Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,32

moved into view with the now very naked woman who ran her hands over his chest as he watched. A wicked smile curved his lips as my heart thundered in my chest. His hand slid around her side, creeping up her spine until he threaded his fingers into her hair, entangling them. Hot tears pricked my eyes, and I knew I should have looked away as he turned her from the window, lowering his head to the skin of her neck.

The room went dark, and I fought the emotion that burned through me. Bile pushed against my throat as denial and anger fought with my need to enter the protected building, ripping him away from her, and claiming him in a way that would leave no mistake of whom he belonged.

Instead, I pushed away from the wall, noting that Lore, Brander, Killian, and Greer were no longer there. I shook off the rage and emotion at seeing him with another woman, moving through the crowd still cloaked in invisibility, quickly draining my power.

I dodged couples, darting through them as I made my way to the center of town. Sensing that someone was watching me, I stepped into a dark alleyway, taking in my surroundings. On the opposite side of the road stood a man with silver hair and eyes of the clearest seas.

I moved toward him and stopped when I caught Knox’s scent and frowned. He appeared in the opposite direction from where he’d been, weaving through the people dancing in the square. Inhaling, I picked up another familiar scent and swung my attention to Brander, who was walking in the opposite direction of Knox, each one of them scanning the crowd. I started forward, rushing to the silver-haired male, but he vanished the moment I reached him.

Spinning around, I watched Knox’s men as they closed in on me. Stepping back, I forced my magic to hold the thin barrier keeping me from their sight. Crows squawked above me, and I tilted my head to the sky, seeing it filled with them. Panicked, I ran toward the buildings’ shadows, seeking refuge in the darkened alleyway where the children had disappeared as screams filled the night.

Pausing at the mouth of the alley, I saw misty fog filling the streets. My heart thundered in my chest as gray, twisting figures emerged among the mist’s edge, snapping razor-sharp teeth and claws. I started forward, before stopping moments before the fog reached the first of the villagers, watching in horror as gray husks resembling corpses grabbed a shrieking woman and pulled her into the mist.

Dread entered my bloodstream as the putrid scent of death struck my nose, forcing my hand to cover it as more screams filled the square. My eyes burned from the stench, watering. I went to where the woman entered the mist. The sound of nails scraping the cobblestone filled the air, along with inhuman hisses and a chorus of unholy voices slithering through the night.

My heart thundered against my ribs at the gruesome scene, failing to register as the woman emerged from the mist. I fought the bile burning the back of my throat. I stared at the husk that was once a beautiful woman, now nothing more than a skinned corpse that stared sightlessly at the moon.

The dark magic filling the square pulsed to a heady beat, holding everyone in place. The villagers could not escape the deadly monsters that continually pulled victims into their grasps. I turned as something scraped and pierced my skin, staring down at the husked hand that dug talons into my ankle, yanking me toward the mist.

A glowing blade struck the hand, and then someone shoved me behind a large body. Turquoise eyes peered back at me over a broad shoulder, telling me without words to stay close. I placed my hand on the man’s shoulder as we stepped backward, watching as he struck the creatures down, one at a time, within the mist. Suddenly, I froze in place, unable to move.

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