Page 92 of Crown of Chaos

“He wouldn’t be so obvious on his approach,” I muttered, rushing toward the large hill that moved deeper into the mountain behind the cottage.

We barely reached the shelter of thick vegetation that bracketed the trail at the mouth of the woods when horses and riders came into view. They made no effort to conceal their approach, and when they pulled to a stop in front of the cabin, anger snaked its way through my system. Sabine and another witch I didn’t know slid from their saddles, strode to the front door, and walked inside as if they owned the place.

“Is it just me, or did she just walk into that place like she owned it, Aria,” Esme whispered, putting my observation into words.

The sound of men chuckling preceded a small group of the women’s escorts as they rounded the cabin and headed to the shed behind it. I swallowed past the lump that swelled in my throat, peering at the coat of arms on their chainmail. Slowly, I sank deeper into the undergrowth as confusion filled my head. The crazy scenario about how Knox had given her this location so she could restrain me after I’d been drugged was the only thing that explained her showing up with guards bearing his crest.

“Let’s go,” I stated, not wanting to be present if anyone else showed up—especially Knox, since I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say right now.

“Why does your sister’s horse have the royal crest of Norvalla etched on the saddle? She’s riding with the insignia meant for the queen of Norvalla.”

“So she is,” I whispered, fighting the churning in my stomach. “Guess he found a new queen, after all.” It felt like my heart was being pulverized. I swallowed the tears but allowed the bitter resentment to churn within me.

I viewed Sabine calmly coming back outside and scan the area around the cottage. After a moment, her shoulders slumped, and she moved to the pool we’d vacated. Kneeling, she picked up the wilted rose and frowned, lifting her gaze to slide it over the rocky terrain and thick greenery.

My eyes tightened on her, exposed in the open terrain, and I considered how easy it would be to end her life. The soldiers she’d brought with her wouldn’t stand a chance if I unleashed myself on them. The one thing saving her was my conscience because I wasn’t certain I’d be able to live with ending her life.

Startling blue eyes slid toward us, and I backed up farther into the woods. My heart pounded inside my ears, drowning out Esme’s words as she whispered. Betrayal was becoming expected of those I’d once loved. It wasn’t such a difficult thing for them to stab me in the heart and leave me bleeding out anymore.

“Aria!” Sabine called, causing my emotions to boil. “Aria, we need to talk!” She stepped away from the pool, roaming her eyes over the woods. “Please, it’s important.”

“It was pretty ballsy of her to come here with only a handful of guards. What do you think she wants to talk about?” Esme whispered, but I was too busy staring at my sister, who I had thought would be one of the last people ever to betray me. And she was wearing the insignia of the man I’d asked to fuck me last night.

“It doesn’t matter,” I ground out, standing straight up and turning on my heel. “She’s not my sister, cousin, or anyone I know anymore. I don’t care what she has to say or what she wants. They chose their safety over doing what was right and have to live with the consequences of it.” It hurt to know they’d willingly tossed me away, choosing to remain beside Aurora. It hurt even more that Sabine had shown riding a horse with the seal that showed she’d soon become the queen of Norvalla. Knox had some explaining to do because, if he thought he could play with my emotions more than he’d already done, he was wrong.

Several hours later, I waited beside a pool of water that was fed by a natural spring. I tossed a rock into the pond, hating that Esme had to go into the village by herself. But the wanted posters plastered on buildings and posts had changed yet again. They no longer depicted me as a poorly drawn sketch. No, for this round, they’d actually used one of the last photos I’d been in and had spelled my likeness onto the parchments. Thank you, evil spawns of Hecate, for that one.

I threw another rock, which skipped five times before a three-headed fish jumped up and swallowed it. I blinked at the atrocious-looking creature and stepped back from the otherwise calm pool.

The shit in the Nine Realms would make the monsters fromLord of the Ringslook fluffy. All I needed now was for something to jump out screaming, “My Precious.”

The sound of feet crunching over dry vegetation drew my attention toward the worn path we followed to find the pool. Esme wasn’t even trying to be quiet, and when she got a bit closer, she grinned and held up a loaf of bread.

“I brought lunch!” She chuckled, watching as I frowned. “Stolen food tastes just as good as the shit we pay for. Stop looking at me like that,” she muttered irritably.

“Looking at you like what, Esmeralda?” I asked as I tossed the remaining rocks to the ground.

Esme snorted before plopping her ass down on a boulder. “Like I’m a thief who left some poor wee child starving.”

“Did you?” I countered with amusement and a smile in my eyes, settling onto the boulder next to hers. The sun was soothing today, warming my face against the cold front moving into the realm. It wasn’t too hot or too cold, and it felt amazing against my face.

“Not that I am aware of. Believe it or not, I didn’t ask them before I pilfered it and ran,” she replied, closing her eyes and leaning back. Without looking, she bit off a sizeable chunk of the stale, dried bread. Her teeth were needle-like things that made quick work of the meal. The moment she finished, her teeth returned to blunt, perfectly straight white teeth. I’d noticed mine did the same lately, but normally I ended up fighting Ember to maintain control. “We need to eat too, you know? Not just grubby little monsters. I’m sure the kids weren’t starving,” she offered, sitting up to turn toward me. She held the paper out, forcing my brow to crease.

I glanced at the paper before accepting it from her. My heart clenched as my stomach soured in my stomach, threatening to empty. Tears immediately pricked my eyes, and I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. The King of Norvalla had accepted a match to Princess Sabine of the Hecate Bloodline. I stared at the paper, unseeing the words as they blurred from the emotion tearing through me.

“They’re to be wed at the High King’s Court in a few weeks,” she stated gently. “There were also notices that promised any witch who joins them against Hecate . . . and you will be given a place within the newly constructed Palace of Witches, which is being built on the edge of Norvalla. Any witch who sees that poster will agree and join them simply because being a witch out here is deadly. Only the more insane or powerful ones will hesitate to join a Hecate witch who crowned herself as queen.”

Swallowing the sharp pain that lanced through my heart, I forced out. “Knox is marrying Sabine, Aurora is being trumpeted as a savior, and I’m being declared an enemy of both kingdoms.”

“All Nine of the Realms have declared you an enemy,” she corrected, wincing as my eyes flicked to hers. “It says that you’re to be taken alive and brought to the border where the new palace is being built for witches.” I nodded, crumpling the wedding announcement.

“That explains why he wouldn’t fuck me, even though I pathetically begged him to.” I swallowed the bile that burned the back of my throat. Sliding off the rock to turn, I gazed at Esme. “We should get moving. We’ve stayed here too long.”

“You’re not okay,” she pointed out. “If what that says is true. If he’s marrying your sister and declaring you an enemy, then why did he save us? Why didn’t they keep us locked up?”

“Maybe he felt bad? How am I to know his mind? I thought I meant something to him, but I should have known better. Knox told me we were mates, and that it meant more to him than any vow spoken. Yet, I am still marked his enemy, and he’s still going to marry my sister.” I turned away from her so she wouldn’t see the weakness I showed. I tossed the wedding announcement into the pond, watching the fish eat it the moment it touched the water.

“What are you going to do?” Esme asked, joining me at the edge of the pond.

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