Page 57 of Queen of Chaos

A crash below the balcony forced my eyes to where boys were struggling to haul a cart laden with supplies. Brander had gathered supplies so that it would prepare the palace in the event they unleashed Knox upon it. He wasn’t wrong about doing so. Hecate wouldn’t ignore Norvalla for long. She wanted control over every kingdom, right along with every soul inside of them. That meant eventually, she’d come for them.

“You doing okay?” Esme questioned. As I turned, I noted the worry swimming within their violet pools. Leaning against the same railing, she exhaled a long, shuddered breath. “And are we ready for when he actually comes? Because you facing him isn’t a brilliant idea.”

“I’m still breathing. I guess that means I’m fine,” I returned smoothly, turning to peer toward her. “I don’t know if I’m ready to see him like this. How do you see someone you care for taken over by someone else? Are you okay, Esme?” Her jaw tightened with the question.

The sound of her bottom molars grinding against the top ones mirrored my current state of mind. Winking at her, she frowned, but slowly nodded. Releasing an exhale, I pushed up from the railing, then tapped seven times with my hands, then pulled my hands back. Scooting back into the alcove of the balcony, I leaned against the wall, watching for any trace of movement outside the gates.

“They didn’t find any trace of Knox through the passes.” Esme exhaled, her eyes still following the small children attempting to help the men. “Someone once told me that the most dangerous people are those who can quietly hold their anger inside. But you hold it against you like its armor, which won’t force the pain not to touch you.” Esme turned around to lean her back against the railing, glancing around the library before her eyes landed on me.

“Anger is useful against your enemies. Pain, on the other hand? It only makes you do stupid shit and make reckless choices,” I returned, eyeing the men on horseback rushing toward the courtyard gates. Their pace forced my heartbeat to speed up, even as I refused to allow hope to enter my mind. Slowly but surely, tiny bumps spread over my arms. “They’ve located Knox.” I didn’t need it confirmed. The blood splattering their armor pretty much gave it away.

The men barely allowed the gates to open wide enough for them to pass before they were pouring through them. Raising my chin, I inhaled deeply, smelling the wrongness surrounding the returning warriors. My brows pushed together as the sharp, pungent scent of death and the coppery tang of freshly-spilled blood brushed against my nostrils. They were freshly murdered, which meant Knox was nearby.

“Close the gates!” I shouted. Too late, though. I disengaged, cautiously pulling forward before observing Esme, who frowned before standing toward the corner I’d just been standing in.

I’d wasted time in combating against the useless emotions seeking to force their way through the locked door that they’d been shoved behind. In doing so, I’d failed to notice the irregularity in their movement, or rather, the lack of their movement. Plus, if I’d been paying attention, I’d have been able to detect the decay caused by death. Soaring over the balcony, I heard Zyion’s cry of shock as I leaped from it, slamming down onto the ground below.

“Gods, woman!” he snarled, then landed beside me. “You’re a queen, and they don’t jump from fucking balconies.”

I winced at the words he’d chosen, which forced me to shake off the memories of saying the similar thing to Knox. Standing up from the squatted position I’d landed in, I sauntered toward the dead warriors riding through the gates. Killian, Brander, and the other brothers dragged their stares from us to the men entering the courtyard.

Studying the men’s bloodied armor, I frowned as they returned, splattered in their own blood. I wasn’t certain if Knox had killed them, or witches had, but the blood wasn’t making me think the latter was at fault. One raised a sword high in the air, even as the mutilated horse beneath him reared-back his front legs. Acheron turned, his eyes widening as the blade sliced through the air, aiming for his throat.

Lifting a hand, I rolled my fingers into a fist, which sent a violent bolt of lightning slamming down into the corpse. It caused the scent of ozone to flood the air. Acheron’s eyes slid toward me, rounding as his mouth opened in surprise. The next one swung wide, aiming for Killian, who bent backward, then rolled his body before his legs slammed against those of the lifeless horse’s. The sound of the gate drawing closed shot through the courtyard, even as I threw up a magical barrier and pressed onward toward the corpses.

“Knox either did this, or he watched as they were slaughtered before taking control,” I stated the moment I reached the men.

“How do you know that?” Brander asked, eyes colliding with mine before he’d finished asking the question.

“My first guess? The black ooze dripping from every orifice of their face, for starters. If Knox or Hecate wanted us dead, they wouldn’t send someone else to make us push up daisies. One of the two is driving the corpse. They’d come here to handle it themselves to ensure it got done right. There’s no way in hell Hecate isn’t intending to be there when I die, either.” That caused the men to grunt in agreement. “No, he sent them here for a reason. I want to know what it was.” I said, then turned as I caught movement from my peripheral vision, then turned to watch as the warriors dismounted in uniform formation. The nearest corpse stepped against the barrier, forcing a hiss of magic to singe his pale, lifeless flesh.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Little Monster,” Knox’s voice rasped huskily from the warrior’s oily, black lips. The head tilted, then black, sightless eyes crawled down my frame. “You look good enough to devour,” he susurrated, then licked his smudged lips hungrily.

My head lowered to cover the throbbing ache his words created. Clenching my hands into fists, I felt my nails cutting into my soft palms. Raising my chin, I swallowed the bitterness burning the back of my throat as he crossed his arms, then widened his stance, as Knox usually did when we squared off against one another.

“Knox,” I returned, somehow preventing the quake I felt from entering my tenor, as his name left my lips. “I hate to say it, but you’re not looking so hot. Rather gothic of you, what with all that black ooze? I guess it does match your eyes, though.”

He released a purring rattle making my thighs clench forcefully together. It, more than anything else, propelled a jolt of wretchedness swelling through me. Dropping his arms to his sides, he and the men behind him all stepped forward, uncaring of the barrier burning their flesh. The scent of singed, human tissue caused my stomach to roil, threatening to deposit the meager meal I’d eaten this morning at my feet.

Zyion’s hand touched my shoulder, drawing the attention of black, empty sockets where eyes should’ve been, snapping to my shoulder. A low, deadly growl rumbled from the body Knox was viewing us from. His posture had stiffened, and as I watched, his nostrils flared in response.

“If you don’t remove your hand from her, I’ll personally rip it off and fuck you with it,” The corpse warned, his lips twisted into an unfriendly sneer. My eyes narrowed as his threat shot a jolt straight to my belly. I felt a short, breathless puff of air pushing up from my lungs. Knox’s eyes held a thin, blue outline, which I had to fight to pretend I hadn’t noticed.

“Fucking make me, asshole,” Zyion returned, which forced a shiver over my flesh.

“It’ll be my pleasure, Dragon Killer. I may even shove it up her pretty, little naked cunt if you’d like to spend eternity there. I know I do,” he hissed, emitting a dark chuckle. His words caused my brow to push together on my forehead. “She’d fight me at first, but then she always enjoys fighting before fucking me.” Knox’s head shook, which caused my heart to thunder angrily against my ribcage.

“I’m certain I can convince the little bitch to accommodate it for you. After all, she takes my fucking knot so magnificently. Hell, she even whimpers and squirms for me, even as I force it all the way against the opening of her insatiable cunt.” Knox’s sightless stare held my gaze before dropping, then slithered to lock with Zyion’s. “Oh, that’s right. How could I be so cruel? Isn’t that why your littleslutof a mate took a swan dive from a cliff?”

Zyion stiffened beside me, then lunged so quickly that I gasped. Flinging my hand out, I threw it back with a magical pull, jerking his massive frame back forcefully. The sound of Zyion’s grunt of disbelief, then the second as he connected against the ground, told me he’d be fine without me needing to look.

“You protecting your lover from me, Aria?” The incriminatory pitch Knox used sent knives stabbing into my chest. “Don’t worry, I replaced you too, gorgeous.” That fucking eviscerated me. I swallowed repeatedly to keep back the bitterness that burned my throat.

“I’m sure you did, Knox,” I whispered thickly, unable to prevent the narrowing in my throat that his words created, choking on my words. “Is that why you came? You want to shove her down my throat sinceyoucan’t shoveanythingthere now?” I goaded him, needing his emotions to rise. “Does she give you what I did?” His hands clenched tightly at his sides, but the black fully-consumed his eyes.

“Much more than you ever did, stupid little, needy bitch. She does shit you can’t even begin to envision. But then, you always thought you were playing hard to get with me, when you were just easy pussy that was conveniently on hand to fuck.” His head lowered minutely, then tilted. Black, lifeless eyes of the corpse met mine. “Ain’t that some shit? A raven doesn’t care about magic, Aria. Think about that. In four months, they’re fully embedded with more intelligence than you’ve ever had. Maybe you should find a flock of unkindness and go take a flying fuck off a cliff.”

The smile twisting over his mouth reminded me of when I’d first met him outside of town. The Fates were viciously cruel bitches to force me to face him like this. Swallowing, I considered his words as my head tilted to the side, observing as more ooze began pushing from his orifices.

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