A Storm of Chaos (The Hunter Legacy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

'That... can't be possible,' Kaya whispered, looking between Felix, the Comavren and Noah. 'The House of Wind's Descendant died, and his son—'

'Survived,' Felix cut in, and he said the word with such relief in his voice it was as if he were saying it for the first time. He pressed a hand over his eyes and said, 'This is what Noah wanted to tell you, Kaya, not just his connection with Chaos. He would have told you in Devenese but Addius and I... we didn't trust that the knowledge would be safe with you, even before we learned who you work for. But Noah... Noah trusted you instinctively. I shouldn't have doubted him,' Felix added softly.

'Control yourself, Bloodsworn,' the Comavren snapped. 'You speak as if Noah has already passed on.'

'Bloodsworn?' said Kaya, and Felix lifted his hand to indicate the silver ring around his finger. She realised then that the ring was what identified him as a Bloodsworn, which meant Addius was Bloodsworn as well; bound to a Descendant by an oath binding in both ancient magic and blood, an oath that could only be revoked by a Descendant themselves.

'Not that it means much, since Noah sealed away his powers,' Felix replied, but he seemed to draw himself up, squaring his shoulders, and said to the Comavren, 'This can't be the same poison that killed his father; Noah wasn't injured by a Reaper last night, and I've barely let him out of my sight since then. Whatever is poisoning Noah is also weakening his seal, which means—'

'The storm will be the least of our problems,' the Comavren said, turning to the window. Kaya hadn't realised how dark it had become until she, too, looked to the window and found the storm now well and truly above them. The windows rattled, and Kaya could see how tumultuous the ocean had become against the storm's growing winds.

'Noah is causing that?' Kaya asked, a shudder through her bones.

'A Descendant is only supposed to come in to power once their predecessor dies, but even before he inherited his father's title Noah had his own semblance of the God of Wind's power,' the Comavren told her grimly, her eyes turning away from the storm. 'So not only is Noah a Descendant, but he was rumoured to become the most powerful Descendant in the House of Wind's history. Given the storm he is conjuring even while unconscious, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. He could reduce all of Shield Tower to rubble, if he isn't in control of his power.'

Kaya thought of the few times she had seen and heard Noah angry, how his voice had reminded her of thunder, and his silver eyes had changed with his moods, darkening and brightening like storm clouds. She thought of how protective Addius and Felix were of Noah, but she hadn't second-guessed it because of Noah's role as an emissary. Other moments she had witnessed seemed to swim in front of her eyes with new clarity; Kaya remembered their hike to the river outside Devenese, how Kaya had asked why it was safe for them to be there considered the rumoured Garas, and how Noah had been caught off-guard by the question, before Felix cracked a joke to save him.

She remembered speaking with Liren, how she had assumed the manor was so quiet because the Descendant no longer lived to visit it, and how Liren had fumbled for a response.

As more and more memories – hints that she had been too blind to see – flittered through her thoughts, it all began to make complete and utter sense.

Except—

'But I heard you all talking about the wards,' Kaya said, shaking her head in bewilderment. 'The House's wards are failing because your Descendant died, right?'

'The wards are failing, yes,' Felix confirmed, 'but only because Noah sealed away his power. It was the only way to stop other Descendants and mages from recognising who he was, and keeping Noah's existence a secret was imperative.'