Page 10 of Crown of Chaos

Pulling my attention from the dead, I frowned as Aurora gathered power from the surrounding witches. The gentle tug she directed at me caused a shiver of oily magic to jolt my senses. Aurora tugged a bit harder on my magic, and a small frown pinched her brow when she couldn’t tap into my reserves. My walls slid into place, preventing her from seeking to use the magic I housed. She had the others to draw magic from, so why had she sought to take from me? I was the one about to unleash on the stronghold, and would need the magic I’d held in reserve to win today.

The death of young witches sat like a heavy blanket, smothering us. I looked to the setting sun, sensing the coming night as it lowered, giving life to the moon.

Before us, torches were being lit on the battlements to provide much-needed light. Men and women moved around, slowly preparing to defend the fort against our attack, but they didn’t seem too worried, which only added to the wrongness of this situation.

“Be prepared for an attack,” Aurora murmured as she came to a stop beside me. Her eyes were the color of a cloudless sky, brimming with worry. “Something about this place seems wrong.”

I was glad that she felt it as well. I searched the shadows for witches, assuming there would be some hidden from view. If they were here, they were powerful enough to hide from us, so maybe that was what Aurora and I were sensing.

Closing my eyes, I allowed Ember to listen to the sounds coming from the courtyard. But she just found more of the same as I had. There was no panic, and while heartbeats thundered beyond the walls, the cadence didn’t belong to fear. It belonged to anxious anticipation. There was a sense of victory within, as if they knew something we didn’t.

“Our enemies are excited,” I said cautiously. Opening my eyes and carefully studying the men and the spikes they tried to keep from view. “They do not fear us. There’s an army on the other side, waiting to attack. They knew we were coming and are thrilled by the thought of fighting against us. I smell magic and something else in the air, which is making it difficult to tell what they’re planning. We were expected, and that gives them an advantage. I don’t like this at all.”

“We’re not leaving. I will not walk away from this spot until they are on their knees and this place of death is destroyed. You will do as I command, Aria,” Aurora demanded, and my eyebrow hiked to my hairline. “They do not get to win this fight.”

“We only have ten witches here,” Esme pointed out, her voice sharp. “We should leave and come back with more to assist us, Aurora.”

“I don’t remember giving you permission to address me informally, Esmeralda,” Aurora hissed, and I narrowed my eyes, disapproving at the condescension in Aurora’s tone.

She had grown bolder over the last couple of attacks we’d waged. Her words had become full of barbs, and the way she carried herself made it seem as if we had already crowned her the new queen of witches. I didn’t like how she talked down to those who had joined us, either. It felt as if the moment we’d all gathered together, she’d changed to reflect the old ways.

It made me hesitant to argue with her in the presence of others, but Esme was right. We only had ten witches to face off against an entire garrison, and I was drained from endless assaults I’d led for Aurora. She knew I wasn’t at my best. I’d told her as much before we left to come here, which was hardly the small keep she claimed it would be. For her to insist we move forward despite our clear disadvantage was reckless and unlike her.

“I only say that because I agree with Aria. Something isn’t right here. Whatever it is, it’s causing discord and anxiety to rush through us all,” Esme said coolly, her tone even and sure.

“Aria isn’t the one leading the assault, is she? No, I am, and I’m ordering everyone to prepare for the first attack. The people behind those walls think they can hang witches until death, and I intend to show them they will not continue down that path any longer.” Aurora tossed me a scathing glare, and I expelled the air from my lungs.

I hadn’t questioned her about any of the multitude of attacks she’d ordered to this point, but to her, leading them didn’t mean she was the one taking point and unleashing her own magic. It meant that she was ordering I do that. And with every place I left in rubble without comment or complaint, she became bolder. Clearly, we’d gotten to the point where she’d forgotten it was my magic, my power, that was being wielded and not her own. Still, to point that out would invite resentment where I didn’t want any, so I tried a softer approach.

“It’s ten of us against an entire army, Aurora. Those aren’t odds I’d bet on.” I held her eyes. “This isn’t a little keep as we’d assumed it to be. It’s a freaking stronghold with a large armywantingto murder us. I’ve never argued with you about anything you’ve asked me to do. However, I agree with Esme. Something is off and horribly wrong here.”

“Hold your tongue, Aria. You give the enemy power when you speak that way.” That was all she said before she turned back to the fort.

I exchanged a worried look with Esme before focusing on the battlement once more and yanking magic toward me, preparing to unleash it onto the keep. Then the sound of metal scraping over metal drew my attention to the gate and had my eyes widening in horror.

Arrows shot from slits in the battlement, and Aurora lifted her hand, flicking them away like twigs. Within moments, they fired more toward us, and we all started softly chanting, allowing Aurora to use our magic to battle against the onslaught. Once again, I felt her tugging for mine, and this time, I allowed it, forcing my magic to join hers against the assault.

Our words fed her power, but I could feel what little I had left in my reserve draining to nothing as I attacked the keep with her. Even though I’d told Esme that it was as if the Nine Realms were a bottomless well of magic for me to use, that hadn’t strictly been true as of late. When I’d taken the water element, I’d pushed myself to depletion just to survive it, and my best guess was that I’d done far more damage to myself than I thought. Then, before I’d fully recovered, I’d cast the barrier in the library, which must have reopened whatever damage the water element had caused. Now, I could barely pull magic from the realms and my reserve was a bucket full of holes, unable to store my usual amount of magic inside me.

Men shouted from above, and my eyes followed their darkly shrouded forms. The exotic scent of magic slithered all around, but it wasn’t ours—it was something else, something wicked. Before I could shield against it, the oily magic slammed against us, knocking me back, forcing my body to fight to remain upright.

Icicles shot through the air, pelting a few of the witches. Esme grunted, forcing me to face her. I silently took in the blood peppering her side. Another wave of icicles exploded through the air, forcing me to use magic, which sent them scattering to the ground. Esme howled as one icicle hit the ground, shattering, only to send shards shooting up, pelting her side with crimson marks that spread through her shredded shirt. Glancing at the others, I noticed they were all leaking blood from the merciless ice. A strangled cry brought my attention back to Esme, watching as she yanked an icicle from her thigh. The eerie, shrill snarl of the dark witches forced me to return to the issue at hand before we all ended up dead.

The wind howled, and my skin stung as a violent burst of cold air whipped stray hairs across my cheeks. My dress offered little protection against the assault, and I could smell a fresh wave of magic swelling in the courtyard. When the spell was unleashed, a wave of power shot down from the battlements and slammed into our group, forcing us onto our knees on the hard, frozen earth. Frost slithered toward us from the keep, spider-webbing over everything it touched as it sought us out.

I gasped loudly, struggling to get up and away from the deadly frost fire. The others did the same, holding hands as we shouted at Aurora, who had remained on her feet. My dress ripped in my effort to stand, and ice seemed to form instantly on my skin. I cried out, shaking my body to free myself from the bitingly cold layer of ice that tried to encase me.

“Aurora!” I shouted, and the wind swallowed the scream. “Pull back!” I demanded, but no one heard me over the noise of the attack and the elements. The wind forced us to release one another, sending several witches to the ground.

Night took hold unnaturally, snuffing out the torches and plunging the land into complete darkness. Ember grumbled, pushing forward in my mind to find out why I was gasping and crying out in pain. I felt her fumble and then vanish as if something were preventing her from helping.

Red-hot pain sliced through me as an arrow slammed into my side, and I bellowed as warm liquid soaked my dress. I wrapped my hand around the metal object that had speared me, and yanked as hard as I could, withdrawing the arrow. They were shooting at us in the dark? Several grunts sounded around me, alerting me I wasn’t the only one hit.

“We have to leave,” I said, barely above a whispered breath. “Aurora?”

Keeping my eyes closed, I searched the area around me and found only one person alive. I crawled toward her, following the steady sound of the heartbeat. Panic tried to claim control of my mind as I finally found who I was looking for on the ground and unmoving, but where were the others? How had they left without calling to us? Had we missed it, or was the magic holding us beneath some sort of enchantment that was screwing with our minds?

“This was a bad fucking idea,” Esme snarled, and I laughed in relief that she was awake and able to speak.

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