Chapter 58

Aelia

Brilliant light gave way to the darkness, and my head finally stopped spinning when we emerged from the shadows and appeared in… Reign's chamber?

Unlike every other space across this grand campus, not a shred of light touched the surface. Cool darkness prevailed, originating from the corners and sweeping across the enormous space. A massive four poster bed stood in the center, bathed in liquid night. Starlight danced across the canopy and swathes of gauzy onyx material cascaded across the structure carved from pure obsidian.

Reign carefully released me, so slowly that I skimmed over every inch of his torso on my way down. Once I was on my feet again, my knees wobbled, whether from nerves or the shadowtraveling, I'd rather not consider. My palms skimmed his cloak, then found the intricately carved brooches.

"How are these made of infernium vein?"

He shrugged. "I'm not certain, but this cloak has been in my family for generations."

"Your family?"

His expression shuttered once again. "You promised, Aelia, one night, no discussion of the past or future."

My head dipped, and I exhaled a sharp breath. "Then what shall we do?"

A twinkle of mischief lit up those bottomless orbs. "Something I've dreamt of doing for months." His lips captured mine with the fury of a storm unleashed, a passionate tempest that swept away all thoughts of resistance and left only the raw, electric intensity of the moment.

I gasped for breath as his mouth ravaged mine, clinging to him as if he were the very air I needed to survive, the only thing anchoring me in a world that had narrowed to the intensity of this moment, this fiery kiss.

He lurched back, ripping his mouth from mine, and ice cascaded down my spine. "Wait…" he rasped. "Before this goes any further, I want to be clear. Your vow does not require anything of you beyond forgetting for one night what has since happened between us. It does not obligate you to any of this?—"

I pressed my finger to his lips. "For Fae's sake, just be quiet and kiss me."

His mouth melted into a smile beneath my finger, and he drew the offending digit into his mouth. His tongue glided across the sensitive skin, and an embarrassing moan erupted from my darkest depths as I watched him.

"Mmm, I love it when you make those sounds, princess."

I withdrew my finger and caressed his cheek, the rough stubble tickling my palm. "Do you, now?"

"Oh, yes." He backed me toward his bed, and I stumbled when the back of my legs hit the footboard. His mouth descended over mine once more as he splayed me across the silky coverlet. "You have no idea what you do to me, Aelia, or how many times I've imagined making you mine. Gods, I've never felt anything like this."

"Neither have I…" The breathy admission against his lips was oddly startling. After everything we'd been through, I should be furious, despite the vow. But none of it mattered. With Reign, it felt as if the depth of my feelings was endless. The connection we shared was soul-deep, ingrained in my very bones.

His lips continued their assault, moving from my mouth along the curve of my jaw. He nibbled the sensitive skin of my lobe, and my back arched at the thrilling sensations. "Mmm, princess, those ears." He ran his tongue over the rounded tip and a faint groan rumbled in his throat. "They're so…"

"Perfect," I finished as I caressed the sharp point of his ear.

His eyes chased to mine and held. For an endless moment, he simply watched me as his fingers distractedly twirled a few strands of blonde-streaked hair. "I cannot believe I found you…" His words fell away, darkness carving into his jaw. I opened my mouth to ask what had brought on the sudden melancholy, but his lips captured mine before I could formulate the question.

Reign's shadows coiled around us, the icy tendrils tickling my heated flesh. The opposing sensations of fiery heat and frosty chill set my body ablaze. He deepened the kiss, the hunger in his assault growing ever more ravenous. I, too, couldn't get enough. I clung to his arms, hitched my dress up to wrap my legs around his hips, desperate to annihilate every shred of distance between us. Heat pooled below the billowing skirts of my gown. A need like I'd never experienced before blossomed deep in my core.

As if Reign could feel my burning desire, he nestled his hips between my legs and rocked against the ache between my thighs. Another groan escaped at the fiery sensations. My heartbeats no longer thrummed only for me, but rather for him, matching the manic pace vibrating his chest. "Reign…" I murmured.

"I know, princess. I feel it too."

"What is it?"

His lids slid closed and his lips dropped to my neck, then moved farther down until his tongue twirled across the glittering swirls of the Light Fae mark. He lifted his gaze to mine, something unreadable flashing across the midnight depths. "I honestly do not know."

His mouth descended lower still and anticipation tightened my core. His tongue slowly swept across his lips then over the swell of my breasts, spilling over the corset of my gown. "Oh, princess, you taste like the sweetest nectar of the gods."

A nervous giggle burst free. "I bet you say that to all the Fae ladies."

He snorted, his mouth curving into a scowl. "Not a single one."

A silly smile parted my lips. "It's a pity we only have tonight," I muttered.

"It's a damned shame."

"Because tomorrow, I will require you to explain yourself. All of it."

His gaze dipped, and a look I'd never seen from the arrogant professor flashed across his sculpted jaw. Regret? Remorse? Sadness? I had no idea, but a swirl of unease ignited in my gut. "I swear it."

Well, that was unexpected.

His mouth captured mine once more, tossing all thoughts of argument to the farthest recesses of my mind. All I could think about was Reign and every single point of contact of our flesh. Jolts of energy sparked between us, each touch sending tremors of desire racing through every inch.

I suddenly needed this gorgeous, ridiculous gown off. I needed him to touch me, for his shadows to blanket my bare skin. I wriggled beneath him, trying to squirm free of the oppressive corset, but the laces were knotted tight. As if he'd read my mind, or perhaps he'd noticed my struggle, he slowly shook his head.

"What?" I panted.

"As much as it pains me to say, I believe it will be safer for us both if we kept our clothes on this evening."

Heat burned my cheeks and my thoughts instantly flew to my virginal status. Did he somehow realize after his shadows had that very close encounter with my lady parts? Was he worried I would get attached? It was only one night, after all.

"What if I die tomorrow?" The desperate question escaped before I could stop it.

A murderous gaze flickered over the lusty haze, and his lazy smile twisted into a scowl. "Never say that, Aelia. Do not even think it."

"It's a possibility… and if I choose to give myself to you tonight, you really have no say in the matter."

A rueful smile melted away the frown. "You are truly testing my restraint, princess. I am not a good Fae, I am far from kind or selfless. I take what I want with no remorse. But I do not want to be that male with you."

"I've never been with a male," I blurted. Good goddess what was wrong with my lips?

Reign's eyes widened before a flash of understanding, then lust, darkened his gaze. "Noxus, you are truly evil," he muttered, his eyes to the sky. Returning his gaze to mine, he framed my face with his strong hands, and I leaned into his touch, reveling in the scent of frosty air that blanketed his skin. "I pray to all the gods that one day I may be that Fae for you, because you are mine. You and I are meant to be, as certain as the stars that grace the night sky across the river and the dawn that follows, inevitable and eternal, but not tonight, princess."

"Why?"

"Because first you must know the truth… all of it."

A crack like thunder vibrated the entire building, and the bed trembled beneath us. Reign leapt up, his shadows alive and in a frenzy, his eyes wild in panic. He jerked me off the mattress, and my skirts billowed, the shimmery glow illuminating the entire room.

"They're here!"