Using the distraction, Aura slits the throat of the unaffected guard with her father’s axe before embedding the blade into the one trembling from her vision.
Crystal steps through the hidden door into the castle hallway. “Messier than I prefer, but you did well.” She checks their pulses to confirm they are dead.
“There is one rule to follow using elementalseidr: Never berserk.” She holds her finger up to quiet Aura’s question. “Your father handles it well. A man that angry can harness theseidrflawlessly. You, darling, are channeling everyseidravailable on the continent. Berserking will blind you.”
They weave through the corridors of what Aura learns to be the central keep. Crystal guides her around each corner, utilizing their combined hunter abilities, a power she discovered is gifted from Treland and governed by Freyr.
By the time they emerge into the Great Hall, blood coats Aura’s new Astrian armor as if she has bathed in it.
“In our next encounter,” Crystal flicks a hunk of Sumpland Hold soldier off her cuirass, “try not withdrawing the axe.”
Aura sheaths her father’s blade sheepishly. “Old habits die hard.”
They both glance around the cathedral-ceilinged room, where vividly embroidered drapes hang from the wooden-beamed rafters and enormous tapestries cover much of the stone walls. A coat of arms featuring an eagle surrounded by heraldic roses hangs above the massive stone hearth.
Once they are in the center of the room, the doors along each wall burst open as a battalion of troops wearing the Sumpland Hold emblem charge inside with their weapons drawn.
Instinctively, the witches land back to back as they follow the movements of the soldiers surrounding them.
In all of his pudgy glory, Jarl Odo saunters inside as if he owns the place. His sausage fingers rub together as he examines them like his next meal.
“What do you know? The Wicked Wyvern herself deems to grace us peasants with her presence. And, of course, I see Princess Aura taking time away from servicing the Iss Drengr.”
Crystal’s shoulders shudder with amusement at her back. “Jarl Odo, do you really believe taking on two witches will end well for you?”
“Witches… plural?” His beady gaze holds a new hunger as he assesses Aura. “I’m not sure I’d want to give thatseidrup to Lavinia.”
Aura chuckles at his ignorance, her hands igniting the flames of her fire elemental.
His smile widens at her display of power. “You are a feisty little thing. Now, I see why the Jarl of Kaldrgataness is reluctant to share you.” In mock defeat, he throws up his hands. “I have no choice, ladies. You surrender peacefully, or I shall be forced to bring you to our Queen in chains.” He laughs while gesturing around the room. “You are outnumbered, after all.”
Crystal grips Aura’s wrist, “Recall my one rule of battling with elementals. No berserking. You cannot allow anger to be your sole emotion.”
Dammit.
“Fine.” Aura’s mind swirls with the different abilities at her command. The sheer depths of herseidrpulse with something stronger than adrenaline. It is a faint humming, as if every witch before her stands at her back, offering silent support.
This feeling is intoxicating.
Crystal doesn’t wait and encircles herself and Aura with a ring of ice. The soldiers near herseidrslip and fall on the frost.
Aura tosses two fireballs into the crowd, enjoying how the flames have a nasty habit of spreading swiftly among the exposed fabric of their tunics.
“It is twowomen! Charge them!” Odo commands the warriors as he slips away from the fighting. His forces exchange uneasy glances as Aura and Crystal leap in opposite directions across the ice.
The witches could easily end this with a swipe of their hands, butplaying with these fishermen-turned-soldiers was too excellent an opportunity to test Aura’s powers.
The Princess uses her premonition abilities to sense the movements of the men nearest her should she attack with the wind. Sensing a potential backfire, she pulls the fire from the hearth, enveloping the three closest. Their shrieks of agony pierce the room before their charred bodies crumble to the floor.
Those nearby edge away from the scene with shaky hands, clutching their swords and spears. Aura smirks and experiments with the necromantic elemental that served her several greats-grandmother, the Necromancer Queen of Timber, quite well. The three bodies stumble to life, forcing several of the soldiers to abandon their duty and flee from the Great Hall.
Laughter flows from her lips as the power rushes through her blood, propelling her onward. Fire and frost combine, leaving some of her attackers flame-roasted while others would rival Calder’s icy terror.
As they decimate Odo’s men, Aura approaches a massive brute three times her size. Her reanimated corpses descend upon him, holding him still as she kicks his chest, sending him crashing to the floor. Standing over top, she feels the call of the berserker at her fingertips.
Crystal said no. She warns herseidr,which pushes against her heart, urging her to embrace the fury.
A glance at the room reveals only a few soldiers left alive.
