Page 105 of Crown of Chaos

“You comfort it when itpeedon us? It’s like a dog, which marks his territory. I don’t think we should have boys. They are not nice to us. That tiny thing was like a sprinkler system!”

“Look at him, Ember. He’s absolutely perfect.”My gaze moved toward the mother, watching as she stared up at me, holding her son. Aurora’s tone forced my attention to where she stood, excitedly announcing that she’d done it.She’dremoved the curse. My eyes rolled, but Knox’s possessive stare made me hesitate.

His eyes were on my face, but they lowered to where I held the babe. Was he thinking about the ones we lost? A soft smile spread on his full lips, and I lowered my nose to the babe. He didn’t smell like blood or gore, which still covered his crumpled features. He had a full head of hair, and I gently ran my fingers over it, pushing the long hunk of it away from his forehead, where the mark faintly glowed.

“She says he isn’t hers,” Avy whispered once she was standing next to me again. “From what I gather from her sobs, she says the monster who sired him and broke the curse may handle him. She wants nothing to do with the boy.”

My attention moved to his mother, finding her staring at him with open curiosity. Gradually, so she didn’t rush away, I kneeled by her so she could get a closer look at her son.

“I broke the curse on the line,” I explained. “I used my blood and the souls of a thousand witches I’d murdered upon entering the realms, and used them to end the curse that Hecate had placed upon us, ma’am. He’s beautiful, and he’s very much alive. You pushed him from your womb, which makes him your son. Would you like to see how perfect he is?” I asked, watching her trembling as she refused.

“I am a bloodline witch, and I cannot birth boys. It is forbidden,” she whispered brokenly.

“But you did, and he is flawless. He has a cute little nose, two eyes, and a mouth. When witches birth boys, they are born without a face. Your son has one, and he is yours,” I confirmed, uncovering his head for her to see him. “He has your hair and your nose. He has all his fingers, and toes, too, along with working boy parts, as witnessed.”

Her hand lifted, but she hesitated, so I slid her son into her arms and slowly backed away. Smiling, I crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at her as she brought the crying babe closer, peering at his red, crumpled face.

“Is he cursed?” she asked, tears pouring from her eyes.

“How can he be? He was born with a face. He is the first, living male born to witches that I am aware of. That’s a miracle in and of itself, but that he was born on the day after the goddess of magic lost her first fight. I’d say he’s a symbol of hope. As witches, we know our daughters are the future, but our sons? Our sons are the silent strength that’ll always stand beside us and become warriors who’ll protect us when we are weary.”

“I have a son.” She sobbed. “I have a son!”

My chest shook, and I fought the tears that burned my eyes as I nodded. The cheers moved through the crowd, and I slipped my gaze over them with pride rushing through me.

“I have freed us!” Aurora screamed loudly, which caused the entire assembly to pause and look toward her. The Hecate symbol on her forehead glowed, and the group of witches inched closer to her. “Join me, and I will offer you sanctuary! You’ll live freely with us and help us overcome the destruction and pain of the past.”

I snorted, stepping back, allowing the crowd to do as they wished. My eyes roved back to the mother, watching her rising to her feet with the tiny mewling infant in her arms. They didn’t question it, merely accepted the Hecate symbol as strength, which caused Aurora to smile triumphantly as her arms lowered.

“Faithless assholes,” Esme muttered beside me. “No loyalty, even thoughyousaved the child. You literally brought him back from death.”

“It was CPR and not as much of a miracle as you think it was,” I admitted, watching them huddling against the barrier, which was still in place.

The lord screamed, begging for someone to free him, and a smile playing on my lips as Ember perked up. Esme followed my gaze, her eyes slanting languidly with hunger.

“You hungry?” I asked, smirking as she nodded. “Let’s eat, shall we?”

Chapter Fifty-Two

Esme hunted him from oneside, and I prowled toward him from the other. Ember peered through my eyes, unimpressed at being forced to share a meal. I inhaled, noting her softer scent, which gave me pause. The man screeched, and his wide stare filled with panic as he implored the army for help. Clearly, he didn’t appreciate that we’d untied his hands, which was the only help anyone was going to give him.

Knox’s enticing scent was distracting Ember, and my attention kept flickering to him before gliding back to Esme. A soothingly soft purr rolled up through my lungs and tickled my throat. Esme made the same noise, but it was weaker.

I could read her anxiety and the need to back down from my beast. Not that I blamed her because it was Ember who was creating the trepidation. Purring echoed from my chest, and Esme twisted to look at me.

I keened, and she copied the sound. Her dark head bowed, and her spine arched with defeat. My focus roved over her, marking each weakness that I could use to fight her. There weren’t many discernable ones besides her need to bow to my creature.

“Earn it,” Ember hissed, canting her head before turning toward the lord, who’d begun running away as if he had anywhere to go.

Esme backed up, and I rattled loud enough to force her to her knees. Her spine slithered against the constraints of her dress, and I rattled louder. Ember dropped to the ground without warning. Inwardly, I gasped in shock as she arched her spine and released a deafening rattle that had Esme bucking her hips.

Knox’s men were watching us from behind the barrier, but it wasn’t Knox whose eyes were on me. It was Lennox, and the rattle he released had my pussy clenching and my nipples hardening with need.

Hissing escaped my throat, which was a warning for him to back off and let me assert my dominance over Esme. Lennox continued as his lips twisted into a dark smirk that matched the wickedness that burned in his gaze. My hips flared, causing his eyes to blaze with his ravenous hunger.

“Come here, Little Monster,” he ordered in a deep, raspy tone. Ember bared our teeth because Sabine stood beside him, making our vision filter to red. “Aria, come to me, and I’ll soothe that discomfort.”

It took a lot of willpower to rein her in and not murder Sabine. My claws extended, and the sound that left my lungs had Knox pushing her away from him. The action was weeks too late to matter.

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