Page 208 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“Many times, I thought you had figured it out.” His eyelids drooped. “Too observant for your age. Mature too.” He coughed—a horrible, soggy sound. “I served as your parents’ Chief Advisor in Aurelia. They were the best this realm had to offer. I miss their guidance, but most of all, their friendship.”
Alaire’s throat tightened. Her grip on the blood-soaked jacket faltered. That’s why he could wield flames. Professor Ross was a fire elemental from Aurelia.
“No one expected the Voidshade Sovereign to launch an attack against us,” Professor Ross sputtered.
Alaire redoubled her efforts to staunch the wound. She closed her eyes, reaching for the power she’d summoned to save Dawson. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the wheeze of his breathing, the slowing pace of his heart. Nothing.
“This is more important,” he said, one finger gently squeezed hers, forcing her to open her eyes. “There were whispers of shadows growing in the Retribution of the Ruined, but anyone sent to penetrate their borders never returned. The rumors grew. One ruler emerged from the shadows—a force this world had never seen before.”
His eyes glistened with tears, lost to memories of another time.
Alaire fought to summon her magic, torn between needing the truth and the urge to block out his words.
“Your parents took precautions to protect Elithian’s most sacred item—and you. I was tasked with your survival. Instructed to take you to Cielore if war came.” His chest rattled. “Your half-fae blood and rounded ears hid you well.”
Desperation tore at her to stop the bleeding. She’d finally gotten a piece of her home back; she’d do anything for more time with him. Then it hit her.
“Professor, summon a flame,” she pleaded.
“What?”
“Try to summon a flame. We can use it to heat my dagger and staunch the wound.”
He shook his head. “That isn’t going to heal me, not with the poison coating those creatures’ tips. I’m ready… I’m at peace with it.”
“Well, I’m not. Not now.”
“I know. But there’s more I need to tell you, and I don’t have much time.”
She nodded, choking back tears.
“Alaire, your parents bound your magic,” he ground out. “To protect you from being targeted for your power. But also, to hide the heir to the Vallorian line—the one who protected the light. Spells strong enough to bind someone’s magic always extract a heavy toll.”
He struggled for breath, crimson speckling his lips.
“Your mother used her magic to set the binding spell within you. The bonds were meant to loosen at twenty-five—further if you bonded with a celestial. The final barrier would fall when I deemed you ready, when you’d learned enough to protect yourself. That’s why I insisted you attend Aeris Academy. But your parents also tied your magic to my death as a failsafe. If something happened to me before I could prepare you, at least you’d have your magic to protect you. And now Solflara too.”
Alaire shook her head, tears blinding her. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth, Alaire. You’re ready.”
“When did they do it?” she whispered. She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words.
“Starfall,” he said. Of course. Where all of it began and ended—an ouroboros of pain, secrets, and lies. “It’s why your memories of that night, of your past, were always foggy and fragmented. Leaving you… at the orphanage…” His voice broke. “It was my greatest regret. Your parents’ instructions were explicit—you were to be raised as a mortal.”
His hands began to shake as they clutched hers.
“I watched over you as best I could, but you disappeared. No matter how hard I searched, you didn’t resurface until you were processed at Grimstone Penitentiary. It’s why I had those files of you in my desk.Potentially what we were searching forwas always my code for you. I never stopped looking.
“You always wondered why you were offered admission to Aeris Academy. I called in every favor I had to ensure you received the training you needed. I wanted to be close in case trouble came calling. Headmaster Carth owed me a favor.”
Alaire gripped his hand tighter, the band of her ring digging into the space between his thumb and forefinger.
“The ring,” he murmured, voice weakening. “It’s an heirloom, imbued with magic from the first Vallorian to bond with a phoenix. I kept it with me. It was meant for the female heir when she came of age.” A cough racked his body.
“When I left it for you with the crown, I had to see if it would sing to you as it did to your mother. If the power would call to you in the same way. I never told you how regal your mother’s diadem looked on you.” Blood trickled from his mouth.
Professor Ross was the one who’d left the crown outside her room the night of the Celestial Cascade Ball.
