Page 54 of Crown of Chaos

“Are they ready?” I countered, absently stroking my chest where the tightness refused to loosen. The emptiness was growing, a constant reminder that she was out there somewhere without me.

“They are, but we have time if you need it, Knox. I know this cannot be easy on you, but it has to be decided,” she expressed, turning her sapphire-colored eyes on me. “You merely need to tell them the truth of what happened. We both know that this is for the best, even for her. Months have passed, and she hasn’t come back to you.” She turned, pushing the hair away from my brow. “You’ll find a perfect queen who the people will love again, My King.”

“Indeed,” I agreed, pushing off the ledge to head toward where they’d gathered for the meeting.

“Knox,” she called to my back, compelling me to pause and peer over my shoulder. “They will try to arrange another marriage for you soon. You need to prepare for that and have a reply readily available. I can offer you an out to their demands. You only need to ask me.”

My hands tightened into fists at my sides, and I jerked my chin up in reply. I wasn’t stupid, and I didn’t believe she made that offer out of the kindness of her heart. She wanted power, and to get that, she needed me. I strode inside, moving through the people dressed in finery. The rulers of the Nine Realm were celebrating the newly found peace they’d settled on. I didn’t buy it, nor did I trust any of them to hold their word.

Aurora had done the impossible and forged alliances with the heads of every realm except mine. Though, she had a plan for my realm. The first step being to throw her own daughter—my wife and mate—under the wheels of the war machines and continually place all blame on her.

Tonight would likely be the start of her second step, which would likely be to push the dissolution of my and Aria’s marriage. I felt it coming, and while I’d told Aria divorce wasn’t an option, I’d never calculated having to stand before the council and admit how I’d convinced her to marry me. Not that it mattered. Lennox had claimed Aria and Ember, and that wasn’t something that could be undone.

Celia and the others filed into line behind me. The room parted, making a path for us to head to where the meeting was taking place tonight. Upon entering the room, I felt the power of the other kings and queens and those who had been helping me lead the rebellion against the witches. The council members who’d flocked to her, dropping to their knees at the mere mention of her drawing power from Aria, had ignored my warnings and were now offering her strength to her claim as queen.

“Glad you didn’t keep us waiting too long, King Karnavious,” Aurora stated, her keen stare boring a hole into my chest as if she couldn’t wait to rip my heart out and feast on it.

Smiling coldly, I ignored her and made my way deeper into the room. My gaze flicked to the other kings and queens, slowly nodding as I passed them. The entire room was holding its breath, expecting a battle that I fully intended to give them.

“I hope you weren’t put out by having to wait for me,” I said as soon as I reached my seat at the head of the table. The way her scarred cheek tightened exposed her anger.

“Gentlemen and Ladies, please sit so we can start the meeting and return to the festivities that’ve been made available tonight,” Fade stated, gesturing to my seat with a tilt of his head.

Once everyone was settled, I placed my hands on the table and waited for the subject that was surely on the agenda to be discussed.

“As you know, Aria is growing more unhinged,” Aurora proclaimed, starting right in on her daughter. She was going straight for blood with the first drivel to escape her poisonous lips.

Heads nodded, but I didn’t agree. Aria hadn’t slaughtered blindly and had even begun leaving people tied to trees with notes on them. My attention moved to her family, who all agreed with their aunt. Not a single girl in that group had any loyalty to Aria, save for the girl who had seemed oblivious to the torture Aria had endured at the hands of her mother and aunt.

“Just last week, she attacked three of my keeps and murdered the lords I’d placed there to hold them in my name. I had banners flying, showing they belong to me,” Neven, the Queen of Nymphs, whined. “There was no provocation or reason for it, either. She merely walked through the entire keep, murdering countless people simply because Aria felt like doing so.”

“Aria doesn’t kill blindly,” Kinvara specified, forcing the nymph to glare at her. “If she did what you’re claiming, there was reason to do so.”

My focus shifted to the girl whose eyes brimmed with challenge, daring Neven to call her a liar. The girls around Kinvara began muttering beneath their breath, whispering for her to stop. I smiled in amusement, watching them trying to rein in her temper.

“I just said she did, didn’t I?” Neven returned, her tone ordering obedience.

“And I just corrected your insinuation that you apparently pulled from your ass. Didn’t I? You are mistaken,” Kinvara hissed, her jaw clenched.

“Aria isn’t the same girl we knew before coming to the Nine Realms,” Aurora snapped. “She’s turned into a monster that needs to be dealt with, and we’ve agreed to take care of her together.”

“Which we can’t deal with while Aria’s protected,” Callista snorted, pegging me with a piercing glare that made me want to rip her eyes out of their sockets. “You’ve protected her from harm because of her marriage to you, Knox.”

“You may address me by my title, but not by name,” I replied sharply, returning the hate-filled glower she held on me. “Yes, she’s protected. Aria is my wife, and that offers her a level of protection. I fail to see what business that is of yours.”

“Aria was forced into that marriage, wasn’t she?” Callista queried, smirking when she glanced at Celia, who nodded hesitantly. “You threatened our lives if she didn’t agree.”

“What is it you’re seeking to achieve here?” I hissed vehemently, facing Aurora as she cleared her throat, smiling tightly at me.

“Under the laws of witches, would your marriage be valid? Can you honestly stand here and tell this council that you didn’t force her by unfair means to wed you? Say, by threatening our lives and those of the people she cared about?” Aurora asked softly.

I couldn’t honestly say there’d been no coercion to force Aria to become my wife. The witches were aware of that fact and we’re using it to nullify the sacred vows we’d spoken to one another. Of course, to creatures like Aria and me, the only vows that actually mattered were the ones we’d stated in bed, with our creatures taking over our lips.

“Did you call me here for the details of my wedding or something else?” My tone escaped sharp and lethal as a blade that cut to the quick.

“We’re here because she’s protected by the vows you forced her to say, King Karnavious. Aria is spiraling and attacking without due process. She’s dangerous, but then you’re aware of that fact. After all, you made it clear when you told us she had decimated the keep on your land, slaughtering innocent people. Or is that incorrect? Did she, or did she not render an entire keep to rubble on your land? I can understand the hesitancy, since admitting you’ve ignored her crimes would bring in your failure to protect your people from the girl you are protecting right now, in this sacred room where truth must be spoken before the gracious, justly leaders of the Nine Realms.”

“How I handle my kingdom or those who harm my people isn’t your fucking concern, Aurora,” I grunted. “I will deal with her, but not in a manner that allows you to claim what she holds. You can’t handle what she houses, and we both know the truth of that, don’t we?”

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