Page 91 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

The Commander’s eyes flew to Torin’s face. If they hadn’t been in the middle of the hunt, his father would have struck him in the mouth and Gideon knew it. He decided that Torin knew something and wasn’t sharing it with the rest of the Clan. Maybe they were both on private missions. And Torin’s was to royally piss off the Commander more than usual.

A rumbling sound vibrated through the earth, causing everyone who stood in the clearing to turn. Gideon’s reflexes acted quickly and he sprinted to the front of the formation to stand next to his brother and father.

However, he wasn’t prepared for what he was looking at. Hundreds of red eyes stood in the distance between the trees, staring back.

In the name of Thorin, God of the Sun and War.

Gideon knew instantly they were outnumbered. And they weren’t just outnumbered by a few.

I do not feel fear, I do not feel fear. I do not feel fear, he chanted to himself.

Torin walked forward, trying to get a better look, as if not believing the number of crimson lights that he could see. He shot his father a look so fierce that he thought it might strike him dead where he stood. His father’s face was solemn.

What is going on between them?

He would figure it out later—if he made it out ofthe clearing alive.

A sea of red eyes seemed to part to allow something through, like it was somebody of importance.

Gideon flinched.

One demon rode forward, his blood-red eyes glaring at the whole of the hunting opposition as they stood still, frozen in action. The demon was riding atop a Karkadann demon—a ferocious monster that could spit poison from the horn that protruded from its head. A poison fatal to anything but itself. The male figure that sat atop the Karkadann looked like a knight from the underworld with his black armour and brutish body. He grinned violently as the power radiated from him out into the world.

Within a second, Gideon confirmed he was a Knight of the underworld. “Order a pull-back, Torin,” he said through his teeth.

What was his brother waiting for?

He would have to stay and fight if Torin didn’t pull them back. Surely, he wasn’t that stupid! They couldn’t win this fight. Even with the wolves, they didn’t have enough manpower. And with the expression on Viktir’s face, he knew it too.

“Pull us back!” Gideon roared this time.

But Torin didn’t turn. He stepped forward again.

“Father?” Gideon questioned.

Even the Commander couldn’t speak as he watched his first born square his shoulders to the demon at the front.

A challenge.

The pack started to grumble with uncertainty as Torin raised one hand out and coiled his fingers, gesturing for the Dark God’s crusader to come ahead.

“What is that mad bastard doing?” a voice spoke from behind Gideon.

“Commander Blacksteel,” Gideon barked. “Order a pull back by your rank.”

Gideon’s stomach flipped as he watched the Knight of Hell step forward too. With his venomous red eyes, he scanned over his prey. Gideon’s muscles tightened as the Knight of the underworld turned to him, finally resting his gaze on his face.

Show no fear.

Gideon lifted his chin and remained in eye contact as everything on this earth screamed at him not to. The higher demon pulled a dagger from behind him that reminded Gideon of a sharp icicle and hurled it through the air at a speed even the Hunters couldn’t see.

And it soared straight towards Gideon’s heart.

Thick, grey fog had descended its way into the gardens of the Tower as Emara watched from the window of the infirmary above. It swallowed the small plants and shrubs greedily, mixing around them like hot smoke. She glanced at the moon as it hovered above Huntswood City like a brass coin, swelling in size with every second that passed.

“Don’t hurt them,” she pleaded to the Blood Moon—or any of the Gods who would listen.

Emara had spent a few hours sifting through books on the Gods as a distraction. Uttara, God of Stars and Dawn, Vanadey of Life and Beauty, and Rhiannon of the Moon and Dreams. And in the end, she prayed to them all that no Hunters lost their lives tonight. She even prayed to Thorin, God of the Sun and War.

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