Chapter 56

Aelia

A silly giggle erupted from my lips as I sipped the honeyed wine, the sun's rays kissing my bare shoulders. Sprawled all around me were the remaining first-years, everyone too drunk on wine and other spirits to bother with each other today. Of the hundred-and-sixty students that had entered the Conservatory at the start of term, less than a hundred remained. Flare Squad had done surprisingly well with thirteen of us still standing. Scorch Squad had won the Ethereal Trials thanks to Kian and Lucian abandoning us against the gloomwhisper, but at least my friends and I had survived.

Though I knew the greatest challenge of the term was yet to come, I resolved to enjoy this brief respite. Tonight was the Winter Solstice, the Night of the Longest Shadow, a time for great celebration. Then, in three days' time, we'd battle Arcanum Citadel.

And more would die.

I dismissed the grisly thought and swallowed another big gulp of wine.

"I still cannot believe how you destroyed that gloomwhisper," Symon purred, clinking his glass against mine. "My little Kin is all grown up."

"Shhh," I hissed. I'd sworn my friends to secrecy about my dagger. Though neither understood the ramifications quite like Reign had, they vowed to keep my secret, with an oath and all.

"To Raysa!" Rue crashed her goblet against mine, then Symon's, then anyone else close enough to reach.

Thanks to Elisa's miraculous healing touch, along with a few other healers who had been brought in from the king's personal staff, all the remaining first-years were in peak condition once again, myself included. The gloomwhisper's claw had only skimmed my flesh, so the healing process had been greatly shortened this time around. Or at least, that was the most plausible answer Elisa had conjured.

A part of me feared it was my Shadow Fae side emerging.

Now back on the right side of the river, the flourishing power had been tempered.

That familiar presence pressed upon me, and I lifted my gaze in time to find my temperamental professor stalking toward the field. My traitorous heart staggered at the sight of him, at the straining of each perfectly sculpted muscle of his torso beneath his dark cloak, at the entourage of shadows. This was the first I'd seen of him since his disappearance the night before the final trial.

In which, he'd abandoned me.

I held onto the bitter sentiment, stoking the building anger. I couldn't do this back and forth with him any longer. I simply would not.

I opened my mouth to say as much but the broody Faehole stalked right past me without so much as a glance. I twisted my head over my shoulder and followed his dark form until it reached the headmaster and King Elian. The pair stood beneath the entrance of the Hall of Glory. The royal's icy glare darted in my direction, his frosty expression sending goosebumps rippling across my arms.

"Why do you suppose the king is here again?" Rue asked. She must have followed my curious gaze.

"I heard he never left," replied Symon. "His Ethereal Royal Highness has been observing the final two trials."

All the air swept from my lungs in one glacial blast. What if he'd seen my dagger? What if that was why Reign had been summoned?

The goblet slipped from my hands, sending the glass tumbling to the ground and the rosy wine spilling across my lap.

"Oh, curses," I muttered. "I better go clean this up?—"

"No, don't go!" Rue whined. She flashed me her hand and a toothy grin. "I can blast you with some heat and get you all dried up in no time."

"But I don't want it to stain…" I motioned at the dark tights lamely.

"You can send them to be washed tomorrow, or better yet, you can simply ask for a new pair."

"But that would be so wasteful."

"You can take the Kin out of Feywood, but you can't take Feywood out of the Kin." Sy shot me a smirk, and I retaliated with a smack to his head. "Ow," he whined.

"I'll be right back, I promise."

"You better." Rue waggled a long finger. "Besides we must prepare for the Winter Solstice soon. I haven't decided on my gown yet, have you?"

I shook my head. I hadn't even taken a glance. Until last night, I wasn't certain I would survive the trials.

I was. Sol's voice ricocheted through my mind, and I instinctively searched the skies for his massive form. Nothing but pale cerulean stretched until the border of the Court of Umbral Shadows where darkness prevailed.

Where are you?

Hunting. I must be prepared for the battle.

Can we just not talk about anything bad for one day?

Certainly, Aelia. Tomorrow, we train.

Deal.

Be safe, little Kin.

You too, Sol.

Once our connection was severed, I marched toward the Hall of Glory, my gaze intent on the heated discussion taking place atop the marble steps. If I wasn't certain I'd get caught, I would have drawn a celestial glyph to amplify my hearing.

The moment I neared, Reign's eyes chased to mine, and the males went silent.

I dipped my head as I approached, then sketched my best attempt at a bow once I stood in front of the king. "Excuse the interruption, your Ethereal Highness," I murmured. "And to you, headmaster, but I need to speak to Professor Darkthorn. It's urgent."

Reign's eyes narrowed, his perfect lips twisting. "I'm afraid that's not?—"

"Go ahead, Darkthorn," the headmaster interrupted. "We'll continue this conversation later."

"But headmaster?—"

"I said go."

With a grunt of frustration, Reign spun toward me and cocked a dark brow. "What is it?"

I pushed past the pang of hurt at his tone and held onto the anger from earlier. He was lying to me, keeping things from me, and generally acting like a complete and utter Faehole. "Not here," I hissed.

Then spinning past the foyer flooded with Raysa's glorious, shimmering light, I trudged toward the suspended glass staircase. Winding past the first step, I led Reign into a small nook beneath the landing.

"Why did the king summon you?" I whisper-hissed the moment his imposing form filled the hidden alcove.

"That's why you dragged me here?" Pure venom laced his tone, and it only snapped my spine straighter. If he thought he could intimidate me with that growl, he was sorely mistaken.

"Yes, professor. Why else would you think? It isn't as if I forced you here to have my way with you."

The hard set of his jaw softened, and a twinkle of starlight flickered through the darkness. "Shame… that would have been much more interesting."

"Don't you dare," I snarled before smacking my palm into his unyielding chest. "You cannot keep distracting me with those twinkling eyes and that damned wicked smirk."

"I didn't know my eyes twinkled at you." That stupid smile only grew more ridiculous.

"Reign! Tell me right now why the king is here and if he knows about my dagger."

The grin vanished and darkness melted over his features. "He does not. But you've piqued his interest. Clearly, Draven has been blathering on about you and the proph—" He slammed his jaw shut, the crack echoing across the silent space.

"The what?"

An expression of pure torture descended over his countenance, a scowl slashing his lips.

"I swear to all the gods, Reign, if you do not tell me what is going on, I will walk away and never return. I will jump on Sol's back and force him to fly me to the other end of the continent where no one will ever see me again."

A long moment of silence fell between us, the tempest of emotions raging across the dark depths of Reign's eyes billowing with each haggard breath. A vein across his forehead twitched, and he released a frustrated sigh. "There is a prophecy about the child of twilight…"

Child of twilight? Where had I heard that phrase before?

"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."

I stared, jaw nearly unhinged as Reign recited the prophecy, word for word. Once he finished, he stood motionless, dark gaze pinned to mine.

"And you believe I am the child of twilight?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe, but what Draven and the king do."

"That's why the headmaster had you spying on me…" The pieces of the mysterious puzzle began to fall into place, and a whisper of dread filled my gut. The tension grew thicker, the silence more ominous. Until an insane bout of laughter bubbled out. I keeled over as a fit of hysterics cramped my belly.

"Aelia," Reign growled. Squeezing my hands, he forced me to straighten. "This is serious."

"It's not me, Reign. It can't be. How could I be this child of twilight destined to destroy Aetheria? It's completely absurd."

"Is it though?" He reached for my dagger and freed it from the sheath at my hip. Dragging his finger across the crystal, the flicker of light danced before the darkness consumed the flame.

"There you two are!" Rue's voice sailed around the corner, and I snatched my dagger back and tucked it into the sheath. She waggled her brows as she regarded us. "Did I interrupt something important?"

"No," we snapped in unison.

"Oh, goodness."

Symon turned the corner an instant later, wine sloshing over the rim of his goblet. "Come ladies, I am here to escort you to your chambers to begin the preparations for the Winter Solstice."

"How much time do we really need?" I glanced between my friends. Reign had already melted into the shadows like a big coward.

"Well, it will take at least a few hours," said Rue.

"Then there's the obligatory pre-celebration in my room," Sy added.

"So yes, it is time to begin." Rue slid her arm through mine and jerked me away from Reign. "Professor, I take it you will dress in your own room this afternoon?"

"I don't?—"

"Aelia will be more than safe in our capable hands. Right, Sy?"

"Of course." He laced his arm across my shoulders so that I was sandwiched between my two friends.

"We will see you tonight, professor!" Rue wiggled her fingers over her shoulder before towing me up the steps.