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“I’m surprised Salenia doesn’t have you chained up for returning.”
“She needs me,” he said simply.
“For the ritual?”
He nodded again. “Let’s go to my cottage. We have much to discuss. But first.” He walked to Astor’s body, then placed his hands on the still-warm corpse.
I watched, as I had done before, and couldn’t help but admire his power. He whispered an ancient spell, sounding similar to the one when he’d buried the other bodies in the forest before, but this time, Astor’s body decayed in front of me, his body bloating, foam frothing from his mouth. Then, his skin putrefied, and I realized Azia was just speeding up the decomposing process.
The stench almost made me gag, and Azia pinched his nose, then stood. We both stepped back as I watched with morbid curiosity. His body hued between purple, then green and red. Within minutes, his corpse liquified into a dark brown sludge, then as if a year had passed, only his bones remained. Everything else evaporated with Azia’s spell and my eyes widened, feeling the power emanating from him.
“Pick up the bones, and crush them,” he ordered, and pivoted. “I don’t like to do that spell, but we had no choice. We couldn’t bury him here.”
I scooped up parts of his skeleton, kneeling, then crushing each bone into dust against the stone, shards of them digging into my palms. Sweat beaded my forehead by the time all evidence of his existence was gone. The smell dissipated, and I brushed my hands against my jacket.
“Next time,” Azia warned, “don’t be so hasty. I’m not upset you killed the boy, but it was reckless. Salenia would have found out if I wasn’t here.”
I shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck anymore.”
“You should.” His jaw twitched. “She may not kill you, but she’ll kill anyone you love. One woman in particular.”
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. “I don’t love any—”
“Don’t lie to me,” he said, cutting me off. “Like I said, we have much to discuss. Hopefully, she’ll think someone broke Astor out or he escaped, but just in case, I want you to tear those chains from the wall.”
“Where is the princess?” I whispered, before tearing the shackles apart.
“She’s safe, with one of my sorceresses. Avyanna.”
My eyes widened. “You are wise, Azia,” I spat, “but apparently just as easily manipulated.”
“What do you mean?”
I recalled meeting Avyanna years ago, and seeing the innocence in her quickly fade after her wife died. “Avyanna is not your ally, despite what you may believe. She definitely isn’t Olivia’s.” I paused, looking at his terror-stricken expression. “I’ve seen letters from Avyanna to Salenia, all signed with her name.”
“What did they say?” he asked, his tone sharpening. “Now, Niall!”
“I didn’t get to see all the contents, but I know they’re planning something.”
He ran his hands over his scalp, shaking his head as he paced. “I left Olivia with her. They’re at the Lake of Laveniuess.”
“Is she alone?”
“No, she’s with Sebastian.”
“Then we better pray he has better intuition than you do,” I said. “I thought you were psychic.”
“Avyanna’s powerful,” he explained, his words blending into each other as his answers raced from his lips. “She blocks herself from others being able to see her thoughts, or future, but I do the same, so I didn’t think it was unusual. Some sorcerers use their gift as a weapon.” He blew out a tense breath. “I must go to them. If I’m not too late already.”
“Then go!”
He hesitated in the cold dungeon, his mouth opening, then closing again.
“What is it?” I asked.
“There are things you must know, but… it’s pointless without Olivia alive.”
“Then summarize!”
