Chapter 52

Reign

A howl ricocheted through the air, the heart-rending sound like a feral beast gutted from spine to sternum. I watched in pure horror as Aelia fell, my heart and lungs failing me in the same instant.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Draven's sharp reprimand tore me from the chaos in my chest. "What is wrong with you? The king is watching." His hand curled around my forearm, and it was only then, I realized the primal cry had come from my own lips.

My shadows had morphed into wings, and my feet were already hovering a foot from the ground. If it wasn't for Draven's hold, I would have already shot into the sky and had Aelia safe in my arms.

"Let go of me!" I snarled.

"You cannot save her!" Draven's eyes lanced into my own, searching for an answer even I could not provide. I only knew Aelia had to live.

"Just try and fucking stop me." I ripped my arm free of his hold and launched myself into the endless blue. My wings pumped, beating the air in a wild fury.

I'm coming for you, Aelia.

Aelia continued to fall in what felt like slow motion, her delicate form floating on the breeze, twisting and turning. An aura of pure luminous light encapsulated her body, the glow so splendid it seemed to radiate from the goddess herself.

Noxus, I hadn't completely lost my mind, she—she was slowing.

Silence blanketed the arena and everything else stopped, including my own manic wingbeats. All eyes drifted skyward to the powerless Kin who'd managed to captivate the attention of the entire Conservatory.

An enormous flash of gold streaked across the sky, permeating the glittering orb, and massive talons curled around Aelia's body, snatching her right out of the turbulent blue. Thank the gods. Solanthus released a blood-curdling snarl as his wings angled toward the earth with his rider safely in his clutches and he slowly descended.

I followed behind him, nestled in shadows so as to not attract more attention than I'd already garnered. A wild roar of applause pierced the tense silence as the golden dragon deposited his rider onto the lush lawn.

My boots hit the ground an instant later, and my legs propelled me toward her. Fuck the rules, fuck everything. My heart remained suspended, unmoving, frozen in time until I reached her. Nothing else mattered but holding Aelia, confirming she was alive and well.

Gods, when had this happened? How had this happened? She'd become everything to me, the center of my entire world. The notion of life without her had become completely unacceptable, despite the cost. I would tell her everything… I had to.

"Aelia!"

Her motionless form was sprawled across the sea of green, nestled within the rays of warm sunlight. I slid to the ground beside her, my heart a mad battering ram that echoed across every inch of my being. Her eyes were closed, porcelain skin awash beneath the brilliant sunlight. I pulled her into my arms and cloaked us both in shadow. Her blood slickened my hands and pure, unadulterated fear lanced across my heart.

Solanthus released a frustrated growl, plumes of smoke lifting from his nostrils.

"I will tend to her," I snarled right back.

Pressing my hand to her cheek, I caressed her icy skin. "Aelia, please, come back to me, princess. Please."

Her lids fluttered, dark sooty lashes brushing the soft flesh beneath her eyes, and hope alighted in my chest.

"Aelia, it's me. I'm right here."

"Reign?" Those lids finally lifted, lively eyes meeting mine, and my heart tapped out a frantic beat. "Did I pass the trial?"

A rueful chuckle expelled through my clenched lips. "Yes, princess, you passed. You nearly gave me a heart attack falling from Solanthus's back, but yes, you passed."

"Oh, good." Her head lolled against my chest, and I swept a tangle of errant dark locks behind her ear. "And Lucian?" she muttered against my tunic.

I scanned the field for the bastard who was bound for Noxus's arms. If he wasn't dead already, he would be by morning. "I'm not certain."

Squeezing her tight against me, I reveled in the feel of her warmth in my arms, but my sticky fingers reminded me of a more pressing matter. "We will worry about him at another time. Now, I must get you to the healer."

"Right now? Can't I just sleep?" Her lids drooped, and that suffocating fear once again ignited.

"No, Aelia. Elisa must see to your wounds."

"Fine," she grumbled, and a reluctant smile threatened to cross my lips at that relentless stubborn streak.

Cradling her against my chest, I stood, my shadows swirling tight around us. From the corner of my eye, I could just make out Rue and Symon racing in our direction. I'd deal with them later. Right now, I needed to tend to Aelia. Her teammates could come visit her at the healer.

My nox skimmed the surface of my skin, eager for action. Sitting, watching, and helplessly waiting had been pure torture. The silver cuffs around my wrists heated, singeing my flesh as nox overpowered their mystical hold and we catapulted through the shadows.

* * *

"I'll watch over her, Reign. Go get some rest." Elisa hovered over Aelia's bed in the small chamber. Her eyes were closed, skin still much too pale for my liking. She had lost quite a lot of blood and some of her wounds were already infected. Dragon scales were known to carry toxins often poisonous to Fae.

I stretched out my weary muscles and sank further into the chair. "No, I'm fine."

"You've been here all day. Surely, you must be hungry or thirsty."

"I said I'm fine," I snapped.

Elisa's expression pinched and a hint of remorse sailed through my conscience. Of all the Light Fae I'd encountered in my time here, she was the most decent one. She'd befriended me from the start when the others dared not cast a glance in my direction.

"I regret my tone," I gritted out.

The female's eyes widened to the size of glistening moons. Gods, how I missed the moon, the stars, the cool night on my skin…

"It's been a very long day. The stress of the trials must be getting to me."

"No need to apologize."

Technically, I had not.

She dropped into the chair beside me, her countenance pensive. "You have been very involved in the training of your acquisition. I'm certain it is quite taxing to devote that much of yourself."

"Mmm." I nodded, my gaze fixed to Aelia, to the steady rise and fall of her chest. I just wanted her to wake, to see those vibrant eyes, to hear that sharp tongue. Gods, watching her fall and being powerless to intervene had been the cruelest form of torture. And still, one trial remained, and then the battle against Arcanum. Against Ruhl…

"Are you familiar with the cuorem?"

"Excuse me?"

She leaned closer and whispered, "The cuorem bond? Have you ever heard of it?"

My brows slammed together, her words like a vice grip around my lungs. The cuorem…twin flames. I searched my memories for what little was known about the Fae mate bond. A profound and mystical connection believed to exist between two souls, making them perfect counterparts of one another. A true cuorem hadn't been seen in decades, possibly longer. I wasn't aware of a single Fae from my lifetime who'd experienced the connection.

My thoughts flitted back to my days at the Citadel studying Fae mythology. The cuorem is not merely a romantic or emotional attachment; it is a cosmic and spiritual link that ties two souls together across time and space. It is said that those bound by the cuorem are predestined by the gods themselves, their spirits eternally entwined.

Oh, Noxus… when I kissed Aelia all those weeks ago, I'd felt something. I had ignored it, tossing it out of my mind as nothing but an infatuation, lust. What if I'd been wrong?

It suddenly occurred to me I hadn't spoken for too long. "Why—why would you say that?" I stammered.

She shrugged, her eyes darting between us. "Because I've never seen you like this, Reign. It's been three years since we met, and I've never once observed you looking at any other female the way you look at Aelia. As if she's an extension of you, the reason for your breath, for every beat of your heart."

She wasn't mistaken and remarkably observant for a mere healer. I'd never felt anything like this in my thirty years on this earth. Shaking my head, I muttered, "It's not possible. She's not Shadow Fae." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. Because perhaps, a deep, dark part of me had suspected all along.

"Stranger things have happened, I'm sure."

I shook my head again, unwilling, no, unable to accept that answer as the truth. There was no denying the hold Aelia had on me, but a cuorem? It would mean only one thing… Not only was Aelia Shadow Fae and my soulmate, the one created specifically for me by the gods, but she was also the child of twilight, the one spoken of in the prophecy.

A child of twilight, born from the dance of light and dark, shall emerge with the power to reshape destinies. From the celestial embrace and the shadow"s whisper, a harbinger of cosmic balance shall be brought forth.

A fateful choice awaits her - to heal or to harm, to nurture or annihilate. Her every step shall resonate through realms, influencing the very fabric of existence.

When the child of twilight shall come of age, her choices, guided by the celestial and obscured by shadows, shall determine the fate of worlds. Whether she becomes a beacon of hope or a harbinger of oblivion, the child of twilight shall be the catalyst of an epochal choice - to bring forth a new dawn or plunge all into eternal dusk.

And it was my duty to kill her.