Page 57 of Crown of Chaos

“Do you prefer I lie to you?” He snorted before setting his delicate teacup on the table and smiling at me. “That girl is alone, and she’s angry. Everyone is against her, and she’s the only one fighting for the ones who can’t fight for themselves. Aria isn’t wrong in doing what she’s done.” He shook his head and turned toward the flames dancing in the fireplace.

“She’s gearing up to fight her grandmother while everyone else is lobbying to declare her the enemy. She’s collecting orphans on her trip around the Nine Realms, and she’ll defend them with her dying breath. I suggest you figure out where a woman would hide a bunch of orphaned children before Aurora does because that woman won’t care if the light in her daughter’s pretty eyes vanishes forever.”

“How the fuck did you ever get to be so wise, asshole?” I asked before settling down beside him.

“Do you mean besides the obvious way of actually listening when people speak? Here, in this vast library beside you mother, and your mother’s father and those who came before them. I remember teaching you inside this very room when you first began your studies. You were so full of fire and life. The same flame that brought that girl to life created you. Yes, she has some bad blood within her, but she could no sooner change that than you could stop wanting her.

“I warned you when you found her to tread carefully. She doesn’t need you to stand beside her and save her. That girl has been saving herself since the moment she was born. It isn’t something, she decided; it’s embedded inside her very genetic makeup. You need to decide if you want her or if you can handle watching her walk away with another man.”

“She’s mine, Greer. Aria is mine, and you and I both know it,” I argued, hating the churning in my stomach at the truth of his words.

“Of course we do, but that doesn’t mean she is yours. You weren’t kind to her because you felt they made her for you, and you weren’t wrong. Aurora Hecate made the perfect monster, and in doing so, she created the one girl who could love your jagged, broken pieces without fear of being cut by them. But you cut her without a single care of how much she bled. You continue to do so because the more she evolves, the more possessive you become, and you don’t know how to deal with that. Only, you and Lennox recognize that she’s your perfect match, so who the fuck cares if she was created?”

“I think she’s a phoenix, and that means they cannot kill her easily. Aria has died before, and according to Aurora, she came back stronger. We created life together, which means she’s the cure and I’m needed to add the magical seed to grow within her and produce the perfect beast to unleash on Hecate, which means we’ll know more pain before this war ends.”

“If she is a phoenix, then she can breed with another and won’t need you or your cock. That’s what you never really understood. There’s a difference between need and want. Aria wanted you. Hell, that girl was falling in love with you, and the closer she got, the harder you fought her. If she’s smart, and we know she is very smart, she will not make the same mistake twice.

“That girl lost everything, and instead of hiding and allowing the pain to fester, she is wearing it as armor.” Greer smiled with a little too much mirth for my liking, but I concurred with his sentiments. At the sound of hushed voices in the hallway, we turned to watch the men gradually enter the room. Greer sat back, lifting one leg over the other before retrieving his teacup, holding it up for the library to refill.

“Celia fucked us, and we let that shit happen by giving her too much authority while we were occupied elsewhere. As we speak, Celia’s poisoning the council with the idea that she would be the ideal person to rule at your side. She’s assured them you’ll be easy for her to control.” Killian snorted, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually miss Aria. She didn’t play games, and she didn’t fuck around with petty bullshit. Celia needs to be removed from this place and sent home before she ends up committing treason. I will not allow her to work against you, not when I consider you to be family to me more than she is. She’s not the girl I thought she was, and I can’t sway her from her course.”

“I told her to go home, but I also don’t think she should. I think it is wiser to keep her close so we have eyes on her. A wise woman once told me someone could only hurt you as deeply as you allow them to. Celia isn’t hurting me, and I don’t intend to marry anyone else. Aria recited the mating bond, and I did not coach her to do so. She willingly spoke to them, and even if she didn’t understand what it meant, they were still binding. She’s my mate, and that’s deeper than her simply being my wife. It also means that, if they try to harm her, Lennox will take control and deal with them in his preferred method. Murder.” I snorted, exhausted by the political shit occurring.

“So, what are we planning to do about my sister?” Killian asked with hesitation filling his question.

“I’m going to give her enough rope to hang herself, and then once she swings, she’ll be banished from my kingdom. Celia has gotten too close to the witches in her campaign to smear Aria. She also sought to undermine me and my authority. I tread carefully because she’s the only family you have left, but she continues to push her luck,” I admitted, trying to judge just how close he was to reaching his breaking point with her.

“You’re my family and the brothers that I chose. Sometimes blood isn’t thicker than friends. I have fought beside you and bled with you. I’ve endured your losses as my own, and I never have to question if you’ll have my back. I’m with you always and forever because my vow to you means a lot more than the blood I share with Celia. I am the head of your army, and you are my king, but you’re also my best friend, Knox.”

“That’s all I needed hear, brother. Good to know you’re on my side because I wouldn’t want to lose you either. If what I suspect is true, then Celia has been hexing the kingdom to remain suspended in grief.” I stood and moved to the box that sat next to the fireplace, neutralizing the bags Greer had brought to my attention. I dumped the contents onto the table and sat back down, steepling my fingers against my lips.

“What are these?” Killian asked, lifting one in his palm and then dropping it when the first bite of magic shot through him.

“They were around the statues of Liliana and Sven, as well as scattered around the palace and outside in the gardens. As far as the witch I still have in my employ could tell, they’ve been spelled to enhance grief and to hold people lost within the deepest part of that loss. They’re freshly planted, which means she is continuing to keep us held in that desolate state.” I leaned back, watching the pain of his sister’s betrayal enter his stare.

“We can’t move on because magic refuses to allow it. The only person who benefits from that is Celia. She’s had free rein of this place while we waged war. Aria warned me I had snakes in my nest. She knew Celia was trying to become the queen.” Aria was quietly observant. That was something taught to king and queens, but to her, it came naturally.

“I was aware of my sister’s desire, but I figured your constant refusal of her attempts would eventually end her obsession,” Killian admitted.

“With all due respect, Knox, you were the only one oblivious to the wasp trying to sting you,” Greer snorted, sipping his tea with his pinkie finger extended. “Some of us have eyeballs that actually work, and brains that think properly.”

“Thanks, asshole.” I grunted, turning to see through the barrier.

Aria was alone, and I had a feeling she was searching for her father. It scared me that she had had a target on her back and thought I was standing against her. She would eventually find the men who had sought her out before, and then she’d be able to have options of whom to mate with. That terrified me.

Aden merely wanted to breed Aria, which he’d bluntly announced. Aria wasn’t that type of woman. She would fight against him, but that idea worried me. If she fought or denied them, they’d hunt her down. His breed hunted in packs, and they did so with precision and thousands of years of experience. They wouldn’t care if she fought or protested because they bred to conquer, claim, and subdue in order to violently breed their women. Sure, my breed wasn’t any fucking better, but I didn’t intend to merely breed with her. I wanted her by side, and it was killing me to allow her the space she craved to heal. I sure in the fuck would not stand idly by while those her father deemed worthy hunted my mate down and claimed her in such a manner. If anyone was going to hunt the little vixen down, it would be me.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Aria

Months had passed by withsilence enveloping the Nine Realms. I’d spent the first few days blindly moving through the world, searching for a place to rest. The problem was, nowhere was safe except the library. It was the perfect place, but with the barrier growing weaker, I hadn’t wanted to return and risk Knox getting his hands on me.

“This place isn’t so bad,” Esme stated, dusting off a mirror that reflected the skeleton on the floor behind us. Her forehead creased, and a line appeared between her brows.

“If you mean to say it’s a house of horrors, then sure, it’s great!” I muttered in a high-pitched tone, flashing a cheeky grin as she made a strangled sound. “There are dead bodies everywhere.”

Compared to the other places we’d stayed, it wasn’t bad. Sure, pretty much all of them had at least one set of remains, but it wasn’t like they could continue to defend the keep once they’d bitten the dust. It was great for us so long as we could ignore the company.

---