Kingdom of Ash

great duel I was promised.”
As if Maeve opened the lid to a chest on
her power, plumes of darkness erupted.
Aelin sliced with Goldryn, the fire within
the blade unfaltering. But it was not enough.
And as Aelin retreated another step, one of
those plumes snapped across her legs.
Aelin couldn’t stop the scream that
shattered from her throat. She went down,
shield scattering in the icy mud.
Training kept her fingers clenched on
Goldryn.
But pressure, unbearable and slithering,
began to push into her head.
“Wake up.”
The world shifted. Snow replaced by
firelight. The ground for a slab of iron.
The pressure in her head writhed, and Aelin
bowed over her knees, refusing to
acknowledge it. Real—this battle, the snow