The Darkest Sword Samantha Kroese (easy books to read in english .TXT) 📖

lasted even ten minutes. Ashiyn hated being bored, so instead of staying with the army and finishing off the conquest of the city, he turned Illusion away from the bloodshed and into the thick woods nearby.

This forest had a strange feel to it and it suppressed his magic. The trees reminded him of the elven queen Harm he’d encountered when he was much younger. Was this an elven forest? Diredin had told him the elves once had many forests on this world, but there were only a few now.

He scowled. The queen had taken full advantage of his youth and inexperience, and he had never seen her again. The war between his master and her kingdom still raged. The elves were proving resilient and difficult to exterminate.

Suddenly, Illusion screamed and reared as something fell out of the tree on top of Ashiyn. It grabbed him around the neck, and he felt metal bite into his skin. His hot blood gushed down his chest, but he knew it would take a few moments to bleed to death. He snarled and grabbed his attacker from his back and slung them off. Then he tumbled from his saddle, stumbling a few steps as he put a hand to the deep gash in his neck.

There lying among the moonlit trees was a mirror image of his younger self, except the ears were much longer. The same brilliant golden eyes glared back at him, as the young boy scrambled to his feet.

Ashiyn coughed, which only made the blood gush worse. He stumbled and fell to his knees, as Illusion danced nervously around him. He grabbed the horse and smacked its rump, sending it bolting back toward the army. Hopefully, the idiots would realize what his blood-covered horse meant and come retrieve him before the elves did.

The boy held his knife defensively and crouched. Ashiyn collapsed onto his side, his strength fading far too quickly. A mortal strike from someone so young. He should be proud. And the child looked just like him. He almost hoped Harm would capture him so he could find out just how angry she was. There was no way anyone in this world would not know that boy was his son. He watched the boy creep cautiously closer until the darkness swept him away.

He woke to Rhadamanthus and Harm arguing, loudly. Rhadamanthus stood in front of his prone form, sword drawn, while Harm stood with her arms around the boy, a dozen elven mages standing around her with staves ready.

“What did you do? Seduce Ashiyn while you were at the castle? That boy is clearly Ashiyn’s child,” Rhadamanthus said, his voice a growl. “The boy will not fit into your realm. Everyone will know who he belongs to, and he will be hated. Give him to me so he can train with his father.”

“No, your slave forced himself on me. And Ember is not going anywhere. He belongs here, with me,” Harm retorted with a glare, her nose in the air as always.

Ashiyn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He certainly had not forced himself on Harm. He tried to voice as much but his throat was still mending. He managed a snarl and slowly got to his feet. Illusion trotted over, snorting with worry. He leaned heavily on the horse, still feeling weak, but not wanting to look like it. “Is that what you told the boy? Is that why he tried to kill me?”

“I did kill you!” Ember insisted, his fists clenched at his sides and his anger making him shake. “For what you did to my mother!”

“I didn’t do anything to your mother. You should ask why she lies to you,” Ashiyn grumbled. “Can we go? She’s a waste of time, Master.” With that he climbed carefully onto Illusion’s back.

“This is not over, woman,” Rhadamanthus promised. “Keep that boy away from my slave, or I will teach Ember not to touch what doesn’t belong to him.”

“Tell Ashiyn to stay out of my forests then!” Harm huffed as Rhadamanthus mounted and he and Ashiyn rode off.

Ashiyn tried to keep Illusion ahead of the bull, but Rhadamanthus’s bull was a powerful beast and caught up. He cringed, knowing what was coming. “She seduced me, Master. She told me she wanted a child from it.”

“I understand that much. What I do not understand is what part of your brain thought that was a good idea,” Rhadamanthus glared at him. “Now Harm has an immortal to train and she’s turned him against you. He will become your enemy, and he will not be impossible to slay.”

Ashiyn rubbed at his neck. “I’m not worried about it, Master. For every year he trains, I will continue to train and become better. He will never match me.”

“He just killed you, idiot,” Rhadamanthus shook his head.

“He dove out of a tree! I wasn’t expecting little half-elven squirrels to try to murder me!” Ashiyn retorted with a glare.

“Why were you in that forest? You were supposed to stay with the army,” Rhadamanthus asked, his dark gaze boring into Ashiyn and making Ashiyn shudder.

“I was foolish, Master. I just wanted to see why it suppressed magic. I thought it might be something useful to know,” Ashiyn said, bowing his head as though he was shamed. At least the last part wasn’t a lie.

Rhadamanthus gave him one last warning glare, then rode off to the commanders for their reports. Ashiyn held back with a frown. He had found a way to free Sia. He only had to find a place to imprison him again. Ashiyn had no intention of letting someone that useful vanish into thin air to languish through eternity. He craved the knowledge the man possessed. It would be his.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ashiyn could not listen anymore. The meeting before him seemed such a waste of his time. He could not stop thinking about Soryn and