Page 118 of Master of Storms
And he was linked to such magic through Ishtar.Drekimagic wouldn’t work in here—the entire place was wrapped in chains of Chaos, intended to hold even the most powerfuldreki.
What had Ishtar once said?
“It’s like looking through the fabric of the world. Seeing through the curtains of reality and finding the weft of the magic that binds the world together. There is Order—static and calm and unmalleable—and then there is Chaos, like a beautiful conflagration of wildfire that threatens to consume everything. When you take the weft of it, it’s like taking the reins on a bucking horse. There’s nothing you can’t create.”
Males couldn’t weave Chaos magic. But he was linked to Ishtar. And they’d been communicating for months, so that he barely even had to think the thought for her to hear it.
What if… he could use that conduit the other way?
What if he could somehow channel his sister’s link to Chaos magic in order to wield it himself?
Solveig screamed again.
Fuck it.
“Come on,” he whispered, placing his palms against the rock face and closing his eyes.
He’d tried to catch hints of that song when he was searching for Ishtar, but he’d never truly leaned into it. It wasn’t for him. He knew that instinctively. But it had become easier to both see and hear Chaos running through the world with every second he spent with his sister.
A light buzz of magic hummed through his palms. Marduk’s heart kicked into overdrive. It was like a jolt of energy directly into his veins.
He gave in to everything.
To the furious nature of thedrekiinside him, desperate to save the woman he loved.
To the song of Chaos streaming through his veins so swiftly, it felt like his heart was going to smash its way out of his chest.
“Get me out of here.” He threw the thought desperately into the void, and as he flung his arms wide, Chaos finally caught him in its grip.
It wrenched him apart, and then the sort of pain he’d never felt before tore through every single molecule of his body.
A glance down revealed his mortal body, slack-jawed and gaping, as Marduk spread wings of green fire. A spirit form woven of pure Chaos.
He caught his mortal body in his claws—enormous wings soaring wide as he launched himself into the air and thrust toward the mouth of the pit—and even if someone was driving an iron spike right between his eyes, he could handle the pain.
He just had to get to Solveig….
* * *
Solveig scrambled back against an oak,trying to grind her teeth through the pain. Darkness threatened to haul her under, and suddenly there were three images of the elf stalking toward her with a sly little smile curling over his mouth.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for many, many days,” Tyndyr said, and somehow the twisted delight in his voice made her stomach clench.
“Choke on iron, you little bitch,” Solveig gasped, capturing hold of the arrow in her chest and trying not to faint as she broke it in two.
A wave of pain swept over her.Mother. Goddess. She’d been stabbed before, but this… this was a new level of hell.
Tyndyr nocked another arrow to his bow and drew it easily. “I wonder how many arrows it will take to kill you. Careful now, this one’s going to hurt.”
“Just kill her, Tyndyr,” Amadea snapped. “We need to get out of here with that key before they realize something is amiss with Elin.”
“Nobody’s going to realize anything.”
“Shedid,” Amadea snapped.
“Trust me,” he purred. “Consider her lips sealed.”
And then Solveig screamed as the second arrow slammed into her abdomen.
