When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

AERYN'S POV

I groaned, feeling like a million demons had assaulted me, and swiped a hand down my face. Tender bruises were peppered all over my body and I ached in places I didn't even know I could. I huffed a giant sigh and flopped against the cushiony pillows on the canopy bed I seldom used. Last night's events came rushing back to me and I squeezed my eyes shut tight enough for red and orange spots to dance behind my eyelids in the afternoon sunlight streaming through my bedroom window.

I didn't want to think about the demons or Bastion.

Or Zoran.

I wanted to think about nothing at all.

There was no way I could tell my father about the demon attack in Garrenth without disclosing the Dracnae's location or Bastion's presence. It was frightening to think about the immense number of demons that charged through the cave. Our walls were better off keeping the demons inside our empire rather than outside it.

I had arrived back at the Nyrial Castle just as the sun had started to rise behind the mountains this morning. I'd traded Bastion's Ravos robe for my clothes back at the cave's entrance in Garrenth and summoned Rays to take me back home. He'd kept pestering me with questions, but I stared off into the distance, supplying him with minimal, vague answers until he'd given up on his grilling.

My father was holding another Remembrance Ceremony tonight for the students who had died during our last challenge at Insignia Academy. I was already dreading attending the ceremony and debated whether I should even make an appearance at all.

Misty's body wouldn't be burned on a pyre. Her flesh and bones had been disintegrated by the Curse coursing through her veins. I couldn't go to the Remembrance Ceremony honoring the friend I'd killed. It felt wrong on so many different levels - not to mention I couldn't show my face in front of Pallonia's and Derryn's families.

So, I didn't go to pay my respects to the fallen at the ceremony. Instead, I stayed in my stiff bedroom and stared at the ceiling as bonfires blazed in the distance at Clear Water.

I wasn't sure if I remained that way in my room for hours or days or even weeks, but I awoke one morning to an incessant knocking on my door.

"Get up, Aeryn," my father demanded from outside my room. "Final evaluations are complete. Your graduation ceremony is at noon."

I lurched upright and scrambled off the raised bed, bare feet plodding on the hardwood floors as I rushed over to the vanity and assessed my appearance in the mirror. I smoothed down my untamed hair and rubbed at the dark circles under my eyes, hoping that would get some color back into my pale face.

"Yikes," I cringed, deciding it was best to bathe before attempting to make myself look even remotely presentable. I'd been a recluse longer than I'd thought.

I filled the basin with hot water in the bathroom attached to my room and took a quick bath, scrubbing my entire body and pulling my fingers through the knots in my hair. Satisfied I'd fought enough of the tangles, I rinsed myself off and pulled a towel around myself. Once I'd fixed my hair in two braids halfway down my back, I sorted through the massive dresser in the corner of my room. The dresses were all too fancy for me and I chewed on my thumbnail as I debated what to wear.

With a sigh, I settled for a simple black dress with sequins sparkling along the top. I didn't want to constrict myself in one of the tighter dresses that would hug my curves and show more of my body than I was comfortable with, so I slipped on the midnight one with a loose-fitting skirt that billowed around my legs.

Pursing my lips, I analyzed the dress in the mirror and figured it would have to do. More of my chest was showing than I wanted, but it was the most conservative dress I owned. I pulled my white fur cloak around my shoulders, glad it covered the exposed skin, and put on my steel-toed boots and fingerless, power-blocking gloves. I had my throwing stars strapped to my wrists, dagger on my thigh, and the topaz knives sheathed in the belt around my waist. I felt like the shining blades added a bit of glamor to the outfit.