Chapter Twenty-Two
Reign
“What in Noxus’s sake do you think you’re doing?” Ruhl asked, glancing at Tenebris’s unconscious form. “Though, I must say, whatever it is, I wished you would have waited for me. I would have loved to see the look on Father’s face.”
I adjusted my grip on the king, allowing my shadows to bear some of the weight, and met my brother’s gaze. “Go, Ruhl,” I snarled. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Shouldn’t be here to save our father?” His dark eyes narrowed. “As the Shadow heir, this is exactly where I should be.”
“Let me leave with him, and you’ll no longer just be the heir. You’ll be the king.”
His eyes widened, understanding flashing across his features. “That’s how you secured Elian’s loyalty… Not because he is Aelia’s uncle, but because you promised him our father in return for his protection?” He paused, a vein pulsing across his forehead.
“Yes,” I rasped.
“Noxus, I never knew the depth of your hatred for our father.” He dragged his hand over his face.
“We weren’t all his great Shadow heir.”
Ruhl barked out a laugh. “You’re the one who’s gravely mistaken now if you believe my relationship with our father was any better than yours.”
“You have no idea—”
“Neither do you,” he snapped, cutting me off. His jaw ticked. “Does Aelia know? Surely, she wouldn’t approve…”
“You don’t know my cuoré as well as you think. Of course, she knows. I don’t keep secrets from her anymore.” I didn’t exactly tell her I was coming for Tenebris beforehand, but there was no need to worry her, but he certainly didn’t need to know that.
“Gods, Reign… When did you become so devious?” He cocked his head to the side.
“I have no choice.”
“No, of course not. And isn’t it convenient that by handing over Father, you’ll also be ridding yourself of the ramifications of the pesky blood vow?”
“Yes,” I gritted out. “And if you think you can talk me out of it, you couldn’t be more mistaken.” My shadows swirled around me despite the exhaustion, a frenzy of darkness coiled to strike.
“Would you cut me down, too, brother?” A flicker of resentment flashed across those piercing eyes.
Yes. The answer came without a second thought. For Aelia, I would see the entire kingdom in ruins if it meant saving her.
“I suppose I have my answer, then,” Ruhl murmured when I failed to respond. We remained there for a long moment, eyes locked, neither one of us moving, barely breathing.
“Are you going to try to stop me?” I finally gritted out.
“Are you going to deliver our father to his death?”
“Yes.” I shifted Tenebris’s weight, feeling the bond with Aelia warm in the back of my mind. It was all I needed. “You should be thanking me, Ruhl. You’ll finally get to sit the throne of the Court of Umbral Shadows.”
“What makes you think that’s what I want?”
I scoffed. “Because I know you, brother. With Father gone and you as king, you have no need to fear the words of your mirror image from that damned trial any longer. Either it was wrong, or we’ve altered its dreaded prediction somehow.
” Drawing in a deep breath, I softened the hard set of my jaw. “Either way, it ends now.”
An interminable minute later, he dipped his head, something unreadable in that dark gaze. Then, he moved to the side.
Tightening my hold on our father’s motionless form, I marched through the door without a second glance, leaving my half-brother and the ghosts of my past far behind.
The Royal Guardians stole my father from my arms the moment I stepped through the gates of the Castle of Ethereal Light. A mixture of surprise and suspicion was etched into each of their faces as I handed over the notorious Shadow King without so much as a word.
I felt no guilt, no regret.
Tenebris was still unconscious, thanks to my zar, his dark cloak trailing like a torn shadow across the pristine marble floors as the royal’s guards dragged him inside.
I remained there, frozen in the threshold for a long moment.
The air here always felt too clean, too bright, the scent of rais thick enough to choke me.
It was nothing like the warm energy that radiated from Aelia.
King Elian appeared at the top of the grand staircase, a serene smile curving his lips as he looked down at me.
Light glinted off the golden circlet in his pale hair.
“Reign,” he said, his voice calm. “You’ve brought me quite a gift.
I must admit, I didn’t truly believe you would follow through on your promise. ”
I said nothing, breathing hard, the wounds from my father’s shadows still burning beneath my tunic.
I wasted no time before coming straight here, eager to be finished with this ugliness.
The moment my father breathed his last breath was when I would finally be free.
Freed of that damned vow. Free to love my mate without fear.
Elian’s gaze flickered to the guards. “Take him to the dungeons. I will decide what to do with him later.”
Something in me snapped at his words. “Later?” My voice echoed across the vast hall, the glow of the crystal lanterns trembling with the force of it. “You said you wanted him gone. You said—”
Elian’s eyes slid back to mine, patient, almost pitying. “I said many things, Reign. Things change. After seeing the destruction Helroth ravaged upon the academy—”
I took a step forward, the shadows at my fingertips flickering despite the oppressive light around us. “That was not the deal, Elian,” I growled.
“Watch your tone, Shadow Fae,” he snarled right back. “I can always call back the legion of Royal Guardians I’ve deployed to keep my precious niece safe.”
The growl died in my throat. “So you’re going to let Tenebris live?”
His calm smile returned, thin as a blade. “I haven’t decided yet.”
My fists clenched, the bond with Aelia flaring in the back of my mind, grounding me before the shadows could slip free. I had done this for her. For the realm. For the war that was coming. And now the bastard Light King didn’t know?
Elian’s hand rested lightly on the banister as he turned to leave.
“Your service to the realm is noted, Reign. Feel free to stay and rest for a bit. Perhaps, clean up before your return to the academy.” His light eyes razed over me in disgust, the torn clothes, the blood splatter. “We will speak again.”
And just like that, he spun around, the rustle of his robes the only sound left in the hall.
Again, I just stood there, unmoving. Ice surged through my veins, but it did nothing to dull the fury. The Royal Guardians turned for a corridor, and suddenly, I was moving again. Trailing behind them. And no one stopped me, surprisingly.
After never-ending minutes of circling the vast castle, I followed the guards down an endless spiral staircase. They took my father to the deepest cell, one lined with light-forged runes that would weaken even the strongest of Shadow Fae. I could feel their power rippling over my skin.
After they dragged my father into the cell and slammed the door shut behind him, they simply…
left. I stood there, just beyond the bars, the scent of earth and damp stone curling in the air.
Tenebris was slumped against the far wall, chains binding his wrists.
His head was tilted back, dark hair falling across his face.
For a moment, he looked younger, smaller, like the man he could have been if power hadn’t twisted him into what he was.
And then his eyes opened. Cold, dark, and furious.
“Traitor,” he hissed, his voice raw. The shadows around him flickered weakly, unable to take form within his cage of light. “You bring me here to this gilded prison to rot at the feet of that Lightborn whelp?”
I said nothing at first, stepping closer until I could see the lines of rage and bitterness etched deep into his face.
“I should have expected no less from the son of—from a bastard,” he hissed.
I bristled. “You brought this on yourself.”
His lips curled into a snarl. “You think you’ve won something, boy? You think you’ve freed yourself from me?”
I swallowed hard, the truth pressing against my tongue, heavy and sharp. “It was the only way,” I snarled.
His eyes narrowed, something dangerous flickering there.
My breath caught as I eyed the celestial glyphs. Their power pulsed in the air, strong enough to bind my father’s nox. This was it. The moment I admitted everything, the moment I freed myself.
“That prophecy you forced down my throat since I could hold a blade…” My voice shook, just a little.
“The child of twilight. She’s my cuoré.” I never meant to tell him.
Not truly. It was as if something had taken over me, ripping the dreaded truth from my mouth.
Maybe a foolish part of me hoped if he knew the truth, that Aelia was my mate, he would change his mind.
That a tiny shred of humanity was still alive in the cold, unfeeling male who raised me.
And that maybe, just maybe, he would willingly release me from my vow.
For a moment, everything went still.
Then, he laughed. Low, dark, and hollow. “Oh, Reign,” he whispered, leaning back against the wall, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “You think I didn’t know? That I could be so blind?”
The world tilted. “…What?”
He chuckled again, the sound raising the hair at my nape. “You truly are my son, you know, to bind yourself to a power like hers.” He leaned forward, the chains rattling softly as his eyes bored into mine. “You think you could hide her from me? From the moment I first laid eyes on her, I knew.”
No.
“And now,” he purred, voice dark with triumph, “you’ve given me exactly what I need.”
I felt it, then. The blood vow. Ancient and vile, stirring in my veins, crawling across my skin like ice and coiling around my heart. The curse he had placed on me when I was too young to fight it, to question it.
“Reign of Umbra, by the blood that binds you to me, by the vow you swore in shadow and in flesh, I command you—”
“No.” The word tore from me, raw and desperate, before he could finish.
Cold sweat dribbled down my nape. Still, the vow tightened, burning beneath my skin and pulling me toward him, toward the command that would force me to kill her.
The runes along the bars sparked to life, hissing, as his nox attempted to break free.
They should have been strong enough to smother his powers, but still, I could feel it… It was internal, blood-forged, and stronger than any external mystical bindings.
“No!” Shadows exploded from me, slamming into the bars and rattling the entire cell. I spun around, forcing my dark minions to carry me away. My vision narrowed as I raced through the corridors. And with every step, the vow clawed at me, screaming inside me.
I ran. The light of the castle burned, searing my vision as I tore through the halls. The command echoed, a dark drumbeat in my skull. Each step was a promise of the doom I carried inside me. I ran faster, putting as much distance between my father and me as possible.
The moment the gilded front gates swung open, I dropped to my knees, sucking in a breath of air. Gods, how could I have been so stupid? Another second with my father and he could have finished that command… And I would have been powerless to stop him.
“Fuck,” I snarled, digging my nails into the earth. I never should have trusted King Elian. With Tenebris still alive and that blood vow hanging over my head, Aelia would never be safe from me.