Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,18

to lure him to you, you won’t have to worry about my people raping you. My beast will handle that scent of yours to stop the problem. I promise you that, Aria Hecate.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. You could just allow me to choose someone to deal with it, and we could end that issue. Anyone would be preferable to you at this point. Maybe Aden can come in and handle my needs.”

Knox’s lips turned up in the corners as he stepped closer. “You think anyone actually wanted you, Aria? The only reason you’ve interested anyone is because your body lured us in like a poisonous trap. No one wanted you. We just wanted your pussy.” I slapped him hard, unable to stop my hand from moving as his words knifed through my heart.

Knox grabbed me by the throat, shoving me into the bathtub. He pushed me beneath the water, holding me there as he watched me struggle. My hands lifted to his, scratching him as my lungs burned. I screamed, sending bubbles to the surface, kicking my legs while he glared down at me beneath the watery grave in which he intended to leave me.

Stars filled my vision, removing his image as my body jerked, and everything ceased. My hands stopped moving, and my legs went limp over the edge of the tub. He yanked me up and dropped me to the ground, stepping back as I threw up water, coughing until I’d expelled it all from my lungs. My eyes lifted, and I smiled coldly.

“You weak-ass bastard,” I taunted through the hoarseness of my throat. “Stop half-assing it and finish it already!”

“Aria, shut the fuck up,” Brander urged.

Knox’s nostrils flared, studying me through the cold detachment in his eyes. His entire body was tense, filled with the need to end my life because of my words, but he couldn’t. I didn’t back down, and neither did he.

“Don’t promise me an ending you can’t deliver, King Karnavious.” He stepped closer as I got to my feet, uncaring that I was naked. “Come on. Do it. You can’t, can you? I can’t hurt you either, and I’ve had plenty of opportunities to do it. I’ve been behind you, so fucking close to your unguarded back, without you even realizing I was there. It pissed me off because I should have murdered you and spared myself from being your bitch. Yet here I am, at your fucking mercy, of which you have none to offer. For the record, you should have let Lord Andres’s warrior take my head because, unlike you, he would have ended this shit show in which you brought me.”

His eyes searched mine as if he were just realizing the truth that no matter how much we went to war, we didn’t want the other harmed. Something stopped us, something more profound than either of us cared to look at or explore. I’d stood behind him with a chance to end his life. Instead, I’d watched him with a hunger that terrified me.

“Careful, Aria. It’s treason to threaten the king’s life.”

“Only if he is your King,” I laughed soundlessly. “You’re not my King, Knox. Whoever I take as my husband, he will be my King, as is the Hecate witch line’s law. No king has ever sat on our throne.” His eyes narrowed with my words, and his smile took on a sinister look. A ripple of warning rushing down my spine, but my mouth refused to cease speaking with the anger coursing through me. “A queen is so much more powerful without a king, anyway. That is why the Hecate line never allows a man to sit upon our throne. You are nothing more than a nightmare from which I’ll eventually wake.”

Knox stepped closer, threading his fingers through my hair, tilting my head back. His mouth brushed against mine even though I fought to turn my head away from his seductive lips. “You’re never escaping me and never waking up from this nightmare you’re living. You should have left my wife out of your ploy, witch. You’ve reminded me of who you are. Apparently, I’d forgotten. You needed a reminder of who I am and what I’ve done to your people. I intend to make damn sure you don’t forget it again. The king always takes the queen, and she is silent afterward, isn’t she?” I shivered as he pressed his lips against my throat, kissing the pulse that raced there before his tongue slowly traced against it. “I