Page 56 of Crown of Chaos

“It would appear the council’s with me on this,” Aurora stated, pushing her chair back to stand, laughing softly.

“Going after her is only going to make her the enemy, and right now, she isn’t. She lost against Hecate because her leadership was weak and pathetic. Aria was also pregnant and had just recovered from stepping in front of a spellyouattacked me with. All while you did what? Oh, that’s right. You ran away because you aren’t strong enough to face your mother without her. She’s not pregnant anymore, and she isn’t afraid of losing the people she has fought to protect. You have removed both those obstacles for her. So, thank you for that.” Aria’s cousins had to good sense to look ashamed. Not that it mattered at this point. “She no longer stands in the way of monsters like me hunting you, either. If you pursue this agenda, Aria will actually become the monster you claim she already is. That’ll be on you and the rest of the faithless bitches who turned against her.”

“And you assume she won’t turn against you as well?” Aurora asked.

“Oh, I know she will.” I snorted. “And when she’s ready, she knows exactly where to find me, which sure as fuck won’t be standing with the lynch mob you’re creating. My beast won’t allow you to harm her, and neither will her father. I’m sure you remember him. She’s looking for him now that you’ve shoved her into isolation. Wounded things fight so much harder to keep breathing than creatures that merely are trying to save their own asses.”

“I made a mistake, but that mistake cannot be undone. Now it has to be contained before it comes back to bite us all in the ass, and she has very sharp teeth,” Aurora hissed, showing the first flash of panic since Aria held her by the throat.

“She does, and she bites savagely hard. The moment you and the people within this room start to hunt her, she’ll hunt you back, and she’s a fucking predator to the very marrow of her bones. Good luck and may your goddess protect you, Throneless Queen of the Witches.” I chuckled, exiting the room as Celia trailed after me.

“Knox!” she cried out, chasing me as I continued moving without acknowledging her. “Knox, stop!”

Spinning around angrily, I pegged my anger on her as the scent of fear settled between us. “Go home, Celia. To the one in which your parents left you. You’re no longer welcome in mine.”

“You’re not the one sitting on the throne right now, Knox. Brander just cast his vote for Norvalla, so unless you wish to revoke his ability to, you’re not the king,” she stated firmly. “Remember? You can’t demand I leave my home. If Brander wants me gone, he can tell me himself, but I did what was best for you. My job as Liliana’s sister is to protect you when you cannot see beyond your own needs. Good intentions or not, your feelings for her don’t change that she’s unhinged or spiraling into something that needs to be contained or eliminated. It may not be the case with the more powerful she becomes.”

“I don’t answer to you.” I chuckled, allowing her to see the embers burning within me. “And her name isn’t Hecate. Even if you remove my protection, my name, and her titles, it doesn’t change that she’s Lennox’s mate. That makes her mine, and you’re playing a very dangerous game right now. So run back to your plotting with Aurora to dissolve my marriage, but know this: Aria has my protection, regardless.”

“Knox,” she whined pitifully.

“You’ll never sit beside me on my throne, nor will you replace her as my mate. You’re not, nor will you ever be the woman she is, Celia. The next time you seek council from or plot with the witches behind my back, I will consider it treason and remove your head myself. I’d tread very carefully from here on out,” I seethed, smiling coldly while her coloring fled. Crimson lines burned up my arms, mixing with obsidian from Lennox, who was agreeing with the threats being issued. Celia blanched and recoiled from me with fear oozing from her pathetic pores.

I left her standing there and headed into the chamber above that entered the library. If they thought I would stand by and allow them to hunt her down, they were mistaken. I wouldn’t allow them to touch her or even allow her to hear a word of the poison dribble they spoke.

My men jogged to catch up, and I shook my head. I required a moment, so that I didn’t end up thrashing everyone. Killian and Brander had tried to help, but the other leaders had to have noted how fervently they’d defended her. I needed a plan, and I needed to find her before they did.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Knox

Entering the library, I slammedmy armor onto the dresser and grabbed the edge until the wood splintered. The sound of it snapping made Greer chuckle, and I spun, finding him leaning against the farthest wall, peering into the barrier.

“I take it Aurora and Celia got their wish?” he asked in a resentful tone. He turned, wincing as he took in the wild look on my face.

“You knew Celia intended to speak against Aria tonight and side with Aurora against me?” I accused through a hiss of air.

“I had my suspicions that they’d attack the vows you made to Aria. Celia has made her desire to wed you known far and wide, Knox. I warned you of that before your Sven had been cursed. You were young, though, and so assured that she wouldn’t dare trespass against you or your wife. She isn’t on your side in this. She’s on whichever side is against Aria.”

I slid my gaze across the library. Over the last few months, I’d felt the power of the barrier diminishing, but I couldn’t smell her sweet, exotic scent in the space beyond.

“She’ll be hunted now, and they will try their hardest to destroy her. Luckily, I don’t think that’s actually fucking possible. It doesn’t mean they won’t try or attempt to drain her as Aurora seems hell-bent on doing. I didn’t make it any fucking better by warning them from doing so. I made it worse and the council now sees her as a trophy to hang on their wall.”

Greer snorted before he held up his hand, accepting a cup of tea from the library before he sat in an oversized chair, sipping it slowly. “So, protect her from them. You did it after they hit her with the arrow, correct? You dropped her off at the swamp and paid Aria’s weight in gold for the hag to save her.”

“I can’t smell her, Greer. I can’t even feel her, which has everything in me wanting to hunt her down and claim her again.”

“So, free him to do what he does best. You keep trying to force him into the background, but he isn’t stupid. He knows she isn’t here. Lennox will find her, and he will protect her. You made life together, and no matter what anyone else says, I know you and Aria are meant for one another.”

The idea of unleashing Lennox was enticing, but could be deadly. He wouldn’t stop or think before slaughtering any threat to his mate. He’d be able to locate her, but he wouldn’t care if she fought him, either. Lennox only had a few needs, devour, breed, and kill anyone who stepped in his path when he intended to satisfy whichever need was running rampant at that moment. While Ember wouldn’t mind, Aria would disagree and fight him, and she was too tender for what the sadistic fuck would do to her if he caught her while hunting her down. He would throw her down and make what we did during her heat cycle in the tent seem pleasant and soft.

“She isn’t within the library. Aria didn’t magically appear simply because you left. She merely brought the witchlings here, healed them, and then fled because she knows it is weakening.”

“I don’t blame her, Greer. I wasn’t kind after I found out about what she’d done. I lost my shit because her being out of control terrified me. As their king, I am sworn to protect them against any threat,” I stated, scrubbing my hands over my face.

“As hard as it was to hear, she needed to learn that lesson. You merely did so without tiptoeing around the hard truth of what she’d done, Knox. Aria is resilient, but what happened with her family probably went deeper than she was prepared to feel. They destroyed her entire life in front of an audience. You knew that when she figured it out, it could change her in ways that would be terrifying. I also warned you not to burn out that beautiful flame because, once you had, it would be gone forever. Even with the sound advice I offered, you continued to force her away when she needed something to hold on to. Face it, you lost her. She’s gone. She’s out there with others who will accept her for what she is and for who she is. Aria is better off without you. Eventually, she’ll end up riding a dick and forget about you entirely.”

Dropping my hands from my face, I glared at him. He continued sipping his tea. “What the fuck, Greer? You’re supposed to be on my team. At least fucking sugarcoat the shit before you toss it in my face. I know I fucked up, asshole.”

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