Page 18 of Crown of Chaos

“You’re not in a position to do so right now. It isn’t personal. Freya, your mother left me in a rough spot when she executed my father. I was a prince, but thanks to your mommy, I’m just another outcast who is forced to dwell in a thicket crowded with filth.”

I tried to appeal to him once again, but the words failed to leave my throat as I succumbed to the drugs. I was seriously over being weakened and ending up on the ground to be kicked by jackasses.

Chapter Ten

When I woke, I glaredup at the men in front of me before the younger of the two caught my arm, wrenching me to my feet as bile pushed against the back of my throat, forcing me to dry heave. He started nudging me forward, but my legs refused and threatened to give out. I grumbled at the pain throbbing against my temples, noting shrewd blue eyes lewdly on me.

“You’re positive this is Aria Karnavious?” the fellow challenged, leaning closer to sniff my scent. He flinched, and I smirked, realizing all he could smell was the vomit I’d spewed before passing out. “If this is her, then we’ll pay the bounty once her identity’s verified.”

“Garrett’s a fool to trespass against the king,” the other replied beneath his breath, provoking terror to surge through me. My heartbeat thundered against my rib cage, and consciousness sought to flee with the visions of the beast that had violated me.

The man chuckled, clutching my arm even harder. “The penalties for his actions are not our fucking issue. Besides, Garrett has the dark witches on his side now. So maybe he’ll do us all a favor and dethrone that pompous prick.”

Unable to stop it, I vomited on the man in front of me. His fist smashed into my cheek before I realized it was moving, and I whimpered, attempting to remain vertical through the shock. When I’d steadied my balance, I glanced around, looking for Esme and Avyanna.

“Where are my friends?” I asked hoarsely, struggling against the ropes holding my arms behind my back.

“On their way to be auctioned off to the lords and ladies of the borderlands,” Rhett announced, moving into view. “Gentlemen, I’ll be departing now.”

“This is to hold you over until we verify she’s the bitch our benefactor is seeking,” one of them stated. The male nearest to him tossed a bag of coin at Rhett, who snorted and held it up.

“That wasn’t the agreement we made,” Rhett stated, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“It is now,” the other man chuckled.

Rhett glanced between the duo, snorting before he pocketed the bag. “I expect the rest the moment you verify who she is. You’ll make good on the rest of the bounty or I’ll come for you and murder everyone you love.”

“Scurry back to the swamp, Rhett. You’ll get the fucking rest when we get ours.” The older fellow turned his back to Rhett, yanking me behind him as he trudged through the middle of a small town.

The individuals we passed watched us warily, but no one sought to prevent the men from dragging my struggling form into a simple hut. Inside, a grease candle burned, and the rancid odor had my stomach rolling again. They jerked me deeper into the room and then thrust me toward a crude, soiled mattress topped with filthy blankets.

“Are you interested in helping me teach this whore how to party, Darren?” the mature male inquired with a lecherous gaze that plunged to my cleavage. I shuddered as he advanced toward me, smiling lewdly and exposing blackened teeth. His eyes blazed with need and hints of madness.

Darren chuckled, shifting closer to the mattress they had thrown me onto. I could feel the monster stretching her claws and extremities within me.

“She’s awfully lovely. Garrett likes the women we deliver to him more browbeaten and broken. So, I say we break the bitch in and stretch her out a bit before he takes her off our hands. He might even thank us for doing it,” Darren suggested, sinking to my level. “What do you think, pretty bitch? You wish us to fuck you? You may even enjoy us and plead to stay here as our whore.” My heart rate spiked, but my nails slowly worked against the ropes. The moment they dropped away, I wanted to laugh.

“I’d rather not play with you, but my monster’s willing to take part.” I grinned wickedly, rumbling with Ember backing up the noise building in my throat. The lustful smiles fell, and before the first man could dart away, I lurched forward. My nails exploded from my fingertips, and my teeth broke free of my gums, ripping deep into his throat. I gave Ember complete control, and she snarled as she released the male’s throat. “Don’t go too far. I’m fucking hungry, and even though you taste like shit, you’ll do for now.” Her tone was so chilling that it had me pausing within her and she sank her teeth back into the male to take another bite as she watched the older of the two men stumbling over his feet, struggling to put distance between us.

Ember split the skull from the neck, lifting from the mattress to wipe the dripping blood from her chin. She stretched languidly, sliding her palms down to our shared womb, purring tenderly at the unborn babes slumbering. The man made a lung for the door, forcing her to yank him back and hurl him into the wall. An icy, vicious grin danced over our lips before she lowered beside him, sinking serrated teeth to his throat, shredding a sizable chunk from it to gnaw from. He’d never managed a sound before blood stained our face and his life-force dwindled.

“I don’t like arrows,” she complained between feeding.

“No shit, Sherlock. Me either, specifically ones soaked in hemlock. But let’s have a conversation about how you got us pregnant,”I said pointedly, feeling her amusement.

“I succeeded, and we are. You’re not delighted?” Ember challenged before grabbing another hefty chunk of meat from the carcass. She released her prey, allowing it to slide down the wall before she lowered beside him, ripping portions of meat from his torso.

“There’s been no chance to determine how to feel about it yet. The fact is that I think it’s foolish to have a child with the way shit’s moving right now. I’m weak and can’t even stand at the moment.”

“But you have love for them already,” Ember purred, eating more of the fellow. “I feel you, Aria. The sense that you want them filters through us, even though you just found out they exist. I thought it was best to let you discover them on your own. You’re stubborn that way. Do you think we’ll have daughters or sons? We shall have both in time if you are successful, of course.”

“I fear for them, Ember. I cautioned you that now wasn’t the time for this. I cannot stop the war for these babies, and I don’t know how to protect them. What if I do something that endangers them?”I confided, abhorring the fear etching my words with bitterness.

It was plausible that we’d lose the babes because of what was evolving around us. This world wasn’t safe for children.

“If they perish, then they weren’t meant to be ours. If we lose them, then they weren’t powerful enough to develop into what we are. You should understand that it’s a possibility that they may never know life.”

“Don’t say that,”I wheezed, already needing to protect my twins from harm.“Even if they are weak, Ember, they’re ours to nurture and protect. Now finish your meal because we need to become stronger and go find Esme and Avy, the healer with horns who saved our ass.”

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