Chapter Twenty-Eight
Reign
The silence across the battlefield was crushing, so much so, it was as if time stood still. No one breathed. No one dared to move.
Aelia stood in the center of the clearing, more radiant than gods’ damned Raysa herself with Light Fae to her back and Shadow Fae looming before her. But she didn’t falter, didn’t blink.
And in that moment, I loved her more than I ever thought possible. Because I realized she wasn’t only my cuoré, she was the child of twilight, a princess of two courts, destined to rule them all.
I hoped she could feel the overwhelming pride surging through our bond. I was so distracted by my mate I almost didn’t notice him. from the shadows at the edge of the circle, he stepped forward.
Ruhl.
His dark hair was matted with sweat and blood, a barely perceptible circlet hanging over his brow. Shadows clung to his skin like a second layer, but his eyes were clear, burning with resolve as he moved to stand at Aelia’s side.
“My fellow Shadow Fae,” he called out, his voice low but still carrying across the hushed field with quiet authority, “I am Prince Ruhl of Umbra. Son of Tenebris, and now, by right and by blood, Shadow Regent and your future king.”
Surprise rippled through the Shadow Fae ranks. Some dropped to their knees, while others tightened their grips on their weapons, clearly torn between loyalty to our father and fear of him, of the uncertainty.
Ruhl’s jaw tightened. “I know what you have suffered. I know what it means to serve under a king who wielded fear like a blade and demanded loyalty without earning it. I am his son, after all.” His eyes glinted, and for a moment, the shadows around him flared like wings. “But I am not my father.”
Another murmur rippled through the lines, the wind carrying it like a prayer.
“I will not force you to lower your weapons for me.” His voice softened, shadows curling around his hands, wrapping around the hilt of his sword before he dropped it into the dirt at his feet. “I will ask you to lower them for her.”
He turned to Aelia, inclining his head in a show of respect that made the breath catch in my throat.
“For Aelia, heir of Ether, the child of Light and Shadow, who has risked everything to save us from tearing each other apart while Helroth waits to strike. Lay down your weapons, not for kings or courts, but for the realm we all share.”
Ruhl looked back at his people, our people, shadows swirling gently around him. “Lay them down so that when the true enemy comes, we will be ready to fight him together.”
The world seemed to hold its breath.
And then, slowly, one by one, blades hit the dirt.
The soft clatter of steel on stone and earth rang out like bells across the field as the Shadow Fae then the Light Fae lowered their weapons, their eyes lifting to Ruhl, then to Aelia, and to the future we were all trying to save.
The air grew less oppressive, the suffocating nox and rais dissipating as ethereal weapons vanished. Half of the Royal Guardians dropped to their knees, while the others slowly retreated.
I remained rooted to the spot, a few yards from my triumphant half-brother, the future king, and my radiant cuoré, a queen in her own right. And for the first time since I learned of the cuorem, I wondered if the gods had chosen wrong.
Ruhl was the heir to the Shadow throne, and Aelia was born to unite the Court of Ethereal Light with the damned Night Fae. They were destined to rule together.
Then why, by all the gods, had fate chosen to tie us as cuoré?
“We did it.” Aelia’s soft voice tore me from my dark musings. Realms, I hadn’t even heard her move toward me.
“No, you did it, princess.” Even I could hear the hollow echo in my tone.
She laced her fingers through mine and pressed her body close. Despite the hundreds of Fae, both Light and Shadow, surrounding us. “I never could have done any of this without you, Reign.”
A grunt squeezed past my lips. “Oh, starlight, that’s not true at all. You were destined to do this. To be a princess, a great ruler.” My fingers itched to curl into fists, the unfairness of it all boring into me.
Her brows knitted, expression pinching. “And you are my cuoré. Two-halves of the same soul, remember?”
“Mmm.” My jaw clenched.
Those brilliant sliver-blue eyes met mine, a surge of her concern coursing through our bond. “Reign, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I muttered, my shadows spilling around us.
Now was not the time or place to discuss the matter.
But now that I’d considered it, I wasn’t certain I could simply dismiss it.
With Father out of the way, and the truth of Aelia’s bloodline surfacing as a result of Elian’s betrayal, joining the Light and Shadow Courts under their new rulers would be the most logical course of action.
Gods, I’d been a selfish fool not to consider it more seriously when Aidan had brought it up months ago.
“Reign!” Aelia barked.
I blinked quickly, meeting her gaze. There was hurt there. And anger.
Curses, damned mental connection.
Silky shadows coiled around us, wrapping us both in an impenetrable cocoon of night. Before I could decipher which were mine or hers, a void of night dragged us in. Seconds later, we materialized in a quiet corner of the clearing, far away from curious gazes.
Realms, she’d shadowtraveled us both over a hundred yards.
“How could you even consider that?” Aelia growled, sparks of light flickering across her fingertips, blending effortlessly with the shadows spiraling around her form.
“You are my mate, damn it. How could you think for even a second that the gods chose wrong? Or that I would tie myself to Ruhl simply to—”
“To save our kingdom, Aelia!” The words whooshed through my clenched teeth, harsher than intended. Drawing in a deep breath to temper the growing rage, I continued more calmly, “Royals do it all the time. They marry, not for love, but for duty, for strategic alliances.”
“I refuse to even consider what you’re saying right now.” She threw her hands in the air, frustration deepening the faint lines between her brows.
Taking her hands, I forced her wild gaze to meet mine. “I love you, Aelia, more than anything. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you. Even if that means allowing you to marry my brother, for your safety, and for the sake of our realm.”
“This is ludicrous.” She wriggled free of my hold, crossing her arms over her chest like a flesh and blood shield. “I love you. I want to be with you.”
“It would be in name only—”
“And you could live with that?” she snarled, anger pulsing through our mystical tie. “I would be Ruhl’s wife. Even if I did not share his bed, we would be bound all the same. We would make appearances together, travel the realms together, do everything together as king and queen.”
The cuorem pounded a violent beat, thrashing against my ribs. Sharp claws raked across my heart, squeezing my lungs until I could scarcely breathe.
Noxus, could I live with it?
Could I watch her stand beside Ruhl, see them rule together, lead the realms, and smile for the people while I stood in the shadows, nothing more than a ghost at her side?
Even if it was in name only, could I stand by and watch her become his queen?
Aelia’s breath came fast, her eyes glinting like stormlight as the shadows and light flickering around her caught in the chaos of her rage, fear and love. “Look at me,” she hissed, stepping closer, so close I could feel the heat of her power against my skin. “Don’t you dare shut me out.”
I forced my eyes up, meeting hers, letting her see the truth I could no longer hide.
“I don’t know if I can,” I rasped, voice cracking. Shadows shivered around me in a vengeful fury. “Gods, Aelia, I don’t know if I’m selfless enough to let you go, even if it’s what this realm needs. Even if it’s what you need to be who you’re meant to be.”
Her mouth parted, a small, pained sound slipping free before she bit it back.
“You are who I’m meant to be with,” she whispered fiercely, pressing a hand against my chest over the frantic thrum of the cuorem.
“Don’t you feel this? Don’t you understand?
There is no kingdom, no throne, and no prophecy that will ever change that. ”
“I know,” I breathed. I closed my eyes as her power sank into me, washing over the darkness that threatened to consume me. “But what if the gods ask it of us anyway? What if to save Aetheria, we have to—”
“No.” Her hand slammed against my chest this time, light flaring, searing through the shadows. “No, Reign. I will not let the gods, or my uncle, or the prophecy take you from me. I would burn down every court before I let them.”
My eyes snapped open, locking with hers, and for just a moment, the storm of fear and doubt broke, replaced by the blazing certainty in her gaze.
She would fight for me, for us, even if the world demanded otherwise.
“I love you,” she whispered, tears glinting in her eyes. Her voice shook as she pressed her forehead against mine. “I will always choose you.”
And as the cuorem pulsed between us, steady and fierce, I realized I would always choose her, too.
Even if it destroyed everything else.