Page 36 of Crown of Chaos

“What are you doing? Give them back to me!” I demanded as I forced myself to my feet and all but threw myself toward the barrier.

“They’re dead, Aria. They’ll both be blessed and laid to rest in the crypt with Sven,” he whispered, soundlessly daring me to argue. “It’s a sign of honor and something I can give them that will matter. I wasn’t even aware they existed until I was forced to watch them be born lifeless and unmoving. So, I ask that you allow me to put them safely in the one place Hecate can never reach.”

“I need to say goodbye and bless them, Knox. No one else will bless them for burial when their mother wants to do so herself. That is my right, and you will give it to me. Please,” I added, fighting the tears tightening my throat.

“Do not shroud our children in a blessing cloth. I have my own that I would like to use once they’ve entered the tomb. It will make it so that no one can sense the power they hold, even in death,” he explained.

“Okay, but I will bathe them and burn sage,” I agreed, holding my arms out as I saw his tightening on our daughters.

They didn’t drop into my arms as I expected. They landed in Siobhan’s and Soraya’s. A white bowl rose on a silver pedestal as sage was lit around us. I grabbed the babe and removed her towel, staring at the black, poisonous veins that covered her torso. My emotions churned, and my hackles rose.

“It’s not hemlock. It’s dark magic that Hecate used on me to reach them,” I whispered, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. “She tried to turn them toward the darkness while they were still inside me.”

The realization rocked my sanity, and I shook my head. That was what I’d felt when her magic was inching through me. It was searching for the unprotected vessels that could house a piece of her vile soul. She had tried to take control of my children before they’d been born, but she must have forgotten Ember was within me, protecting us from her.

“That’s impossible,” Esme stated, shifting closer and exhaling loudly as she glanced down at the fading marks.

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I pushed an eyelid up. When I found black, lifeless eyes, my anger blasted through the library and I growled until the shelves shook.

“I’m going to fucking destroy her. I am going to end that bitch, and she won’t see me coming next time,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “She cannot be allowed to live any longer.”

“She was able to get to your babies because they were of her bloodline, right?” Soraya asked, staring at the infant she held. “Any child you or your sisters create can be turned, and Hecate can hide within them. She wasn’t trying to murder them. She was trying to plant a slice of herself to be reborn as your child. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Actually, it does.” I snorted through my tears. “Hecate knew who I was and called me a monstrosity. She still fears that the prediction is in play, and she knows that I broke the curse of infertility she placed on your people as well as the one she placed on her bloodline. She was afraid that I carried the son that would end her once and for all,” I explained, rocking my head back and forth. “If I am the creature born of the Hecate bloodline and the first people of the Nine Realms, what better way to circumvent your death than by hiding within the one destined to murder you? It is too bad my mother isn’t here so I could ask her who she fucked to create me,” I whispered, dripping water over the babe’s head. “Considering her skull is on your throne, I doubt she’s willing to offer up anything to either of us that would be helpful.”

“But it isn’t, Aria,” Knox snorted, causing my gaze to lift to his. “Freya wasn’t your mother.”

“Yes, she was,” I countered, glaring at him as he leaned against the barrier.

“No, she isn’t. Freya gave birth to twin girls. One died, and one lived. Amara was Freya’s daughter who lived. When you got older, your mom stopped spelling you to look like Amara and allowed you to think it was your other half that caused the changes. Eventually, you would have discovered that truth anyway if you had left home for any length of time.” Knox swallowed, dropping his focus to the daughter I held, and I allowed Soraya to take her and continue to bathe her. “You’ve always felt alone, even in a house filled with people you love.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but chose not to.

“Are you implying that I’m not a Hecate witch?” I asked, already preparing to call him on the lie.

“Oh, you are born of the bloodline, Aria. Just not how you think.” He snorted, holding my stare as his cheek jerked and a tic began hammering in it. “Who named you?”

I blinked slowly and shook my head. “It isn’t the time for this conversation. I’ll bless their souls and bathe them once more before you entomb them where I can never visit them.” I swallowed, spinning on my heel to accept the other daughter I’d failed from Siobhan’s arms.

“Listen to him, Aria,”Ember whispered, sending warmth surging through me. A soft wailing noise slipped from within me as she peered through our shared sight, looking at the babe we’d lost.“He is hurting, too. Four of us lost children, but they will not be the last we create. Mourn them, but be glad they are free of the Hecate’s poison.”

“You aborted them,”I accused, already knowing the answer as more warmth rushed through me. Ember had aborted the babes because Hecate had reached them and won. She’d invaded their souls, altering theirs with a sliver of her own, poisoning them to be used and wielded by her.

“Yes, I did. They were wrong within us, and if you’d carried the babes to term, they’d never have been ours, Aria. They’d have belonged to the monster who forced her way into their souls. I will never let her do that to our children. Hecate has no place here or within our daughters souls. I know because the moment she was near me, I wanted to ripyouapart until you no longer existed. You are mine to protect, as I am yours. Us against the world, right? When we fly, this world will burn around us and know the true rulers of the Nine Realms have returned to wage war against she who trespasses against the land. We belong here, but Hecate does not.”

“Do you mourn them with me?”I questioned carefully.

“Of course, but I will move on much faster than you will. You still love with a human heart, and that isn’t something I’ll ever do. When we heal and you are ready, we’ll create something never seen before within this world or any other.”I felt her offering me what reassurances she could.“They are sorta cute, if not a little small and wrinkly. These babes wouldn’t have been strong enough for what is coming. The next ones will be. I promise you. Heal, Aria, and take time to fully recover before leaving the library. Hecate is hunting for our kind now that she is aware we are within the Nine Realms. Fear will make her clumsy. Use it against her, and we’ll rip her to pieces and eat her corpse so when she returns to her tomb, it will be as a pile of shit.”

“What shall we name them?” I asked, knowing everyone knew I was speaking to Ember and were giving us the illusion of privacy.

“Let their father name the babes, Aria. I do not give the dead names for they’re no longer here with us. To Lennox and me, it is irrelevant what they will be called on the cold stone walls of a silent tomb.”I forced my eyes to return to Knox, who silently waited for me to finish.

“Name your daughters, Knox,” I whispered, wondering if he’d refuse.

He swallowed loudly, lowering his gaze to the babe being swaddled into a clean, pink blanket. His throat bobbed, and he moved closer to the barrier, staring at me with thick emotions.

“Eleanora and Evelyn Karnavious, princesses of the Kingdom of Norvalla. Daughters of the high king and queen of the Nine Realms,” he stated, watching me as if he feared I’d argue his choice of names.

“Eleanora is ready for the blessing,” I said softly, turning my swollen eyes back to where Esme waited to take the babe. “I am ready to bathe Evelyn,” I continued, letting him know I accepted their names, if not the titles. He may enjoy the titles, but I didn’t care for either that he’d declared.

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