I watched the black lines move up his face, lifting my gaze to Brander’s as the poison moved through Kreyton. He hadn’t survived; he just hadn’t succumbed to death yet. Something within him had prevented the poison from killing him instantly, as it had the others. It explained why there were no wounds or injuries found among the dead, other than the keep’s lord and lady.
“You did well, Kreyton,” I assured. He nodded sluggishly, eyes bloodshot and filling with black magic.
Stepping back, Brander lifted his blade as Kreyton’s face twisted with malice, the magic changing him into Ilsa’s minion. Brander swung his sword, removing the lad’s head adeptly so he wouldn’t suffer. Blood painted my face as I stared down at the headless boy. He’d had something dark within him meant to turn him into a tool, unlike the others who had succumbed to the poison.
“Lord Andres wouldn’t have done what Kreyton described,” Brander stated, and I frowned before sliding my eyes back to the carnage.
“Not unless someone poisoned him with dark magic, controlling him as they did Kreyton. Aria is within Andres’s grasp. If what the kid said is true, Andres could be there to take or murder Aria for Ilsa. She has to know that Aria is the one who set siege to the stronghold Asil held. I don’t like Aria being out of my sight. Not with the witches growing bolder and the King of Unwanted Beasts joining his forces to that evil bitch’s army.”
I glanced at the hawks, owls, and other birds of prey, watching the scavengers feasting upon the dead. My creature peered out and frowned, staring down at the barrier that prevented those wishing to do harm from entering the keep. Unlike the scavengers below, the birds sensed the poison within the dead. My eyes slid to the rodents, finding hundreds of beady eyes trained on our every move. Ilsa was using the familiars of lesser witches to watch us.
“Send for Aria. If Lord Andres is under the control of the high queen, she’s in danger. We can meet them on the passes. Have Killian leave immediately with the army to follow. Instruct him to prevent Lord Andres from joining them.”
“You’re bringing Aria to a fucking slaughter,” Brander snorted. “They’ll travel through the annexed villages to reach the passes, and Aria’s too soft to see the carnage those bastards left behind.”
“Killian would take the quickest route through King’s Crossing or King’s Road to reach us. Knowing Killian, he’ll go around the villages to avoid detection. Aria won’t see the dead in those villages. She needs to see what her precious witches have done to innocent people. But I don’t want her to see people split open and ripped apart. She hasn’t seen the evilness of the witches yet, and she needs to. What happened here wasn’t the same as what transpired within those other villages. That was the work of monsters; this was something else entirely.”
Brander whistled down at one runner and watched as he tripped over the dead in his haste to get to us. I could have told them we had to move into the keep to secure ink and parchment, but I had no intention of going inside again.
I’d known the lord and lady of the keep, having blessed their union many years ago myself. They were good people and fed the poor who suffered at the hands of the witches. Lady Kathrine was gentle and a friend. Her marriage wasn’t a love match, but she’d been a good wife to Demetrius. They’d deserved better than to die in pain or from poison at the hand of the witches.
I handed Brander my wax and seal and leaned over the battlement, staring at the rodents who continued to watch us. I sent a wave of power from me, spreading through the bodies of the dead and the creatures who fed upon their corpses.
Turning, I looked up at the setting sun before moving toward the tower, as the sky turned vibrant with shades of red, an ominous color considering the number of dead littering the ground.
I exited the battlement, moving through the courtyard and toward the rodents. I sent my drawn power into them, smiling as they exploded without warning, cutting off Ilsa’s sight into the keep. The ravens cawed, ruffling their wings as they took to the air, circling us.
“Fly to Norvalla and ensure no one is marching upon it. Once you’ve confirmed their safety, spread out and find the unwanted beasts that are wreaking havoc on the annexed villages, and return with their location,” I ordered. The ravens swooped low before twirling and sailing south toward my home.
A smile flittered over my mouth as I thought of Aria beside me, her tiny frame curled into mine as the nights grew colder the closer we traveled to my homeland.
I’d missed her, her warmth, her snarky comments, and the look in her eye that tinged her cheeks pink from wanting what we both craved. Still, she denied me her body. I hadn’t pushed her, sensing the need to heal from her time in the Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts. Soon, she’d be unable to fight the need to mate, even if she didn’t understand what was happening to her.
I hated that this world would make Aria colder, but there was no escaping the horror of what the Nine Realms had become. Once we reached my home, I’d have to present Aria to the council and figure out whom among them had asked to spare her life. Someone had wanted my Little Monster alive, and I needed to know who it was, soon.
First, I owed it to the warriors who had died to find and eliminate whoever had done this to them. I owed the Lord and Lady and Steely Keep peace in their deaths. I paused beside a group of warriors and frowned as they discussed how to handle the mass burials.
“There’s too many to bury,” I muttered.
“The Lord and the Lady?” Brander asked, coming to stand beside me with the parchment and pen.
“They will remain with the men who died protecting their land,” I announced.
“They’re the lord and lady,” a warrior argued.
“And they’re with their people in death. We are not above those who serve us. I am not a king who holds titles above honor and bravery. They served with those who held peace until something evil and sinister took them all together. They no longer house their bodies and are free of their shells.”
The witches believed Hecate blessed them to move onto the realm where she dwelled. We believed death offered peace among the otherworld, where new life began. Not unless you went into the Void of Nothingness. There, eternal darkness and emptiness consumed everything within you, reducing your soul to shredded particles while forbidding rebirth, like Liliana.
Chapter Two
I stared out over the mountain pass that wound down into the valley where Killian’s route would bring Aria to me. It had taken us days to reach the pass where I had instructed them to meet us. They should have beaten us to the spot, but they had yet to arrive.
Smiling, I imagined Aria curled up beside me, throwing one of her fits. Once sleep overtook her, she would curl her body against mine for warmth, and hell if I didn’t enjoy the feel of her against me. Aria was the first woman to sleep in my bed, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel right.
I’d missed Aria since leaving her in camp. I hated I missed her and that my mind always wandered to what she was doing or if she missed me. Fucking pussy shit. I didn’t miss women, nor crave them curled up beside me.
Her banter gave me life. Her snarky comments and quick wit promised to engage my mind. I didn’t just miss sex with Aria; I missed her mind. I fucking hated it. I hated that I craved her intelligence that matched mine and her smirk that promised she imagined disemboweling me. I missed her fire that burned brighter than any sun or moon in the Nine Realms, even the desert lands that sweltered like a forge.