Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,22

that you’re murdering witches and feeding their magic into Norvalla, which in turn, fuels you and your people along with the witches you deem savable.”

“Do you want to be a queen?” Knox watched me closely, studying the way my eyes narrowed at his question.

“No.”

“Do you want to become my mate?” he asked, releasing my hands while I fixed the blankets.

“Absolutely never would I wish to be yours again. I don’t want to be your mate or even in the same space with you anymore. I want someone who isn’t bipolar or haunted by ghosts. Being your mate would be the worst mistake any woman could ever make. You won’t let anyone love you because you’re too broken. You might as well have lain down and died with your wife and son, Knox, because you’re buried in their tomb, beneath the same dirt. That’s rather sad since it’s a waste of good dick.” He flinched at my words laid bare to him, filled with truth pushing them down his throat. “Luckily, there’s more dick in the Nine Realms, and I’ll find it, eventually.” I leaned over, smiling while holding his stare. “I’d rather fuck Lord Andres’s dead cock than ever touch you again. How’s that for some truth for you?” My smile turned bitter as the deadness in my stare held his.

“Where’s your family hiding, Aria?” Knox asked through clenched teeth, and I shook my head.

“Don’t do that,” I warned, feeling the burning on the inside of my thigh. “Knox, don’t.”

“Where are they hiding?” he asked again as pain shot through me, jolting my body.

I cried out, grabbing my thigh. I looked at Knox with fear burning in my eyes. My teeth slid free, and I clamped them down on my tongue. I bit into it, but he moved with inhuman speed, prying my jaw open. Brander jumped forward, staring at the blood dripping from my mouth to dribble down my chin.

“Bloody fucking hell, Knox,” Killian snapped, staring at the blood rushing from my mouth down my chin. “Too fucking far!” He removed his shirt, pushing it against my mouth as Knox continued preventing me from entirely removing my tongue.

“Help me hold her mouth open before she bites her tongue off,” Knox ordered, continuing to hold my jaw open by force. “I release you from answering my question, woman,” he growled, staring into my eyes. I gagged on the blood pooling in my mouth, rushing down my throat while I glared at him, choking on it. “Gods damn it, Aria.”

“You found her breaking point, and you knew it. You knew she hadn’t lied, and you pushed her further, Knox. She’s been kidnapped, assaulted, and molested by no fault of her own. You should have stopped once you had your truth. Even you knew Liliana’s scent was wrong when your beast refused to acknowledge her presence,” Brander growled.

“I needed to know she spoke the truth! She could have been immune to the tonic,” Knox argued, running his thumbs over my cheeks. “Now, I know she believed what she said.”

Pain consumed my mind while Knox held my mouth open. Blood pooled into my ears and soaked my hair as everything muted around me. My eyes slid closed, and my body jerked, fighting to succumb to the exhaustion that wrapped around me.

“She wasn’t lying, obviously. She believed what she had heard. You can’t keep doing this, Knox. Look at her! She was willing to remove her fucking tongue to protect her family, and you knew she’d do something stupid to stop the words from coming out! She told you what she heard, and although none of us liked what she said, you should have accepted it,” Killian snarled, purring low in his throat while he watched my eyes roll back in my head.

“Explain Sven’s existence then, assholes,” Knox hissed angrily. “We can only breed with our mate, and Liliana bore me a child. Sven was mine. Tell me he wasn’t, Brander.” His eyes filled with regret as I gagged, and he pulled me up, holding me against his chest.

Blood dripped onto the white blanket, soaking it and Knox’s clothes. I fought to stay awake through the pain in my mouth and jaw as he continued holding it open. I could feel my tongue swelling, feel the blood sliding down my throat as he turned, staring down at me with a pained expression. My lashes fluttered against my cheeks as Knox held me against his warmth, releasing his scent to soothe me.

“If what Aria says