Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,147

us. It was pointless because you couldn’t kill that which was already dead. We had to send them back to their resting place.

It felt like hours had passed since we’d entered the clearing with the pool, and as I watched, the men continued to slaughter the wolves until hundreds of them were yapping and biting at us. Men were such macho idiots.

Knox spun toward one that got around him, lifting his sword as the wolf turned toward me with hollowed black eyes. He turned back toward Knox, and I smirked.

Hecate bloodline one, Knox, zero.

“I send you now; I send you home. I send you back from which you’ve come. Heed my call; Heed me now. Return to your rest, for you are not of now.” I watched as all the wolves turned to look at me before they continued attacking the men. “You created too freaking many of them!” I accused, watching Knox turn his angry glare toward me. “Oh, screw you. I warned you!”

“I’d be very careful, woman,” he growled.

The men moved toward the pool, and I exhaled, clearing my mind. I faced the wolves, watching the angry horde of them that pushed closer, held only away from us by the men’s sheer strength and their will to prevail. The men were growing tired, and with every kill, more and more rose to fight against them. Eventually, they’d give in to exhaustion, trapping us in the pool for eternity.

I pushed the cloak off and stepped in front of the men, knowing the wolves couldn’t enter the pool, nor could they touch me.

Knox snarled, but I snapped my angry stare at him and snarled right back. His eyes lowered to where the wolves had stepped back the moment I stepped forward, damnation burning in his oceanic glare when they rose, locking eyes with mine until I dismissed him.

“You will hear me!” I screeched, listening to my voice echoing off the high walls of the cove where we stood. It echoed, bouncing around us while I swallowed to ease my tone, to pull forth the voice that would chant at a perfect harmony to their ears.

One lunged at Knox, and I screamed as my hair rose, and magic filled the space between the wolves and me. I lifted my hands, throwing up a shield to protect Knox and his men from becoming puppy chow.

The wolves slammed against the glowing barrier, yipping and snarling when they discovered they could no longer reach their prey. I floated from the ground, turning my hands over with the palms heavenward. The power of my blood ignited, and the wolves sensed it, whining.

“I forbid you from hurting him! You heed my call, you heed my line, and I send you away from this place and time.” I hissed as my power erupted, sizzling against my flesh. It was power Knox couldn’t touch because it wasn’t ours to take.

His heated glare burned into my spine while I stared down the largest wolf. He moved to lung toward Knox once more, and I hissed, rattling until the wolf whined. “I know your pain; I know it well. I release you from this place of hell. He is mine, and mine alone. You cannot have him, for I am owed. Find your peace. I bless you now for eternal sleep.” My feet touched the ground, and they jerked back from me.

The wolves bowed their heads, slowly backing up. I walked further away from the pool, threatening them with the power that hummed through me. It wasn’t my power, but it was that of the blood that pulsed through me, enough that it had overflowed and surpassed whoever had placed their remains here.

There were only a handful of witch lines powerful enough to raise the dead, but to raise a dire wolf from the tomb of Hecate, and place them here to protect the pool? It felt off. It felt like there was something else they were guarding.

I turned, finding Knox’s blade poised at my throat. “You have magic, Little Witch,” he murmured, studying the way I slowly allowed my hands to lower.

“Not entirely, Knox. I have the blood of the fucking Goddess of Magic in my veins. That is something that you cannot remove. I can chant, and I can speak. Therefore, I can break curses and enchantments. My magic doesn’t come only from my grandmother. It comes from the Nine Realms, as you’re well aware. I used good magic to battle evil magic, which just drained me. I