Vanquished Gods by C.N. Crawford

Author:C.N. Crawford [Crawford, C.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

As dusk streaked the sky with shades of indigo, Poppy carried us through the overgrown gardens outside Donn Hall. Out there, ivy climbed the crumbling stone. Wild tangles of roses and jasmine bloomed around us, and the scent of salt and flowers floated on the sea breeze. The castle loomed above us. Maybe it was the warm lights in its narrow windows, gold against black stone, but I could not wait to get back inside that place.

“You know, Sion? I actually am starting to like it here.” I surprised myself with my own words.

“Are you admitting you were wrong about Gwethel?”

“Hmm, you know, I’d rather not.”

From beneath an ancient stone arch, Maelor crossed toward us, the wind whipping at his dark cloak. His pale eyes locked on us. “I’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long?”

“What took us so long?” Sion shot back as he dismounted. He slowly stalked closer to Maelor. “We just thwarted the Luminari army in Lyramor and destroyed their Purification plan, saving an entire city. Is that really the best greeting you could muster?”

The wind toyed with Maelor’s dark hair. “We have a problem. After you left Ruefield, I interrogated one of the Luminari knights I caught chasing us.”

“By interrogated, do you mean tortured?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

“Well done,” said Sion. “What did you learn?”

“First, the Pater is still alive. Second, he now knows about Gwethel. And third, he’s bringing an army here to kill us.”

My heart slammed. “Here?”

Maelor’s eyes were locked on Sion. “You killed Aelthwin and that other traitorous thrall, but someone got a message to the Order anyway. Someone wanted to tell the Pater where we live. The Order knows we are here, and Elowen, too. The Pater, more specifically, knows his former Raven Lord and Magister Solaris now live in the vampire kingdom of Gwethel, and he knows exactly where to find us. And he’s not in a particularly forgiving mood about everything we’ve done. I imagine especially not after you killed him again last night.”

“When are they coming here?” Sion’s voice was a low growl.

“We have less than a month.”

My pulse roared, and I slipped off the horse onto the mossy path. “And if they attack in the daylight? How are the witches doing with those navka pendants?”

Maelor shook his head. “There aren’t nearly enough. They’re incredibly difficult to make, and it’s not going quickly enough to have a strong army in a month.”

Tiredness seeped through my bones. “Right. So, I need to figure out my death magic.”

Sion turned to me, gold eyes shining in the gloaming. “Get some rest, Elowen. We’ll start training again in the morning. We need to strengthen your powers.”

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