A Legacy of Destruction by J.M. Wallace

Author:J.M. Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dark fantasy, romantic fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, new adult fantasy
Publisher: J.M. Wallace
Published: 2021-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Shaye

Shaye missed the sunshine in Asterion. If she tried really hard, she could imagine the warmth of it on her face. She knew she would never again complain of Asterion’s hot summers when she returned home. Anything was better than the smoldering air and freezing nights in the hellscape she was trapped in now.

They were eating a sorry breakfast of dried meat and stale bread when Branwen sighed, “Did you get any sleep?”

Shaye bit into the dried meat and frowned at him. “What do you think?”

He chuckled and handed her a piece of stale bread. “Would it help to know that we will be reaching our destination in just a few hours?”

Shaye choked on the bread. “Really?” She regained her composure and felt her pulse quicken. Branwen stared at her expectantly, and she smiled at him. “Yes, actually, that does help.”

He laughed. “I have never in my long life seen someone so eager to go toe to toe with their enemy.”

Shaye laughed, too. “I have never in my life had an enemy I wanted to kill so badly... And that’s saying a lot, considering how horrible Bastian was.”

Ava circled around them once in her crow form before taking her human form again on the ground. She joined them, sitting at Branwen’s side. “Coast is all clear. From what I can tell, the Shadow Court is in a deep slumber. They are likely tuckered out from their long night of celebrating.”

Shaye’s jaw clenched. Ava had brought them word of the celebration as they had made camp the night before. It turned out that it was an annual event, though last night’s celebration was an extra special affair. It was to be the night that Umbra announced her intentions for Asterion.

Shaye was not sure where Ava gathered her intel, but she trusted her new friend as a reliable source. The Shadow Riders, Shaye had learned, were Magi and mortal men who had turned sides during the war, to join Umbra in her conquest. In return, she had given them eternal life. That gift had come with a price; morphing them into something that they did not recognize, forcing them to ride aimlessly through the Shadow Lands and do her bidding.

According to Ava, Umbra always conquered new realms the same way. She would whisper her poison into the ears of discontented men, then provide them with the power to cripple their governments and their lands. Once the blight had been planted and had torn through the realm, then she would send in her Shadow Riders to cut down any who remained strong enough to fight against her.

That was the plan she now had for Asterion. After the Shadow Riders prepared the country for Umbra, then she and her Shadow Court would take whatever power remained in the land. They would feed on the fear of the people until Asterion was nothing but a shell. Much like the land Shaye found herself in now.

Ava added, “We should do the ceremony before we continue...”

Branwen concurred, “I agree that would be best.

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