Page 27 of A Rising Hope (The Freckled Fate #3)

27

INSANARIA

“ E njoying the view?” I snapped, appearing a step behind the General. His hands were loosely clasped behind his back as he stood tall on the round balcony observing the encompassing deep blue ocean.

“What is it that you want, Insanaria?” he asked, his tone full of boredom, lacking any hint of respect. The General didn’t bother looking back at me, only motioned with his finger, as if telling me to hurry.

I wanted to kill him right there. But anger was no use in precision.

So instead, I took a step closer. My shadows, my rightful companions, swirled with the winds as we stood atop the highest tower in my castle.

“I’ve been doing some interesting reading recently.” I started weaving my webs like a starving spider.

“I suppose when one runs out of people to siphon magic from, it’s only natural to pick up another hobby.” He dared to mock me, unbothered by my presence. Arrogant bastard.

“You see, you were quite right. I did not know much about blood magic. A mistake I was desperate to remedy.” I folded my arms. “It was quite unfortunate to discover that not much has been recorded regarding your cursed magic, even in my most ancient scripts.” I stared at the waves crashing far below. “But there was one small mere mention of it.” My eyes pierced the back of his head as I spat. “Do you want to take a guess at what it was, my dear nephew ?”

He turned at that.

I smirked.

“Oh yes, General, quite the minor detail you forgot to mention. You see, what I had discovered in my search is that in order for any blood magic to work on me , for your shields to keep me at bay, we had to share blood.” I clicked my tongue, not hiding the disgust that lined my face. “As a child, I had always thought my mother had died at birth, father lost at sea. It was easier to pretend, to explain my unfortunate childhood at the orphanage as some cruel twist of Fate. So, imagine my disbelief when I found out years later that the woman who birthed me was alive and well—a simple whore entertaining the streets of the Svitar Slums—one who just didn’t bother raising her offspring.” The shadows spun around me, comforting me.

Even now, after so many years, I often go back to the stale memory of the day my magic killed her. My very first kill.

My mother’s terrifying stare as life left her at my call, forever etched in me.

A memory that shaped me into who I was today.

“I had considered the possibility of my mother giving birth to other children before. A possibility I very much didn’t care about. But I must say, I never thought that my half-sister would be the one birthing a Destroyer such as you.” I flicked an invisible piece of lint off my shoulder. “I always heard rumors, of course, but Diamara had been tight-lipped about who the whore was that ruined their marriage. And frankly, I had very little interest in whatever court drama you all had that week. At the time, I had much more pressing issues at hand than who the emperor was fucking that month.” I clicked my tongue. “But gods, what a pleasant surprise it was to discover this precious little piece of history now . . . even if it is under such unpleasant circumstances.” I gave him a poisonous smile.

“I wish I could share such a warm familial bond with you, but I don’t.” The General smirked, examining me.

“Oh, you would be thrilled if you knew what exciting news this was! Because you see, I spent years . . . years searching for the last thing I needed to complete my ritual. I have magic, so much of it, and yet it was never enough, because no matter how much I had obtained, I was always missing one part of it. Destroyers’ fire. You know yourself, Destroyers’ fire doesn’t mix very well with Magic Wielders, not compatible with its hosts, too unruly and overbearing, killing every single swarm I tried to mix it in. But then there was a Seer that showed me a child being born where magic freely mixed and where fire lived in harmony—an answer to all my problems. At first, I thought it must have been Finn, your lovely wife, but then it dawned on me. There was a shortcut all along. A blood related Destroyer to a Creator. Yes, you’ve won by trapping me here, but it turns out I don’t have to leave this place in order to finally accomplish my goal of becoming a god.”

The General laughed. That hateful sound rolled through the darkness.

“Oh, genius, and how long did it take you to think of this?”

“You cannot kill me. And perhaps I can’t kill you either. But I don’t need you to be dead. I just need to keep you impaired long enough to siphon your magic from you while you are coming back to life.”

A flick of my hand and a Basalt Glass arrow appeared out of thin air.

“If you had the luxury to live as long as I have, General, you’d understand that love makes you weak. You sacrificed yourself for her, and in doing so, you shall expedite the destruction of your own people.”

“Quite the speech you have prepared for me, dear auntie .” The General yawned. He didn’t even attempt to raise his fiery shields.

“I do so enjoy my speeches,” I sneered. In the blink of an eye, I jumped between shadows right to him, the Basalt Glass arrow piercing his heart entirely. “But not as much as I’ll enjoy killing you again and again until all your magic is mixed with mine.”

Blood gurgled from his throat and his body dropped to his knees as thorns and shadows violently tore through him.

“Not very familial of you,” the General grumped, choking on his blood.

“Oh, General—family is overrated.” I scoffed, watching him slowly die.