Taking in my bleeding ankle, I noticed black lines creeping up my legs, as another hand grabbed my wounded skin. Before I could pull away, the hand glowed, and the black lines were sucked from my skin, vanishing. My body unfroze, and I gasped as someone grabbed me while Knox screamed my name.
We turned, staring at Knox, his eyes narrowing to slits as he observed silver-haired men surrounding me. Howling erupted from the mist, and I spun, lowering my hands and calling forth my magic. The dark mist recoiled from the light of my magic, but it didn’t dissipate. I frowned, calling forth more magic as a hand grabbed mine, and then the other.
The silver-haired men with matching turquoise eyes smirked at Knox, dismissing him as they chanted, and the shadowy, putrid mist receded. I swallowed, feeling the familiarity of their magic. Combining my magic to theirs, we continued to push the mist away, denying the creatures their prey, noting the husk-like corpses left in their wake. I smiled with victory until all at once, gruesome, hollow faces appeared in the mist as it lurched forward, and screams filled the air as one of the silver-haired men shoved me behind him.
“Run, Aria!” the man screamed, and I slowly stepped back. “You’re not immortal. Fucking run, Little One,” he hissed, and I turned, rushing toward the edge of town, turning to see them wield blades of glowing flames, fighting against the mist. A twig snapped beside me, and I yelped as Knox and his men surrounded me. I struggled to calm the anger that the sight of him erupted within me.
“Making new friends?”
“Funny, you should ask. You smell like well-used pussy, asshole,” I sneered, slowly walking backward toward the woods.
“Jealous?” Knox countered, canting his head as I directed my attention to the men who had just saved my life.
“Hardly. Do you want that? Have at it, but don’t think you get to have me afterward,” I laughed soundlessly, watching the silver-haired men in the village push the mist further back with their glowing blades.
Reaching into my pack, I tossed some quartz on the ground around me, as Knox’s eyes narrowed. Inhaling, I stopped. The smell of the tattoo artist’s stank on his skin offended everything within me. I wanted to run my nails over his chest, shredding him and ruining every inch of flesh she touched. His eyes dared me to do it, but I wouldn’t waste my energy.
“You think I fucked that woman while you watched?” Snorting, he studied my narrowed eyes as he continued. “Of course, I knew you were watching. No matter how hard you fight to hide that scent of yours, it’s still in the air, taunting me, woman. I knew you leaned against the wall across the street, same as the men who watched you from where they rested. Isn’t that right?” he asked, causing Brander and Lore to smirk.
My eyes slid from them to the sliver-haired men that had protected me. They had vanished once again. I frowned, chewing my lip as I scanned the streets, finding them emptied of people. It appeared as if everyone had scattered, retreating into their homes, closing their doors against the evil the night had sprung from the mist.
“Remove the quartz, Aria. The night isn’t safe. The revenants are starving for souls in which to feast. Whether or not you like it, you’re coming with me.”
“I’ve made other arrangements for the evening, and they don’t involve the smell of rank pussy,” I stated, watching Knox’s lips curve into a sinful smile.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the air filled with magic and violence. His men drew their swords, holding them at the ready, surrounding us. Tilting his head, Knox listened to the wind, trying to sense whatever they’d heard as the air thickened.
“It seems your other arrangements have arrived.” Knox’s smile became cruel. Turning his back on me, he drew his swords as the silver haired-men formed a circle around him and his men, weapons drawn and glowing with eerie flames.
Violence danced in the air, and I shook my head at my saviors. Knox’s men moved into defensive poses, and I watched as everyone prepared to attack.
“No,” I whispered, noting the silver-haired men tensed, and they nodded slowly, if a little begrudgingly, before stepping back, bowing their heads to me. Knox spun on me, narrowing his eyes.
As quickly as they appeared, my saviors vanished as if they were one with the shadows. Knox’s eyes filled with rage as he canted his head.
“Who the fuck was that?” he demanded.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, shaking my head. “That’s the second time they’ve saved me tonight.”
“Drop the fucking protection barrier, woman. I won’t tell you again.”
“You aren’t my boss, asshole. Besides, I got castles to destroy, and villages to pillage and plunder. See you soon?” His fierce gaze dropped to where my bloodied toe had drawn a portal onto the ground.
“Enough running, Aria,” he hissed vehemently. “You’re going to end up hurt or worse if you keep ignoring the dangers of the Nine Realms. You’re wasting my fucking time chasing you instead of doing the job required of me.”
“So stop chasing me and go handle your shit. I didn’t ask you to stalk me, asshole. Besides, the next time you see me, I will be beyond your reach, and you will watch me reign down hell upon the world, unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
“Never going to happen,” he seethed, letting his angry stare settle on my lips before his tongue snaked out, tracing his.
“Eventually, you’re going to tire of watching my ass walking away from you.”
“Not possible. I enjoy your tight ass, and actually like watching it,” he returned, trying to keep me close by, distracting me. I snorted, drinking in the sight and smell of Knox before I exhaled and stepped away from him, tossing him the bird over my shoulder.
Chapter Eleven
I entered the portal to my sanctuary, positioned outside of Hecate’s tomb before Knox could respond. The books I’d come for were securely in my pack, and they held all the information I needed to accomplish my task. It was time to put my money where my mouth was. The only thing I needed to do first was alert the others that I would be silent for a few weeks, gaining power and strength to do what was required.
It was time to prepare for the rising of a new House of Magic and put down roots in this cold, dismal land where even the fog would freaking kill you. So far, I’d seen shit that most horror shows couldn’t even dream up, learning that I’m stronger and more resourceful than I thought. Still, I needed to be cautious as I’d felt something wicked watching me often from within the shadows since arriving in the Nine Realms, observing my weaknesses and strengths, learning me.
I spent months figuring out the location for the next fight, and now it was time to gather my strength and power within the sanctuary where no one could track or reach me. It would give Knox a sense of nothingness once I vanished within my refuge, but it would allow me to sleep and prepare for what was coming next.
If I actually survived the next battle, I’d be stronger and more equipped to face him as well. I would do what no witch had ever done before and lived to tell it. Swallowing unease, I smiled as arms wrapped around me from behind.
“My Sweetest Girl,” Aurora whispered, kissing my cheek. “How I have missed you. Did you find the books?”
I turned, smiling. “Of course I did. You taught me well.”
“Then, let’s prepare for battle, shall we?” she asked, and I swallowed hard.
“This is my fight, and mine alone. You can come once I have obtained what we need. I can’t focus on the battle if I am worried about you and the others, Aurora. Knox will be on my trail the moment I step out of this sanctuary and back into the Nine Realms.
“I also have another problem. I allowed myself to be taken into a keep to bypass their warding spell. As I was laying siege from within, I found an odd skull and touched it. I believe it was once a phoenix or something similar. It projected me into the memory of a battle. Then, a silver-haired man with eyes the color of mine appeared, saving me from the witches that tried to harm me as I was locked in a vision of the past. Others like him app
eared later in the village. They came through some form of teleport or portal that opened directly into a realm of magic. After leaving the keep, I followed Knox into a town where a mist filled with decay and husks from the dead entered the village, pulling victims into the fog and spit their rapidly decomposing bodies back out.”
“It was not a mist. It was revenants of the dead who cannot rest. It would appear to an unknown victim as a mist or fog, but it’s the souls of the damned, unable to rest until the spell holding them to the Nine Realms has run its course or the caster of such an evil spell is destroyed.”
“That’s terrifying because the moment the revenants touched my leg, I froze. I couldn’t move or even think past the fear sliding through me. I’d be added to their victim pool if my silver-haired saviors hadn’t spared me. He held magic, Aurora, identical to mine. Knox found me, and he and his men surrounded me, but the men from the other realm surrounded them all, almost as if they intended to fight Knox to protect me.”
“You need to stay away from them, Aria.”
“Who are they?” I asked, her expression filled with worry. “You know who they are, don’t you?”
“No, but there are many within the Nine Realms who have similar coloring to you,” she whispered, pulling back to study my face. “If they ask you to come with them, you must never go. Do you understand me? They’re not who you think they are, Aria Primrose.”
“Who are they?” I insisted.
“Monsters. They’re monsters. You’re not like them, not even a little. If you go with them, that will change, Aria. If you go with them, everything will change. You can’t trust them. Do you hear me? You cannot trust anyone in this world.” She pushed the stray strands of my hair away from my face, frowning as tears swam in her eyes.
“What are they then?”
“I just told you.”
“No, you said they were monsters. Which kind of monster are they?” I demanded. “Is it so bad that you cannot put it into words?”
“The first people were a murderous, magical race that rattled, and made similar noises to what you and Knox create when you’re around one another. I think you’re the daughter of one of them, but which I could not say. Once, as a child, my mother told me about them and what the Nine Realms looked like when they ruled it. The realms were uninhabitable because of the fiery flames and the death they unleashed unto anyone who came here. They were a murderous race that delivered horrific deaths to anyone they didn’t allow in their lands.
“So, my mother, well, she unleashed her darkest magic, that of a goddess to rid the land of these monsters. It took her hundreds of years and nearly drained her of the magic within her soul. I’ve told you of the legends, and the fortune the other gods delivered unto her, sealing the fates of that race and all the creatures who lived when they drew breath in the Nine Realms.” She swallowed hard, searching my eyes.
“But what were they? Why won’t anyone just tell me what I am?” I countered softly. Worrying my lip, my gaze narrowed on Aurora’s concerned expression.
“Because within you, there is another being,” Aurora explained carefully, taking a step back. “It’s essential that she discovers who and what she is on her own. If I told you what I thought you were, and she heard, deciding to become that creature, it would end badly for both of you. One day, something will set her off, and she’ll evolve and reveal her true nature to protect you both from death. Monsters transcend into being, and she will, too, when the time is right.
“All I know is this, Aria. Your father walked among men and lay with your mother to create you. It wasn’t by accident that you’re here. Knox’s race is also from the first creatures of the Nine Realms, which is why he is a worthy adversary. It also explains how you both sense each other on a deeper level. That much is certain. The attraction may be of the flesh, but the connection you both feel lives within your souls. The monsters that live within each of you are the same, and I fear they created you to either lure Knox to his death or rule the Nine Realms at his side.”
“That’s two extremes with no middle ground. What if I wasn’t meant to be his?”
“If you weren’t created to take down a king or to show him that not all witches are vile, murderous beings, well, then you were born to bring the entirety of the Nine Realms to its knees. If that’s the case, then, gods save us all, because you’re almost strong enough to accomplish it now.”
“I’m not stronger than Knox, Aurora. I also can’t bring myself to hurt him.”
“Yet, Aria Hecate,” she whispered, thick with emotion. “You’ve chosen a path you intend to walk alone. The things you plan to do will only add to your power. You will walk beside him one way or another, how you choose to remain there is only your choice to make.”
“How will I know which to choose?” I swallowed, fighting against the anxiety rushing through me, causing me to fidget with my dress.
“You’ll follow your heart, and you will do what is right for the greater good because of it. You’re smart, beautiful, and you’re good, Aria Primrose. You deserve happiness and to know the love of a good man. I made sacrifices in my life to assure that you wouldn’t have to. You will know when the time comes to choose, and you’ll do what is right within your heart. I taught you to fight for the weak and be strong in the face of defeat and insurmountable odds.”
“I think you assume I am something I am not. I am not strong enough to choose a path right now, not when Knox is standing in front of me. I can barely remember my name when that asshole is near.”
Aurora laughed, smiling as sparkles of amusement danced in her gaze. “You’re the closest thing I have to a daughter, Sweet Girl. In my heart, you’re mine. I taught you well. You’re a red-blooded woman with needs. Sate the hunger, and if he is yours by right, everything that is supposed to happen will fall into place. None of the best love stories were easy. Come, it will take us days to prepare you for the journey you’re about to take, and I have missed your laugh these last few months.”
“I have missed you too.” I rested my head on her shoulder as we moved deeper into the sanctuary we’d begun to build.
Inside, the keep was nothing more than an altar surrounded by burning candles. Crystal’s hiding my position, scent, and location formed a powerful grid, enhanced with long crystal quartz amplifying each stone it touched. Swallowing the worry, I walked to the grid and slipped off my dress as Dimitri entered with my sisters. His eyes slid down my naked body with a hunger that was worrisome.
“Once you awaken, we will prepare you for war,” Aurora whispered.
“Up you go,” Dimitri said, grasping around my waist before he lifted me onto the altar, kissing my cheek before sliding his fingers over my abdomen, longing burning in his dark blue eyes. “Rest well, Sweet One.”
I looked around the room, staring at the faces of my sisters before I leaned back. The cold iciness of the altar bit at my back and the heavy scent of sage flooded my senses moments before chanting started. My eyes closed, and I relaxed, letting the familiar voices of my family soothe me. I could feel Dimitri’s heavy gaze on my body and heard his disgruntled yelp as Aurora whapped him.
“Stop drooling over Aria and go be useful standing guard. No one enters this keep while she readies herself for her next task, boy. Her life depends on us preparing her, and her ability to accept the strength we are giving.”
“I can hear you,” I muttered, smiling softly before opening my eyes, watching something pass in Dimitri’s gaze as he looked away and left the room.
Chapter Twelve
Two weeks later, back in the Nine Realms
I stood outside the witch’s stronghold I had watched for the past two days, preparing myself for the fight to take their keep and claim the prize they were guarding. My eyes shifted from the castle to a large war party, slowly making their way down the long, winding trail leading them deep into the valley. They marched in four, single-file lines, moving like a well-oiled machine on the road that would eventually reach my line
of defenses.
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I scanned the oncoming army. Knox led his men, sitting confidently on his midnight-colored stallion, exuding dominance that demanded your undivided, full attention. He was a sight to see dressed in his war uniform, and I sighed, noting how sexy he looked in his dark, wickedly designed armor. The man knew how to intimidate and plunder your senses.
The sound of men marching, horse hooves stomping on gravel, and the war drums, all bounced off the gorge’s high cliff walls, echoing like music flowing through the valley in warning. Combined, they were intimidating, sending a chill rushing down my spine with a foreboding that I couldn’t shake.
Large horses, some with two heads and unlike anything I had ever seen, pulled huge machinery behind them. Enormous, terrifying birds with fiery red and orange feathers flew above, shrieking as they flapped their vast, beautiful wings.
The baying of dogs, or something similar, joined the other cacophony of sounds, forcing my attention to the back of the army. There, housed in enormous cages, were dog-like creatures with large, pointed ears and tails resembling a bird’s tail feathers, pacing anxiously as they howled to be released.
Knox had brought creatures of legends and myths to wage war against this speed-bump of a keep. His numbers weren’t as impressive as what I’d seen when I’d followed him days ago, which meant the rest of the army camped some place near to here. The single fact that he’d not brought his entire army eased my anxiety a bit, but not entirely. The man knew how to make an entrance, creating inner doubt and turmoil in those who entertained the thought of waging war against him.
My gaze settled back on the King of Norvalla, seeing him clearer now that he was closer. Halting his army’s progression, Knox placed a helmet and mask combination on his head, the same one he previously used to obscure his identity. He righted himself on his horse as he signaled for the army to proceed. The black skeletal mask was the shit of nightmares, mine, mainly. Of course, he’d chased me down in it and tried to choke me to death while wearing it, so there was a legit reason for those dreams that haunted me.
Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms Book 2) Page 9