Chapter Forty-Nine
Aelia
The moment I passed the threshold, the chill hit me like a slap to the face. Night thickened around me, curling like mist at my ankles. The air itself felt heavier, more potent.
Helroth stood at the heart of it all, a dark monument of power. His crimson eyes tracked my approach like a predator watching prey. Still, he said nothing as I stopped a few feet away.
Aelia, are you all right? Reign’s voice ricocheted through our bond, the cuorem like another heartbeat pounding beneath my ribs.
I’m fine. Please, just trust me. And be ready. With that, I slammed down the barrier between the ethereal strands that connected us. I had to focus.
“How brave of you, Aelia,” Helroth murmured at last. “Or foolish.”
“Maybe both,” I answered, keeping my chin high. “But I’m not here as your powerless captive this time. I’m here to end this.”
Despite the stiff upper lip, a whisper of doubt surged to the surface. What if I'm wrong? What if I can’t resist him again? But shoving aside the fears, I strengthened my resolve, fisting my hands at my sides. Doubting myself wouldn’t help anyone, much less stop this war.
His lips curved. “End it? The war that’s been building for the past twenty years? You think one lost Light Princess can stop the tide?”
“I’m not just a princess or your helpless puppet,” I said, voice steady.
“I’m the daughter of King Alaric of Ether and Princess Sable of Inferna.
I am heir to the thrones of Ethereal Light and Infernal Night.
I know the truth now. About you. About my family.
About your deal with Tenebris and Elian’s betrayal. ”
He stilled. I felt the tension ripple beneath his skin like coiled steel.
“Go on,” he said, curiosity flickering.
“My uncle Elian vowed to protect me against you, and the moment he had the chance, he betrayed us. He marched on the Shadow Court, forcing his people into yet another war. All of which I’m sure isn’t news to you.
” I paused, watching the gleam in his eyes.
“The moment Tenebris was captured, Elian sought only to take advantage of the weakened Shadow Court. It must have been his plan all along. However, Tenebris is no better. He refused to unite the courts, to spare Aetheria from the oncoming war. He doesn’t deserve the Shadow Throne, any more than Elian does the Light. ”
Helroth’s brows rose faintly.
“Maybe you’re not the only monster with a crown,” I continued. “But at least for you there’s still a chance to make things right.”
He let out a low, bitter laugh. “Right? You think there’s any ‘right’ left in this realm?”
“I do.” I took a step closer. “Ruhl will take the Shadow Throne. Elian can be removed from the Light Court. And you, you can end this, Helroth. Not as a tyrant or the Demon Fae who started another bloody war. But as the king who brought the realms back into balance. And more importantly, as my grandfather.”
His gaze sharpened, jaw tightening. And for a breath, a single heartbeat, I saw something shift. A flicker of consideration. Maybe even longing.
“Aelia, you have no idea what you are asking…” There was something about his tone, a hint of warmth I’d never heard before as he said my name.
I held my breath. The moment dragging on for a lifetime.
But then it vanished.
“You weren’t there before the war,” he said, voice colder now. “You didn’t see how the Night Fae were treated. Cast aside. Feared. Hunted. I was a royal without a throne, too, once. Do you know what it’s like to beg for peace and be given chains? To kneel and be spat upon?”
I swallowed, throat tight.
“Balance is a myth,” he spat. “Justice doesn’t exist. The only language this realm understands is power.”
“So, you want revenge,” I whispered. “Revenge against Elian and Tenebris?”
“I want reclamation.” His eyes glowed brighter. “For every Night Fae slaughtered. For every child who grew up believing they were cursed. I will remake this world, Aelia. Not for vengeance. For retribution.”
My chest tightened. That word. Reclamation. He wanted to sit atop a throne made of smoke and ruin. “You’ll burn all of Aetheria down for your own damned pride.”
“I’ll build a new one from the ashes.”
My heart hammered. “And what about your granddaughter? What about your daughter, Sable’s child? Me. What will you do when I stand in your way?”
His gaze locked on mine. “That depends on whether you still mean to.”
And just like that, I felt it, the moment was gone. The brief window for peace closed, sealed behind centuries of pain and hatred.
I turned, the weight of his decision settling like lead on my shoulders.
He would not yield.
And now, we had no choice but to fight.
A bitter laugh erupted from my lips. “Of course I will fight you, Grandfather.” Grandfather.
It was the first time I’d used the term out loud, and it tasted sour on my tongue.
“I will not let the Courts be plunged into decades of darkness again. I will be the harbinger of balance, the beacon of hope to bring forth a new dawn.” I paused fingering the hilt of my dagger.
“And if you stand in my way, I will cut you down like every tyrant before you, regardless of the shared blood running through our veins.”
“Those are big words from a little girl,” he spat. “And what do you think will happen after you cut me down? Will you rule both Courts, Aelia, or perhaps you have your gaze set on all three?”
“The Night Court isn’t mine to rule, nor is it yours. Kaelith told us the truth, of how you stole the throne from his brother, the true king, Karnax.”
He scoffed. “I thought I saw that traitor in your midst. Does he truly wish to claim his brother’s cursed throne now? After all these years?”
“No. But maybe Reign will.” I regretted it the moment the threat fled my loose lips.
His snide grin twisted, the arrogant mask retreating for an instant. “What do you mean?”
Raysa, he really didn’t know. And he wouldn’t discover the truth from me.
“We’ve come for Vaelora.” I spoke the words calmly. “If you refuse to consider peace, then we will fight. But I’m not leaving today without the one soul who was kind to me during my captivity.”
“Vaelora?” he repeated. “You would risk your tiny squadron against my entire army for a servant?”
“She’s not just a servant, she’s—” My words trailed off as I considered the implications. “She is Kaelith’s sister-in-law, his family.”
Silver brows furrowing, those crimson irises bored into me. Then, I felt it. The zar pushing at the edges of my subconscious. He was trying to infiltrate my thoughts, to rip the truth from my mind.
But I wouldn’t let him. I’d never again allow him to control me.
The zar lashed through my skull like shadowed lightning, searching, clawing, desperate for cracks to slither through. But I had no cracks left. Not anymore.
“You owe me a blood vow,” he growled. “You are to destroy Light and Shadow—”
“I don’t owe you anything,” I hissed, raw power lacing my tone.
I closed my eyes and reached inward, not just to the trio of gods’ given gifts, but to the bond that pulsed like a living star beneath my skin. The cuorem. It was more than a connection. It was armor. An anchor. A promise between Reign and me forged by the gods themselves.
I pictured his hand in mine, the way he whispered my name in the dark. The way he looked at me like I was salvation instead of sacrifice. And I let that feeling rise, strong and sure, wrapping it around my mind like a wall of living flame.
Helroth’s power slammed into it and recoiled. His eyes widened, just slightly. But it was enough. “You’ve grown stronger,” he murmured, voice low and wary now. “Stronger than I thought possible.”
“I’m not the girl you held in chains,” I said softly, my power rising behind every word. “I’m not yours, to control or otherwise, and I never will be.”
He watched me closely, crimson eyes narrowing, as if reevaluating everything he’d assumed.
I could have said more. Could have pleaded one last time. But I saw the truth now, as clearly as I saw the hatred in his eyes. And gods, it was devastating.
There would be no peace. Not with him. So I took a single step back. Not enough to appear as if I were retreating, just enough to steel myself.
Then I reached through the bond again.
Reign. My voice echoed like a bell of fate. Now.
There was no need for further explanation.
The shadows around me pulsed, and in the distance, I felt the storm rise. A whisper of wind brushed my cheek, followed by familiar roars splitting the sky. Sol and Phantom. Then Mordrin.
Helroth spun toward the sound, frowning.
“You should have chosen peace,” I said, my voice a blade of certainty. “Because I’m not the only one who’s stronger now.”
Above us, the skies cracked open, and the fury of war came roaring down.