Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,155

same ring to it, now does it?” I glared at him, studying the way his jaw tensed at the idea of marrying me.

“I won’t marry again, Aria. There’s also the fact that you could never sit on the throne to Norvalla. I wouldn’t allow it.”

“I wouldn’t want to be your queen anyway,” I supplied thickly, watching the tic in his jaw, pulsing and straining at my words. “Nor will I steal the throne from Aurora. She will sit upon the throne, as is her right as the oldest Hecate witch.”

“Aurora wouldn’t ascend, Aria. You know it as well as I do, that won’t happen. She’s weak of mind and too kindhearted ever to rule. She abandoned the Nine Realms once already because of fear of opposition, and she runs when scared. Her siblings are all gone, and Hecate can’t rise without a host from a direct descendant. Aurora isn’t strong enough for her mother to use. Your sister Sabine, she wants the throne, but she’s weak too. The rest are powerful, but they’re followers. You were created to lead armies into battle and built to savage those who oppose your path to the throne.

“I wasn’t certain it was you who would take the crown at first. At least not until you attacked Bekkah. Three things rule the High Queen of Witches — the need to protect and defend her people who are too weak to manage on their own. The ability to lead her armies, and the power to destroy realms at her discretion and desire,” he snorted while studying the way I watched him silently. “You don’t need an army, but if you had one, they’d follow your pretty little ass into battle and die to protect you, Aria. You already feel the need to protect those who are weaker than you, and you also took power from the Nine Realms, which required an actual goddess to place it there. The only thing you’re missing is your crown and throne.”

“And apparently, whatever magic mushrooms you ingested to buy the drivel coming out of your mouth. I’ve killed more witches than I care to admit since entering this shit-hole you love so much. They’ve tried to feed me to monsters and drugged me to give to men to breed my bloodline by force. I’ve been beaten, abused, and chased since the moment I got here. You think I want to rule a place like that? I told you I would clean my house, but once that is done, so am I. I’ll slip away, find a charming man who stares at me like I’m the answer to his universe. I’ll have a few kids, and live a long, boring life with him while we watch our children grow into nice, respectful adults who don’t run a reign of terror onto the Nine Realms.”

“You couldn’t be boring if you tried, woman. You’d eat a nice, boring male for a snack. Hell, you’d probably even eat his young while he watched, just to prove you weren’t his bitch.”

I opened my mouth before snapping it closed. Knox smiled wickedly while I searched for the words to shoot back at him, knowing he’d just pegged me right in the ass. I bristled as his eyes sparkled with victory.

“Why do you have to piss on my dreams?”

“I’d piss circles around you if it got my point across. You’re mine. End of discussion. There’s no ending here that doesn’t result in you as mine, Aria.” He splashed me with water, and I spluttered, lifting my hand and slapping water back at him.

He opened his mouth, smiling, and my lips mirrored his. Knox splashed the water back at me, and I repeated it until I was outright laughing as he did the same. I lifted my hand to do it again, but he vanished.

Peering around, I tried to sense him but couldn’t. I closed my eyes, seeing if the little magic I held could pinpoint his location, but a hand touched my face, and I looked up, finding him watching me intently before he took me down into the water.

Sputtering, I came to the surface, looking around for Knox, and when I found him a few feet from me, I zipped with inhuman speed to catch him. Missing Knox completely, I ended up slapping my entire body into the water, coming up choking.

I turned slowly, finding him watching me. I launched myself at him before he could move, and it sent us sailing beneath the waterfall that