Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,211

he grabbed for my hand, lowering his eyes to where I held the napkin with a death grip. I stood, slipping my hand into his before he yanked me closer, brushing his lips against mine softly for show.

“Come, wife. It is late, and there is much I must do before I find sleep tonight.” Knox slipped his arm through my elbow, and his people went silent as he walked me out of the great hall.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Knox didn’t speak until we stopped in front of large double doors at the end of the hallway. “That shouldn’t have happened, Aria.”

I didn’t answer him, choosing to stare at his feet. His fingers lifted my chin, and his stare narrowed on the tears swimming in my eyes.

“Aria.” He leaned forward, but I stepped back, putting distance between us. “I’ve behaved badly in my excitement to be home among my people. I allowed alcohol to lead me into a bet that Brander could seduce you and steal a kiss. Thank you for not kissing him. He owes me one hundred hours of training the soldiers for failing.” Knox opened the doors to reveal the library.

“Next time, leave me out of your bets,” I whispered, dropping my eyes from his. I entered the library, not wanting him to see the light he’d extinguished tonight. I may have been alive, but he’d broken something within me by bringing me to his home, where his wife’s ghost haunted the hallways.

Knox stopped me by grabbing my hands and pulling me back as he searched my eyes. “What just happened? What changed?”

“I let you get too close to me, and you decided to destroy me. I thought you saw the fire in my eyes and wanted to play with the flames. In reality, you just wanted to watch me burn. I was wrong to think you could see me; silly me. I thought maybe you actually liked me, when in reality, I have been a pawn all along, on both sides. Leave me alone, Knox.” I pushed through the doors to enter the library.

The game we played had begun to feel like an algebra test when I had yet to learn addition. Knox was breaking down my walls faster than I could replace them, and he wasn’t even trying to get them down. Greer was wrong. Knox’s heart wasn’t encased in ice; it was ashes that had no way of ever becoming whole again. You couldn’t take ash from a fireplace and turn it back into a piece of wood.

I moved deeper into the library while Knox followed, noting the smell of defeat that wafted off of me. Knox captured my hand, pulling me back to face him. His eyes searched mine, finding them empty. Stepping closer, he cupped my cheeks and lowered his mouth to brush it against mine. I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

I’d seen myself through the eyes of his people tonight. I was their enemy, and they had enjoyed watching everything he had put me through and what he had planned for my future. To them, the play depicted exactly what I was and how the events had unfolded. They’d taken something beautifully visceral and showed me their version of it, and it was ugly.

“Aria,” Knox whispered, his thumbs pushing away my tears. “Don’t let them break you or extinguish your fire,” he murmured, but it wasn’t in English. “Let me help you to bed, woman,” he said, switching to a language I could understand.

“I can put myself to bed. I’m sure you have matters to attend to tonight after being away for so long.” I moved away from him, standing before the fire as I rubbed my arms, staring into the dancing flames.

“I’ll be back in a few hours.” His stare burned into my back as I nodded, dismissing him. I listened to his feet padding on the floor as he exited the room, closing the doors before a key sounded in the lock.

Turning, I looked around the library. “I know you’re alive,” I whispered, feeling the subtle stirring of magic. “I’m here for the knowledge owed to me. Seal the walls and close the doors. Show me the vault that holds all lost souls and the tomes of those who lived before the Hecate bloodline ruled the Nine Realms.”

I spun slowly, watching as the walls rearranged to block off the entrance into the room I now stood inside. Smiling softly, I wiped away the tears that rolled down my cheeks. Knox thought this place belonged