All Chapters of ASHES OF BETRAYAL THE SORCERER'S VENGEANCE : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
80 chapters
CHAPTER 41
The air in the throne room shifted the moment Queen Elena stepped closer. If King Aldric was a broken soul, then Elena was a spear, ready to strike at the slightest mistake. She didn't possess the raw, physical strength of a warrior, but her eyes held a different kind of power, a cold and calculating intelligence that made Kael’s skin tremble.She circled him slowly, her red dress trailing behind her like a pool of blood across the floor. Her heels clicked with a soft sound that echoed in the silent room and disturbed the peace.“So,” she began, her voice low and smooth. “Lord Duskborne.”Kael turned with her, making sure never to turn his back on her completely. He kept his hands folded behind his back, his posture straight but ready. He knew she was studying him. She wasn't looking at his clothes or his expensive jejewelleryShe was looking at the way he stood.“You stand very... still,” she noted, stopping right in front of him. “Most nobles tremble. They shift their right. They are
CHAPTER 42
“Who are you, really? I want to know? Lord Duskborne or whatever you call yourself, I put it to you, I don't trust you, and you're not any lord from the West!” Ah, blatantly spat, but he just smiled warmly.The question hung in the air, and Kael maintained his composure as she leaned forward on her throne. The King was already dozing off beside her, his head lolling to the side. But Elena was complexity-focused, waiting for the slightest mistake.“Violet eyes do not just happen by chance,” she continued, her voice barely a whisper, but it rang across the room like a scream of a thousand souls. “I have only seen those eyes once before. On a boy. A boy who was supposed to die.”Kael stood in the centre of the room, the shadows, but he forced them back in. He felt a surge of rage in his chest, but he kept it cool and smiled. He was enjoying this too much to snap now.He walked slowly towards the throne, stopping at the bottom of the steps. He looked up at her, his expression unreadable.
CHAPTER 43
The wind howled through the jagged rocks of the Narrow Pass, carrying with it the scent of dust and old wood It was a forgotten place, an old side of a road that cut through the mountains, surrounded by high cliffs that blocked out most of the sunlight. It was the perfect choke point, a place where an army could be stopped by a handful of men if they knew what they were doing. And Kael knew exactly what he was doing.He stopped on the edge of the high cliff, looking down at the road below. His black cloak blew around him in the wind, but he remained calm, like a statue carved from the mountain itself. His aura was calm, hidden deep within him, but his eyes burned with that fury, patiently watching and waiting.Elira, on the other othe,r hand, was pacing back and forth behind him, kicking at small stones with her boot. She was restless, her hand constantly reaching for her blade.“They are late,” she muttered, a frown tugged across the corners of her lips. “The intel said they would be
CHAPTER 44
The clash of steel and the screams of men echoed off the high walls of the Narrow Pass, but amidst the chaos, there was a strange, focused quiet in one corner of the battlefield.Cassidy was on her knees in the dust, her hands glowing with a soft, pale light. A soldier lay before her, gasping for air, an arrow lodged in his shoulder, a friendly fire from his own panicked archers.She wasn't a warrior. The sounds of the fight terrified her. Every time a sword clanged, she flinched. But she had a job to do. Kael had told her that her role was just as important as the blade.“Hold still,” she whispered, her voice shaking but her hands steady. “I'm going to help you.”The soldier looked up at her, confused. He was young, barely older than her. He wore the King's colours, the enemy's colours, but Cassidy couldn't see him as a monster. Just a boy bleeding in the dirt.She pulled the arrow out with a quick yank and immediately pressed her glowing hands to the wound. The flesh knitted togethe
CHAPTER 45
The explosion was not just a sound, it was a heavy force that tore through the reality in the Narrow Pass. The blue dust from the shattered Mana Crystals didn't just settle, it hovered violently, mixing with Kael’s shadows to create a horrifying storm of magic that destroyed the very setting of the place.The rocks shook, and we were taken from our positions. The cliffs shifted forcefully as the raw energy forced its way into the stone. The narrow road was no longer a road, it was a raw area of dirt and crystal, a permanent reminder to the destruction Kael had just unleashed.Kael stood in the centre of the swirling dust, his heart beating softly. The use of such high-level sorcery took a toll on him; his body ached, and his veins burned as if fire was running through them, but his face remained perfectly calm. He refused to show weakness, not here, not now.He looked down at his hands, and smoke was still rising from his knuckles where he had struck the crates. The power he had relea
CHAPTER 46
The wind grew as night began to fall over the Narrow Pass. The temperature dropped, and the cold increased, but the ground was still warm from the magical explosion, vibrating with a strange, unnatural heat. The blue dust had settled now, coating everything in a shimmering layer that evoked an ethereal, magical feel, sparkling in the moonlight.Elira had finished her work. She stepped back from the cliff now, wiping her dagger on her trousers, a satisfied look on her face.Carved deep into the stone, and burned by Shadow fire and clearly visible to anyone who would come to investigate the massacre, was a symbol. It wasn't a word. It was the mark of the Shadow. A haged, twisting swirl that looked like a closing eye.And below it, she had written one simple sentence in the common tongue.The shadows are hungry.It was perfect. It was terrifying.“Nice touch,” Kael said, walking up behind her. He nodded with approval at the message. It was exactly what he wanted. It showed the consequenc
CHAPTER 47
The room was filled with the soft, golden glow of the magical lamps, but to Lyanna, it felt more like the flickering light of a dying candle in a tomb. She paced back and forth across the carpet, her expensive and very cherished silk sleeping gown flowing around her like water. It was the finest silk money could buy, imported from the far East, but tonight it felt heavy, dragging against her skin like chains.She hadn't slept in three days.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them. The violet eyes. Burning in the darkness. Watching her. Judging her.She stopped by the large window that was opposite the palace gardens. The moon was full, casting long, eerie shadows across the corners. Her vision was blurry now already.The trees looked like hands that wanted to grab her and the fountains looked like tears from the people she had wronged.Lyanna rubbed her temples, trying to massage away the headache that had been pounding behind her eyes for hours. She was safe here. That's what s
CHAPTER 48
The silence in the room is heavy now. Lyanna had managed to calm her breath now but her heart was still racing like an engine. She avoided looking at the wine stain on the rug and instead walked towards her large mirror.At this point, he clearly wasn't thinking. Common sense would have told her to clean the rug or leave the room, but she was blinded by pride and instead, enjoyed the pain of trying to avoid looking at it.She clearly needed to fix herself. She was a total mess. Her hair was scattered, her eyes were reddened and sore and her skin was pale. This wasn't the face of power she held. This wasn't the face that had manipulated Marcus and charmed the court into making her what she was. This was a shadow of herself, a face born out of fear Kael had inflicted on her.She sat down on the stool by the corner, staring at herself. Carefully, with shaky hands, she picked up a comb and began to run it through her long scattered hair. She did it time and again, and somehow found it soo
CHAPTER 49
The journey to Marcus’ palace was silent and filled with a heavy air that could choke a normal man. Kael walked in front, his steps heavy and full of rage, while Elira followed behind him, her heart beating fast against her chest. She looked at his back, seeing the shadow magic that still danced around his skin like another skin, darker than the night itself. The prophecy he had read was still burning hot in his mind, fueling the fire and wrath that was already consuming his soul. He didn't say a word; he didn't look back; he just walked with pure determination, which was terrifying to watch.They arrived at the great iron gates of the palace, the place where Marcus slept, the place where his father plotted his death. The guards stood there, wearing their armour and holding their spears with pride. They looked strong, they looked ready for anything, but they were not ready for Kael.“Halt!” One of the guards screamed, stepping forward with his hand raised. “This is a restricted area
CHAPTER 50
The cold stone of the courtyard pressed against Kael's back, but it was nothing compared to the cold pain inflicted by Marcus's sword that was just inches away from his neck. His breath was ragged and he gasped, fighting to stay alive as his ribs ached badly from the kick, and his hand throbbed under Marcus's boot. The pain was real, raw and agonising, waking him up from the dream of invincibility he had been living in. He stared up at Marcus, seeing the disappointment in the older man's eyes, and it hurt more than the wound on his shoulder.“Get up,” Marcus commanded, stepping back and removing his foot from Kael's hand. He didn't strike the killing blow. He wanted to play, he wanted to break Kael's spirit before he ended his life.Kael rolled over, pushing himself up with trembling arms. His blood dripped onto the glowing white stones of the palace floor, staining them red. He looked at his hand, bruised and swelling, and anger flared in his chest again. He wouldn't lose here. He c