they pointed out one woman or another.
Knox swore beneath his breath, shouting orders in a foreign language as Greer appeared from thin air, no longer dressed in his butler ensemble, but wearing a light, form-fitting armor.
“Peasant,” Greer chuckled, leaning over to kiss my cheeks before pulling back with a bright smile. “You look like shit.”
“And you still smell like week-old roadkill. I guess some things never change,” I grunted, turning back to the crying, terrified children corralled into a circle in the middle of the camp like livestock.
“Take Aria to Bekkah, and don’t let her out of your sight,” Knox snorted, giving me a warning look before walking off toward the men entering camp. “Make sure my girls play nice together,” he said as an afterthought over his shoulder.
My girls?
My throat tightened, and I snorted as Greer shook his head at my reaction. “What is that about?” I asked, and Greer lifted a brow.
“That isn’t your concern. Come with me,” he said in a firm tone.
“They’re hurting children!”
“Leave it alone, Peasant. It will all get sorted out, eventually.”
I followed Greer’s stiff back to a group of witches casting magic. Most worked basic spells that even a child should know by their age. Some were younger than twelve, and each one held Knox’s insignia on their wrists and wore silver chains with spelled lockets around their necks.
Greer nodded to a chair, dismissing me before he moved to the witch that had told Knox I’d be fine upon expending all my magic. I rolled my eyes at Bekkah’s glare, turning to take in the women as Greer moved toward a group of shirtless men.
He was such a hussy!
My attention slid back to the women who continued to cry while trying to reach their children. I watched in horror as a large male slapped one of the tiny women, sending her body to the ground, and blood coursed to my temples as anger erupted.
I turned around as Bekkah shouted at one of the young witches who had cast a spell, missing her mark. I swallowed the unease and rage that rushed through me.
My attention slid to Bekkah, watching her eyes dance with enjoyment as she stood over the girl, swearing at her vehemently while the child apologized profusely. Bekkah backhanded the girl, cutting the young witch’s lip wide open with the rings she wore, splattering blood over the other girls.
I inhaled slowly, exhaling as men shouted at other witches in the center of the camp who continued trying to reach their children, fear fueling their overwhelming screams of frustration. The men laughed as they watched, amused to see children taken from their mothers.
I lifted my hands to my ears as my chest rose and fell with the rage burning through me. Fear etched into my mind watching witches die beneath Knox’s blade again. Blood coursed through my veins, pounding as it sought an outlet through magic, and finding none. Nausea swirled within me, bile pushing against the back of my throat as Knox’s image, covered in the blood of my friends and neighbors, flashed into my vision.
Bekkah turned toward Knox as he watched my reaction to everything happening around me. He nodded to Bekkah, who turned toward me with a stern look in her eyes as she pulled her lips back, revealing blackened gums that fueled the fury within me. He was allowing women, children, and young witches to be hurt knowingly?
Soldiers moved in front of our position, blocking my view of Knox and the others brought into camp. I tried to search for him through the crowd, needing his purr to ease the fury and rage pulsing through me.
Children screamed for help, and women begged for mercy for their children as men called them monsters who deserved to be put down.
The witches near me sobbed in fear, and then it all went silent minus the blood pumping in my ears. I stood, turning to the nearest threat to the witches.
Bekkah slapped the same young witch repeatedly when she tried once more and failed to master the spell. I moved before I could stop myself, using my inhuman speed to attack Bekkah before she could assault the girl any further.
Chapter Forty-One
I balled my hands into fists, and slammed one into Bekkah’s face, twisting my body when she fell to the ground, kicking her face as she landed upon it with a sickening cracking noise. My foot moved again, and I smiled at the satisfying crunch of her nose, and I turned in time