Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aelia
Reign and I stood there, foreheads pressed together, our ragged breaths mingling, bathed in a thick cloak of our shadows for an endless moment. Despite his declaration, I could still feel his uncertainty stretching across the taut tendrils of our bond.
He was wrong.
Aidan was wrong.
I didn’t need to be Ruhl’s wife to save Aetheria; we would find another way, together. I opened my mouth to say as much when a scream rent the air.
The cool tornado of whirling shadows dissipated instantly, revealing the chaos beyond.
Another roar split the night as a dark, writhing shape lunged from the treeline, smoke trailing like tattered banners. It slammed into the nearest line of Light Fae, sending bodies scattering, claws raking through radiant shields with horrifying ease.
Oh gods, not now.
All around us, the air thickened with the scent of scorched earth and acrid zar as creatures of smoke and bone, alive and undead, tore through the ranks of stunned Guardians.
Half were caught as they attempted to flee across the Luminoc.
Those were the loyalists, the ones who’d chosen to stand with King Elian.
Serpent-like beasts, their eyes molten gold and mouths brimming with hellfire, slithered across the battlefield.
Their roars shook the ground, my knees trembling from the force.
“Raysa, no…” I whispered, heart hammering.
Reign’s shadows flared around us, summoned by the call of the encroaching darkness, his jaw set. “They didn’t wait long.”
No, they didn’t. But neither would we.
Reign’s nox skimmed over my skin, pulling us into the icy void. An instant later, we were transported across the clearing, standing in the middle of the turmoil once again.
Light and Shadow Fae scrambled, blades and shadows rising in tandem as they turned, for the first time, not on each other, but on the true enemy.
Ruhl was already shouting orders to the Umbral Guard, his voice ringing with authority.
Only a few yards away, Rue, Symon, and the rest of Flare Squad rallied the students and remaining Royal Guardians, forming defensive circles.
I grabbed Reign’s hand, meeting his gaze as power thrummed between us. “Time to remind them who we are.”
A slow, fierce grin curved across his lips, the heated discussion from only a moment ago forgotten in the face of our true enemy. “After you, princess.”
I took a single step before spinning back and crushing my mouth to his. The kiss was hard and hungry, desperate and raw. I poured everything words couldn’t say into that moment.
Above us, another roar, one sounding like thunder, split the sky as Sol descended, his golden wings scattering the smoke below him in swirling eddies of light. Phantom was a shadow streak beside him, her onyx-flamed eyes burning as she circled, releasing a shriek that rattled the Night Fae lines.
“Rue, take your archers to the ridge. Clip the wings off those monsters before they reach the lines!” I called out. “Symon, hold the left flank with the Guardians. Push them back, give Sol room to strike!”
My friends each responded with a fierce nod. Please, Raysa, protect them. Protect us all.
“Together on Sol,” Reign called out beside me. “Phantom has her own agenda.”
I nodded quickly as we ran side by side toward my skyrider, shadows and light weaving around our feet.
As the dragons grew closer, we leapt, the wind catching in our wings as Sol dipped lower, extending a clawed foreleg.
I grabbed hold, Reign’s shadows coiling around us and lifting us onto the dragon’s back as Phantom fell into formation beside us.
Little Kin, ready yourself. Sol’s deep voice rumbled through my mind as his wings flared, launching us skyward.
Always. Resting one hand on my blade already alight with rais and nox, I twisted my head over my shoulder to meet Reign’s determined gaze. I couldn’t help but revel in the feel of him seated behind me, his unyielding form draped around me.
“I think I could get used to this.” I tossed him a smirk.
“I’m not sure your skyrider would say the same.”
Sol huffed out a grunt of agreement, flames shooting from his nostrils.
The ground was a mass of chaos, but for once, it was not chaos born of division. Light Guardians and Shadow Fae Guards fought side by side, their powers clashing not with each other, but against the Night Fae warriors and their monstrous abominations as they surged forward.
Cleary, they hadn’t expected us to stand together. In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder if this had been a planned attack. They had likely thought to find us fighting each other, a perfect chance to swoop in and finish us all.
“I tend to agree.” Reign’s voice zipped across the shell of my ear, over the whipping winds.
“How did they know they’d find us at our most vulnerable?” I shouted back.
“Obviously, someone told them.” He paused, but I could feel the spiral of dark thoughts swirling through his mind. “It’s a matter to deal with later. Now, we need to focus on that.” He tipped his head at the beast of smoke and shadows hurtling toward us.
Reign’s hand found mine where it gripped the spiked ridge along Solanthus’s back, the cuorem blazing as we drew on each other’s strength. “Aim for the serpent’s eyes,” he shouted over the wind, shadows dancing in his palms.
I nodded, wings flaring, and together we launched ourselves off Solanthus’s back as my skyrider dove, fire streaming from his jaws to incinerate the smoke-beasts below. Phantom appeared below us, unleashing a torrent of silver dragonfire that carved a path through the Night Fae lines.
The wind tore at my hair, the world a blur of color and power as I angled downward, raising my hands as light and shadow converged, twisting together with the icy rush of zar.
The blast struck the nearest serpent square in its citrine eye, sending it reeling with a shriek of agony before it crumbled into ash.
Another one lunged from the smoke, jaws gaping, but Reign was already there, shadows lashing out like spears. The umbral blades drove into its throat and pulled, tearing the darkness from within until it fell, lifeless.
Below us, the Light and Shadow Fae rallied, pushing forward with renewed vigor as they saw the creatures fall, their cries of fear turning into shouts of triumph. Ruhl was a dark streak among them, cutting down the Night Fae soldiers who scrambled to regroup.
“Together!” I shouted as I landed on Sol’s back again, raising my blade as power built within me, a storm of light and darkness ready to break.
Reign slipped behind me. His shadows wrapped around my middle, grounding me as I unleashed the tempest. A blinding burst of white streaked with black tore across the battlefield in a wave that incinerated the creatures of smoke and sent the Night Fae soldiers fleeing.
The dawn light broke through the clouds across the border as the last serpent fell. The battlefield suddenly quieted, the only sound the ragged breaths of the united Fae below.
With my heart pounding, I searched the retreating mass of darkness for that streak of silver hair, that grisly cloak of forgotten souls. Nothing. Where are you, Helroth?
As I forced my gaze away from the escaping Demon Fae, a familiar head of pale blond hair, tied back in a neat tail, caught my eye. All the air siphoned from my lungs.
Heaton.
“Oh, gods, Heaton!” I cried as I slid off Sol’s back.
Somewhere across the field, Rue must have heard me, because her shout echoed a moment later. Before Reign could stop me, my wings were pounding. I flew directly for the mass of retreating Demon Fae, my mate’s howls echoing in the distance and vibrating through our bond.
“Heaton!” I shouted as I flew over the Night Fae warriors surrounding him.
His head tipped up, a flicker of recognition in those pale blue eyes before it vanished. Before I could fully adjust my grip on my blades, one of the Night Fae saw me coming. I twisted in the air, wings flaring with light as I raised my hands, but I was too slow, too exposed.
The Night Fae’s blade swung out, catching my arm. I hissed out a cry as the metal split the skin.
Be careful, little Kin. Sol’s voice crackled in my mind, a mixture of exasperation and protectiveness as he banked overhead.
“I’m trying,” I hissed, breathless, forcing myself forward.
Heaton was within reach, his light hair matted to his face, eyes wide with confusion as the Night Fae tried to drag him back into their lines. Before I could reach him, another Demon Fae slammed a gauntleted fist into his gut, folding him over.
A scream ripped from my throat as I hurled a blade of light, severing the demon’s arm before it could strike again. Shadows coiled from my other hand, threading between the enemy ranks and wrapping around Heaton’s chest.
He fought, snarling, but my shadows held him fast.
Oh, gods, what had they done to him?
Reign appeared beside me in a blink, shadows snapping like whips around his arms, eyes black with fury. “I’ve got him,” he snarled as he extended his hand past me. His shadows seized Heaton, ripping him from the grasp of the Night Fae.
The ground below erupted in chaos as another warrior lunged, claws snapping toward Heaton’s legs. I dove, wings straining, catching Heaton’s wrist and pulling him higher just as the demon grazed his boot.
My rais flared and Reign’s shadows closed around us as we fell back, tumbling onto the torn earth behind the lines.
“Reign, we have to go!” I shouted, clutching Heaton as he gasped, struggling weakly in my hold.
Reign’s shadows coiled around us, and I caught one last glimpse of the Night Fae before the world blinked into darkness. We slipped through the void, Heaton’s ragged breath echoing in my ear.
Seconds later, when we emerged across the field, I let out a breath. Heaton collapsed in the dirt, coughing and gagging. But he was alive and safe.
Reign’s eyes met mine, dark and wild, shadows still flickering around him as he stepped close, curling his arms around my waist. “Never,” he growled, voice low enough so only I could hear, “do that without me again.”
“Okay,” I breathed, a faint smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
My shoulders rounded as I drew in a steadying breath, surveying the ravaged land around us.
The Night Fae had vanished, likely having escaped through a portal of Helroth’s making.
And only a few yards away, Light Guardians helped Shadow Fae to their feet, the lines between them fading for the first time.
The mighty flap of wings turned my gaze upward to the moonlit sky. To the two dragons sailing side by side, scales shimmering beneath the stars.
Are you all right, Sol?
Just fine, little Kin. And you?
Still surviving.
They didn’t count on us standing together. His voice sailed through my mind, a hint of pride lacing his gruff tone.
No, they didn’t. I allowed a smile to melt across my face. But they will now.
And as the moonlight claimed the battlefield, bathing both the Light and Shadow forces in an ethereal glow, I realized there was indeed still hope.