Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,85

had scattered at my cries to move. “Let’s go,” he growled, forcing his horse to take off quickly. I held onto him tightly, pushing my face into his soothing scent, purring while rushing me toward safety.

“She just challenged the fucking high queen,” Killian snapped beside us, keeping pace as the men formed a circle around Knox’s horse.

“She’s Aria. She just does shit like that,” Lore snorted, keeping pace with Knox, who didn’t bother answering them.

“You don’t get it,” Killian snarled, voice tinged with worry. “She could challenge Aria’s challenge! If she changes her mind, the high queen can summon Aria to her for that challenge, Lore.”

“She won’t,” Knox stated without hesitation. “The evil bitch hasn’t come out of hiding in over five hundred years. She won’t come out unless she’s found and forced to expose herself. Aria has to challenge her where others hear it. The only way to call out the High Queen of Witches is to shout the challenge where her people gather to worship the whore. If she looked weak in the eyes of those who followed her, she’d be forced to face the Hecate witch challenging her, or look too weak to hold her throne.”

Something shot past us, and Knox jerked his horse to the left seconds before it would have struck. He turned, peering in the direction from which the bolt of magic had come. I lifted my head from his chest, turning to glare at the witch slithering out of the tree line. Lore appeared behind her, twisting his body as his blades rushed down, cutting through her throat and torso with one well-placed move that made my eyebrows lift.

“Go!” Lore shouted, turning as another witch came up behind him.

“Killian, stay with him,” Knox yelled, forcing his horse forward.

“You can’t leave Lore behind,” I whispered, and Knox shook his head. “Knox, he’s your brother!”

“He’s seven hundred years old and knows how to dispatch witches, Aria. They’re not after Lore, they’re after you, and you’re mine. No one hurts my girl, not when we can prevent it from happening,” he growled, rounding a bend as a huge, dark castle came into view. He increased the pace, pushing the horse as something slammed into its side, sending us both sailing through the air.

I cried out, and pain rushed through me when I hit the ground. Blood coated my forehead, and I pushed up from the ground, groaning as magic filled the clearing outside of the castle. Knox lifted his head, finding me with a look of fear in his eyes. He turned toward the incoming witch, sending ravens rushing toward her as if they’d come from his flesh. Only it was an entire flock of the feathered fuckers.

Brander swore vehemently, leaping from his horse midair as a dark shadow sailed toward us. He flipped, bringing a blade down on the witch’s throat, sending blood splattering over my face. I crawled on the ground, moving to Knox, who stood, cracking his neck. He reached behind his back, producing dual blades, stepping in front of me while Brander slid in behind me.

“Ready, brother?” Knox asked, turning to look at me over his shoulder.

His face changed, and black lines escaped from his eyes, changing the color to freshly polished onyx as his features sharpened, becoming more defined. His nails lengthened, and his teeth pushed through his gums. The lines around his dark pupils turned fluorescent blue, and his head tilted. The smile that spread on his lips was sinister.

Brander rattled, lowering his head before he turned, smirking at me with long teeth that mirrored mine and Knox’s. Lore and Killian prowled into the clearing, similar sharp features and protruding serrated teeth pushed from their gums as their nails lengthened.

I slowly stood, rattling as my teeth slid from my gums, and my nails pushed through my fingertips while the men rattled with approval. Growling low, I purred as they lifted their blades to attack as the witches approached the tree line surrounding us.

Knox and his men didn’t move away from me, choosing to form a circle around me as oily magic slid into the field. The witches vanished behind a veil of magic, sending thick fog into the clearing. I closed my eyes, forcing my senses to seek their position.

“Fuck,” Killian snapped.

“I know where they are,” I whispered, holding my focus while the witches moved closer.

“They’re fucking invisible,” Lore growled.

“No, they’re magic, but so am I,” I chuckled coldly. I felt the sliver of magic before they attacked. “Left,” I