Page 217 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“Turns out if you sever the right limb, it doesn’t regenerate. It made for a fairer fight—and yes,Istruck the killing blow.” Kaia grinned. “Caius was fussing over me unnecessarily.”
“You were injured,” Caius said, voice flat but firm.
She waved him off.
“Another portal opened,” Archer cut in. “Headmaster Carth and I were on the other side. Something had gone wrong. You four and your celestials weren’t supposed to separate—it wasn’t part of the trial’s design. When Dawson, Beck, Solflara, and you went missing, the Consortium panicked. The heir of House Aetheris disappearing in a trial of their making? That was not going to be ignored.”
Alaire’s nails dug into the underside of the table. “The Consortium designed the trial?”
Kaia hesitated. “It was Dexter who designed this year’s trial.”
Of course it was.Alaire’s eyes snapped to Caius.
“Can’t say that I’m surprised.” The pieces she’d been assembling began to take form.
Her gaze swept to Dawson.
“We crossed the portal, but I lost my hold on you somewhere in the transition. We landed on a massive semicircular platform with a domed barrier, shapes scorched into the ground aroundus. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t break out.” Dawson ran a hand through his hair.
“We tried to get Solflara to reach you, but the connection was suppressed. The magic that kept us trapped affected the bond. We waited and waited. The barrier crept in tighter and tighter. Then, without warning, it just fell. No fight. No explanation. Anticlimactic and full of worry.”
“The prince is neglecting to mention he nearly tore his hair out by the roots,pacing like a caged predator,” Solflara said down the bond.
Her chest tightened at the thought of Dawson being so unraveled because of her. It sent an illicit thrill through her.
She hadn’t realized everyone’s eyes were on her. Concern. Curiosity. The weight of their attention pressed down on her. She dragged her palms down her leathers, seeking steadiness.
Kaia’s gentle voice broke the silence. “Alaire… whatreallyhappened?”
Alaire hesitated. When her gaze lifted, she found no judgment in her friend’s eyes.
And so she told them. The monsters melded into hybrids. Professor Ross’s rescue and sacrifice. The Voidshade Sovereign. Her power. Her acceptance.
“So the Voidshade Sovereign—the leader, the one who’s responsible for Starfall—is back?” Archer asked, incredulous.
Alaire bobbed her head. “I don’t think he ever really left.”
Kaia blinked. “What do you mean?”
“The Voidshade Sovereign, like all vampires, is neither truly alive nor dead. They exist in between. Somehow, he survived my mother’s flames. His only purpose is to rule a world that submits entirely to him—and to break Umbra’s curse so they can walk in the light.” She squared her shoulders. “He won’t stop until he succeeds… or he’s destroyed. The hybrids are only the beginning. Now he, too, has creatures with wings.”
A murmur rippled through her friends. Sharp intakes of breath. Muttered curses. Determination kindled with fear.
“I’ve seen what they can do,” Alaire said, tone hardening. “What they did to Dawnspire—my home—just to get to me. And I won’t let them raze the world my parents gave their lives to protect. I’ll use everything I have, everything I am, to destroy him.”
Kaia leaned forward. “How do we stop them?”
Alaire glanced at Dawson. “I don’t know yet. Too many pieces are missing to see the full picture. There’s so much we don’t yet understand. But I do have a few ideas on where to begin.” So much that she still had to learn before she could face the Voidshade Sovereign.
The room fell silent, the weight of her words sinking in.
One by one, her friends nodded.
“Whatever you need. We support you,” Kaia declared. No hesitation. No doubt.
Something in Alaire she thought forever broken was mended at those words. Collectively, they would carry on what her parents could not.
But there was one more thing. Her throat tightened.
