Page 96 of Crown of Chaos

“It’s rather sadistic, but also pretty cool,” Esme stated, already changing into the baggy clothes she brought.

Having an outfit was one thing. Getting into the outfit when it was wet was another thing entirely. It took a lot of jumping and wiggling to get the leather pants on, and the soft cotton top ended up showing off the girls more than it hid them. I slipped back into my boots, frowning as water squished between my toes.

Siobhan stared at my hair before grabbing the brush. I sat on the ground and allowed her to work out the tangles and then manipulate it into a war braid that started in the middle of my forehead and wrapped around the back. Once she’d got it that far, she added the rest of the hair into it until it looked decent. At least, I thought it did since there wasn’t a mirror handy at the moment.

Around my neck, I clasped chains that were enhanced with grounding crystals and small smokey quartz shards that jangled when I moved. I added silver bands that contained ground quartz around my biceps, and then thin silver bands that carried other crystals around my waist.

“Damn, wish I looked that good when preparing to fight,” Esme said as she pulled on the dark robe that matched the ones I’d dressed the undead army in. If Hecate showed up, I wanted the girls to blend in with the crowd and disappear.

“The moment I call the keeper of the wind, all hell is going to break loose. You need to be spread out amongst the dead and away from the area that I’m in,” I reminded them.

“I don’t think we should separate,” Esme argued for the fifth time. “What if you go down?”

“If I go down, I’m dead. It’s that simple.”

“Nothing about what you’re about to do is simple,” she countered.

“If the plan survives first contact, then it will be. I intend to call the keep, take the element, and leave. If Hecate shows up, then I’ll have to fight her. We know I cannot kill her, and in order to hurt her, I have to get past her defenses. If that happens, we have a chance here.”

“And if it doesn’t work?” Esme asked, her violet eyes locking with mine.

“Then you run like hell and survive. In the event that I go down, you’ll all be blended in with the army. You’ll have roughly five minutes to escape before they return to corpses. You should be able to open a portal if you stick together, and place enough distance between you and the army. When you’re safe, find Knox, and tell him my only request is that you all are protected and looked after.” While I knew Knox wouldn’t kill them, he’d blame them for helping me wage battle against this keep on his land.

“This is bullshit,” she argued while placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t like this plan.”

“Yeah, but it’s the only one we got right now. The only two things that absolutely cannot happen are Hecate taking the element or Aurora trying to take it. Well, really only one because the element would kill Aurora so . . . problem solved. If I claim the element before either of those two assholes show up and manage to get to me, I need one of you to remove my head and send the element back into the Nine Realms where it belongs. Theycannotbe allowed to claim it, do you understand?”

“How about we figure out a plan that doesn’t end with us ever doing that,” Esme demanded with pinched features and fear burning in the violet depths.

“Do you have a better one?” I asked, laughing softly.

“We get the fuck out of here,” Soraya offered through trembling lips.

“We’re surrounded, and the only thing protecting us right now is a barrier. If we step outside of it, Knox and his newly found fiancée will capture us. If we enter the castle, we’re magic-less and fucked—and not in the good way. We’ve caused too much of a spectacle for Hecate not to catch wind of it. If she doesn’t already know that I’m going after the element, she’ll know soon enough. That means I can’t even rip open a portal, bypass all the idiots trying to murder us or lock us up, and skip away into the sunset without it. It’s too late to run.” I had a feeling the moment I called the keeper, she’d be here to play with me. That was why I’d left her a way in because I had a chance to hurt her, and if I was leaving for the Kingdom of Fire, I needed her down and hurt enough that it would prevent her from going after Knox or the witches I’d grown close to.

Blinking slowly, I nodded as the somberness moved through the group. I rubbed my hands together, glancing to where Knox waited in full battle armor. Aurora was to his left, but her focus was wholly on the morbid army of undead that encircled my group. Sabine stood to his right, and it made me want to murder her. I wanted to shred her pretty face apart and ensure he never looked fondly on her beauty. They should count themselves lucky that I wasn’t a murderous prick—at least not yet. The night was still young, though.

The sound of drums started, and then the undead sang Halestorm’s “I Miss the Misery.” I smiled as the voices echoed through the valley while I fed them the words and instrumental portion of the song. They were a multi-talented bunch. What could I say? They had endless possibilities in their future.

Knowing I shouldn’t but doing it anyway, I walked toward Knox. My boots sloshed with every step I took, and when I reached him, I hooked my fingers through the belt loops of my pants and smiled coldly at him.

“What the fuck could you possibly have to say to me I’d want to hear?” I asked in a clipped, angry tone.

“You can’t attack this place, Aria. Hecate will come to prevent you from gathering more power,” Sabine said, rushing her words out.

I didn’t look at her or bother to acknowledge that she’d even spoken. I just waited for Knox to answer my question. He removed his helmet and tossed it to the ground. He opened his mouth as if he intended to speak, but pressed his lips together, and the muscle in his jaw ticked as he shook his head before sliding his gaze to Aurora. I knew his rattle was coming. I’d known he’d try to bring me to my knees to prevent me from attacking. After all, the castle was onhisland. His hand slammed against the barrier, and his eyes turned obsidian and sparked with embers.

“Don’t make me do this,” he whispered as his angry rattle built within him.

I steeled my spine as a soft smile of challenge played on my lips. The rattle got louder, and my spine arched. With every single octave it climbed, my resolve strengthened. Esme, on the other hand, was on her knees gasping for air like a fish that’d been removed from her tank. My answer was to bring my fingernails up to my lips. I puffed air over them, smirked, and then buffed them on my camisole top.

Brander joined, and then Killian added to the call to bow before the king. I wasn’t bowing to any son of a bitch who could throw me away as easily as Knox had. I waited until it died down, and Knox’s angry gaze to slide over me and then peered around as if I wasn’t me. Not that I blamed him after the shit I pulled on Aurora with a clay double. I brought my finger up and nicked it against my tooth so he could scent the blood and the truth of it being me.

When the undead smoothly changed to singing Bishop Briggs “White Flag,” I tilted my head before rubbing my bloody finger against the barrier. Clearly and legibly, I wrote, “Go fuck yourself.”

“How the fuck are you ignoring me?” he demanded, incredulous that I’d resisted the call to bow my spine to him and Lennox.

My lips moved with the lyrics until the chorus ended, and then I laughed. “I do not bow to anyone anymore, especially not a man who could so easily throw me to the wolves. My loyalty belongs to the pack of rabid bitches behind me. You and your people have beaten, broken, and battered the witches of the Nine Realms. Hell”—I snorted and gave Aurora a smile that was all teeth—“even our own want us dead and aren’t afraid to use and murder us,” I explained, gradually bringing my gaze back to Knox.

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