“I’m ready, Taren.”
Lightning lit the field, causing it to turn indigo with the intensity of the power humming around us. Taren threaded his fingers through mine, spreading my arms wide as he chanted softly, the sound swallowed by the hum of energy filling the space. The protection circle pulsed, and crystals shattered as violet-colored bolts slammed into them, sending fragments through the air, pelting my bare legs.
Knox yelled, and my attention slid toward him at the same moment lightning rocked through me. A scream escapes my lips, and my head flew back, exposing my open mouth to the sky as a violet streak of light shot down, moving through me. My body jerked and twisted as pain rushed through every cell.
Screaming filled both sides of the barrier, mine and Knox’s pulsing through me as the power slithered around me. Taren held me up, his hands continuing to hold my arms out wide. The pain persisted until my legs threatened to deposit me onto the ground, but the rigid body holding me refused to let me fall.
The moment it ended, Taren released me.
I dropped to my knees, and he stepped away from where I’d crumpled to the ground. My head lifted, locking gazes with Knox, who was on his knees, staring as my body, covered in a violet hue, trembled violently.
It took everything I had to push myself off the ground, my eyes never leaving Knox as he did the same. Power rushed through me, and electrical pulses sizzled over my flesh as I turned my head to the left, holding out my hand, calling for more of the power.
Lightning slammed into me, sending me sailing across the ground as I screamed. Tears slipped free, and my nose popped as everything within me felt torn apart. Sobs escaped, and my eyes closed, reopening to stare down at the ground where blood coated the earth.
Exhaling, I heard screams mixed with the pounding of my blood in my ears. Louder than any battle drum, it hammered deafeningly. I forced my body to rise, slowly moving back to the protection circle.
“Aria,” Knox whispered, sounding as if he was inside my head. “Enough. It isn’t worth your life, Little Witch. You’re killing yourself.”
“I will not fail,” I mumbled, lifting my hand, turning to stare in the opposite direction. A coppery tang filled my mouth, and I spat blood onto the ground as everything within me demanded I stop. “I can’t fail,” I implored, speaking to the land more than myself or even Knox.
“This is madness. You aren’t strong enough to take what Taren holds. Listen to me! You’re going to die if you continue. Let it go. It isn’t worth your life.”
“You’re too late. If Aria stops now, she dies,” Taren chuckled darkly, the smile on his face sinister.
“If she continues, she dies, King Oleander. You knew that when she offered to hold the power, didn’t you?” Knox accused, his eyes darkening with murderous rage as I swayed on my feet.
“You killed my wife and took my sons away from me, King Karnavious. Did you honestly think I’d allow her to live knowing you marked her for your own? You want her to live? Free my sons from your binding oath, and I’ll help her. Refuse me, and you’ll watch her die. I’m willing to let my sons and my race die with Aria, rather than them living one more day as a slave.”
My attention lifted, locking eyes with Knox, realizing my error. Knox had gargoyles in the library, ones that listened to his every order. Gargoyles were enslaved by a binding oath, or their oaths were given freely as they craved purpose. Very seldom was it the latter.
I wasn’t stupid enough to think Taren had willingly helped me. He’d been forced to show my paths because gargoyles helped shape the future, standing sentinel over the living for protection. It was why they guarded churches and homes. They were protectors of the realm. So, what had Taren done to force Knox to murder his wife and take his sons?
My hand lifted, and I called the power of the Nine Realms to me without warning, hearing both men gasp the moment the world answered my call. Pain rocked through me, forcing me to fight against the urge to drop to my knees as the power shattered everything inside of me.
Lifting my eyes, I smiled at Knox as a loud popping noise sounded, and my vision swam. My body began to drop forward, only for a blinding, white light to shoot from the earth, catching me before I could face plant on the ground. The light lifted me, and my body slowly floated above the crimson ground below.
“Impossible,” Taren whispered.
“She failed,” Knox growled harshly, but I could hear the worry in his tone.
My body spun until I saw the purest blue sky above me. I was suspended in the air by the power of the realm that was rushing through me. My hands dropped toward the earth, hanging beside me as my body bowed in the middle, causing blood to run down my face. Power rippled through the clearing, and I moaned, forcing my eyes to slide to the portal Aurora had just opened.
I slid my eyes to Knox. Worry burned brightly in his gaze as he ignored the others.
His expression said I couldn’t die. I wanted to laugh and tell him that I agreed with him for once. There was also somberness in his eyes, and it tugged at my heartstrings. I offered him a sad smile, opening my mouth to speak, but nothing escaped past my lips.
I exhaled a shuddered breath that caused him to wince as more blood rolled from my lips. Warmth rushed over me, along with his scent. He was offering me comfort. I reached a point in my sheer stubbornness to admit I wasn’t strong enough to achieve this task.
“Aurora Hecate,” Taren said in surprise, but when she turned angry eyes in his direction, he smiled wickedly. “Still as beautiful as always, Love.” He watched her moving toward me, his eyes turning to slits as the smile faltered and vanished from his face. “She failed, which means her life should be forfeited. You knew she would fail this task, yet you allowed a child to face me. Why?”
“You know why,” Aurora scoffed, shaking her head as she peered down at me. “Almost, Aria,” she whispered, holding her hand above my chest as power shot through me, and my body rejected the crystal shard skull, now filled with violet bolts of lightning. “You took enough to do what was needed. The Nine Realms has found you worthy, and has spared your life, daughter of my heart.”
“It hurts so badly,” I confessed, releasing a sob before I could prevent it from escaping past my lips. “I’m dying.”
I fought against the pain as everything within me felt torn open and rearranged again. It was as if the world was trying to put me back together from the inside out. My eyes moved to Knox, allowing him to anchor me to him, and somehow the pain melted away. He was the last person who should have offered me comfort, and yet he was. His gaze told me I was strong enough to survive, even though everything around me said otherwise.
“We need to take her with us!” Kinvara sobbed, turning her attention to the army over her shoulder. “Jesus, shit-bricks, and sandals,” she choked on her words that came out too quickly while she gasped, noting Aurora’s lack of panic. She turned back to stare at the men, eyeing the warriors who watched us. “Why aren’t they attacking?”
“Aria erected a very powerful barrier with the souls of the witches she murdered. They’d need a lot more power and magic to get through it to reach us,” Aurora frowned, lifting her attention to Taren. “You are free, Taren. Go back to your wife, where you belong, you treacherous swine.”
“Are you still angry that I chose Maricela over you? You know I adored you, Aurora, but you didn’t put out, nor did you offer me the sons my monarchy needed and demanded I provide. Besides, King Karnavious murdered my sweet, gentle Maricela. He murdered her right before your mother placed me into this hell, but you knew what Hecate planned to do to me, didn’t you?”
“You were out of control and had gone insane!” Aurora hissed, sending her power rushing through the field in warning, igniting the protection barrier around us.
Kinvara lifted her hand, moving to wipe the blood from my face, but Aurora slapped her hand away before touching me.
“Do not touch her, Kinvara. The power of the Nine Realms holds Aria. If you touch her, she dies.
It is healing her because it has found her worthy of its power. You cannot interrupt the process because she is dying, and the realm is fighting for her life against death.” Holding the pulsating stone containing the lightning, Aurora turned to glare at Taren. “Leave now, or you will be returned to that hell as a corpse to meet your dead wife.”
“You always did play hard to get, Aurora. I’ll see you around, Love. Plan on it,” Taren snorted, lifting his hand as a bolt of lightning shot from the sky, and he vanished in the blinding light with a pop, leaving only the scent of thick ozone.
“Aria,” Kinvara whispered as she gazed down at me. She ignored the army that watched us, hanging on our every word. “Why are her hands black? Look at her fingertips.”
“She murdered witches,” Aurora whispered thickly, staring at my fingers that had yet to return to their natural color. “Thousands of witches would be my guess, which caused the markings to appear in warning to others of her intent to gather power.” Aurora exhaled, smiling worriedly down at me, softly speaking in the ancient language of witches.
Aurora and Kinvara stood hand-in-hand beside me, right on the edge of the light that shone from the ground, holding me in place. Their whispered chants increased the energy pulsing through me.
I felt even more power from my sisters through the bond we shared as they joined hands, softly chanting together. The mantra would strengthen me to fight against death’s icy claws, trying to sink in and pull me under.
I could feel blood trickling from my nose. I watched my family, staring through them to find Knox silently gazing at me, his forehead creased tightly as his witches chanted together with my bloodline. I’d failed my initial plan big time. But I realized now that we hadn’t needed to take all the lightning, just enough to fill the skull, leaving a little of the lightning and the power of the realm within me.
Aurora lifted her hand, holding the skull high in the air as power arced into it. The chanting increased in speed and volume, and I realized we needed more than they had to give.
Suddenly, the chanting of hundreds of witches entered my mind, joining those who were here. I gasped, staring at Aurora in wonder, knowing she’d called upon those who still abided our laws, proving there were witches worth fighting to save. Tears rolled from my eyes as she nodded.
“They’re out there, Aria. They’re waiting for us to come and save them. We’re not alone here anymore. Let us help you so we can go together and help them.”
“Go,” I whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. “You’re not safe here. Soon, the barrier will fail, and Knox will catch you. I can only escape him if you’re not here anymore when I wake up.”
“You can’t protect them and us.”
“I choose you, than,” I stated with conviction, filling my voice. Aurora’s eyes filled with unshed tears, her head slowly shaking at my stubbornness. “I choose my family, always. Get into the portal because I will need one to escape. I cannot do that if you’re still here. He will find me because I am weakened. Go, I will find you when it is time.”
“Aria, you can’t fight the world alone,” Kinvara shushed.
“Watch me,” I smiled sadly. “I love you, but I have to do this. I can’t be the reason you or anyone else dies. I can’t live with that, so please, just go. I will figure out a way to undo what I allowed to happen,” I whispered as pain erupted inside of my head, and everything faded around me but sound.
The pain was visceral and raw, shredding my insides until only guttural cries escaped my lips. The blood stopped running, and white pain pulsed behind my eyes. My entire body trembled, and it felt like tissue was replaced, cells re-situated, before everything seemed to go numb, finally.
“Stand back, Kinvara. Let the world heal her so that we do not lose her. You,” she growled harshly at Knox, pointing a finger in his direction. “If you touch her before she has healed, she will die. Do you hear me? To you, she is nothing, but this world thinks she is something special, or it would not have saved her with its powers. Let her be King of Norvalla, or watch her die because she will fight you until her dying breath leaves her lungs to protect the weak from you. You think us murderers, but ask yourself this. Who could be strong enough to push a goddess into her grave, sending her bloodline running in fear? Because that is who sired Aria and created her against all the odds.”
“You don’t know who sired her, Aurora. She’s mine because of that mark on her thigh. No one can question or challenge that. Aria asked me for the mark, and I agreed to give her my name. I protected her when she needed it, and you know that makes her mine now. It’s legally binding, and I don’t give a shit if you like it or not.”
“Neither do you know who sired her, but look at what is happening! The Nine Realms is healing Aria, acknowledging her attempt to do what was right for this world. She was willing to sacrifice her life to protect innocent people. How evil can she be, if she is ready to use her soul to protect them, Knox? Look at her closely because we still may lose her yet. No witch has ever held enough power to take back that which fuels the realms with my mother’s powers, but Aria almost did.
“You look at her as if she is a weapon to wield, but she’s just a girl who wants to do the right thing. Not everything is black and white, but if you push her, she will unleash hell on those who have endangered those she finds worthy of protecting. She is beautiful and pure. Remember that because unlike you, she’s never tasted grief, and when she does, it will be a game-changer. Don’t ruin her. She isn’t what you hate.”
“Oh, but she is because your bloodline runs through her veins. It’s all irrelevant because Aria is mine, and I intend to keep her, Aurora. I walked in and took your strongest witch from beneath your fucking nose. You thought you would rise to be queen, but we all knew who held the throne’s power. It wasn’t you and isn’t Aria’s sisters. You planned to use her too. You just didn’t intend for her to figure that out. Aria is brilliant, and sooner or later, she’ll put all the twisted pieces into place, and this world will tremble in her presence.” Knox’s tone was unforgiving and tense.
“Pray she doesn’t, because if she rises, we will all fall, Knox. If she rises, so will the old ones, and that monster that sired her will return to ensure she becomes what she was born to be. A monster with no equal,” she hissed, causing my lips to tug into a deep frown. “They’re aware that she exists, and they’ve already tried to get her to go with them willingly. Do you intend to stop her from discovering her truth? Or do you plan to keep her on her knees as your slave? I promise you this; Aria is more than anyone ever expected her to become. She is deadly in her own right, but when she discovers the truth about her parentage, well, goddess protect us all, because Aria will not.”
“The old ones will only rise when the true king chooses to return to the Nine Realms. He hasn’t been seen or heard from in over five thousand years. You have no idea of who is chasing her, any more than I do. They won’t save her from me, and neither will you, witch.”
I cried out, causing both sets of eyes to turn toward me. Sharp pain sliced through me, and then my body when tight with searing heat as my lips parted, expelling a soft cry of agony through the dryness of my mouth.
I felt weightless, listening as Aurora gave Knox a tongue lashing, and had I not been motionless, I’d have applauded. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t move, and pain continually ripped through me as the realm repaired me from within.
I sensed the portal closing and heard the silence of the clearing as the power lessened. I remained within the air as something rolled down my face, tears I hoped, and not blood. All at once, the pain stopped, and I hit the ground hard as everything went black, and consciousness slipped from me.
Chapter Nineteen
Soraya
My eyes slid over the chaos raining down on the keep. The King of Norvalla stood on one side of a barrier with his army, and on the other side was a witch, suspended in the air by Nine Realms’ magic. She dropped to the earth, and I studied the form on the ground, exhaling as
her chest rose and fell, proof that she hadn’t died.
She’d done the impossible. There wouldn’t be a single witch who hadn’t felt the magic removed from the Nine Realms. That in itself was an impossible feat, but when she’d failed to house it, the realms themselves had reached up and healed her.
My heart thundered in my ears, deafening Ilsa’s call while I watched the woman’s dark lashes fluttering while an older Hecate witch argued with the King of Norvalla. Large blue eyes narrowed into angry lines while her fists balled up, and she held one out toward him. I stepped closer, craving to hear what they said.
Magic slithered over my skin in warning, and I shivered past the vileness of Ilsa’s summons. Stepping back into the shadows, I drew the runes for the portal, slipping through it, back into the Palace of Magic.
“When I summon you, you come!” Ilsa demanded, spittle flying from her rancid mouth as the vile rotten-egg scent hit me full force.
My stomach roiled, rebelling against the scent of death and rot that clung heavily in the chamber.
“I couldn’t escape without giving my presence away. Forgive me, My Queen,” I dutifully answered in a subdued tone.
“What was that I just felt?” she demanded. “The world just trembled and shook with a power imbalance! No one is strong enough to cause that, and yet I felt it,” Ilsa scolded, her eyes fully obsidian with the oily taint of magic.
“A witch just took the power from the Keeper of Lightning,” I admitted, somehow managing to keep the wonder and awe out of my tone.
“Impossible! Hecate herself safeguarded the power of the elements so only her bloodline could remove them to awaken her from slumber. No one is strong enough to house that much power, and no coven alive would dare to trespass against us!”
“Yet I just watched it with my own eyes,” I countered, flinching as her hand sailed toward my face, sending my head back as pain burned my cheek. “I would not lie to you, My Queen.”
Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms Book 2) Page 14