Page 66 of Crown of Chaos

The pain that filled Knox’s face floored me. The helplessness he felt shone clear in his eyes, and he opened his mouth, closing it when nothing escaped past his trembling lips. I bit into my knuckles and dropped to my knees as his broken scream finally released, filling the room.

He pleaded for his brother to get up, for him not to be dead. Tears burned down my cheeks as the men on the other side of the barrier raged against the loss of their brother. I hated the idea that someone close to him had made a deal with the Goddess of Magic. If I was putting my money on it being someone in his inner circle, it would be on Celia.

She wanted him, and she’d be easy to manipulate with empty promises. It also made sense, since Celia had used magic on Amara, as well as others. If Killian’s sister belonged to my grandmother, then Hecate had played us perfectly. She’d acted shocked by my sleeping with him, but she’d known. So the question was, how far had she been willing to go to get Knox?

Obviously, she wasn’t willing to chance her soul against the goddess, or she’d have been driving Celia around already. Unless she was, and since Celia wasn’t a witch Hecate could draw magic from, the changes in her weren’t the same people looked for? It was merely opening up more questions with no perceivable way of getting answers. Silently, I pushed off the floor, staring through the slits of the shelves as Knox held his brother in his arms. There was a deadened look in his eyes. I knew it intimately. It was the same one I saw every time I looked into the mirror lately.

The softest scuff of a footstep sounded behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to find the others silently watching what was unfolding with wide, horrified eyes.

“I’m finished with this shit,” Knox whispered thickly, pain stark and agonizing in his words. “I’m done with the witches and allowing them to murder those I love. Hecate is using them to infiltrate every kingdom in the realms. It’s time to round them up and make sure the bitch is blinded. Aurora wants a kingdom, so I’ll fucking build it myself and give her every witch who isn’t touched by darkness. Then I will build a wall around it and place tens of thousands of men to ensure they never escape.”

“That isn’t the answer here, Knox,” Brander uttered, his eyes swimming with tears. “That won’t get rid of Hecate. It’ll only give her a nice, concentrated feeding trough for when her power gets low.” Brander paused, narrowing his eyes at Knox.

“And we’ll know right where to find the evil bitch and finally put an end to this,” Knox stated, grabbing the head from the floor and gently placing it onto the body.

“That will only end with more innocent lives lost,” Greer pointed out carefully.

“I’m aware, but they’ll end anyway with Aurora siphoning them dry with her newfound addiction to power. She’s gearing up to fight Aria and assumes that if she can drain enough witches, she’ll be able to defeat her daughter on her own.”

“That can’t happen,” Lore argued. “I’ll stand beside Aria myself to prevent that from happening. Daddy isn’t stupid, and she’s worth fighting for. I don’t care if I can’t handle her. I don’t want her gone. Plus, I like Aria. I like her a lot.”

“Aurora will never be strong enough to face Aria, not even if the twisted bitch choked down every witch within the Nine Realms. Let her try to fuck with my girl. If she tries, Aria will kill her and there will be one less bitch I have to decapitate to end this bloody fucking war once and for all.”

I smiled as warmth washed over me. There was something enticingly erotic about him talking about decapitation and saying I was his girl. Knox had a way of catching me off guard and leaving me floundering to remember all the reasons I was keeping my distance.

It wasn’t only when he said things like that with conviction, either. No, it was also the small things likemy girlorgood girlthat he whispered huskily without meaning to. That realization made me stop and hesitate because, no matter what lies I whispered to him or my heart, deep in my soul, I felt as if we’d been crafted in the same forge, contoured by the same flames, and sharpened into the same perfect, lethal blades on the same whetstone.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Knox had left the libraryto inter his brother, and the bells within the kingdom had been ringing continuously. The sounds of the funeral rites were loud, and I’d watched some of it from the library window. It was both heartbreaking and beautiful how they honored their dead.

Torches lit the courtyard, and the people sang and swayed to the music playing from a multitude of different instruments. My head rested against the pane of glass, and I studied the pain etched on Knox’s face. He was suffering, but so was his kingdom. They hadn’t fully recovered from the last attack, which had been delivered by my hand.

When Knox stepped from the parade of people and moved toward the crypt where my daughters rested, I fought down the pain that shot through me and stepped away from the window. Knox had been right about the pain. It came and went, flowing like waves on the ocean. Some days, it was less, and other days, I felt like I was drowning again.

The girls were in the room where the history of today was being recorded by the library. I’d spent a few hours taking in how Norvalla honored their dead, and then silently explored the library, lost in my thought, and filled with regret that I hadn’t been able to prevent Knox from suffering more.

Entering the hallway that stretched endlessly before me, I paused to watch an oak tree being harvested. The glowing creatures buzzed around the tree, steadily skinning it for the paper it would become. The moment it was gone, a new tree grew in its spot. For long moments, I lingered to watch it grow toward the spiraling tiers of the library. Only when I could no longer see the highest branches did I start toward where everyone was gathered, watching the library work.

Arriving in the chamber, I paused at the sound of carefree joyous laughter. The children were jumping, trying to reach the floating books that lifted just out of their reach before little hands could disturb the work.

Every few minutes, the library would place a specially made children’s book on a pile, and the kids would rush over to flip through the pages. Warmth washed through me, which was swiftly followed by regret that I would have to uproot them from the safety the library offered them. The truth was, this place would soon be his again, and we couldn’t remain here when that happened. It wasn’t safe outside the library, but I didn’t think Knox would allow the children to remain within it, either.

Sure, I’d seen the witches outside the window this morning. He’d told me he had protected the ones I’d assumed had been fed to the lord’s dogs. That Knox had brought them here, to his home, and tended them created hopefulness in me. Everyone else didn’t bother themselves with witches, but he did.

Out of all who had been beaten and tortured by witches, Knox had the greatest reason to leave them to their dark, dismal fate. He didn’t though, and the witches had seemed happy to be here. Knox’s actions spoke louder than the threats he issued. I’d spent months assuming he enjoyed harming them, but Knox had been saving them. The man was an enigma. His wildly unpredictable behavior left me grasping to understand him better.

He’d said he would fight for me, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Since coming to the Nine Realms, I’d learned that trusting people only ended in hurt and betrayal. I had been placed into the same ilk as Hecate by Knox and decree of his council, and I was being hunted by the lords and ladies beneath them. Of course, Knox denied having a hand in that, but how else did that make sense? He was the king, and they were supposed to bow to him. Sure, he wanted them to have a voice since the other council had served no one but themselves, but I was his mate and he . . . voted against them murdering me.

“Stop thinking about it,” Esme muttered, settling in beside me. “We know that this won’t last, and it isn’t only on you, Aria. Sometimes you have to take in the moment and be grateful you can. It’s more than some people get around here.”

“I hate that we’re going to uproot them,” I returned, gradually releasing the air from my lungs, frowning.

Siobhan’s attention moved toward where we stood, her eyes sparkling with laughter as the giggling continued. Avyanna was judging the books as the library created them, moving the ones she’d want to read to the kids to another pile. Haley and Maddie sat huddled together. It was encouraging to know that, even in the dark times we faced, friendships that would last a lifetime were being forged. However long that lifetime would be, but I wanted to ensure they had a long lasting one.

“You and I both know that the second the barrier drops, he will come for you. You’re his mate, and even my creature senses he isn’t available to choose from. The blond one, though, he seems willing.”

I laughed. “Lore is younger than the others, and far more relaxed as well. The first time I met him, I throat punched him, and he got turned on by it. There is this childlike innocence to him that the others don’t hold. Lore is fun, and I’d be willing to bet he’d be a hilarious fuck. I’m not saying you wouldn’t be leaving his bed satisfied, but you’d leave it smiling like an idiot as well,” I explained, smiling as she captured her lip between her teeth.

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