Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,148

fast. Panic consumed my mind with images of him removing my head when he finished with me, replaying on repeat. “I can’t breathe,” I admitted.

Knox turned me away from the crowd, using our bound hands to force my eyes to meet his. He smiled sadly, noting the never-ending tears that flowed from my eyes. His lips lowered to press against mine even though coughing started behind us.

Drums started on the high cliffside, forcing our attention to where dark witches crowded the edge. Hissing sounded moments before magic slammed into the protective barrier. Large snake-like creatures exploded from their mouths, smashing against the barrier until they were nothing more than bloody pulps of scales. I stepped closer to Knox, watching as he smiled at me, his lips brushing against my forehead softly before he turned us back to where the crowd could see us.

“They cannot reach us, nor break the barrier, Aria,” Knox said in a cocky tone, then nodded to the druid. “Continue.”

“Under the king’s law, and the law of the Nine Realms, I give you the High King and Queen of the Nine Realms. I present King Knox Karnavious and Aria Hecate Karnavious, his wife, and the first of her line to bind her power to a king of any realm.”

Knox leaned forward, claiming my lips gently as the oily magic continued to attack the barrier. His forehead leaned against mine, allowing Brander to remove the ties from our hands. The moment they were gone, Knox lifted me and slammed his mouth against mine in a kiss that devastated my senses and took the air from my lungs as the crowd howled their approval.

Coughing sounded, and wine was placed before us. Brander snorted as Knox slowly ended the kiss, staring into my eyes as obsidian took precedence over the blue. I felt warmth from his beast and approval that the laws of the Nine Realms had bound us. Yet Ember didn’t react or respond. She watched it all silently as if she didn’t care one way or another that we were being bound as man and woman, but then she wasn’t of a mind that the wedding mattered.

“Mine,” Lennox growled huskily before Knox was back in control. He observed me, taking in my emotionless response to his words. He moved closer, inhaling my scent deeply before a frown played on his mouth, and the tic in his jaw pulsed.

I swallowed before pulling my hands from his, lowering onto the pillows seated before the crowd. Lore handed us a round wafer and asked if we’d defend the realms at the cost of our own lives and happiness. Knox repeated the words with Lore while I waited, searching his face as he spoke in their language. Knox whispered the words, and I dutifully echoed them in the witches’ language before Brander gave us wine, speaking in the ancient language.

The assaults on the barrier intensified as the vows neared a conclusion. My lips moved with Brander’s, saying everything perfectly until he asked if I willingly offered my power and magic to my husband, giving him the right to leave me barren of it in times of need.

“I do,” I stated offhandedly as if it wasn’t a big thing. Both men paused, slowly moving their eyes to mine with narrowed worry.

“All of your magic, Aria,” Knox clarified, noting the smirk that lifted my lips.

“Only the magic that is mine to give, can I offer you, King Karnavious. I cannot give you what is not rightfully mine.”

“Aria,” he warned.

“The magic within me comes from the Nine Realms. I cannot give that to you. It doesn’t belong to me. I cannot house it because it is not within me. You may have all the other magic, but that part isn’t from me, Knox. It is part of this world, and it is not mine to give you.”

His eyes studied my face before he nodded to Brander, who handed us the wine. I slowly lifted the goblet, wincing at the bitterness of the wine before handing it back. Killian removed my tiara, placing a more feminine version of Knox’s crown onto my head. Knox stood, holding his hand out to assist me to my feet as Brander stepped forward, addressing the crowd.

“I give you my brother and his bride. Help me in welcoming her to the family,” Brander stated, clapping as he stared out over the assembly, all of which turned around, giving me their backs. Brander swallowed, looking to Knox, whose stare narrowed on the