Chapter Forty-Seven
Aelia
Dread coiled low and tight in my belly as we soared over the Bloodhollow Mountains.
I brushed the hilts of my daggers, needing the comfort of their presence, the familiar feel of them at my side bringing a sense of calm.
The crystals pulsed with energy with each brush of my fingertips.
Light crackled and shadows followed, twisting through their cores, refracting into a million brilliant stars.
For the first time in a long while, I once again considered the gemstones’ cryptic origins.
Where had they come from, and what could they really do?
It seemed to serve as a conduit for my hybrid powers, but had it served its true purpose yet?
A mystery for another day.
Are you ready, little Kin? Sol’s voice growled through my subconscious.
This time, my hand closed around the hilt of my blade, and searching the trove of powers that dwelled deep in my core, I allowed the trio of energies to flow through me. I am.
Good, because I am afraid that Helroth will not go quietly to rest in Noxus’s eternal embrace.
Of course he wouldn’t. Huffing out a breath, I pressed my other palm to Sol’s scales, allowing the heat to warm the ice coating my veins. A part of me foolishly hopes I can reason with him.
Does your mate know that?
No…
Plumes of smoke lifted from Sol’s nostrils as he snorted. That will go over well.
I was just hoping that, somehow, I could get through to him. He is my mother’s father, after all. There has to be some good in him, right?
I didn’t know your mother well, little Kin, but judging by the female you’ve become, she must have been an incredible Fae. And those are rarely forged in darkness alone.
Unexpected emotion tightened my throat. It wasn’t often Sol doled out compliments. Thank you, Sol.
Now is not the time to get all weepy-eyed, princess.
Blinking quickly to banish the tears, I steeled myself and focused on the task at hand. Of course not, I wouldn’t think of it.
The cuorem thrummed beneath my skin, a twist of fury and anxiety surging through the bond diverting my attention to Reign.
He rode beside us, the tips of Phantom’s wings nearly brushing Sol’s with each powerful thrust. Mordrin, instead, wisely kept his distance, with Ruhl bringing up the rear of our troop.
Are you all right? I sent the thought through the mystical ties that bound us, despite the rush of dread zipping in both directions.
Mmm. Just anxious to have this over with. He glanced down at the Compass in his hand, the tendon across his jaw fluttering.
I want to try to talk to him, Reign.
To whom?
To my grandfather, of course.
His head whipped in my direction, fear and anger pulsing the dark depths of his gaze. You can’t be serious?
What if I can stop this without any more bloodshed?
You can’t! This is the Night King. He’s intent upon ravaging all of Aetheria, destroying Light and Shadow until only Night remains. A wave of shadows consumed my mate, his powers surging to the surface, but I refused to allow it to deter me.
With your father missing and King Elian’s forces divided, maybe we can find another way.
On the contrary, Helroth has created the perfect scenario for his complete and utter conquest of the realm.
I have to try.
Reign’s shadows extended, curling across his shoulders until they morphed into wings. Thrusting off Phantom’s back, he appeared beside me a moment later, settling in behind me. “Aelia, this is madness,” he hissed into my ear.
Why is your cuoré on my back? Sol’s jagged growl rushed through my mind.
Sorry, just give us a moment. I shot the thought back with anything but apology in my tone.
Canting my head over my shoulder, I glared at my infuriating mate. “Do you trust me or not?”
“Of course I do. But I also love you and want to protect you above anything else. Going to Helroth waving a white flag with efforts at diplomacy will ruin our chances at catching him off guard.” He reached for me, hand cradling my cheek.
“Please, starlight, allow me the chance to exact the revenge I deserve. For taking you away from me, for killing my grandfather… Helroth deserves no mercy.” The haunted look in his eyes, the tremor racing through his form where it pressed against mine, stole my resolve.
He was right. Reign did deserve this, after everything that had been torn away from him.
“Fine,” I muttered. “But if the surprise attack doesn’t work, I will do whatever possible to avoid bloodshed.”
“Deal, princess.” He chuckled at my pout and pressed a kiss to my lips before he was lost to the shadows, only to emerge upon Phantom’s back seconds later. “I love you,” he shouted over the blustering winds.
“Not more than I love you,” I called back.
The Compass, where it still sat in Reign’s hand, suddenly went wild, the crimson-lit shard spinning erratically in its center as if it had lost all sense of direction. Then, just as suddenly, it stilled, pointing directly toward a ridge below wreathed in black mist.
“That’s it,” Reign called over the wind, releasing his shadow messengers to the entire squadron, then lifting the artifact higher. “We land there.”
Sol let out a guttural roar, his wings angling downward as we began our descent.
Around us, the others followed suit. Phantom and Mordrin swooped low, flanked by pegasi and gryphons, the sky blooming with shadow and light-touched wings.
The air shimmered with rais and nox, crackling like static against my skin.
As Sol landed atop the jagged, frost-dusted cliff, I immediately sensed it. An unnatural stillness clung to the air, as if the land itself held its breath. Once the entire team landed and dismounted, we all gathered around the mountaintop.
“Everyone ready?” Reign scanned our motley crew, the Compass once again writhing in his palm. He winced as if in pain.
Grim nods encircled us, and it occurred to me that they had all seen this before—Symon, Rue, Ruhl, even Liora. They had been with Reign when he’d come for me the first time. I was the only one who had no idea what came next.
The Compass dropped to the earth, and a sharp crack hissed through the air.
Slivers of smoke rose from the ground, a wave of pitch-black curling around the artifact.
Then, the ground shifted beneath my feet, and a vast chasm split the earth, wrapped in a vortex of swirling mist and violet-black shadow.
Within the vortex, glimmering bands of light and starfire spun like threads of fate.
The air was suddenly impossibly thick. Cold. Ancient.
I moved around Reign, boots crunching over brittle rock as I approached the chasm.
His arm extended protectively, pushing me back a step.
“What is this?” I breathed, eyes locked on the swirling gate.
It wasn’t just a portal, not like what I’d seen Helroth use before, it was alive.
It seemed to pulse with something more ancient than even the Courts themselves. Older than the gods even.
Kaelith stepped beside me, darkness blooming around him, his brows drawn. “I’ve heard of this,” he murmured. “The Vesper Gate. A tear in the veil between worlds. They say it only opens when fate demands it.”
“Another gods’ damned test,” Ruhl muttered behind us. “Of course.”
“Where does it lead?” I asked.
“To Helroth,” Reign said quietly. “The Compass brought us here for a reason, just like last time.”
“But how do we get through?” Aidan asked, stepping forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “It doesn’t look stable.”
I stepped closer to the edge, the vortex’s pull brushing against my skin like icy fingers. The cuorem pulsed, a warning and invitation all at once.
“Maybe it needs blood,” I said, voice tight. It seemed as if it was always about blood with these things. “Maybe from me? Since I’m the child of twilight, it makes sense—”
“No.” Reign’s voice cut across the cliff like a blade. “Let me try first.”
I turned to him, startled. “Reign—”
“I have Night Fae blood, too,” he said, striding past me. “Maybe that’s what it’s waiting for. Maybe it’s not about Light and Shadow anymore. Maybe it’s about the third option, which I have more than enough of.”
Zar. The power of Night. Of Zaroth. Of destruction.
He reached the edge and drew one of his daggers from his boot then sliced it across his palm with barely a wince. His blood, dark crimson and shimmering like spilled twilight, hit the ground and the atmosphere instantly changed.
Nothing happened at first. The vortex hissed, a breeze curling with stardust, and then, with a tremor that shook the cliff beneath us, the entire gate shuddered.
With a roar like a thunderclap, the swirling vortex expanded, parting down the middle like a curtain being drawn. At its heart, a narrow bridge of obsidian shadow formed, leading into a void filled with stars.
It worked.
Reign turned to me, eyes glowing with power. “Looks like I was the key this time.”
I stared at him, wonder and fear warring inside me. “You shouldn’t have risked yourself for me—”
“I had to.” His voice was low, but fierce. “This is my legacy too, Aelia. These are our people, our war.”
With that, I watched as my cuoré turned for the vortex, holding out his hand.
I wrapped my fingers around it without hesitation.
One by one, the others began to follow, but I lingered at the edge for a moment longer, staring into the gate.
The air thrummed with ancient power, the crystals in my daggers vibrating in response.
This was only the beginning. Because on the other side of that gate, the Night King waited.