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Chapter42
Renton
Surrounded by enemies, where Renton cut down two, three more appeared, their swords gleaming as they raised them for a killing strike. He pushed out the last scrap of his illusion magic. Pain fired through his body as he had to wriggle his way out of the death march like an insect, hidden by the fabric of his weak magic.
A Scourge warrior trailed him. Renton’s adrenaline kicked up another notch. The warrior’s face was obscured by the skull helmet of a beast—a trophy from his kill. His black-and-gold armor was streaked through with red war paint. His beady eyes swept around, his gauntlet reaching out as if he could pluck Renton’s magic out of the air.
Behind the Scourge, the rift was shrinking.
Thank the gods, Renton thought. Was that Tenah’s doing? Was she free from her restraints?
No longer able to heave his weight across the ground, Renton rolled onto his back. If he had to die, he was going to do it glaring up into the face of his killer.
Fuck.
How did it come to this? Why had the High Court allowed Cirel to amass such forces? Why hadn’t anyone stepped in to stop him? All of their centuries of accessible knowledge buried in the roots of their trees, and still Cirel would win this war.
“I smell your fear, hunter.” The Scourge’s boots thunked closer.
Renton could see his cruel smile in anticipation of a fresh gutting. Had the shard not rendered him immobile, Renton would have taken his time destroying this one.
The Scourge grinned down at him and hefted his battle axe. Renton drew in his last breath and waited.
A choking sound bubbled out of the Scourge as the end of a dagger jutted from his neck. The Scourge dropped to his knees, eyes wide. His skull helmet hit the ground hard as he toppled over.
Kherathi planted a boot on the Scourge’s back as he walked over him to get to Renton, sheathing his bloody dagger.
“Come to finish the job yourself?” Renton bit out.
“I’m here to keep you from making another mistake. You chase after my daughter, and you hand Cirel a piece of his war beast. I thought I’d made that clear.”
“Currently, I’m not chasing after anyone,” Renton said, frowning as his dignity slipped away like sand in an hourglass. “Why aren’t you saving her?”
Kherathi crouched beside him and scratched his jaw. “No point. She’ll be home soon enough.”
“Do you know this for a fact?” Renton’s words were near a snarl as he examined the Chaos lord’s frustratingly calm expression. He still hadn’t puzzled out just how mad Kherathi was. Just how ruined his mind had become.
Kherathi didn’t respond, his gaze drifting out into the Void.
“Look, the shard is yours,” Renton said, a note of anxiety in his tone. “Just let me retrieve her first since you refuse to do the job.”
“What’s holding you back?”
Laid out on his back, Renton bared his teeth. “Rip it out of me then if that’s the only reason you came here!”
“I assure you I will do just that. But unlike Cirel’s plans for you, I intend for you to live.”
Renton fell silent as Kherathi hefted him up onto the back of a feingrot drenched in his Chaos magic.
“Is that how he controls her? Pumps her full of Chaos?”
Kherathi paused for a moment. “If their bond was as simple as that, I wouldn’t feel so inclined to tear Cirel apart. Chaos does allow for manipulation, if you are strong enough. Unfortunately, their connection is not of this world. Chaos knew exactly what it was doing when it forced me to kill her that night. Until I learn how to break that foul magic and free her soul, she will remain at the mercy of Adra’s king.”
Chapter43
Tenah
Stumbling across the Void, Tenah craved the torture the ravenous parasite in her mind would bring, gutted by the fact that not a single flicker of her stupid magic obeyed her command to retrieve Aeyis.
