Page 59 of Crown of Chaos

Flipping onto my back, I came face-to-face with Luna.

Chapter Thirty

Luna stood just inside theportal, slowly peering into the room. Her scent, persona, and the way she carried herself were off. The shirt she wore was slit open, revealing the curve of her breasts, and the wispy swirls of ink she’d had done months before we’d come to the Nine Realms were actually twirling on the exposed skin of her sternum. Her eyes and the thin line of dark, oily substance just beneath her nose caused my stomach to tighten, and a pang of regret pierced my heart as I realized Luna wasn’t in control of her body anymore. The dull, milky blue stare slid to me before turning a soft green hue and moving to those who were backing up, seeking to escape the menace Luna created.

I sucked magic from the room into my fingertips as her attention drifted around the library. It was so silent it was as if the entire chamber held its collective breath, waiting to see what I would do. Once she’d given it a once-over, she slid her attention to the barrier, which I’d not blocked since we’d come in fast and hard.

“You’re pathetic, Aria.” She sneered, revealing blackened, rotten teeth. My stomach dropped with what that meant. “You’re an atrocity that should have died long ago. I’m here to remedy that.”

Making a strangled sound in my throat, I shook my head in silent denial. The air was thickening with dark magic, and the library seemed to recoil as if it sensed the intruder and didn’t approve of her being within the space. Her gaze continually darted to the other side of the barrier, and I almost glanced to see what she was looking at, but I knew if I did, she’d unleash the magic she’d been drawing.

“Luna, pleasure seeing you again,” I said in a friendly tone. I’d heard worse lately and was numb to the slurs that had been thrown at me. “Something I can do for you?” The green of Luna’s eyes slipped to obsidian before shifting to emerald, telling me that Hecate was regarding me through Luna. “Hello, Grandmother. I was really hoping you’d died for real this time and we were all free of the pathetic, weak woman who thought to own us. Though, I expected you being a disappointment is something I should be used to.”

Toxic black poison began to roll down Luna’s cheeks. Her features sharpened, and a hate-filled smile flitted over her mouth, exposing the rot once more. Her hand lifted from her side, moving to her hip, which was visible through the slit of the skirt she wore.

“Do you honestly think you can win against me, child? I’m the Goddess of Magic and the true ruler of the Nine Realms. You’re soon to be a corpse for me to add to my grid. Julia is there, Soraya.” Her statement echoed through the room, and I felt more than saw Soraya step out from wherever it was that she the others had hidden. “She screamed for you, but you abandoned her. The moment you turned against me for this pretender, I tortured her. I made certain that she felt everything, including when I removed her flesh to feed the critters that serve me. You chose poorly, and she paid for your slight against me.”

“Talk to me, bitch. I talk back,” I demanded sharply, making certain it came out as an order. “She can’t hear you over the sound of the poison dripping from your eye sockets. It must terrify you to know that there are hundreds of us now. Each one can bring forth the son who can end you.” I snickered as her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “When the son of the first people finds life through a Hecate witch’s womb, the world will turn to chaos and the goddess will be in ruins. When the son rises and reaches for his rightful birthright, the battle will settle upon us and the world will rattle with might. For when the beast is unleashed, and the son discovers his truth, he’ll aim his fire at the goddess and send her back into her tomb,” I whispered in a haunting tone, smiling at the way her face contorted with rage. “Sound familiar, Hecate?”

“You think you’re created by the first people of the Nine Realms? You think I didn’t eradicate every single last one of them? I promise you they’re no longer in this world. If you’re naïve enough to think that the dragons and the phoenixes were the original people, then you are going to be entirely too easy to kill, Aria. You house a monster—that much is clear, but she isn’t strong enough to get rid of me. It’s adorable that you actually think you’re some prophesied creature, though.”

“I never mentioned creatures, did I? No, didn’t think so. Plus, the list of those I care for is a rather short list these days.” I snorted.

The oily taint of her dark magic was trying to slip through my flesh, inching closer to my face. She was seeking to gain access to my soul, but my soul was one of fire and her magic continually jerked back, afraid of the flames.

Hecate had a good poker face, but I’d read her body language and could smell the perfume of her rising fear drifting through the room. Neither of us moved, silently scrutinizing the other, and then she exhaled.

“Your own mother doesn’t even love you, does she? Of course, something like you wouldn’t be easy to love. I suspect my sweet Aurora tried, but she’s not really mother material, is she? She has always been such a selfish little bitch. And Freya and her loose cunt?” She made a strangled noise in her throat. “That girl wanted to create an army to rise against me. In the end, Freya merely made an army for me to use. And then there is you, Aria.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“I admit, you’re a mystery to me. I can sense the power you hold, but it isn’t mine, is it? No. It’s something else that’s old and deadly. You smell of both fire and flames. It’s rather worrisome, considering I made those races sterile long ago. Yet, here you are with the scent of fire and smoke clinging to your soul. So, what the hell are you? Which breed did my darling Aurora lay with, I wonder. Not that it matters since neither can transform or burn with their true flames anymore,” she stated, slowly trying to figure out why she couldn’t siphon from me.

“Does it matter? You feared both, knowing one day, they’d rise against you. It matters little to me, either. I am a fire that you cannot control, and that pisses you off immensely. I can read you like a fucking book, Hecate. Right now, you’re wondering how you can get me onto your side, and that’s a rather straightforward answer. You can’t, and you won’t ever make me see shit through your sadistic, murderous point of view. I can’t—and won’t—be part of your plan to torture the entire race you created.”

I stepped closer, watching her back up closer to the wall, recoiling. My fingertips exploded with flames, forcing her to gasp as her chest heaved, encouraging me to hold them out toward her, smirking wickedly. Pausing, I tilted my head to the side, smiling with the hatred churning and flowing through me. Ember was silent, but she had awakened, and her laser focus was cataloging every hint of weakness we could use to end this sadistic bitch.

“It must really piss you off to realize you fucked yourself.” I pushed, slowly rocking on my heels. “You’re a parasite, Hecate. One that isn’t indigenous to this world. You merely want control because the other gods threw you away. And the creatures here? They neither respected nor worshipped you as you thought they should. So, you made your own breed, but not to worship you, no. You didn’t need witches for that, did you? You needed them to house the power you intended to siphon from the Nine Realms itself. But you’re a greedy bitch, and you didn’t know when to stop. You just took and took from the already dwindling population and never once cared about how they suffered. You, Hecate, are a pathetic, worthless, powerless, vain bitch.”

“You know nothing about what I am, child,” she snarled, causing spittle to spray from her lips. Her eyes blazed with anger and hatred, and I shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“I know you’re pathetically obsessed with someone simply because he refused to heed or bend to your will. You needed the walls between the realms to drop, and the others bowed and cowered before the petty bitch goddess, except for Norvalla. Isn’t that right? One little prince told you no and refused to cower or bend to your will. What’s a goddess to do when a little prince refuses her decree?” I tapped my finger against my chin, and acted as if the light bulb above my head had gone off.

“Oh, that’s right. She then attempts to fuck him, and when he refuses her again, she throws a goddess-size tantrum. So, in order to seek your retribution for being denied, you allowed your daughters to assume they’d put you into your tomb and interred you for your immortal slumber. You never left the palace you had claimed, though, did you? Nope, because you’re a petty bitch who wanted to watch him suffering from the wounds you inflicted. And every time he got back up from you hitting him, he rose stronger and more calculated, didn’t he? You liked what he was becoming, how cruel and twisted you were making him. Because if he refused to fear you, then turning him into something just as hateful as you was just as good. Now I’m here, and I won’t bow to you and I don’t fear you, and that pisses you off, doesn’t it?”

“Correct, and you may not fear me, Aria, but you will.” She blew on her nails, buffing them on the slinky outfit she wore. “You won’t have him, and neither will anyone else. He’s been mine, and he will always be mine to punish and torment until the last breath of air leaves his lungs. That man knows who he belongs to and knows what happens to any female who dares trespass where they do not belong.”

“Oh, but I have had him many, many times. That man? He’s a fucking god when he unleashes all that pent-up anger. He’s savagely wicked and brutal with his need to fuck so hard that you ache for days after he’s murdered your pussy and rearranged your guts. I’ve felt him inside my soul, fucking it until it was altered. Knox is a monster, but he fucks like he fights, and god damn, was he made for war, be it against your pussy or his enemies. So, next taunt?” I offered with amusement burning on my face, sparkling in my eyes while her anger thickened between us. I’d known she’d watched us, since she’d admitted to doing so already. But speaking about it to her made her enraged. Right now, I needed her to be sloppy and make mistakes, so we survived this encounter.

“You little slut. I guess you come by it naturally, considering who your mother is.” Her fingers moved slowly, threading through the room to seek any power available. I could see the soft tracers writing against her fingertips.

“Let’s just say I’mhislittle slut, and he can call me whatever dirty names he wants as long as he’s pounding that large, gloriously thick monster he wields into my tender parts.” I didn’t move, sensing the attack she was working to build and unleash on me. “The only downfall of that thing he wields? You know he was there days after you’d waddled away, still quacking about how hard he fucked you. You know what I mean? Oh, that’s right. You don’t.” Hecate snapped magic to her, which caused my spine to tingle and pulse as if it intended to break free.

“You fucking whore,” she snarled, sending a blast of magic toward the children. “He’s not yours! He won’t ever know anything but the pain I cursed him to carry for rejecting me!”

“You need some serious help! It’s been five hundred years of him rejecting your petty, vain ass. Take the hint. He’s not that into you! But he’s definitely been into me,” I snapped, noting the way her eyes rounded, and she screeched with her unhinged wrath.

“I am going to slaughter you!”

I slammed my magic against hers, barely blocking the volley of power she sent at me. I’d driven her to anger, wanting her to lash out at me because it made magic weaker and more predictable. Ripping more magic to me, I pushed harder and harder until she was sliding backward with so much force that, when she hit the wall, her bones cracked. I didn’t stop, and when her shrill screams filled the room, I laughed coldly.

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