Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,138

and conditioner.

Knox had an unlimited supply of products I’d used in my life before coming here. As if he’d gone out of his way to gather items, I would need to be comfortable. In his mind, he’d already caught and claimed me. He sure prepared to catch me for a man who didn’t want me, collecting everything I would need for the journey to his home.

I’d listened to Ember, noting what she had told Knox, knowing I could hear. She believed to the very core of the bones we shared that Lennox was her mate. She’d challenged Knox, gone toe-to-toe against him on things I wouldn’t have dared to bring up. Ember was bold, if not a little crazy. I hated that she’d gone silent so much lately, but she told me she was growing when I asked. I was almost afraid to ask just how much growing she had to do before she’d be finished.

Siobhan entered the cave, stopping to light more candles before she clapped her hands together loudly. “The king is coming, everyone out. Aria, enter the water and prepare to accept your intended mate,” she ordered loudly, handing me the cloth and ointment oil I’d be using to bathe Knox for the ritual.

The women all flooded out of the cave in a rush of motion. I slipped into the water to submerge my body, placing the oil and cloth on the side where a stone altar sat. On it was the morning dew, collected for Beltane. I submerged my body to my chin as Knox’s men entered the cave, ensuring no one else remained inside. Knox walked in, smirking as he found me watching him from the water.

Brander issued orders for the men, turning sapphire eyes on me before he looked away. He moved to the altar, lighting a candle and whispering a prayer for the mating ritual, followed by Lore, Killian, and Greer, who apparently would stand witness to the wedding vows.

Knox lifted his shirt off over his head, revealing his rippling muscles and tattoos. Tattoos that turned, watching me like they recognized me. I swallowed as two of the ravens escaped his flesh, and Knox smirked, removing his pants to reveal his cock that, for once, wasn’t hard. It twitched, forcing my eyes to his, finding heat burning in the smoldering depths. The ravens sat on wooden perches I hadn’t noticed, turning to watch the entrance. The men slipped silently from the cave as Knox made his way into the water.

Knox waded to me, boxing me in against the side of the pool, his arms rested on either side of me. His lips lowered to my shoulder, kissing it softly. I’d played my part with the women watching, but I had no problem ignoring him in private.

“Turn around, and I will wash you, Knox,” I grunted, watching his eyes narrow on me at the iciness of my tone.

“I’ve been told my princess is delighted with our upcoming nuptials. She told the others that she anticipates an amazingly beautiful wedding. Yet I come in and find her unhappy with my presence?” Knox placed his hands on my hips as he lifted me onto the altar, locking his gaze with mine.

“The deal was to lie to the people. I don’t need to pretend when it is only us present,” I muttered, intending to retrieve the oil, but he stopped me.

“The king washes the queen first, Aria,” he explained, exhaling slowly. “This is one of the few times I will ever go first in our relationship or a ritual.”

“I could just wash myself, since you hate me.” I frowned as he narrowed his stare, dismissing my words as he grabbed the cloth, soaking it in oil.

“I do not hate you. You have not listened to what I have told you, have you? I want to marry you. I want you, period. I enjoy you in my bed, which I have stated repeatedly. I enjoy your mind and the way it works to eliminate problems. You’re educated, not because you attended a school, but because you took it upon yourself to read the words of scholars and poets. You love reading the written words of fiction and nonfiction. You prefer to escape reality into worlds that don’t exist. In those tales, you learned to imagine yourself in the situation of the characters you’ve read and what you would do if it were you in their place. You’ve evolved faster than some creatures in this world ever had a