Eternal Sacrifice (Mortal Enchantment Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

The scent of ash burned my nostrils. Knights fought on the ground and spread into the caves. Iron weapons crashed together. The ground shook as the faeries used their Earth magic to defend themselves. Flying fire elementals flew over top the battle, burning the small pixies as they attempted to extinguish the flames. Their bellowing screams could be heard even from this far away. Blood and corpses lay everywhere. The woodland fey certainly didn’t go down without a fight.
    My first instinct was to run right through the warfare, killing every fire elemental who crossed my path. My core fire burned beneath my skin, begging to be released. But I wasn’t the king of this territory. Orion had to be the one to signal the assault. “What is your command?” I asked.
    Rage had made his face blood-red. “Ready your weapons,” he ordered.
    “My pleasure.” I replied, igniting a ball of fire in my palm. The knights formed two lines behind us with an iron sword in one hand and a shield in the other. They awaited his cue.
    Orion’s expression hardened as he raised his hands in the air. The earth beneath our feet rose from the ground, forming large cones that twisted in the air like tornadoes. I had to use my arm to shield my eyes. There had to be two or three dozen of them, each the size of a small car. Growling, he thrust his hands forward. One by one, the large gravel funnels knocked the fire elementals out of the sky.
    “Attack,” he screamed, as he rushed toward the caves.
    As we raced down, we caught the attention of several fire elementals. They headed toward us. I ran in front of our group with my sword above my head. One elemental broke out in front the pack, rushing straight at me. Big mistake. Our swords made a loud screeching sound as they scraped together. I threw a fireball into his face. Fire wouldn’t kill a member of my court, but it would distract him. As he attempted to brush the flames away, I spun around and sliced right through his middle. His blood dripped down my blade.
    Air court knights used their wind magic to clear a walkway to the caves' entrance. As we fought our way through the battle, I tried to stay as close as I could to Orion. I had no idea where he kept the Green Armor. He had hundreds of rooms to choose from within these caverns. If I had any hope of getting to Valac, I had to stay with him. But Valac’s rogue elementals never let up. The rumors were true. He had members of every court fighting on his side. I couldn’t even imagine what he’d promised them.
    Staying close to Orion, I lined up with a few of his personal guards that he'd brought with him. Most had remained with Marlena at the top of the mountain. Rather than worry about her safety, he chose to keep her away from the battle. We moved toward the main entrance of the caves. I created a circle of fire around us. This kept most of the elementals away. However, members of my court sauntered right through the flames. Each time one stepped out of the blaze, I’d slit his throat. It reminded me of the whack-a-mole game I liked to play at the mortal arcade. After more than twenty minutes of fighting, I’d lost count of how many rogues had made friends with the sharp end of my blade.
    Blood covered most of my clothes by the time we reached the heavy wooden door. Orion waved his hand over the golden knob and it slowly creaked open. We entered the main foyer with his personal guard. The air knights had been ordered to remain outside to prevent anyone from following us. We stepped over bodies in various stages of decomposition. My heart ached for my friend. Seeing so many of his faeries lying dead at his feet must’ve been torturous. Had I not been betrayed by the rogue fire elementals, I imagined I’d feel the same way.
    Orion remained silent as we hurried through several winding hallways, and then multiple sets of stairs. Our shoes thumped against the gold marble flooring. Every walkway we passed by was covered in gold wallpaper. The