Shadowborn Academy_ Year Three (Dark Fae Academy #3) - G. Bailey Page 0,1
furthermore. The Light Fae King is dead.
Blinking back my tears, I turn around and look up into the pity-filled eyes of the man I love.
My shadow. My home.
“The king is dead. Queen Narah killed him,” I say softly, the words feeling wrong and foreign on my tongue. The way she stabbed him nineteen times will forever be etched in my mind. “Eva has taken over the Light Fae Kingdom with the Titans and Narah. She also holds Izora prisoner, who’s really King Ulric’s daughter, which totally makes her my sister.”
“Shit, Vina,” I hear Zander mutter nearby before he rests his hand on my arm. I briefly look at him before another hand falls on my back and I turn to see Gage.
“What do you need us to do next?” he asks quietly. His question lingers in the air between us just before Jonah steps forward and locks his gaze with mine. The still blueness of his eyes makes me pause. They give me hope that there is a light in this dark fucked up world.
Words seem lost to me for a long time, but they all stand still, waiting for my next move.
“I don’t know what we do next. I’ve never known what I’m doing,” I whisper, tears falling from my cheeks to my lips. “I’m an epic fuck up for a princess. How do I even play their game? I’m no royal. I’m nothing compared to the fae and fucking gods!”
Pitch tightens his grip on my shoulders. “Corvina Charles, shut the hell up!” His tone shocks me. Pitch never speaks to me like that. He steps closer, cupping my cheeks as the crown presses into his stomach between us. “The fae, the gods, the Titans, and the whole world have no clue what’s coming their way. You are Corvina Charles, a fae created of both worlds and surrounded by shadows, as well as light. You will win this war with us at your side.”
“You think so?” I ask him and he nods. I look around at my guys, who all nod once with their eyes full of strength and belief.
With all my men around me, somehow I find the strength to lift my head and take a much needed deep breath.
“We should go to the academy,” I say, my voice much stronger than I feel. “I know Eva expects me to be there but she will be busy for a while.”
Zander sweeps us up into the shadows and shadowlocates us to the middle of the academy entrance, where we are not alone.
The first woman I set my gaze on, sees me before her eyes slowly drop to the crown. Ivywood’s knees buckle underneath her, and an ear-splitting cry that echoes around the academy pulls out of her throat with anguish. No one dares move as we watch her weep for her king, my father.
I look up to see Ambrose at the stairs, leaning on the banister, and there is a big space around him where the students all stare, most looking scared of his existence. The entrance hall slowly fills with students until we are surrounded by hundreds of shadowborns, each of them looking to me, and the weeping fae, for answers.
Gulping down the pain in my throat, I walk to Ivywood and kneel down. She looks up from the floor, locking her eyes with mine. Her face is covered in tears, her eyes distraught with grief, and for the first time, I realise how much she loved my father. I want to feel grief at his loss, but the shock isn’t letting me feel anything right now.
I don’t know what I will feel come tomorrow. Or next week. Or ever.
“What do you need from me, Queen Corvina of the Light Fae Court?” Ivywood’s question bouncing around the room. I offer her a hand and she takes it, letting me pick her up off the floor as I rest the crown by my side, knowing full-well everyone is watching me.
“The academy is going to be attacked by Titans and light fae. Possibly even dark fae,” I say, and before I can say anything else, everyone bursts into panicked chatter. Most of them sound terrified and I don’t really blame them. Ivywood lets my hand go and steps forward, clapping once and everyone immediately falls silent.
“Every single student here has gone through what no fae could ever imagine. You are not weak, you are not useless, and you will not go down without one hell of a fight,” Ivywood shouts,