Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,53

his body created for battle. His blades cut through the air, singing as they found their mark. Dancing, Killian spun low, severing legs from bodies and then heads as all three went down at once.

I tasted the coppery tang in the air, sensing the magic that flooded the field, thick and powerful. The magic was familiar, one I’d felt long ago and wouldn’t ever forget. Sweat clung to my forehead, dripping into my eyes, stinging like tiny vipers. The sound of blades cutting through air sang around me, and the witches we’d brought sent energy and defensive magic rushing against the monsters.

Dark witches covered the wide, stone battlement, sending wave after wave of magic toward us. That wasn’t what I’d felt, though; it was weaker, less potent. Blood thundered deafeningly in my ears, pounding louder than the drums announcing our entrance onto the battlefield.

A creature ran toward me, and I lifted my blades, twisting my body before it reached me, sending pieces of it flinging across the field. Facing the stronghold, I watched more men lining up to die. My stomach tightened, taking in the faces of the young boys prepped for slaughter. Exhaling a shuddered breath of unease, I turned as Killian and Brander ran toward me, their armor painted red with blood.

“This is a distraction,” Killian snapped.

I nodded, unable to look away as the soldiers’ swords on the battlement swung, severing head from body, then kicking or pushing the deceased from the high walls.

The dark witches had demanded we bring Aria to them and send her into the stronghold alone. It was a ruse to free her because the magic I felt smelled like the Hecate bloodline, and I knew that stench intimately. The scent had surrounded the carriage I’d found Lore swaddled in, with no sign of my parents, and then again clinging to Liliana on our marriage bed.

“Bring me Siobhan and the other witch, whatever her fucking name is,” I snapped, moving across the field, pushing my blades into their sheaths. I lifted my hand, sending power rushing through the beasts that moved toward us, and they shattered into shrapnel that shot into men, tinkling against armor.

“Soraya? The herb brewer?” Brander asked.

“She’s fucking lying, and we both know it, Brander. Soraya’s a fighter down to her damn soul. It’s in her eyes, which is why she’s kept them hidden,” I grunted, turning as booming footsteps rushed at us. I raised my hand, sending the large, dog-like creature to the spikes bordering the battlefield, impaling it.

“You think she’s a spy?” he countered.

“We’re about to find out.” I turned on the edge of the field to peer up at the evil bitches, still sending waves of magic toward the fighting warriors. “These witches have threatened to kill two hundred men every hour we haven’t brought Aria before them. They’ve just killed children, boys who hadn’t ever taken their first woman to bed. I feel Hecate bloodline magic on this field, which means they plan to use a Hecate witch to free Aria from my hold. It’s a member of her family or the high queen,” I elaborated. “Someone is willing to slaughter an entire village and stronghold to get to Aria.”

“You think Aria would approve of this method?” Brander asked, his dark eyes studying me.

“It doesn’t fucking matter. Tell me you can’t sense that magic, Brander. There would only be one reason for it to be here, and whether Aria was privy to the plan or not, she’s still responsible. If she accepts the summons of the dark witches or defends their actions, she will be guilty of the lives lost here.”

I turned, watching as Killian walked behind Soraya and Siobhan, his blades drawn. He appeared ready to defend them when, in reality, he prepared to end their lives if they lied. I took in the smaller girl, her dark blond hair sticky with sweat from making healing herbs. Her eyes lowered demurely. There wasn’t a coy bone in her fucking body, and I knew it. I sensed the fight within her, noting the way her magic clung to her like second nature.

“My King, you sent for us?” Siobhan asked.

I didn’t answer, letting my gaze slide down her gentle curves as heat filled her cheeks. Siobhan was a gentlewoman and skilled lover. She’d allowed me to take her inside the potion tent several years ago. Her soft moans had been pathetic, but I’d gone hard on her—Once. I had never craved another taste of her after I’d finished.

“Tell