Chapter 4

Aelia

At least a thousand questions spiraled through my jumbled thoughts as I followed Reign through the door, leaving my old life behind. How could I be Light Fae? Why didn't I have any powers? Why were my ears round? None of this made any sense at all.

"So how exactly—" My question was cut off as I took in the enormous avian creature over Reign's shoulder. "What in all the courts?"

He canted his head back, a devious grin pulling at his perfect bow-shaped lips. "You've never seen a phoenix, princess?"

"Stop calling me that," I hissed.

"Why? For a lowly Kin, you certainly behave like an entitled one."

"And for an arrogant Fae, I imagine you know nothing about spending all day tilling the fields, gathering turnips, and hauling them to the village market, or watching your fellow Kin die from overwork and starvation. You know nothing about me or my life, professor." I snarled his title with as much contempt as he did my new nickname.

His dark brows furrowed and he lifted the murky hood of the black cloak over his midnight locks. It only intensified his lethal beauty. "Get ready to mount." He stalked toward the majestic, feathered beast, who cocked its head at me, beady eyes studying. Fiery plumage in deep crimson and warm ochre covered its gigantic form, as if it were blanketed in flames itself.

"What's his name?"

"Her name is Pyra." He glanced up at the feathered fiend, a nearly gentle expression on his absurdly handsome face.

"And how does one ride this thing?" I dropped my canvas bag and stared up at the regal phoenix who easily surpassed the size of the draft horses they used to till the fields. "We lowly Kin don't have the luxury of riding astride such majestic animals."

Reign muttered something under his breath before offering his hand. "You'll have to learn to mount many large creatures in your time at the Conservatory, and not all will be willing."

The hint of a smile tugged at my lips as a completely inappropriate comment perched at the tip of my tongue. Thank the stars, I managed to restrain it.

Before I took his hand, the phoenix bowed to the ground, extending a magnificent fiery wing. I was fairly certain I could mount on my own, but the last thing I needed was to fall off the other side and make a complete fool of myself in front of the haughty professor. So I wrapped my hand around his palm, and tiny jolts of energy prickled my skin at the touch.

What the flying faeries?

I looked up, searching for any indication he'd felt the strange current too, but his face remained perfectly composed. It must have been a Light Fae thing. Who knew what sort of magical powers I'd have now? Finally, after years of being ordinary and mortal, I was something else.

A swirl of excitement quickened my breath as Reign's free hand closed around my hip and helped me onto the phoenix's back. Smoothing down my ruffled skirt, I settled onto the leather saddle strategically placed between her wings before spearing the tips of my boots through the irons. A large pommel sat between my thighs and I clutched onto it with shaky fingers. Not only had I never even ridden a horse, but I'd also certainly never left the relative safety of the ground. Which clearly, we were moments away from doing.

"Do you have a cloak in that bag?" He eyed the canvas slung over my shoulder as if it had been pulled straight from the rubbish pile.

"No." The weather in Feywood was temperate, when it wasn't scorching. I certainly never needed a heavy cover.

Muttering what I was certain were curses in a language I didn't recognize, Reign slid my bag off my shoulder from where I sat on the phoenix and attached it to the back of the saddle. Then he leapt onto the worn leather seat behind me and draped his dark cloak over us both. His imposing form curved around my body as he reached for the reins slung over the phoenix's proud neck. A glint of silver caught my eye, peeking out from beneath dark sleeves. But I simply couldn't focus. Heat surged through my form at each and every point of contact as a tangle of hypnotic scents impeded my synapses from firing. His firm biceps wrapped around my arms, the hard planes of his chest pressed against my back, his powerful thighs curled around my behind. Oh, goddess, this cannot be normal.

Then again, I'd had extremely limited experience with males. Perhaps, this was my body telling me it was time. I'd never felt the urge to explore relations with any of the male Kin I'd grown up with. Maybe, this was why. They'd never elicited any sort of sensation close to this.

"Ready?" Reign's warm breath skated across the shell of my ear, and goose bumps rippled down my arms in response. Thank the goddess for the cloak that concealed the embarrassing physical reaction. "Hold on tight."

My fingers strangled the pommel and I squeezed my thighs around the supple leather of the saddle. Oh, please, Goddess, don't let me die such a tragically foolish death. Thrown by a phoenix on the way to the Court of Ethereal Light! My fellow Kin would have a good laugh about that one.

"Volarys!" Reign shouted over my head.

The creature's elegant wings stretched out, revealing a rainbow of fiery plumes. He took one step and then another, faster this time, and I hurtled back, right into Reign's chest. The powerful appendages flapped, and my stomach dropped to my toes. With another mighty thrust, we lifted off the ground. I squeezed my eyes closed as the air whipped strands of dark hair across my face and my insides leapt up my throat.

Once the flapping grew more steady—and I was fairly certain I would not lose the meager contents of my belly—I stared over the phoenix's shoulder as the yellowing grass grew smaller, and the insects flying below became non-existent.

I drew in a breath and stretched out my cramping fingers. My knuckles were white from the strain.

"Are you all right, princess?"

"Just fine, thank you."

"What did I say about thanking me?" he snapped.

"It makes me look weak?" I gritted out.

"Do you wish to look weak in front of your fellow classmates?"

"No."

"Then mind your tongue. And while we are on the subject, no apologizing to me or any Fae either. I've been more than lenient with you given your unusual circumstances, but I can guarantee no one else at the Conservatory will be."

Realms, if this was nice, I didn't want to know what worse was.

Reign lapsed into silence after that last remark, which I was thankful for, because I had more than enough spinning thoughts to contend with. Once the initial fear subsided, I allowed myself the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

We soared across Aetheria and, for the first time in my life, I was able to revel in the enchanting lands beyond Feywood. I'd never ventured past the southern border which skirted the Wilds, the land inhabited by the terrifying beasts that should only live in the darkest corners of our imagination, according to Aidan. Thank the goddess for the Fae's protection against our enemies. Then to our north were the Fae lands: the Court of Ethereal Light lay to the west and the Court of Umbral Shadows to the east, where obsidian shadows blanketed the land, casting the entire court in menacing darkness.

A chill tiptoed up my spine and I couldn't suppress the tremor. With Reign's body hinged so tightly around mine, he must have felt it. He didn't say a word, but somehow the heat beneath his cloak intensified.

His surprisingly considerate action moved me to boldness and my lips began to move, blurting the first question that came to mind. "You are a Shadow Fae, correct?"

I felt his nod more than heard an actual reply.

"Then why are you a teacher at the Light Fae university? No job openings in the Shadow Court?"

He leaned forward so that I could just make out the sharp slope of his nose from behind the hood. "Let me explain something to you, princess," he hissed. "In our world, secrets are power, so hold yours close to your heart and keep that pert little nose out of everyone else's affairs."

My lips twisted at his icy tone, and I tried my best to scoot farther up the saddle so his body wasn't quite so attached to mine. It was in vain, but I felt a modicum of comfort at the passive-aggressive rebuff.

Reign jerked the reins to the left and, thank Raysa, we turned toward the west where the sun shone brightly over the horizon. I should've counted my blessings, at least I'd been chosen a Light Fae instead of being forced to endure the court of endless night. Resuming my perusal of the verdant lands below, I focused far ahead to where the other kingdoms within the continent of Crescentia lay, those ruled by Fae imbued by magic from the other gods: the wolvryn, immortalis, and spellbinders.

Being tied to one of those beasts could certainly have been much worse.

My shoulders dropped with a sigh, causing me to accidentally lean into Reign's unrelenting chest. "Oh, Raysa," I cursed, before sitting straight up once again.

A dark chuckle vibrated behind me, carrying on the whipping winds until it surrounded me like a blanket. "It's a long ride to the Conservatory, princess. I suggest you get comfortable."

This time the derisive lilt to the pet name seemed slightly less jagged.

"I'm fine," I gritted out.

"Good, we wouldn't want Pyra to feel you tense up and decide you're a threat. You do know what happens when phoenixes feel threatened, right?" Without glancing back, I could almost feel the wicked grin on his face.

"No…"

"They shed their skin and are reborn in a sweltering pyre."

I gulped, the sound so loud I'm certain it rang out over the swirling winds.

Reign's steel hold tightened around me, forcing my shoulders to butt against the unforgiving planes of his chest. "So relax, unless you prefer to kill us both in a blazing inferno before you even set foot on Fae lands."

I held my shoulders stiff against his body, but I willed myself to relax somewhat. "From everything you've told me, it might be a kinder fate."

Another chuckle shook his chest against my back, the smooth sound surprisingly warm and inviting, like the warm tea with honey Aidan would make for me as a child when I was ill. I was rarely ever sick, but I'd often pretend to be only to get the sweet treat.

"Maybe for you," he murmured. His tone was quiet, the typical booming suddenly vanished. I wasn't even certain I'd heard him correctly.

All attempts at civil conversation died out at that point, and I spent the rest of the journey considering my new status as a Light Fae and imagining what life would bring at the Conservatory of Luce.

I must have nodded off because my stomach climbed into my throat, waking me from a fitful sleep. I lifted my head from Reign's chest to see we were descending, a line of saliva dribbling down my chin to my utter mortification.

"Rise and shine, princess." His rough voice moved like silky shadows across my eardrum. "We've arrived."