Page 121 of The Blood Crown

Agius and his soldiers stood motionless on the battlements, their silver cloaks blazing like beacons as the Wraiths melted into the night beside them.

Aurelia glanced around her, watching as the last of the people flooded through the closing gates.

Movement caught her eye.

A boy no older than eight, a round-cheeked girl of three on his back as he sprinted for the gates—determination creasing his tiny brow.

Aurelia’s eyes met his, silently spurring him on as she cut through the wave of people on the stallion, her thighs pressing into his sides—urging him faster as they went beyond the shadow of the palace wall.

“Aurelia!” Ven shouted, his eyes wide as gold flashed in her periphery.

It happened so quietly, so suddenly—

A demon clawed at the air, the golden web of spellwork stretching and pulling as the drugar fought toward them. Endless hunger in its lifeless green eyes.

Its skin burned, charring and hissing against the wards—until the golden threads snapped.

The demon broke free of the web, stumbling forward, only making it a few steps before a black-tipped arrow exploded through its eye—turning it to ash.

Aurelia glanced toward her savior as Valea fluidly nocked another arrow.

A spellmaster stepped forward, hands raised as gilded threads spun from her fingertips, knitting the wards back together as more drugar rushed toward the opening.

The Wraith beside her held his ground, letting the archers do their work as more arrows flew, whizzing past the female’s face. But no sooner had she sealed the wards, and another shout rang out as more demons broke through.

Aurelia shot forward, reigns lashed around her fist as she leaned dangerously close to the stallion’s heavy hooves, stretching out a hand. Arrows whistled past, finding their marks as the boy's hazel eyes met hers, wide with fear.

“Eyes on me!” she ordered, throwing every scrap of will into compelling the child not to look at what crawled toward them. If he so much as hesitated a moment—it would be both of their deaths.

But she could taste it in the air as if it were blood. This was only the beginning.

Black, clawed hands reached out and the stallion screamed. Aurelia was thrown through the air.

The breath punched out of her lungs as she collided with the frozen ground.

She reached for the dagger at her side, stumbling to her feet and sprinting toward the boy and his sister—the girl’s goldencurls matted and tangled with tears as her brother ran for Aurelia through the maelstrom of arrows.

Black shapes moved closer—threatening to cut off her path.

Lightning branched from her fingertips, bleaching the night pale gold as a handful of demons burst into dust—more taking their place as they stumbled and crawled over the husks.

No, No, No.

She reached for the gathering night—calling it to her as shadows swept along the darkened ground.

Her hand closed around the boy’s skinny fingers, a pudgy arm gripping her neck as she became nothing.

Chapter 63

Her mind was hers.

Sight, sound, all of her senses exactly as they’d been before—but now she was immaterial.

A consciousness and nothing more as she cast herself and the children to that place in her mind—the safety beyond the gates.

The ground trembled as her body came back to her, darkness shattering along the ground of the courtyard as she stumbled to her knees, fingers gripping the children so hard that her knuckles were white.

The gates slammed shut behind them, and the boy and his sister ran into Embra’s waiting arms.

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