Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,88

the wall. Launching myself to my feet, I rushed toward the smiling witch, whose raised hands were covered with thick, black lines running through her veins.

Asil aimed magic at me, and I frowned, noting the others surrounding her had gathered power as I’d fought the witches wielding weapons. The moment she let loose of her hold, I dropped backward, bending my legs as my body went flat against the ground, seconds before her power swept over me. Pain sliced through me, but I hopped up, leveling her with a cold look. I whispered a spell, calling fire as her dress caught and those around her bellowed in pain.

The witches behind Asil called upon their magic, and one of the more powerful witches moved to stand in front of Asil’s burning form as she began to chant. Power entered her body, and she smirked, staring at me through blackened eyes while the others echoed her.

I felt my teeth elongating, and I opened my mouth, screaming as power sliced through the witches, their bodies shredding into tiny slices as if sent through a paper shredder. My arms moved as I turned, slamming my power where they’d stood, and blood splashed from the ground. My coat was splattered in it, painted red from the bloodied, disintegrating bodies.

So, maybe I had needed the raincoat after all. Since my last debacle, when slaughtering the nymphs, I hadn’t wanted to run around bathed in blood. It was sticky and not particularly good for the complexion.

My breathing came out in labored breaths, and I fought to gain control of it. I bent, resting my hands on my knees until the sound of heavy footfalls echoed from the other side of the castle wall. Righting myself, I paused as the largest male warrior rounded the corner with a broadsword held in his hands. He shouted, the sound coming out in a high-pitched tone that made me quake with laughter.

“I’ll kill you!” he squealed, his voice sounding as if he’d inhaled helium.

“Stop talking,” I snorted, holding up my hand as peals of laughter rushed through me. He screamed again, and I laughed harder. “Stop talking, vagina mouth!”

“Stupid bitch!” he shouted, and I laughed once more.

The warrior rushed forward, and I lifted my hand, his body bursting into tiny pieces that slammed into me, proving even further that I’d needed my coat. I flinched from the entrails covering me as I turned to see Kinvara screaming a warning. Knox’s men flooded into the clearing, past the second barrier, only to bounce off the last, and I groaned.

“Seriously?” Frowning, I scrunched up my nose while gathering my strength. Fighting was exhausting, even after being chased around the Nine Realms and forced into shape, I was quickly tiring.

“Drop the fucking barrier, Aria!” Knox shouted, causing my spine to straighten. I lifted an irritated brow, glaring pointedly at him.

Knox’s men moved forward with weapons held ready to dispatch me, but magic rushed toward them as Kinvara and Reign cast on them from above. My sisters held the men in place. I lifted my hands, palms to the sky, summoning my dead army.

I heard my sisters horrified gasps the moment the dead began to crawl their way through the earth, grabbing the legs of the men who thought to attack me.

Reign clapped, and Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me started playing in my head as I smiled, peering up at them. I chanced a peek at Knox and his men, all staring at my army of grotesque corpses. I shook my head but knew what the creature inside of me wanted. Eventually, my army backed off, leaving a few men alive.

I captured the arms of these warriors with magic, threading through them as I worked the spell to control their bodies. Lowering their hands, they grabbed at their armor, removing it, tossing it aside as they danced to the catcalls from the girls above. I turned toward Knox, watching the heat fill his eyes. I removed my bloodied raincoat and lifted the hem of the skirt, the last remaining men from Asil’s army, mimicking the moves.

Kinvara clapped, shouting from above, “Take it off, baby, take it off! Momma needs to see what lies beneath!”

I lost it, laughing as I fought to control the warriors moving to a slow dance that didn’t fit the song playing in my head. My lips moved, singing the lyrics, Knox’s eyes never leaving my body while heat banked in their smoldering depths. I didn’t strip, and the more