A Storm of Chaos (The Hunter Legacy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Felix was pacing.

'You're going to wear the rug out,' Noah remarked tiredly. He raised a heavy hand and pressed it over his eyes, blocking the daylight that spilled in from the nearby window. His other hand hung limply over the armrest, throbbing with tenderness beneath the salve and bandages that had been placed over the burns he had received last night.

With the events of the night still lingering behind his eyes, Noah tilted his head down to look at his freshly bandaged hand. It wasn't the same hand he had kept concealed most of his life, and the burns wouldn't scar in quite the same way as Chaos' symbol had years ago, but the burns were just as significant.

After safely returning Kaya to her room, having carried her all the way back once she passed out with Felix a shadow behind him – a silent, raging shadow – Noah had returned to his own rooms, but Noah had been so exhausted that even Felix hadn't had the heart to scold him straight away.

So Noah had slept – though he didn't feel rested at all – and woke to find his burned hand taken care of, while Felix stood by the window.

Then the reprimanding had started.

'Has word come of how the Reapers breached the city proper?' Noah asked, sitting up straight with considerable effort.

'Rumour has already spread that the city's defences aren't quite what they used to be, due to Theia's complacency,' Felix answered, pausing as he levelled a knowing look at Noah. 'You can guess who started the rumour.'

'The Anarchists,' said Noah with a sigh. He didn't doubt that while Medea Thorne had only brought one guard with her to Shield Tower she had an entourage of supporters throughout Brax's streets. They'd jump at the opportunity to undermine the Empire.

'I haven't heard anything about the how, but I have a pretty good idea as to why,' Felix added, holding the same look.

Noah lifted his injured hand, his fingers flexing gingerly. The movement only served to aggravate the burned skin. He had read about how a Hunter's Legacy could be shaped into a physical weapon at will, but never had he heard of someone else other than the Hunter wielding it.

Felix let out an aggravated sigh then, the sound of barely contained frustration, and dropped into one of the chairs opposite Noah. 'Ads is going to kill me when he finds out that I let you out of my sight at the banquet. And then he's going to kill me again when he finds out I let you out of my sight in the streets.'

Noah almost rolled his eyes, but then he thought of the throttling he would also receive and said, 'He doesn't have to find out.'

'And in what way do you plan on explaining to him how Kaya learned you were linked to Chaos? Because he certainly isn't going to believe you did something as sensible as tell her.'

Noah opened his mouth to reply, until he realised Felix was right. His mouth snapped shut for a moment before he said, 'In my defence, I had no idea what was going to happen when I left Shield Tower last night.'

'Noah,' said Felix, in a tone that was long-suffering, 'I think you're missing the point here. Yes, it's been important to keep your connection to Chaos' a secret but that isn't the only reason we need to protect you. Or have enough years passed that you've forgotten?'

Noah's jaw clenched. 'That's not fair, Felix.'

'You're right,' said Felix, raising his hands. 'Sorry.'

'I need to speak with Kaya,' Noah declared, leaning forward in his chair as he regarded both his hands now.

The hand that bore Chaos' symbol was uncovered, revealing the elegant scar that marred his palm, and as he regarded it he couldn't help but remember the day when it had seared itself into his skin as if being burned from the inside out. He had been five years old, and only Felix and one other had been in the room with him when it happened.