Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,179

I watched the way the others smiled, noting his perturbed look of confusion. “She now carries my mark, which will warn others that she belongs to me. What you smell is the equivalent of me pissing on her leg to mark her as mine.”

Lore winced, turning to look at me. “You assholes got to see all the cool things back in the day. I hadn’t ever heard a woman purr until Aria did it, and damn did I feel it all the way to my balls, man.”

“It’s been a very long time since any of us have heard the noises she makes.” I hated this fact made Aria a dead ringer for someone planted into my life. “Now, why the fuck has a group meeting unfolded inside my bedroom?”

“Aine’s body vanished from the crypt in the last hour. The guard was rendered unconscious after getting his cock sucked outside of the gate by a witch. When Siobhan left, she took most of our powerful witches.”

“Aria couldn’t have set it up. She’s never been out of eyesight, not even as she prepared for the wedding. One of us has always watched her. Greer was with her inside that tent, cloaked beneath the spell Bekkah used on him. He reported nothing, and you know Greer would if he’d thought something was off. I’m guessing her family attempted to take her back, unknowingly choosing a place where the dark witches were. I don’t think Aria’s family would do this, considering the morbidity displayed. Aine may have allowed herself to be captured. She’d have hung the flags as a way of communicating with the other witches, who we weren’t aware she had changed sides. Therefore, letting them know Kinvara was below for Aria. But I scented something else down there when Lennox had control. I smelled someone like Aria, which means there may be more of her kind out there.”

“Speaking of witches, the dark witches have yet to leave the cliffs. More have shown up. We’re officially stuck in this stronghold unless you and your mate can get us out,” Killian admitted, sitting in the chair beside me, staring at me.

“Spit it the fuck out, Killian. I know you’re going too, eventually.” I stood and poured us both drinks as he frowned.

“Liliana wasn’t just nothing, Knox.”

Exhaling, I sat across from Killian, folding my hands on top of the table, nodding. “Agreed. Liliana was my wife and the love of my life. Lennox claimed Aria, not me. Sven was my son and my entire world.”

“Then why the fuck does that girl have your teeth marks on her throat when you never even attempted to do the same to my sister?” Killian slammed his hands on the table as his jaw ticked.

“I tried to claim her, and she begged me to stop. Liliana was delicate. You want to know the difference between them, Kill? Do you want to know the fucking truth? Aria is bare-bones, fucking raw, and she throws down against me. Liliana couldn’t handle me in bed, and I respected that. My bite repulsed Liliana, and she sobbed before my teeth ever touched her flesh. Aria comes undone when I bite her. I changed who I was for your sister. I didn’t push her, nor did I force her into anything that would make her feel uncomfortable. Me, the fucking King, didn’t sleep with anyone else even though I could have easily. I slept with your sister ten times in two hundred years.” Killian’s throat bobbed, and I snorted, knowing he wouldn’t have done the same.

“I don’t know if Aria is my mate or if someone has planted some very powerful bait in front of my nose. I don’t trust Aria or anything about her. Hell, I married Aria to claim her for a throne and to be able to access her magic. We still don’t know who the hell wanted her alive, or if it’s someone who is planning to fucking double-cross us. What I do know is this; she’s mine now, married and mated, even if it is one-sided. No one within the Nine Realms can argue it or offer her safe harbor from me. This shit was supposed to be easy. I was supposed to walk into Haven Falls, kill the strongest Hecate witch, return here, and fuck shit up. Instead, she fucking rattled, and I hesitated. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same fucking thing,” I demanded, watching as Killian rubbed his eyes.

“I hate that I don’t fucking hate