Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,74
going to push him too far, and when you do, this plan will be dead in the water, Aria.” Dimitri pushed his fingers through his hair while studying my face. “He’s their King. He can’t slaughter his lords, or he’ll lose control of all his subjects. If Knox loses control, someone who can’t be reasoned with will take his place, and then Aurora’s plan will fail.”
“You mean someone I can’t seduce, Dimitri. You guys assume he wants me. Last night I used the dream potion, the one Aurora suggested I try to see if it worked to contact you assholes. He hurt me while I was with him. He meant to do so. Knox wants to use me as a weapon; that much is clear. If he wants me for something more, it is still up for question. You have four minutes now. I suggest you use them wisely. His witch hasn’t cast magic today, which means they can open five portals before tiring, and I’m exhausted from running for months to stay ahead of him. Let’s hear the plan.”
“You will not like it,” she warned.
“I kind of figured that one out on my own,” I snorted, leaning my head against her shoulder. “Talk. I’m listening.”
“I hate that you’re so exhausted, and out here alone.” Her hand came up to hug my head closer. “I wish you would allow us to help you.”
“You are, Kinny. By staying safe, I don’t have to worry about Knox catching or finding you to use against me. Three minutes.”
“Here it is…”
Chapter Twenty-Five
I entered the keep through a portal, strutting in like I owned the place. Technically, I guess I did. I’d come in through the front, noting the skulls of the dead I’d left littered upon the ground. Moss and ivy had taken root on the castle’s walls, making it appear abandoned. I’d added an enhancement spell to expedite the growth, but what had occurred was far beyond my hope.
The castle was half-destroyed, the front of which blown wide-open to discourage others from seeking the safety it would have otherwise offered. The high battlement’s metal railing hung from a ruined pathway, thick wood splintered beneath it, some of which had collapsed to the ground to be hidden by flowery sage.
Inside the crumbling keep were several pathways that moved to different locations in the bowels of the castle. The protection crystals I’d placed before leaving had stood to ward off anyone that didn’t belong.
I put my fingers on the rainbow tip of the largest one, and light shot out to expose a wide barrier. Whispering a spell beneath my breath, I charged each crystal, knowing I wouldn’t be back for a while, and what was to come during my absence.
Once completed, I entered the first hall, turning left, continuing down a long winding hallway. To anyone that got past the crystals, it would look like a dead end. It took me twenty minutes to get through the wards below, placed to keep everything and everyone out.
Kinvara had access to enter through the bottom level, bypassing all the high-level security I’d added to the castle. She and Dimitri had a way in for when I was gone. I’d seen to their needs, knowing they were now under my care and my responsibility.
My feet didn’t make a sound as I entered the large room, sliding into the shadows to observe the people Esme had chosen to bring with her. Women moved around with large baskets of the cloth and material taken from other keeps I’d destroyed. Some sat around tables, kneading dough with their knuckles. At another table, witches bound thread around small sticks of sage, ready for smudging.
It looked like a scene from a medieval movie was playing out before my eyes. Men entered the large room, silently placing shields and armor into large stacks. My eyes settled on the crest containing a skull with twin ravens adorning one shield’s face before scanning the others. There were several adorned with Knox’s crest, along with chest plates of armor. Swords were tested, sharpened, and then added to the growing stack.
Children milled about, kicking what looked to be a leather ball. Some moved together, while others observed warily. Exhaling past the unease those stares provoked, I noted the potions the witches were creating with alchemy.
If I had ever doubted that Esme was the wrong woman to help me, that was no longer the case. She watched with a close eye, noting the men until they vanished into the