Chapter Thirty-Five
Aelia
The scent of herbs and ancient magic permeated the air.
Mossroot and moonflower tinctures woven through with something darker curled beneath my skin and perfumed every inch of the healer’s chamber.
My boots made no sound as I stepped through the threshold, shadows clinging to the corners of the room.
Elisa fiddled with something on her worktable before turning to face me, her usually calm eyes clouded with something sharper. Worry. Or maybe something more dangerous than that.
“It’s hard to believe that only a year ago, Reign brought you, a powerless little Kin, to my door for healing.” Her voice was soft, and there was no malice in her tone when she essentially called me weak. “And here you are now, a formidable princess of the Light Court.”
I gave her a tight smile, unsure where this exchange was going.
“Come,” she beckoned softly, her fingers fluttering in a quick, precise motion. “There’s something you need to see.”
I followed, my heart thudding in the back of my throat. She led me to the far corner of the chamber, to a thick curtain of midnight silk embroidered with lys runes I’d not noticed before. The fabric parted with a whisper, revealing a stone table. On it lay the still body of a Shadow Fae male.
He looked familiar. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was one of the Umbral Guard who’d stood beside Ruhl during the last battle. His chest was bare now, the fatal wound across his ribs sealed cleanly with Elisa’s stitches, but no breath stirred beneath them.
“I tried,” Elisa whispered, smoothing a hand over his dark hair.
Her voice held none of the healer’s usual serenity.
There was something harder beneath the surface.
“I poured every celestial glyph, every elixir, every ounce of healing rais I could think of into saving him. But it didn’t matter, the damage was too deep. ”
My throat tightened, still sore from Heaton’s crushing grip. “Elisa…” My fingers curled into my palms, nails biting skin. “Why are you showing me this?”
Her gaze lifted to mine, steady and unblinking. “Because I think you can help me with something.”
“I—I’m not a healer,” I whispered, but my rais stirred uneasily, aware before I was at what was coming.
“No,” she agreed softly. “You’re something more.” Her fingers traced the line of the corpse’s shoulder, and when she looked at me again, her voice was quieter, but more unsettling somehow. “You’ve wielded zar before, haven’t you?”
A chill sliced down my spine. “Yes…”
“And the child of twilight has many gifts.” Her tone was gentle, coaxing. “Healing Light, icy Shadow… and death.”
I shook my head, a sharp twist of horror in my gut.
“What are you—” I cut myself off as understanding took hold.
The Night Fae on the battlefield; the husks of their former selves reanimated by Helroth’s zar surged to the forefront of my mind.
Their glassy eyes, their unquenchable bloodlust had haunted my nightmares ever since.
“I’m not a necromancer.” I would never become the thing that made those monsters.
“Necromancy is just another tool, Aelia. Another branch of zar. You’ve felt it. I’m sure you have.” Her eyes narrowed, though her voice remained soft. “And we are out of time and options. You saw the battlefield. We need every edge we can get.”
I swallowed hard, my gaze flickering to the male’s still face. His lips were pale, his skin cool. He had been loyal to his prince to the very end.
“I wouldn’t want to make him into something he’s not,” I rasped, shame curdling in my stomach. “I won’t turn him into one of Helroth’s fiends.”
I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t.
Elisa stepped closer, her hand brushing mine.
“Aelia, death magic is not inherently evil. It’s how you use it that matters, like with any ability.
And I wonder if entwined with your healing rais…
” She sucked in her bottom lip. “We don’t have to raise armies of dead.
But think of what it would mean if you could bring back a single fallen ally.
What that would do for morale. For survival. ”
I closed my eyes, bile rising in my throat. “I saw them, Elisa, witnessed those monsters up close. They’re not… alive.”
“But you wield all three powers, princess. What if you could do more?”
What if I could? What if I was meant to wield all three powers—nox, rais, and zar—for this? Even if it terrified me…
A beat of silence passed. Then another.
I had to try.
My hands trembled as I placed them over the Fae’s chest. Shadows curled at my fingertips. The zar coiled beneath my skin like a cold serpent, waiting. Watching.
“Focus,” Elisa whispered. “Not on his death. On his breath. Call it back.”
I summoned the zar, letting it rise inside me, icing my veins.
Next, I focused on the warm rais, the golden tendrils that lit up my soul.
Power flooded my core, a tangle of ice and heat, a hollow ache radiating from my chest to my palms. The world narrowed, my vision rimmed in darkness as I pressed my hands to his still body.
For a moment, the air around us shifted. The shadows thickened. The cuorem throbbed, sensing my fear… but also something else. A pull from beyond the Veil. I felt it. I felt him.
Kairis.
His name came to me, unbidden, in a dark whisper.
“Kairis,” I repeated, voice raw. “Come back to us.”
At my words, his chest shuddered beneath my hands. My heart stopped. A shiver raced down my spine. And then… nothing.
The cold faded, leaving behind only the sweat on my brow and the sharp stab of disappointment in my gut. I staggered back, breathless.
I’d failed.
Elisa’s eyes gleamed. “You felt something, didn’t you?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“You were close. Next time—”
“I’m not sure there should be a next time,” I cut her off, my voice trembling. “This is dangerous.” And wrong.
Elisa’s lips pressed together, but she said nothing.
My thoughts spun, a jumble of light and dark, right and wrong. I barely knew where I stood anymore.
Maybe if Kaelith trained me… He knew zar better than anyone but bringing him here would ignite a war all its own. Reign would never allow it. And if I told him what I’d done here tonight, what I’d tried to do…
I wrapped my arms around myself, stepping back into the shadows. “I need to think,” I whispered, the words still raw.
Elisa’s gaze remained on me, calm and relentless. “Think quickly, Your Highness. War won’t wait.”
And neither would death.
It was nearly dinner time when I felt the familiar pulse of the cuorem squirming beneath my skin. My feet propelled me to the balcony, drawn by that all-consuming force that was my mate. A storm of shadows flickered across the moonlit sky an instant before Reign’s imposing form appeared.
Powerful wings of night stretched wide, he emerged from the void with another familiar figure at his side.
Gideon.
What was he doing here? Reign had said he’d gone to Arcanum specifically to consult with his old friend. Why bring him back?
Always so curious. Reign’s voice caressed my mind, at least somewhat easing my tumultuous thoughts.
When you have a mate who keeps secrets, it’s difficult to behave otherwise. There was an edge to my tone, sharp and biting. But Raysa knew he deserved it.
I’m sorry, starlight. I promise to explain everything as soon as we’re alone.
My feet inched closer to the parapet, wings flaring, aching to fly out to him. But I forced myself to remain still, reminding myself I was more than a little angry with my mate. Aidan, Ruhl, and his generals are waiting for us to discuss our next steps. I’ve been delaying the meeting for hours.
Well then, I guess we’ll have to hold them off for a few more. With another powerful flap of his shadow wings, his boots hit the stone wall of the balcony.
Gideon landed beside him a moment later, a grin on his lips. “Please forgive the intrusion, Your Highness.” He sketched an elaborate bow, and it was all I could do to keep a silly smile from breaking free.
“Aelia is just fine, Gideon. No need for the formalities.”
“As you wish, princess.” He dipped his head yet again.
“Gid, go tell my brother and the others that the meeting for tonight has been postponed until tomorrow,” Reign barked.
Gideon’s dark brows furrowed, unease pinching his expression. “…And what reason shall I give the uncrowned king and his generals?”
“None. Tell Ruhl to come see me immediately.”
Poor Gideon looked like he was a second away from fainting. “Reign, he may only be a brother to you, but he’s also the Shadow Regent, just a hairsbreadth from the throne.”
He huffed out an exasperated breath. “I don’t care what you tell Ruhl, just get him here.”
With an exaggerated eyeroll in my direction, Gideon moved toward the door. But before he got far, he called out over his shoulder, “Careful, princess, he’s in a mood.”
I could see that. Now the question was: what had my mate in such a frenzied state?
“I told you I would explain everything once we were alone.” Exhaustion and something darker laced Reign’s tone, slicing into the marrow of my bones.
The turbulent state of my cuoré’s emotions had the fury bleeding right out of me, replacing it, instead, with concern. Still, I attempted to hold onto a sliver of the anger for my own wounded pride. “Well, we’re alone now, so speak.”