Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,36
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