Page 123 of A World of Ruins

‘It’s the sound of your people dying.’

No.

I must have said it out loud because he nods. All I feel is blinding rage as I summon my powers. I send them his way, parrying one of his strikes as the fabric of my dress tears.

Aurum chuckles, finding all of this amusing. ‘You should have prepared yourself, Nara. Was my visit to you not enough warning?’

A guttural cry escapes me, and I conjure up a sword of light – something that I have never done before. Aurum stops laughing, and I run at him, swinging that blade in every direction.

Today was supposed to be my special day.

I was supposed to be holding a bouquet of flowers, not a weapon.

And I should have been walking down the aisle in the back gardens of the castle alongside my brothers.

Every swing and hit that I manage against Aurum is useless, his rotting body only fixing itself back up, as shadows dance around him, reeking of the dead. The one thing that makes him stumble back is when a swarm of bees and wasps come out from behind me. They fly around Aurum as if to protect me, and I use the distraction to spiral out a sharp force of power towards his chest.

He grunts, locking his gaze on me.

One moment, he is far away from me, and then the next, he is right in front of me, leaving only a slither of shadows behind him.

I don’t have time to dodge him as he grabs me by the neck and lifts me into the air before slamming me back down onto the ground. Searing pain echoes throughout my head, and I try to fight back, but his foot comes down on my neck, pressing until I start to gasp for air.

‘You really are a waste of a reincarnation,’ he seethes. ‘Even the Aerian and Undarion rulers despise you.’

I scratch at him, pushing all the power I have to my fingers to force him off me.

‘I guess it is a good thing that they are now on my side.’

My power draws back into me, and I stop fighting him.

Aurum’s smile crawls across my skin as he gets the reaction he wants out of me. ‘You didn’t think it would be my army alone, did you?’ he croons, and I scream. I scream for my friends, my brothers . . . for Darius, but my voice is so hoarse, so . . .quiet. ‘It was so easy to get them on my side once I was out.’

Blood bubbles inside my mouth, and I glare at him. Then, out of nowhere, my eyes drift behind Aurum, spotting Idris as he cries out and raises a dagger over Aurum’s head.

‘Idris!’ is the single thing I say as Aurum releases me and turns, grabbing Idris’s arm before the blade can hit. He punches my brother in the face, knocking him back a few paces, but Idris doesn’t give up. He never does.

He lunges for Aurum, engaging in a fight that I know my brother cannot win.

‘Get away from him!’ I try to yell, my vision blurring as I stand and take stumbling steps towards the two figures.

They’re on the ground, Aurum pummelling my brother with dark powers swirling within his palm. When Idris swings his other arm around, I hear the sound of bones breaking, and his scream pierces the skies. I rage, seeing red, and blast my power out blindly at Aurum.

As my sight begins to clear, I find myself in a surreal scene where the ground has crumbled beneath my magic, and on the other side lies Aurum, slowly regaining strength from my blow. Without hesitation, I run towards Idris. His face is stained with blood, and I gently shake my head, trying to help him rise with one arm.

‘I’m all right,’ he says with a groan before I can ask.

‘He broke your wrist—’ I reach for it, but he moves, hiding the injury from me.

‘It’s nothing,’ he promises, but there’s an odd look in his eyes.

‘That wasn’t very nice,’ Aurum spits, now standing and trying to hold in place the flesh of his hanging cheek. ‘I guess I underestimate you sometimes.’

My fingers curl as I will whatever power is left at my fingertips.

Aurum just laughs, like my attempts amuse him. ‘Save your powers, Nara,’ he says. ‘This is just the beginning.’ His eye slithers from mine to Idris’s, and even in this state, Idris clings to me in a protective embrace. ‘I only came by to warn you.’

The cries from the city subside, as does the chaos up in the sky.

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