The Mark of Chaos

by K. N. Lee

  With that, she pushed me again. I didn’t hold on this time. I let her push me away, into the darkness, and then into the light.

  The world swirled and whooshed around me, sending me spiraling through a funnel of colors and screeching noises.

  I woke screaming with Raelyn over me.

  “It’s okay,” he said, wrapping me up into a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “What happened?” I asked into his shoulder. “What’s going on?”

  He pulled away from me, and I saw his eyes were tired and rimmed in red. “Seven hours,” he said. “You were gone for seven hours, not thirty seconds. We thought you were lost forever. We almost buried you, but we couldn’t move your body from this room without being spotted.” He touched my cheek. “But, I knew. You never got cold. Your heart stopped and your breathes ceased, but you were never cold. So, I knew you’d come back to me.”

  I wasn’t going to lie; his touch sent shivers up my spine in the most delicious way. Never had I been touched in such a way. At least, none that I could remember. But, there was something sinister brewing, and I couldn’t go another moment without letting the world know.

  “There’s something I have to tell you,” I said, swallowing hard and looking at him. My hands were shaking, and there was an itch in my throat that bordered on panic. “You’re not going to like it.”

  “Let me speak first,” he implored, breathing in a sigh. “Because something happened while you were away.”

  My eyes widened.

  Oh no.

  “And,” he said. “I’m sure it’s much worse.”

  Chapter 24

  He took me to a control panel full of screens, and stood me before it without a word.

  “What am I looking at?” I asked, frowning. I stared into the monitor and saw only black. “Is it broken? Are you this concerned over the idea of a busted monitor?”

  Ian stood beside us now, and I could tell from the pained look on his face that this was so much more than I was understanding.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Having left the other part of me behind, there was a coldness that seeped into my veins that hadn’t been there before.

  It was as if I had truly lost something, and this time, it wasn’t all a fantasy by my design.

  Turning to my best friend, I cleared my throat and tried to push all my other questions and concerns away. Sure, I might have just been met with the mirror version of myself, and yes, she did tell me that there was no way she could ever return to full control of this body I was driving. I would never get the memories I’d lost back. I would never become the person both Ian and Raelyn desperately wanted me to be again.

  I would never get the expertise in magic that we needed so badly right now. It was a lost cause.

  I was a lost cause.

  Unless—

  The hairs on my arms stood on end, and that coldness I couldn’t shake was replaced with warmth. Wincing, I closed my eyes as the mark on my forehead began to sting, and a heavy weight of pressure filled the space between my eyes.

  Once it subsided, I shook my head, wrestling all those painful thoughts away for the smallest of moments. That would be a hard conversation to have with these people; to tell them that their friend was gone forever.

  Not only was she gone, but she left purposely and of her own volition. There were other conversations to have right now, though. Chief among them seemed to be exactly why everyone was so upset.

  “That monitor isn’t broken, Moira,” Ian said, shaking his head too. “It’s a live feed from outside the palace gates.”

  “I can’t see anything,” I said, looking from the monitor back to the other two. “What’s going on? I thought you said I was gone for seven hours. Wouldn’t that make it the middle of the day right now?”

  “It would,” Raelyn said, mournfully. “In fact, it does. It’s the middle of what was forecasted to be a bright and beautiful day, Moira. Only, the suns never came up. The darkness is here, I’m afraid. The darkness is here and I think that means we’re too late.”

  Jaw agape, I turned my attention to Raelyn and Ian. Something inside of me shifted—changed.

  It was then that I knew there was one thing that could save this world—one thing that would combat the darkness. As heat filled my body, a glow emitted from the mark on my forehead, casting light onto the two men who stared in awe.

  Only one force remained in this world to stop its end.

  It was me.

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  A Look at The Blood Lottery

  [ Image: The-Blood-Lottery-Google.jpg ]

  Whispers. Beckoning. The trees in the distance rustled as if in greeting, urging me to take the leap, and shed my dismal life.

  If only I had the courage.

  I scraped caked-in blood from my ragged fingertips. Me and the other workers had toiled for hours while the cold wind blew at our backs.

  As I stood at the top of The Wall, overlooking what was left of the Old World, I coughed and rubbed at my frozen nose. Wetness smeared on my knuckles, only making me colder.

  From this high up, the quiet and peace was worth every frozen finger and toe. For a moment, I pretended to be free, picturing myself at the helm of a ship as it sailed across the Karcadian Sea.

  Veruth was the largest kingdom on the Aranthian continent, but none of us would know it. We’d never been outside of those walls.

  “See anything, Ava?” Ford asked, breaking me from my thoughts. He called up from the platform just below mine. “Any monsters? Anything at all?”

  I glanced down at him, his murky, brown eyes hooded by thick black hair that constantly whipped into his face as the Northern winds continued their assault.

  Taking another look, I wished I had seen something. Was the mysterious Dark out there, floating around and breeding new terrors like the elves and our ancestors said?

  So far, I’d never seen it. Some wondered if it even existed. Centuries had passed since it had shown itself. No luck catching a glimpse today. But, to the east, over the city, I did see the magical Sky Keep where the elvish monks lived. Though faint, I could see wyverns flying above it, weaving in and out of the thick clouds.

  I’d give anything to go there one day, even if just for a moment.

  I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said, glancing back up as I held onto the black pole at the top of the stone structure meant to protect us from the creatures across the wall.

  The unnerving silence on the other side always captivated me since I’d taken this job. While we were slaves within the walls, there was such eerie beauty in the wilderness. As I gazed into the horizon, mountains emerged from the thick green of the forest, and the sea stretched all across the east.

  This was just my first week helping tar and stack heavy stones onto the top. For years, the humans had made the wall taller and more fortified, and each year we began to wonder whether it was meant to keep something out...or to keep us in.

  I already knew the answer to that question, but we worked nonetheless, feigning ignorance and convincing ourselves that the sun elves who had invaded our land had our safety in mind.

  “Oy,” a loud shout came from far to the right.

  I shuddered, turning to meet the hawk-like glare of Hyatt, the task master. Silvery-white hair whipped around my face as our gazes met.

  His pointed ears were red from the cold, yet the cruelty in his glowing amber eyes betrayed nothing of his discomfort.

  I dreaded the lashing of his long, enchanted whip, lip trembling as I eyed it, waiting for it to snap out and slash my face or back open.

  Damned sun elf. It was as if our peace only angered them even though we did the menial work that built the city. Nonetheless, we kept our heads down, executed our tasks, and sealed our mouths closed.

  “Get back to work,” he
ordered, and everyone turned their attention to their respective jobs pulling stones up from the ground.

  There were hundreds on the wall, old and young, children, and the outcast class of gnomes. No matter where we came from, we were all slaves.

  Quickly ducking down, I accepted the next block of stone and used all of my strength to slide it to the top of the wall. As I leaned down and got the next one, a wyvern swept in, stunning me. Black wings blotted out the faint light of the sun, silver claws glistening.

  Instead of flying away, it lunged into my face, knocking me from the safety of my spot on the platform.

  I screamed. Though I tried to catch myself, another gust of wind blew at me and my descent into the foggy abyss began.

  Ford reached for me.

  He missed, his hand sliding up my arm and catching nothing but air.

  My scream caught in my throat as I realized I was falling to my inevitable death. The Wall was hundreds of feet tall, so tall that most days the clouds met us halfway, leaving mist on our faces.

  No matter how much I flailed, the fall continued to pick up speed. A cry of pain ripped from my lips as something wrapped itself around my ankle.

  I slammed into the side of the wall, foot, ankle, and leg burning with pain—pain that was nothing compared to the cracking of my skull against the stone.

  I heard them screaming my name.

  Yet, the darkness called it the loudest.

  A Look at Quest for Dragon’s Fire

  [ Image: Titan Academy for Mages Book One.jpg ]

  The soft splatter of cool rain dripped onto Wren’s hood.

  She sat in the tree, waiting, listening. It was just before sunset when the horns would blow and the villagers would be called back to town before curfew. Nightfall meant danger for anyone who dared to linger outside of the gates of The Vale.

  It was up to Wren and the other Dragon Elite to keep them safe—to protect them from the beasts who prowled at night.

  She’d taken this mission from the King of Saldoria—a king who balked at being sent the ‘little fairy’ instead of one of the elven males from the Elite.

  Arrogant bastard.

  She glanced at the darkening sky, and the gray clouds that rolled across at a leisurely pace. From the sweet smell of the air, she could tell that a storm was coming. She loved a good storm. Perhaps the weather would keep the creatures who haunted most children’s nightmares away.

  When the loud horns began to blow, she settled in on her belly, hiding within the leaves of a tall tree. The black bark and dark, evergreen leaves were perfect for such a disguise. Her purple hair was hidden beneath her hood, and her olive skin helped her camouflage herself along with the branches and foliage.

  She pressed her ear to the branch, listening to the wood nymphs humming. It was a hypnotizing melody that almost lulled her to sleep.

  Peeking down at the villagers as they left the fields and lakes from a busy day gathering food and supplies, she spotted North. He walked behind his two younger brothers, ushering them on as they begged to stay out and play just a bit longer.

  With a crooked smile on his face, and long chestnut hair falling into his eyes, he was one of her oldest friends from the Titan Academy for Mages.

  She was coming of age to leave the Academy and pursue a life of her own. It was either that, or continue her studies to rise up the ranks of mages, and perhaps ascend to greater things.

  She’d chosen her path, and the Dragon Elite was where her heart belonged.

  The silence that followed the procession of the villagers away from the forest was unsettling. She tried to focus on the hum of the nymph-folk and the soft drip of rain. Before long, thunder began to vibrate across the sky and strike lightning with a loud crackle that perked her up. She pushed herself to her bottom and wrapped her toned arms around her slim frame. The wind picked up and her soaked cloak and tunic began to cling to her in the most uncomfortable fashion.

  It was then that she noticed something out of the ordinary—something...odd.

  Two pairs of glowing red eyes emerged in the looming darkness as the sun set. She held her breath, tensing her neck as she watched a two-headed basilisk creep through the forest in search for food. The snake-like heads sniffed and searched the thick underbrush of the forest floor and let out a shrill sound unlike anything Wren had ever heard.

  Lips parted, she watched in awe as they seemed to communicate with one another in a series of shrieks and grunts that reminded her of a pig. Swallowing, she reminded herself of why she was there in the first place.

  She carefully pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, not blinking and barely breathing. As the storm raged on, she nocked the arrow and pulled the string back as far as it would go.

  Rain fell into her eyes, clouding her vision. She blinked them away and clenched her jaw. Perhaps it was a bad day for a hunt, but she had no choice. She’d taken this mission, and would execute it.

  She sucked in a long breath of the cool air, and said a mental prayer, asking her wisp guides for clarity.

  Releasing the breath, she also let go of the arrow and watched it soar through the night and into the chest of the deformed basilisk.

  The roar that resulted made her jump, almost falling from the tree. She held steady, shivering as the massive creature ran. Her arrow protruded from its body.

  “Fiddlesticks,” she growled, and with a leap from the tree, she descended down to the forest floor, landing with barely more than a soft squish in the mud.

  The basilisk ran, and she chased it, nocking arrows and shooting as fast as her skilled fingers could go.

  The hide was tough, and as she ran behind the frantic creature, it took two more arrows into the back of the beast’s heads to send it crashing down to its death. The thud made the entire surrounding area vibrate, and sent dirt flying through the air.

  Skidding to a stop, she breathed heavily, lifting her hood and exposing herself to the onslaught of rain. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she knelt and felt the beast for any signs of life. Closing her eyes, she thanked the Mother for her blessing. Then, she removed her dagger and cut out the beast’s heart.

  As she did so, her body trembled at feeling the spirit leave the the beast. For a moment, she was overcome with sadness for the poor creature. Her hand glowed a faint orange, and she placed it onto the belly of the beast, and closed her eyes.

  “On to the Mother,” she said. “May your journey be peaceful.”

  It was the only way she could do this job—to come to terms with bringing death to any living creature.

  She was a fairy, through and through, even if she only had scars where her wings had once been—even if she was one of the last of her kind.

  About the Author

  K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she is not writing twisted tales, fantasy novels, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and recording for her Youtube channel, Adventures with K.N. Lee. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys spending time with her two children.

  She is signed with Captive Quill Press and Patchwork Press.

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  Also by K.N. Lee

  The Wicked Crown:

  Throne of Deceit

  Throne of Malice

  Throne of Peril

  Throne of Envy

  Dawn of the Seraphim:

  The Blood Lottery

  The Fallen Wall

  The Ashen City

  The Dragon Born Saga:

  Half-Blood Dragon

  Magic-Born Dragon

  Queen of the Dragons

  War of the Dragons

  Fate of the Dragons

  Curse of the Dragons

  Wrath of the Dragons

  The Chronicles of Koa Series:

  Netherwor
ld

  Dark Prophet

  Blood Princess

  Crimson King

  The Eura Chronicles:

  Rise of the Flame

  Night of the Storm

  Dawn of the Forgotten

  Prophecy of the Seer (Coming Soon)

  Empire of Dragons Chronicles:

  Fallen Empire

  Reign of Magic

  Fire and Fury

  Realms of Ruin

  About the Publisher