CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX #2
Brynn doesn’t waste a second, whipping her shadows out to snake across Sirena’s feet, but as they reach her, Thane shoots out a wall of ice, stopping Brynn’s shadows in their tracks.
She curses as Sirena kicks, shattering the ice into shards that knock Brynn backwards onto the floor.
Thane simultaneously lands a brutal blow to Ronan’s ribs, winding him in an instant.
He drops to his knees and looks over at Brynn, who lies barely moving.
“We yield,” He groans, hand shooting to the ground and tapping twice.
“Winners by forfeit… Sirena and Thane.” Instructor Seraphine announces.
The room erupts in cheers and whistles.
Sirena smirks and helps Brynn up. “Told you we’d kick your ass.”
“Show-off,” Brynn mutters, but she’s smiling.
Brynn and Ronan make their way to the back of the hall as Instructor Seraphine’s eyes turn, landing on Kaden and me.
“Elysia, Kaden…” she says, her tone even. “You’re up.”
My breath catches as the air between us sharpens. Other than our classes and private combat sessions, we’ve hardly spoken since our encounter under the wisteria tree.
Desire shoots through me right on time as figments of memory flash through my mind with vivid clarity, arousal twisting into a tight ball in my core.
“Elysia darling…” His voice slides into my mind, rough and tortured. “For the sake of my sanity, please put your fucking shield up.”
I swallow, my eyes flicking to his for a heartbeat, the desire lingering behind them almost making my knees buckle. I listen to the command and imagine that familiar layer of magic coating my skin, then we walk towards the centre of the combat hall.
Sirena smirks as we take our places opposite her and Thane.
“Don’t hold back, darling,” she winks.
My eyes roll at her mockery of my nickname.
Thane grins at Kaden. “Try to make it interesting, yeah?”
Kaden doesn’t answer; he only rolls his shoulders as his power vibrates through the air, dark and coiled, and the moment Instructor Seraphine gives the signal, we move.
Flames flare at my fingertips as shadows rise to meet them, curling almost protectively around me. Our magic merging without effort, seamless, instinctual, perfect.
Thane’s ice lashes toward us, coating the floor. I melt it instantly with a single flick of my wrist as Sirena’s lightning forks through the air, but we’re already moving before it can strike anywhere near us, ducking, shifting, breathing as one.
Fire licks at my feet as I march towards Thane, flamebirds spinning around me before descending onto him. He throws out a wall of ice, but it’s no use. My birds melt right through it, nipping at his skin before he freezes them mid-attack.
Then suddenly a hand wraps around my wrist, and I’m pulled against the hard lines of Kaden’s chest. His shadows cocoon us as Sirena’s lightening bounces and sparks off the walls he’s built.
Cedar wood and cinnamon overwhelm my senses, just his scent and the impossible closeness of him has arousal coiling tight in my core.
His hand finds my chin, tilting my head up so my eyes are forced to meet his mismatched gaze.
“On Neytiri, Elysia. Put your shield back up. Now. Unless you want everyone to hear you scream”
The threat is laced with promise, and it makes my breath catch, skin flushing pink under the weight of his words as his shadows slowly disperse around us.
I stare at him, mouth parted and gaze shocked for all but a second before Thane’s ice comes hurdling towards me.
I step back, creating a wall of fire that melts his ice on contact, water pooling and bubbling onto the floor before evaporating into steam.
I keep the wall of fire ablaze in front of me, just long enough to steady my thoughts until the familiar ripple of magic coats my skin. Then I’m moving again.
Kaden strides beside me, his shadows misting at our feet and shielding us from every attack as we advance.
Thane steps in front of Sirena protectively as we gain on them, but before he can strike, Kaden grabs my waist, pulls me into his side and lifts.
“Go for the head.”
And I do, my leg kicks out as he swings me. My boot crashes into the side of Thane’s head with brutal force. His head snaps to the side before he collapses to the floor, groaning at the pain no doubt searing through his skull.
“Shit, Thane!” Sirena gasps, dropping to kneel at his side.
He rolls onto his back, hand pressed to his head, but a smile tugs at his lips.
“I really do need you to kiss it better this time.”
A giggle ripples up her throat as she swats his arm but kisses his temple all the same.
Thane leans up on his elbows, his eyes searing into us as he taps the ground twice. “We yield.”
“Winners by forfeit, Kaden and Elysia.” Instructor Seraphine calls, her voice echoing.
Whistles and cheers fill the hall as Kaden offers Thane a hand, helping him up onto his feet before patting him on the shoulder.
“You win… this time.” He taunts, giving us both a wink.
I laugh, crossing my arms over my chest, “Sorry about your head.”
“All is fair in love and war.” He shrugs, wrapping an arm around Sirena’s waist to guide her to the back of the hall.
Kaden and I follow, silent save for the bond thrumming between us. My mind still reeling from his words.
“Shit, that was brutal!” Enzo claps, smile wide and amused.
Ronan leans back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “If they didn’t hate each other so much, their soulbond would be a perfect match.”
Odette laughs under her breath. “Not sure hate is the right word after what they did.”
Ronan’s head snaps to her quicker than the eye can blink.
Fuck… here we go.
Leave it to Odette to ruin my one chance to talk to Ronan alone.
The guilt pricks immediately. With nonstop classes, private training sessions that leave my muscles trembling, and long nights buried in research on the plague, I still haven’t managed more than a few passing words. I’ve barely had time to sleep, let alone sit down and actually talk to him.
“What do you mean?” he asks, confusion and something like dread darkening his ocean blue eyes.
“Oh, uhm… you haven’t heard yet?” Odette stammers, glancing at me.
I shake my head.
“Shit,” she mutters.
“What? Do you all know something I don’t?” His gaze sweeps over everyone.
Brynn speaks up first, her voice soft and almost calming. “It’s no big deal, they just got drunk and kissed.”
Ronan’s jaw ticks slightly as he takes in Brynn’s words. Guilt grows heavier in my gut, but amusement hums through the bond, sharp and hot. I glance at Kaden, and he’s smirking, clearly enjoying the spectacle unravelling before him.
“Wait, they only kissed?! Odette told me he used his fingers—”
“Enzo!” Sirena snaps, shooting him a glare that could kill.
Odette shakes her head, patting him on the shoulder, “You really should learn to read the room.”
Ronan hums, gaze dropping to the floor. Then he looks up, first at me, then Kaden, eyes so cold it sends a chill straight down my spine.
“Right… was it what you wanted, Elysia?” he pauses, looking Kaden up and down with a glare. “Or did he take advantage of your inebriated state?”
Kaden’s laugh is low and dangerous, making the air tremble. “Don’t flatter yourself, Washburne. I don’t take what isn’t freely given. She came apart beneath my touch because she wanted to.”
Horror floods me, waves of anger and disbelief crashing together, but gods help me, desire knots tight in my stomach from his words.
I need to get a fucking grip.
Ronan clears his throat and slides his hands into his pockets. The silence that follows is suffocating.
I want to speak, to explain, but my words are lodged somewhere between my ribs and throat.
After what feels like an eternity, Ronan pushes off the wall with his foot and leaves the combat hall without another word.
Enzo lets out a low whistle, raking a hand through his hair. “I take back my earlier comment. That was way more brutal than the sparring match.”
My eyes shoot him daggers, and he just shrugs at me.
Brynn speaks up, her voice a gentle balm against my raging thoughts. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s not too emotionally torn up about it. I can feel more shock than I can sadness.”
It doesn’t make me feel better, not one bit.
chapter twenty-seven
ELYSIA
The winter air nips at my skin, cold and harsh as flakes of snow fall into my hair. I couldn’t sleep, too torn up about the events that unfolded with Ronan earlier. He was nowhere to be found for the rest of the day.
I don’t owe him anything, I know that. And I’m willing to bet he knows it, too. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t sting him all the same.
Snow crunches beneath my boots as I walk to my cottage; the snow blanketing the ground grows scarcer the closer I get to the heart of Celestria.
I couldn’t think of a better time to venture home and dig around for any hidden illusions my father may have set.
It’s nearly midnight, so there’s plenty of shadows to hide in should I need them.
Though I doubt The Council is following me…
I can’t say the same for a certain shadow wielder.
I can feel him nearby; every time I take a step, he takes one too.
His curiosity trickles through the bond, pricking at the edges of my mind like static.
He can follow me all he wants; I’m not up to no good…
at least not this time. The most he’ll find is me rummaging around in my own home, hardly a crime.
I continue walking, my fingers going numb from the chill of winter. I will my fire to the surface of my skin, instantly warming me and bringing feeling back into my hands.
The familiar outline of my cottage appears ahead, tucked beneath a canopy of snow, the river frozen and glinting before it, and the sight makes my chest ache.
I flick my wrist, and flames spring to life in the fireplace through the window, golden light reflecting against the snow. By the time I step inside, the scent of wood and smoke greets me like an old friend.
I breathe it in slowly, that instant comfort sinking into my bones at finally being home, even if just for a short while.
I pull the cloak from my shoulders, shaking off snow before hanging it on the hook by the door, then kick off my boots. My fingers trail along the carved wooden frame of the entrance, every groove etched with memories. I sigh, taking in a steadying breath and make to move toward my father’s office.
The room is as I remember it… organised chaos. Shelves upon shelves of tomes, parchment and ink bottles, each item thick with dust from the absence of his presence. I start searching, pulling open drawers, checking behind books, beneath ledgers, inside false-bottom boxes. Nothing.
“Damn it,” I mutter, slamming one drawer shut a little too hard.
Frustration coils through me like smoke.
There may be no illusions, but something in my gut tells me otherwise.
I just need to find it. Regardless, frustration and anger bubble up and rear their ugly heads.
My hand drifts to my dagger sheathed at my thigh, and I pull it free. I twirl it once, twice, then throw.
The blade sinks into the centre of the target, nailed to the far wall with a satisfying thud.
A smug smile tugs at my lips. I never miss.
Then the runes flare to life across the wood, faint and shifting as the entire wall ripples like heat on stone.
I go still. My heart stutters once, then races.
Stepping closer, I grab the dagger by the hilt and skim the blade across the wall. Just like in his personal archives, the air ripples like a barely visible layer of heat. I sheath my dagger and touch it with my fingertips… solid. My eyebrows pinch together.
Reaching to my thigh again, I take hold of my dagger and press it against the wall. Just like before, it begins to ripple, my dagger unlocking the illusion… how odd.
Before I can think too much on it, I take one step into the wall, dagger first. The illusion ripples over my skin like fluttering butterflies as I step through, and a small room comes into fruition in front of me, with a wooden floor and four plain, solid stone walls.
The air inside is stale but charged with faint magic that hums against my skin. A single brown armchair sits in one corner of the room, a rune-lamp next to it, emitting a faint glow. Beside the armchair is a small table stacked high with tomes, scrolls, and sealed letters.
My pulse hammers and my mouth goes dry; this must be it.
I kneel by the table, my hands trembling with excitement as I open the first journal.
Lines of his neat handwriting, spells I don’t recognise, sigils far too old to be sanctioned by The Council.
My eyes roam over a journal entry made years before I was born, my brows knitting at the words spilt on the page.
I did not come to Celestria seeking love. I came to unravel it from within.
Then I met her. Selene.
A High Mage of Celestria. She is beauty and warmth and firelight wrapped in mortal skin.
She saw through every mask I wore, even when I cloaked myself in lies.
She should have turned me in.
Instead, she offered me tea.
My mind races, my mother and father both grew up in Celestria, that’s the story they told me.
Two powerful bloodlines who grew up alongside each other, families who were loyal to The Council, the kingdom.
Confusion courses through me as I scan the entry again, but the words make as little sense as they did the first time.
I swallow, and with trembling fingers, I flip through a few more pages, skimming each word with intensity.
I warned her what it would mean, what The Council would do if they ever learned she’d taken a fae into her bed, much less birth his child.
She only smiled and said, “Then we’ll make her a secret the gods themselves could not unearth.”
And so, the night our beautiful Elysia was born under a blue moon, we wove the concealment charm.
The ring will grow with her, live with her and protect her.
The ring on my finger hums faintly in response, and my ears ring.
“No…” I whisper. “It can’t be.”
Something stirs beneath my skin… deep, ancient, and wrongly familiar. The air tastes electric, and my blood hums as if answering a call I didn’t know existed. Fae are folklore, centuries-old myths told to children.
This is absolutely impossible.
A thousand questions ring through me, flashing quicker than I can latch onto them and against my better judgment, I keep reading. Hoping the answers are written into the pages.
I forged the Emberfall sigil into her records today.
The Council will see an Emberfall heir, nothing more.
They will never question it, not while her fae features remain concealed.
But the truth hums beneath her skin, faint and restless.
She bears my blood… Moonborn.
A child of the moon, the elements and the universe itself.
I snap the journal shut and shove it back into the pile, heart racing as the edges of my vision darken for a fleeting moment before fading. Panic slithers through me and wraps around my chest like a tightening band.
Breathe, I need to breathe.
Running a hand over my loose plait, I pace the tiny room before stepping through the illusion again.
The warmth of the cottage feels foreign now, almost suffocating as I walk towards my father's desk.
I lean, one hand pressed into the wood, the other pressing into my chest as the walls close in around me.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Breathe.
I don’t know what’s worse. The truths I just found, or the questions they raise.
The sound of boots crunching outside jerks me upright, and my head snaps towards the front door as it creaks open… Kaden.
Shadows trail behind him like smoke as he walks through the front door, his eyes flicking to me, curious and unyielding.
I swallow the knot in my throat and try to shield my emotions.
“Following me again, I see.” I pause and take another steadying breath. “You’re not very good at tailing me, by the way. I could feel you the whole time. You should work on that.”
A smirk tugs at his lips, though the gesture doesn’t reach his eyes. “Wanted to make sure you weren’t going to get us killed.”
A sigh leaves me desperately as I hang my head. “I just wanted to see my home, maybe find comfort in it for a short few hours.”
He tilts his head, his gaze cutting right through the lie. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Shit, my shield is back down… he feels it. My pulse, my panic, my nausea, the hidden truth curling like smoke around my ribs.
“You’re hiding something…” he says, stepping closer. “We agreed to work together, that means no lies, no secrets. I need to trust you, and right now, you’re really not making it easy.”
My jaw tightens. “You don’t get to demand honesty when you spend half your time hiding in your own shadows.”
His lips turn into a thin line, and he exhales through his nose. “That’s different.”
“Is it?” I snap.
Silence stretches between us, sharp as a blade. The fire crackles from the main living quarters, the only sound other than my racing heart. He takes another step forward, close enough that I can feel the heat of him.
“Tell me the truth,” His voice drops low. “Whatever you just found… It’s eating at you. I can feel it.”
I bite down on the words threatening to spill. My chest is too tight, my thoughts too loud. “I said it’s nothing. Gods, can’t you just—”
“Stop lying to me.” He cuts in, voice a low rumble.
My emotions overwhelm me, a mixture of fury, confusion, fear and worst of all, desire at the way his voice sends a shiver up my spine, even now.
“Fine! You want the truth?!”
Before I can think, before I can stop myself, I grab his shirt and crash my lips to his.
It’s rough and angry and desperately messy, more defiance than affection, but gods, the bond sings.
His hand fists in my hair, and need streaks down my spine as he takes my ass in his hands and lifts me, my legs wrapping around his hips. The caress of his mouth and the strokes of his wicked tongue steal every logical thought, and my world narrows.
“Fuck, Elysia,” he groans against my lips, and then we’re moving.
Wood scrapes the floor as my ass hits the desk, and my ankles fall from the small of his back when he leans over me, spearing his fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck.
His eyes search mine before his mouth claims me again, my breath catching at every teasing flick of his tongue.
It’s just as hot and desperate as it was under the wisteria.
“No.” He pulls back, gasping. “This isn’t what you really want.”
“It’s exactly what I want.” I counter, pulling him back into me by his shirt.
I want to replace the anger with lust, the unanswered questions with the weight of his touch. The bond thrums with our mixed emotions and overwhelming desire. His breath catches, a war unfolding behind his eyes that in this moment I’m determined to win.
It’s time to stop dancing around this unbearable tension and break it.