Page 98 of Crown of Chaos

I blocked all of that out, gradually sending my magic to hunt the goddess who attempted to stalk me. Shadows slithered and formed before becoming dark, wispy forms that solidified into eyeless witches who stood with their backs to the stronghold’s wall. Their heads tilted to an odd angle before their jaws opened inhumanly wide. Their deafeningly shrill shrieks cut through the area, and I swallowed past the eerie sound and sensation they created as they released inky smoke from their lungs.

A lone figure stood between them, poised in front of the solid wall in the middle of the large, wooden portcullis. Her glowing, green gaze inspected me and then slid to where Knox stood on the far side of the barrier behind me.

The smile she gave him made me uneasy, and I pulled magic into my fingertips, calling on the elements I’d already taken. The land answered, rolling copious amounts of power into my reserves. Hecate continued eyeing Knox with obsession burning in her eyes. I didn’t look away from her, knowing her witches were creeping through the dead, inching closer.

When Hecate eventually slid her attention away from him and to my undead army, her eyes widened and she hissed. I almost laughed as she realized I’d used her magic against her when I’d called the dead from their graves to stand at my side.

Her dress whipped in the wind, and she snapped her fingers. The dress vanished, changing into pants that looked better suited for reading in a lounge chair rather than fighting. Who she was trying to lure or distract by putting her curves on display was beyond me. I fought the impulse to roll my eyes at the stupidity of dressing in something unfit to battle in.

Of course, Hecate wasn’t great at hand-to-hand combat, which was why Reign had tried to physically attack her. It was also what had gotten Reign killed. Magic beats bruit force every time.

My vision swam, and Ember peered through our eyes. She scanned the barrier, which glowed and shimmered in a golden hue and surrounded Hecate. Magic leaked through it, filling the air with wispy tendrils of shimmering ink. There was also a thin thread unfolding, which attached to the dark witches slowly surrounding me.

“Do you actually think you’re strong enough to face me in my true form, child? Didn’t you learn anything the last two times you faced me like this?” she asked as she stepped away from the wall.

“Third time is a charm, right? I learn nothing the easy way. I’m more of a ‘hands on’ learner,” I returned sharply, shrugging while she narrowed her eyes on me, and then snorted loudly.

She smirked coldly while crossing her arms, and then she tapped her finger against the armlet she wore, gathering magic. Ember was deathly silent, too busy searching for the weakness in the goddess who examined us for the same thing. I didn’t have any for her to find by sight or magic. Every one of my weaknesses had fallen victim to their own betrayal and were no longer of any consequence to me.

Hecate’s weakness lay within her inability to fight without magic, hence the barrier she’d wrapped around herself. It made her cockier than she ought to be, considering I knew how to bring that thing down. Ember was working on a backup plan, while I focused on the actual plan. Apparently, she had little faith of me being the brains of our duo.

“You think he likes you? I heard he’s marrying your sister. Isn’t that a bitch? Or is she the bitch? Did he tire of your pussy so easily, Aria? Pity, I know he can be such a savage lover. I heard you with him once and watched from the shadows. Of course, he then told you howworthlessyou were. If you were smart, you’d forget him and join me.”

“Join you? Hard pass,” I hooted without emotion. “You can have him. In fact, take them all home with you, Hecate. I don’t give a fuck. They’re not handing them out today, and I’ve run out of them, unfortunately.” Her head tilted, and she roved her gaze over my face, smiling when she discovered the truth burning within me.

“You don’t, do you?” she muttered as she casually slid her lime-green eyes over the unmoving army. While she’d been talking and wasting time, they’d neutralized half her dark witches. I wasn’t certain if she was aware or it or if she didn’t care, but she had done nothing about it yet. “You’re much like me, Aria Primrose. You want the same thing that I want for our people.”

“I don’t want them as a battery to fuel my magic. You do. That’s a big difference. I merely want to free them to live without being abused or drained by you or others whom you allow to torture and prey on them. Our desires aren’t the same in the slightest bit, Grandmother.” My fingers slowly curled into fists. I’d taken all I could hold without it becoming unstable and deadly. If I couldn’t bring her down with what I’d taken, I’d be fucked.

She was pulling magic from her grid of mangled bodies, and when she found the source lacking, her eyes narrowed for a split second. It was only a second, and then the tell was wiped clean as if she’d never exposed her shock. But I knew, I knew exactly what she’d discovered, and her arrogance was going to be her downfall.

Removing the grid had been a calculated risk since there was a chance of her fixing it before I’d forced this confrontation, but I had taken that into account, too. I didn’t want to die here like some fucking martyr. That wasn’t, and had never been, my intention.

“What have you done, Aria?” she questioned softly, trying to pinpoint my other half.

“Something wrong, Grandmother? I warned you, didn’t I? I’m a little bit of fuck around and find out, and a whole can of sass, which normally has my mouth writing checks that my ass can’t cash. What can I say? I enjoy living on the edge and taking chances. So, here we are. Your move, age before beauty and brains, right?”

She tossed her head back and laughed. “I wish I’d met you before we had become enemies, Granddaughter. You amuse me, but you’re also quite frank with your words. It’s rather refreshing. I think we could’ve fought on the same side, but you’re weak and believe I created witches to live. I assure you, I didn’t. I merely needed them to house what was rightfully mine. I am the one who gave them the power, and it’s mine to take back.”

“Let’s agree to disagree again.”

I studied the way her hands moved, searching for any magic she could find to take into her body. She was preparing to unleash it, and I was fighting to remain in place, knowing it was coming.

Throwing down with a goddess who had lived without challenge within the Nine Realms for over a thousand years was a fun idea. Actually doing it? Terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Adrenaline rushed through me, and the fear melted away because, in a few moments, it wouldn’t matter.

“I enjoy talking to you.” She was aloof and unfazed by my rebuff.

“And I enjoy short walks that lead to me reading a fantasy book until I fall asleep. We all have our guilty pleasures. I won’t judge you on yours.”

Her eyes flashed with anger, and I braced for impact. Her hands lifted, and the undead army lunged, rushing toward her. Hecate’s magic sent body pieces scattering and opened gaps that I used to throw crackling balls of lightning magic toward her. I was relentless in my assaults as I slowly closed the gap between us, and no matter how many of my undead she destroyed, new ones moved in to take their place. The moment her shield dropped, I flipped onto her shoulders, twisting over her back. My claws sank into her flesh to anchor my moving weight and speed, using the momentum to send her up into the air. She howled in anger, and I allowed Ember to speed forward and slam Hecate’s body into the barrier that prevented her from reaching Aurora or the others outside of it.

She came up faster than I expected, lifted her blue, glowing hands, and fired magic at me. I dodged, and the orb slammed into one of the undead, who exploded the moment it hit him. The undead swarmed into the space between Hecate and me, acting as a shield for her to batter against and deplete her reserves.

Power ripped around the goddess. Her hands lifted and aimed to attack, forcing me to drop before rolling on the ground as she slammed a wave of power through the air, severing a huge number of the undead army in one spell. Dead warriors started plummeting from the battlement, creating just enough of a distraction that she took her eyes off me.

It was all I needed. I slammed a ball of lightning into her, sending her crashing against the barrier for a second time. She slid down it, and before she could climb back to her feet, my fist cracked against her jaw, sending a spray of blood to speckle across the message I’d left Knox. My elbow connected next, and I heard the very satisfying snap of cartilage. Blood exploded from her nose, and I turned and then pivoted back to smash my fist into her face over and over and over again, just wanting her to stay the fuck down.

She finally dropped, and I shackled her in the realms magic, forcing her to stay prone and preventing Hecate from retreating into a different shell. She twisted, bucking against me as I screamed with the effort it took to hold her. If she got up, this fight would be finished.

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