Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,109
my mind while I continually begged for them to stop hurting me. Shadows rushed around, touching my flesh. I sobbed unabashedly, begging to be freed and allowed to live. “Aria, you’re safe,” Knox’s voice whispered before his purr slithered over my body.
My eyes regained some focus, and I peered out of the bars, staring into oceanic eyes that sent soothing waves rushing through me. My sobs lessened, and I looked at my surroundings, noting Lore, Brander, and Killian were close, and staring at me with pity.
“It was just a nightmare,” Knox growled, holding my stare, locked in silent comfort. His jaw clenched like he knew exactly what I’d dreamed, and whom I’d tried to escape.
“Yes. I dreamed I was with you again. It turns out, some monsters are real, and don’t leave when the dream vanishes.” I pushed the sweat-drenched hair away from my face and fought the deeply sated fear that wrapped around my throat. I stared through the cage bars, hating that I was as helpless now. I’d been in the Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts.
I pulled the blanket tighter around my body, closing my eyes, and I chanted inside my head, while I rocked. I did this often when the nightmares visited. I told myself Garrett couldn’t reach me anymore, that I was safe from him.
Amara was dead and couldn’t gift me to her husband or father-in-law to be raped and murdered. I lied to myself, telling my sub-conscious that nothing could hurt me again, and yet here I was, in a new cage, with a man who wanted to do just that.
Technically, Knox only wanted to destroy me in a deliciously enticing way, and then use me against my people. I didn’t fear rape with him because Knox knew he only had to outwait my hormones to get what he wanted. What worried me was how he intended to break me while forcing me to wield my magic against my people.
I couldn’t escape the memories of the cell in the Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts. My nose inhaled decay and the scent of rotting flesh as it fell from the bones of the dead or dying. My body trembled violently, and no matter how much I tried to stop it or dispel the images playing out in my mind, I couldn’t.
My knuckles were white from holding the blanket tightly as my body rocked faster, trying to escape the memories.
Other images and memories I must have suppressed were surfacing in my mind, haunting my sleep, creatures that had been with Garrett when he hurt me. I wasn’t sure if I’d conjured them from my imagination or if they had actually been there, partaking in his exploration of my body within that cell.
I silently took in the sprawling forest in which we moved. The marching army was daunting, but they were silent, the sound almost hypnotic. It was as if they were waiting for something to attack, or for something to happen.
The hair on my neck rose, and my heart continually thundered, consumed by the hopelessness of the cage, and my vulnerability during an attack with me stuck inside.
“Cold?” Knox asked, frowning as my head shook in response. “Then why are you trembling?”
“Just remembering the last cage that held me,” I admitted through chattering teeth, fighting to calm my body from the turbulence rushing through it. “Just another monster who wanted to hurt and use me.”
Leaning back, I dismissed Knox to gaze at Lore. He nudged his horse closer to the wagon that my cage sat within, removing his cloak, and pushing it through the bars. Accepting the much thicker covering, I brought it to my nose, inhaling Lore’s masculine scent, and my body heated from it alone.
I dropped the thin blanket and wrapped my body in the dark cloak, pulling the comforting, fragrant smell to my nose while studying the surrounding area.
Knox reached through the bars without warning, ripping the cloak from my body before tossing it back at a chuckling Lore. Knox removed his thick cloak and pushed it through the bars, his eyes narrowing to angry slits when I refused to accept his offering.
“Put it on, woman,” he demanded, frowning as thunder clapped above us.
“I prefer Lore’s scent to yours, Knox.” Blue eyes narrowed as he turned to Brander.
“Get her out of the cage and hand her to me. Now!” Knox snapped, glaring murderously at Lore, whose amber eyes danced with mischief.
“I prefer the cage to you as well,” I grumbled, glaring at Knox.