Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,87
with their pet dog.” She chuckled, looking me up and down as she shook her head, “If I had a man like that waiting for me, I wouldn’t want the peasants here either, traitor. Seize her and secure her to the pole. Once we’ve killed King Karnavious and his army, we’ll have some fun with her. Would you like that? I bet the men would love to eat the flesh from your thighs. Tell me, Aria. Have you ever had the flesh removed from your body while still alive?” she cackled, her skin pulling taut against her bones, blackness moving beneath its surface as if poison rushed through her veins.
Well, shit! So, that didn’t work out!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I jumped from the horse quickly, slapping it on its hindquarter to send it away. One of Asil’s warrior witches rushed toward me, and I paused, turning to face him. My foot kicked out as I dropped to the ground, slicing my hands upward as my razor-sharp claws removed his head, sending it flying toward Knox and his army.
Magic rippled through the clearing, and I hissed, realizing I was its target, igniting my magic barely in time to deflect the attack as her entire army of witches turned on me with the sole intent to murder.
“Hey, Creature! Now would be an ideal time for you to come out and eat some faces. Like now, before we die,” I encouraged while I dodged blades. Somehow, I managed to recall a tactical spell used in hand-to-hand combat.
Whispering it quickly, I was able to see every move the witch would make before she’d swing her deadly sword toward my body, in skilled, precise movements.
“Anybody home? Look, Knox has his dick out!”
The blade sliced the air beside me as I side-stepped, spinning out of her reach as she lunged, swinging wildly defined moves. Magic controlled my body, noting each signal her arms gave to foretell her lunges and parries.
We danced together as her arm rose, and my claws shot forward, slicing through the artery in her throat as death entered her stare. Her head tilted oddly to the side, and I swung my body, adding weight to the move, sending her head sailing toward Knox, accumulating a pile of heads at his feet.
He watched intently as I fought in a manner in which I was ill-prepared. I wasn’t a fighter, but I didn’t have time to pull more magic to me as Asil’s army attacked in mass, pushing me back to the male who waited for me on the other side of the failing barrier. Maybe if I threw myself at Knox, he’d leave without hunting down my sisters. But that wouldn’t get them safely out of this murderous witch’s grasp.
Asil was slowly backing toward the others, pulling power to her, which was a huge problem. She was a lot stronger than the other witches I’d fought. She could draw power from the High Queen of Witches, who apparently was fond of the murderous whore.
One of Asil’s warriors stepped forward, and I jumped, using my feet against his shoulders as my nails rounded his neck, pulling his head from his body with his spine still attached.
I gagged as I held it, dropping the useless appendage, gagging several more times. War was so gross and hard on the fingernails. I turned as magic shot forward, and I fell flat against the ground, seeing magic rush toward the barrier. The spell slammed against it, and I whimpered as a tremor of pain went through me.
Something large and round sailed from the other side of the barrier, and I watched, covering my face with my hands as it, too, struck the barrier, before then crumbling to the earth. Kicking off the ground, I glared at Knox’s back as he issued orders to the men loading the trebuchets.
His men packed large wooden arrows with metal tips into the machines, releasing them. I stared as they struck the barrier, one after another, and I flinched each time as Knox’s sea-colored depths observed with intrigue.
His eyes narrowed as I dropped to the ground, rolling away from the attacks, pelting the land where I had lain. The deflection spell finally kicked in, throwing me around like a rag doll. I hissed in pain, flying over sharp rocks and branches protruding through the ground while arrows peppered my trail, never catching up to me.
Peering up at the battlement, I watched my sisters combine their magic to attack the archers, shooting them backward toward the edge of