The AetherBorn Saga

AetherQueen: Book 2

What good is a queen if she can’t protect her people?  

 When Ruby Black was dragged into the centre of a war between powerful Elemental Houses, she faced a fight for survival with her very life on the line. Now, the war is over; shattering the Sword of Enuma into fragments and bestowing them equally among the Houses, Ruby herself was the architect of that peace. More than that though, she is Queen, elected and protected by the Elemental deities she once feared.

But peace is a fragile thing, and when the sword fragments begin vanishing from under the noses of the Great Houses, the threat of war looms once more. The pieces must be found, but with the only clue being a series of cryptic symbols found at the scene of each theft, she’ll need all the help she can get.

Dark forces are moving in the shadows, and they threaten to bring all she has worked for crashing down.

 If a queen cannot rule, chaos will reign in her place.

EXCERPT

1

Cloaked figures in the dark

The room was pure darkness, the kind of dark that starless nights are made of. There was a chill in the air and Ruby could feel her breath turn to mist as she gasped for air. She was trying to move but something was holding her back, keeping her hands restrained. What was that? She could feel the cold, rough edges of it rubbing against her wrists as she wiggled, attempting to break free, without much luck.

She tried to scream but there was no sound, and even if she could manage to yell out, she was certain there was nobody who could help her. She was alone in this. Ruby closed her eyes and thought of Liam. His green eyes watching her every move, the warmth of his hands when he touched hers, the smile that made her forget everyone else in the room. Where was he? Why was he not rushing to her side as he had done so many times before?

 There was a scratching sound that jarred her back to the room. Her eyes blinked madly as they tried to adjust to the dark. Something was wrong. She could feel it. She wasn’t alone at all. The darkness moved around her, shifting focus and changing shape. It slowly swirled into chaotic figures, dancing a waltz in front of her unbelieving eyes.

 Ruby struggled harder against her restraints, she needed to get out of here. As her gaze moved around the room, she could see that it wasn’t darkness that filled the room, instead, she was surrounded by nightly figures, standing close enough to one another that no sliver of light could get through. She tried to make out their faces but it was as if they had none. Underneath their clothing, black fog moved, mimicking the movements of a human being.

 The scratching intensified. As it grew louder, Ruby’s attention shifted to the back of the room. One of the figures swayed to the side letting a light shine through. The illumination was growing slowly, filling the room to the edges. She should have been happy to be able to see again, but something did not feel right. Ruby could feel the anger emanating from it, trying to swallow her whole.

She gave one last push forward, ripping the restraints off her. Her hands intertwined as she concentrated, shooting a fireball through the dark crowd. The fire moved through them, parting them like opening gates. Ruby pushed her way through, running towards a window on the other side of the room. With her hands against it, she clumsily pawed at the frame to find a lock, catching a glimpse of the outside. It was bright, too bright for this hour of the night. Her eyes studied the light, trying to make sense of it.

 When her vision finally came into focus, she was horrified. She stumbled backwards, a scream forming on the edges of her lips.

 In front her eyes, the training center was burning in a blaze that she knew not one Elemental could survive.

Ruby woke up in a sweat, clutching the Onyx necklace with both hands and panting for breath. She reached over, hoping Liam would be beside her so she could burrow herself into his arms for the comfort she so badly needed right now. Her hands cradled the cold pillow instead. Of all the times to spend the night alone, why did it have to be on the day her visions decided to come back? She closed her eyes, taking solace in the fact that she would see him again in just a few hours.

It was just a dream, she thought. But her eyes spent the rest of the night wide open, watching for fogged figures in the dark.