The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (best novels to read .txt) 📕

Nijja lowered her eyebrows. “You have poisoned yourself with Airinold’s tainted sorcery. I bet you can’t even cast a healing spell anymore.”

Valinox used to be able to heal?

He didn’t reply, though his grin soured a bit.

“Have you even lost touch with your creation?” Nijja asked. “Can you melt a single blade anymore?” It sounded like she was taunting him.

Eden knew it was a mistake.

He swept out his arms. A massive force of dteria shot out from him like an expanding ring. Everyone was flung away, Eden included.

She watched, now from afar, as Valinox held Nijja in the air by her waist. She squirmed, looking completely helpless as he lifted her up above his head with a manic laugh. He threw her against the nearest tree, her body bouncing off with such force that it surely would’ve killed a human.

In fact, she wasn’t moving as she lay on the ground. Valinox calmly walked over to her, brushing his hand in the direction of many charging fae. All of them were thrown back.

At least Eden could hear Nijja groaning, starting to move a bit now. Valinox reached down and pulled Nijja up by her hair.

“You should’ve let me stay here when I was trying to escape Gourfist,” he said, then punched her in the mouth.

The blow rolled Nijja over herself a couple times. A surge of fire completely enveloped Valinox as a couple of the male fae casted at him.

Their combined spells went on for a long while. No one could see anything past the mountain of fire.

Eventually, the fae let down their hands, their spells coming to an end. Valinox remained standing, a glowing red sphere of dteria around him, its crimson color slowly fading away.

Valinox made a punching motion, swinging his fist at the three fae who had casted at him. The dteria he produced was so dense that Eden could see it whip through the air, striking the three men in an arc. Eden could hear the sickening sound of bones cracking even before they flew into trees at least ten yards away, where more of their bones broke.

None were moving afterward.

This whole time he’s only been afraid of Gourfist? What about Basael, his father? The demigods had taken an oath not to kill. Did that not apply to the fae? No, it had to. They had also taken an oath not to interfere in the politics and warfare of the lesser beings, and Valinox had been interfering for quite some time now.

As Eden looked around for Lij, who might untie her ropes during this chaos, she found him running toward Nijja with the red diamond in hand. He was helping her up, the top of her bosom stained crimson from the blood running out of her mouth. But Valinox was well aware of what they were trying to do and soon landed in front of them.

He grabbed Lij and threw him into a tree with tremendous speed, knocking him unconscious, possibly killing him.

No! Eden yelled internally.

“No more of them have to die,” Valinox told Nijja.

She had her teeth gritted, displaying that a few of them were missing. But Eden watched as they quickly grew back. In fact, all of Nijja’s wounds seemed to be healing quickly.

She spat out blood. “You wouldn’t dare kill me after what Basael made us promise.”

“Perhaps not, or perhaps I would. Before I decide, however, I’ll kill every loyal fae until you have none left. I know you couldn’t have possibly made all of them think you were their queen.”

“I am their queen! I have brought order to this world, and I plan to maintain it.”

She threw an empty palm up toward Valinox’s face. A white powder appeared from nowhere, clearly cloaked by an illusion.

Valinox coughed, then started to gag as if suffocating. He quickly let go of her and grabbed at his throat, his eyes wide with shock.

He fell to a knee, gasping. Nijja rose up and dusted herself off.

“Now, you will—”

She was interrupted by Valinox laughing. Her jaw dropped open.

“Do you really think a curse one of your fae made could affect me?” he asked incredulously. “Only a curse from Airinold himself could ever affect me, and he’s long gone to Gourfist. There’s nobody who can stop me now. How many more fae do I have to kill before you see that?”

Nijja waved her hand through the air, and suddenly she vanished.

“Ha ha, sister,” Valinox said. “I’ve never enjoyed your games before, but I am going to this time.” He looked around. “Because this time, I’m going to win.”

There were still dozens of fae, but none seemed ready to challenge him as they shied away from his glance.

“I know you’re still here!” Valinox was telling Nijja. “I can feel you.”

He seemed to choose a fae at random, grabbing the man and lifting him up.

“I will break this one in half, sister, and let him scream out for help until he dies.”

“Please let me go,” said the fae.

“This is your last chance, Nijja!” Valinox announced.

Eden closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn’t watch. She wanted to cover her ears, but her hands were still bound.

There was a sickening crack, but there was no scream. She squinted open one eye to see the same man, now on the ground, his head twisted halfway around.

“You obviously didn’t care about that one,” Valinox said. “But this one! He’s the one, isn’t he? Look at him! Of course he is. Father couldn’t have designed a prettier fae himself.”

Valinox hoisted up the handsome man.

“Run, Nijja,” said the fae. “I don’t care what he does to me. Just get out of here.”

Eden wondered if Valinox could feel Nijja’s natural ordia disrupting his mana like it was Eden’s, and that’s how he knew she was still here.

“I’m going to break him in half now, sister, unless you come out.”

Nijja didn’t appear.

Valinox started counting down. “Three, two—”

“I’m here,” she said as she made herself visible, a scowl on her face.

Valinox finally looked as if he was