravel us both here, and again when helping me communicate with Sol. Then whatever I just did must have fully depleted it. Even his extraordinary powers weren't limitless.

Cradling Reign's head, I brushed my thumb across his cheek, the fine hairs tickling my sensitive fingertip. Dark midnight lashes fanned across porcelain skin, the moonlight bathing his face in an otherworldly glow. Strands of dark hair swept across his furrowed brow and I brushed them behind his ear, tracing the sharp point; I never would have dared if he'd been conscious. His lids fluttered as I lingered over the tip, and a faint sigh parted his lips.

"Princess," he whispered, eyes still closed, "if you keep that up, I'll never get the rest I need to recover."

I jerked my fingers away from his ear, my entire body stiffening.

Rolling over in my lap, his weary eyes lifted to mine. "I'm fine, Aelia, it takes much more than that to kill me, trust me. I simply overdid it and drained my nox because of these damned manacles. I will not be able to shadowtravel until my nox has been replenished, so we'll have to remain here for the night."

"All night?" I squealed. Technically, it was always night, but still.

"Remaining on Shadow Fae soil for longer will speed up the process." He glanced around the clearing then toward the cliffs behind the glistening falls. "There is a small cave at the foot of the cascades. It will make a fine spot to rest."

Restin a cave with him? Right.

"But first, keep working on summoning your rais. I'll watch from here." That hint of amusement sparked as he glanced up at me, still nestled in my lap.

"Very funny." Gently, I lifted his head and rolled him off onto the blanket of lush grass. Sol ambled over and nudged his cheek with his tiny snout. "I heard him in my head again." I patted the dragonette right between his small wing bones. "When my rais was growing uncontrollable…"

He propped his head up on his palm and nodded. "I knew you had it in you, princess. We simply had to find a way to let it out."

"But what will we do when I return to Light Fae lands and whatever is blocking my power continues to do so?"

"That's precisely why I want you to practice so that it becomes second nature. How do you think I fight these lovely bangles?" He flashed me his wrists, a sneer on his lips. "Now, no more stalling, start training."

* * *

A curtain of moisture descended across my aching form as I crept into the dark cave with Sol in my arms, the brilliant gold of his eyes illuminating the murky space. I'd trained for hours, summoning shield after shield as my professor watched leisurely sprawled across the bank of the lagoon. To say I was a little aggravated, hungry and exhausted was putting it lightly. "Reign?" I called out, my voice echoing through the endless black.

"Back here."

An earthy scent clung to my nostrils the farther I moved into the tight cavern. Hidden by the rushing waterfalls, if Reign hadn't guided me here, I would've never found it. I supposed that was why he'd chosen this spot.

Squinting, I crept through the narrow tunnel, praying to all the gods I wouldn't bash my head against a jagged wall. "I can barely see anything," I grumbled.

"Then why don't you try summoning a spark of light?"

I followed the sound of his annoying voice. "Don't you think I would if I could?"

"A few weeks ago, you couldn't summon a radiant shield, and today, you knocked me on my ass with one."

Good point. A flicker of a smile crawled across my lips. Cradling Sol in one arm, I turned my hand palm up and searched the well of untapped power slowly blooming in my gut. Focusing on my fingertips, I willed the light to appear as I'd seen Rue and Symon do a hundred times. Most of my teammates had a good handle on basic photokinesis and could manipulate and control light with ease. But there wasn't a shred of light to be had in this murky cave.

There are other ways to create light, Aelia. Sol's deep voice cut through my thoughts.

Like what?

You need not name it to feel it.

I glanced down at the wiggly thing in my arms. Could he be a little less cryptic?

My mind wandered back to the hours of classes I'd endured, and the litany of powers Light Fae should be able to manifest. Most were advanced techniques, but I mentally scanned the list regardless. Solar flare burst. Hmm…

Focusing on my fingertips once more, I visualized light dancing across my flesh and illuminating the gloomy chamber. Raysa, guide me. Diving deep into my core, I found a burning ember of rais. Holding onto it with all my strength, I willed it to the surface. Heat flared from my belly outward, and a surge of lightning rushed my veins. Flames ignited on my fingertips and brilliant light bathed the entire cave.

Reign's dark form coalesced from the shadows, his eyes wide and glossy beneath the vivid display of lights. "Well done, princess. Now please, turn it down a notch before you burn my irises."

"You say that as if it were easy." I lowered Sol to the ground, and he immediately darted after a winged insect.

Reign stalked closer, shielding his eyes from the light with one arm. His inky shadows recoiled from the glaring glow emanating from my fingertips. "Just focus on your rais. Imagine a balloon in the farthest depths of your core. You can blow harder to inflate it, or you can release some of that air so that it becomes more manageable."

I nodded and attempted to do as he instructed.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

My lids slid shut and I imagined the balloon, then pictured releasing a bit of air, then a little more. The glare just beyond the curtain of my lids diminished. Slowly, I opened my eyes and, instead of the overpowering light, a tiny flicker pirouetted across my fingertips.

Reign's shadows surrounded us, the coils of darkness weaving around our bodies.

I glanced up to meet hooded orbs. "Did you help me, or did I do it by myself?"

"It was all you, princess."

"Then why are your shadows circling like a starved animal?"

His dark brow rose into an incredulous arc. "Sometimes they have a mind of their own." He loosed an exasperated breath and inched closer. "And they simply can't stay away from you. It's as if they're drawn to your light."

With those fathomless irises locked onto mine, I couldn't quite summon the words to put together a response.

An endless moment later, his gaze dropped to his entangled fingers. "We should get some rest. A few hours of sleep, and I should be able to shadowtravel us back home."

"We could just walk. It's not that far, is it?" A night alone with Reign in this cave had warning bells resounding in my head.

"It would be about half a night's journey. I can make it, but can you and Solanthus?" He ticked his head at the baby dragon who was already snoring quietly, curled up against the wall.

I hated to wake him. "Fine, I suppose a little sleep wouldn't hurt." Truth be told, I was exhausted.

"If you sleep in the far corner by the wood I gathered, you'll be warmest."

I gaped at the pile of twigs. "Why didn't you say you had a fire before?"

"I don't have a fire; I only have a mountain of wood." He took my hand and flicked it toward the makeshift hearth. A spark flew from my fingertips and ignited the timber. Within seconds, it burned a deep ochre and warmth flooded the cavern. "Now, we have a fire."

With an arrogant grin, he sauntered to the corner and peeled off his cloak, then tunic, revealing his perfectly carved torso. Then he began to unlace his leathers, and I forced my traitorous eyes up as they sloughed down to the ground.

"Must you?" I hissed.

"I typically sleep completely bare. Would you prefer that instead?" Mischief churned across those fathomless orbs.

"No!" I squealed.

"Besides, I'd rather sleep atop my clothing than the dirt floor."

A fair point. Too bad I didn't find myself with a spare layer of clothing.

He lay his cloak across the dusty earth, then his tunic beside it. With a wry grin, he motioned toward the improvised bed. "If you'd like it, it's yours."

"And where will you sleep?"

He shrugged, his broad shoulders lifting and calling my eye to the mark of the banished just above his heart. "I don't need sleep to rest."

"But your nox…"

"Will replenish either way."

I was honestly too tired to argue anymore, so instead, I dropped down onto the soft material and curled into a ball. Reign's musky, frosty scent permeated the fabric and brought with it a surprising sense of peace.

* * *

I must have nodded off within seconds, because hours later when I awoke, my muscles no longer burned and the well of rais deep in my core spilled over. I only hoped it would remain once we returned to Light Fae soil. My lids fluttered slowly open as I peeled back the haze of sleep, warmth blanketing every inch of me. That was odd. I'd been so cold…

My eyes snapped open when a familiar presence stirred behind me and the blanket of pure darkness coalesced. Reign's arm was flung across my torso, his leg entangled with my own.

My breath hitched at the scandalous proximity of our bodies, and I tried to extricate myself from his hold before he awoke. To no avail. He squirmed behind me, his front pressed against my back and a very hard part of his lower anatomy digging into my backside.

Oh goddess, help me.

How did we keep finding ourselves in these appalling positions when Reign had made it abundantly clear we were to stay away from each other?

"Good morning, princess." Reign's rough voice slithered across my ear, his chin practically pressed against my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as I attempted to pry his arm off me.

"You were shivering in the night. I decided to be a gentleFae and warm you up."

"You could have just re-lit the fire." I eyed the cold, ashy embers.

"No, I couldn't have because I'm not the one with Light powers. I would have had to wake you and at the time, this seemed the kinder option."

"I don't know if I agree." Again, I attempted to jerk free of his embrace, but his hold only tightened. "I'm perfectly warm now, if you'd kindly let go."

"Are you sure?"

I could just see his wicked smile from the corner of my eye.

"Why do you insist on teasing me like this? Especially after what you said--" I blurted, the words flying out before I could stop them.

Reign's entire body stiffened behind me before his arm retreated, then his leg, and he jerked up to a sitting position. I did the same, tucking me knees into my chest and staring into the dusky remains of the fire.

I didn't expect an answer. I wasn't sure I wanted one.

"I cannot help myself," he gritted out a long moment later, as if dragging out each word were physically painful. "Gods, Aelia, don't you understand the desire I feel for you is forbidden? To surrender would be to betray the trust placed upon me, to forsake the very essence of my duty. More than that, there are secrets, dark and intricate; truths I cannot unveil. So, I must resist. This is the constant fight I battle, my sacrifice—for you, for the academy, for the courts that teeter unknowingly on the brink of chaos."

I stared at Reign, at the desperation carved into his handsome face, my mouth unable to form words after that declaration.

"It's time to go."

"But—"

"No, Aelia. I've already said too much. Noxus only knows what happens to my tongue when I find myself in your presence." Shaking his head, he gathered his clothing from the floor and stalked out.