Page 104 of Crown of Chaos

Dismissing him outright, I turned to Knox. It didn’t look as if he’d moved from the same spot all night. His eyes weren’t back to their normal oceanic blue, and I allowed myself one moment of weakness, but then Sabine’s hand touched his shoulder and rage shot through me.

That burst of emotion fueled the effort it took to stand and turn my back on them, but that was it. I was on my feet, but my legs were so weak I didn’t dare trust them to have the strength to move me forward. So, I closed my eyes against the pain and reminded myself that I survived.

I’d faced off against Hecate, and I hadn’t died. Of course, I’d not made it out unscathed, but I hadn’tdied.

Behind me, Aurora began demanding my attention. My concentration, however, was on the sea of unfamiliar faces the girls were keeping back from me.

They’d protected me at my weakest moment, and that realization had me battling past the wealth of emotions. They could have easily walked away, leaving me vulnerable, but they’d chosen to stay beside me. My eyes were swimming with tears by the time I sought Esme out.

Her thin shoulders shrugged, and a look of discomfort played on her face. And it was enough to pull my emotions back under control.

“Has he argued against his crime?” I questioned once I was sure I could speak without my voice cracking.

“Besides screaming profanities at us? He has said little to argue what’s being said or to defend himself against the accusations. If you’re asking me, I’d say he felt entitled to rape witches and breed out the bloodline. How do you feel?” Esme took the bladder of water, which I hadn’t realized I still held, out of my hand and gave it to Soraya.

“Like a bus ran me over and backed up on my unmoving body to let the passengers off it.” She had no idea what a bus was, so my hyperbole was lost on her. “Like a herd of horses ran my ass over and then stomped on it some more for good measure.” She chuckled, and a lopsided smile spread across her full lips. “That’s a lot of mouths to feed,” I pointed out, hating that there were easily over one hundred people waiting to find out what we would do next.

“It is,” she admitted. “But it isn’t as if we can leave them here. They’re all victims of abuse at the hands of that asshole. Some are pregnant, and they’re close to their”—a groan ripped through the crowd—“close to giving birth.”

Avyanna jumped to her feet and rushed toward where a woman was on her back with her legs spread apart. I peered around, wincing that she was about to birth her babe in a field flooded with people all watching. My stomach tightened at the memory of that pain, but I was quick to shove those thoughts away.

“Shit, the baby is already crowning!” Avyanna snapped, barely getting her hands between the babe and the ground before it was being pushed out.

My eyes widened, and I blinked as Avyanna held up the babe. It wasn’t crying or moving. Fear rippled through the crowd, and my lips parted as I caught sight of the mark on her hand. There was also the faint outline of the mark of Hecate on her forehead, which made me frown deeper.

She was a descendant of one of Hecate’s children, but a rather watered-down version from the weak outline. The fact that she carried the mark meant Hecate either had children we weren’t aware of in the Nine Realms, or one of her daughters had sprinkled little witches around. It left more questions and worries in my mind. Chills rushed over my arms, and then down my spine at the reality of what I was seeing. I’d seen a few others with the mark in the Nine Realms, but our family bible didn’t mention any other direct descendants. So which sister had birthed daughters, and abandoned them to the mercy of the realms?

“She’s a descendant of Hecate’s bloodline. She carries enough blood to bear the mark,” I announced.

“No shit? I thought she was a unicorn.” Esme chuckled.

“She’s a witch, and that is a tiny penis,” I amended and Esme finally understood what I was pointing out.

Avyanna continued holding the babe, as the baby’s mother begged, her words jumbled together as Avyanna shook her head. Moving closer, I took in his tiny red face and the goop in his mouth. He had aface!

“It’s a boy,” Avyanna whispered, as if everyone hadn’t already heard.

I shifted the baby out of Avyanna’s arms so that she could cut the cord. Using my finger, I cleaned out his mouth as the entire field watched in utter silence. Once I was sure his airway was clear, I worked his round belly with my palm, and then I placed my mouth over his nose and mouth and blew air into his lungs. I did it several more times as whispering rushed through the crowd. Some of them insisted it would be hopeless for me to try, but I could see the mark of the witch on his forehead, dull but present. That alone was a sign that I hadn’t gone through hell for nothing. He had a face and was the first boy born baring Hecate’s mark that I’d heard of.

His lips opened, and a loud squeal of displeasure cut through the air. His eyelids fluttered to reveal dark eyes, and he screamed as he flailed his arms. Smiling, I turned to Avyanna, and warm liquid splashed in my mouth.

I gagged, holding the babe away from my body as he pissed everywhere. Esme broke into gales of laughter as I continued gagging. Avyanna accepted the babe, though she was also laughing at me, and I stepped away, gagging loudly as my stomach threatened to empty what little food it held.

“It’s in my mouth!” I explained in horror. “Oh god. I can taste piss!”

Esme howled louder, bending at the waist as if to hide the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook, and Siobhan was right there with her. They were all laughing, crossing their legs as they hooted at my expense.

“Oh, why didn’t anyone warn me?” I demanded, wiping my hand over my tongue. “I fail to see how this is even funny!”

“Drink this,” Soraya offered, laughing boisterously as I continued dry heaving.

I tipped the bottle of whisky up, filled my mouth, swished, and then spit. After doing it a few times, I drank it to ease my stomach.

“No, he is not mine!” the mother screamed as she sobbed. “It is the work of evil. He is not mine!”

I handed the bottle to Soraya and moved back to where Avyanna and the mother were. Avy plopped the babe, who had thankfully been swaddled in a blanket, into my arms and knelt to tend to the mother. He was tiny, but had everything he needed. His eyes peered up at me, and I smiled down at him.

“You’re much safer when that thing’s covered, sir,” I muttered, unable to keep the wide grin from my lips. I folded my lips between my teeth, gently rocking him in my arms.

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