Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,58

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.”

“That power would kill anyone stupid enough to try to remove it! Upon their death, it would unleash the power into the Nine Realms, and yet I can grasp no power, Soraya! Tell me, how is that possible?”

“The young woman, she didn’t die. She didn’t take all