Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,132

to his feet. Once he stood, I slammed my fist into his cheek, smiling at the sickening crunch. I hit him again, uncaring that blood splattered the other warriors who had remained silent throughout the ordeal, never looking away from where Killian had told them to look.

When the man went down, I followed him, never stopping as I delivered blow after blow until nothing remained but a flat, useless face that lacked the brains with which he’d been born.

My claws extended, and I slowly removed his head before standing to accept the cloth Lore handed me, smiling deviously with my need for blood.

“Now, you assholes want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to build a wall for this man? Why you felt it was important to keep me from seeing the damage he inflicted on the woman I told you all was off-limits before she’d ever fucking arrived in our camp?” I asked, watching as they faced forward. No one spoke, and I snorted. “Take their heads if they can’t find their tongues,” I ordered, watching all three men step forward, claws extending as excitement burned in their gazes.

“My King, we don’t know why we moved to build a wall with our bodies. Only that we did, and we couldn’t stop it from happening. Not even once you’d pushed through. We stood there until Killian retrieved us to bring us here,” Carsen answered, his green eyes never moving from the mark in front of him.

“Which female did you fuck before you felt the urge to build a fucking wall with your body?” I asked carefully. He swallowed, and I pinched my nose, scrunching up my face.

“Bekkah, she was with us all.” The statement had come from another male, who didn’t flinch as I settled before him.

“Do you know the punishment for breaking an oath to protect someone beneath my protection?” I asked, watching the slow nod.

“Death,” he swallowed hard. “It has been an honor to serve you, King Karnavious. I broke my oath and I’m prepared to die as punishment.”

I exhaled, studying his unwavering loyalty. “Stand, all of you.” Once they had, I stepped closer, noting they didn’t move or back away from the fact I sentenced them to death. “Aria Hecate just saved your fucking lives. You owe her yours now. That evil witch you assume is so horrid; she’d stand in front of my blade to save your lives. You’re now her personal guards, and you will watch her to ensure nothing like this happens again. Seek Siobhan and tell her Bekkah spelled you, and stay the fuck away from her evil cunt. It’s not worth dying over. Not a word about this when you go back. Let this man serve as a warning for any of you who fail to protect Aria from harm.”

I watched the relief flowing through each warrior as I turned, staring at my men who looked peeved about not getting to kill. Killian nodded. It was the only indication he was thankful I hadn’t slaughtered the warriors he’d spent countless centuries training to serve in our army.

“You let them get off easy,” Brander snorted.

“No, because each one of them now knows the moment they allow someone to touch Aria, that is their fate,” I nodded toward the corpse.

“Aria made him look like a bitch,” Lore replied. “She’s something else.”

“What’s the word from the council?” I asked, watching Brander’s jaw clench at the change of topic.

“No one knows who gave the order for Aria to remain alive. I have runners searching through kingdoms, and Gideon has his spies searching the beast kingdoms for any hint of who might have sired her or what she may be. Here’s some shit we have to figure out. Aria is in heat, and your scent, while within her, isn’t strong enough to stop my need to mount her and mark her for myself. You didn’t fuck her last night, brother. It sounded like it, but you didn’t paint her needy womb with your scent. She rattled, and she purred. She has magic unlike anything we have seen before. She has men with similar features hunting her down, but whether it is to protect her or harm her is still debatable. When we encountered them, they took orders from her. Aria didn’t want us hurt, so they didn’t fight us. Everything about her is perfect, but what if she’s too perfect?”

“I have thought the same thing, often,” Killian grunted.

“We all have,” I admitted.

“Not me,”