Chapter Seventeen
Aelia
With Reign’s forehead pressed against mine, our ragged breaths filling the small closet I’d dragged him into, my heart rapped out a contented beat. Echoes of pleasure still hummed through my veins, skimming over my sensitive flesh.
Gods, in all the times Reign had taken me, it had never been like that.
So wild, so raw and primal. My knees wobbled as he lowered me to the ground, only the strength of the muscled arms still roped around my body keeping me upright.
Raysa, what I wouldn’t give for a bed right now. And then maybe another round.
“Let’s go home, starlight.” Reign’s husky whisper at my ear had goosebumps spilling down my arms.
“That sounds wonderful. Just as soon as I can get my legs to cooperate.” I crouched to retrieve my discarded panties.
A warm chuckle vibrated his chest, echoing against my own. As if I weighed nothing, he bent down and scooped me into his arms, a smile playing on his lips as he regarded me. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Not recently, no.” I grinned right back at him.
Reign’s smile deepened as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his voice low and rough with emotion.
“Then let me remedy that immediately. I love you, Aelia. More than the soothing embrace of shadows, more than the cool kiss of midnight. More than anything this realm could ever offer me. And I’ll keep saying it until you never forget. ”
“I doubt I ever could.”
Opening the door only a crack, he peered through the opening. Further down the hallway, the drunken revelry continued in full swing, writhing bodies rubbing against each other in the middle of the grand chamber and half-naked ones grinding in the shadows.
“Let’s make a run for it before anyone sees us,” I whispered into Reign’s ear. I was certain my friends were in the midst of the Bacchanalia, enjoying every moment of unfettered debauchery.
And they deserved it.
“Just send one of your shadow messengers to let them know we left.”
“As you wish, my love.”
The scent of spiced wine and smoke still clung to my dress as Reign carried me toward the shadow-draped exit. The mesmerizing beats of the music echoed in the air behind us, the taste of him still on my lips, when a sudden tremor rocked the walls of the citadel.
Then a scream. High. Raw. Panicked. It was in the distance but still unmistakable.
We froze, my fingers tightening around Reign’s arm.
Then the ground quaked again, more screams, more chaos. This time it was closer, louder, real.
Reign’s shadows exploded from his back in a jagged burst, reacting before his voice even did. “Luce,” he hissed, eyes darkening to pure midnight. “The students at the Conservatory.”
No.
I wriggled out of his arms, my heart plummeting to the pit of my stomach as we ran through a great archway toward an overlook.
The cool night air sent a chill up my spine, the moon shining bright and pale over the river, casting a silver sheen across the shimmering spires of Luce on the opposite bank.
Only, they weren’t shimmering anymore. They were burning.
Pillars of smoke and hellfire rose into the night sky, while flares of violet and inky black energy lit up the dark like lightning strikes. Shadows surged across the lawn; shadows that weren’t Reign’s. Not natural. Not familiar.
Night Fae.
“Oh gods, they’ve come,” I hissed, fear blocking my airway even as my rais surged to the surface.
Rue and Symon skidded to a halt behind us, breathless and wide-eyed. Devin followed close behind, and even Liora, her ever-smug expression finally stripped to horror, stood stunned at the railing.
“Raysa,” Rue breathed, “are those…?”
“Night Fae,” Reign confirmed, his voice pure steel.
I glanced over my shoulder to the ballroom of the Bacchanalia, still alive with music and laughter, and to the Shadow Fae oblivious to the hell unfolding across the river.
“We have to go, now!” I shouted, turning back toward the party. “We need to get everyone, anyone who’ll fight—”
“You won’t convince the Shadow Fae,” Reign said quietly, jaw clenched.
“We’ll see about that.”
I stormed back into the shadowed chamber, raising my voice above the pounding music, my light flaring in the dark, raw and uncontrolled. “The Conservatory is under attack!” I yelled, the words sharp enough to silence the quadrant of dancers.
A few heads turned. A few smirks. But most ignored me entirely.
“We need reinforcements, students, anyone with training,” I continued. “They’re attacking our home!”
“And what does that have to do with us?” sneered a tall male near the dancefloor, a golden chain looping his ear to his collar. “This is the Light Court’s war. Not ours.”
“We’re Shadow Fae,” someone else muttered. “Not their shield.”
“You’re pathetic is what you are,” Reign snarled beside me, his shadows unfurling across his shoulders.
“You’re one to talk, traitor,” a male hissed, nostrils flaring. “You stink of Light Fae. You’re nothing but a sympathizer, drunk on the sweetness between that female’s thighs.” He curled his lip in disgust, eyeing me.
Reign lunged in a blur of hissing shadows before I could unravel my arms from against my chest.
“Reign, no!” I shouted, but he already had the foolish male by the throat, dangling a few feet off the ground.
Inky tendrils of nox and zar whipped around his tense form in a frenzy. The male’s eyes widened, pure, unadulterated fear slashing across his pale skin. “Apologize,” he growled.
I darted to Reign’s side, curling my hand around his upper arm. The Fae dangled from my mate’s shadows, his legs kicking wildly as they tightened like a noose. “Reign, please. We don’t have time for this. All the students at the academy…”
With a growl of frustration, he called back his shadow wraiths, and the male crumpled to the floor.
“We’ll never fight for you,” he rasped, clutching his throat even as the mottled bruises began to form.
I opened my mouth to respond, rage and disbelief flaring through me, when a dark, amused voice beat me to it.
“Well, then,” Ruhl drawled, stepping through the crowd like a prince among peasants. Like the prince he was. His hair was tousled, his tunic undone, but his gaze was sharp as shadowglass. “I guess the rumors are true then.”
He stopped beside me and Reign, eyes flicking between the crowd. “The mighty Arcanum Citadel, content to drink and fuck while the realm burns.”
Silence fell.
Ruhl’s smirk faded, replaced by something harder. “Let me make it simple. The Night Court, the legends of nightmares, have crossed the Wilds. They are attacking Luce now. Tonight. And if you think for a single second that they’ll stop there, you’re more foolish than you look.”
“You expect us to die for Light?” another student spat.
“No,” Ruhl said. “I expect you to fight for yourselves. For me, your prince. For Aetheria. Because once King Helroth and his Demons raze Luce, they will come here next. And you’ll all be too drunk to lift a blade.”
The crowd shifted. Whispers. Doubt. A flicker of fear.
Ruhl took another step forward. “I’m going. Anyone with a spine should follow.”
The effect was immediate. A few older students exchanged glances. One stepped forward, sword appearing in his hand in a blink of smoke.
Then another. And another.
Soon, two dozen Fae stood ready. Still not enough. Not even half of the attendees, but it was something.
I looked at Ruhl, and for a moment, he was back. The Shadow Prince who had helped me through the trials, the one who actually gave a damn. Gratitude caught in my throat.
He nodded once, not quite looking at me. “Let’s go.”
“Well done, brother.” Reign dipped his chin. “Nice to see the prince rising to the surface.”
“Don’t you dare get sentimental on me now, Reign. Besides, it’s too soon to celebrate.”
Reign’s hand closed around mine. “Starlight, it begins now.”
I didn’t answer. I turned toward the flames in the distance, toward Luce, and let my wings unfurl in a shimmer of gold and midnight.