Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,36

remove Knox’s mark?” Horror that he couldn’t hide etched Brander’s tone. “Tell me you didn’t do this, woman.”

“I did.” I nodded to the place in the dirt where I’d hidden the skin and tissue that would have alerted Knox to what I had done if we’d stayed here.

Knox walked over to the dirt, kneeling to brush it aside, exhaling when he found several chunks of my tissue. He swore under his breath, turning to look at me with an expression that screamed anger and betrayal.

“Why would you do something like that?” Brander demanded.

“Because it felt vile, and I detested it as much as Lord Andres’s mark on my body,” I stated, standing. “Am I to ride in my cage, or shall I find where the trash belongs?” I asked, my voice as dead as I felt while I stared at Knox with no emotion exposed.

“You’re not trash, Aria,” Brander whispered before his angry eyes slipped to Knox, who hadn’t spoken since I’d told him he was no better than Lord Andres.

“No, that’s right. I’m just a prisoner who is only wanted for what lies between her thighs and the power she holds. I’ll be in my cage if you need my vagina or magic, Master,” I laughed soundlessly, fixing the shoulder of my dress. I slipped from the tent, finding Lore, Greer, and Killian all watching me warily.

“Aria?” Lore called, but I ignored him as I walked to the cage, secured and magically enhanced to hold me.

Greer called to my back, but I didn’t care anymore. While relief that they’d both survived rushed through me, I didn’t respond to either. I’d been put through hell and was exhausted. None of them cared about me, only about what I could do for their side of this war. To them, I was a weapon to be wielded and used at their leisure. To Knox, I was someone to warm his bed when he desired it and a whipping post when he needed that, too.

I opened the cage, smiling at Siobhan and Soraya. Both women watched with unease and worried expressions as they took in the fresh blood soaking my dress. I pulled the cage door closed until it clicked, lifting the blanket from the floor to wrap around my body. I glanced up, finding the men staring at me from outside the tent before I covered my head and closed my eyes, getting comfortable for the ride.

Eventually, we started moving, and hours went by before I’d woken and peeked out from the blanket, finding Knox riding beside the cage. Turning away from him, I sat up to look at the countryside that we traveled through. I could feel his stare burning into my back. His anger pulsated through me, and yet I didn’t care. I was too damn exhausted to worry or think about him anymore.

I understood that what I’d overheard forced him to look at painful things, but that wasn’t my fault. If what Lord Andres and Kristal said was true, someone had planted a witch in his home, disguised as his perfect mate, forcing Knox to fall in love with her.

The deceit and horror he had to have felt as the words left my lips, well, it probably undid him. Hell, I’d have argued about it and lashed out if I were Knox. Not to mention, he was waging war because of those events, and he’d have to accept that his entire marriage was a lie. His wife, a tool used to get to him, but that wasn’t something he wanted to face, and I didn’t blame him. Who wanted to admit their enemies had schemed and planned his entire life for their benefit?

Knox had lashed out to protect what little remained of his heart. But I’d been kidnapped, hurt, and molested, and he’d still assumed the witches had planted me to make him change his mind about this war. Those facts alone made me want to rip his heart out because you’d have to be one heartless bitch to use something like that against another person.

Knox had struck violently with words, and they’d cut me deeper than him trying to drown me in a shallow fucking tub full of bathwater. His words held barbs, ones that he’d embedded in my heart.

We went hard against one another; that much was a given. I could take the blows. I could take Knox’s taunts and his physical strength, but he’d wrapped his hand around my heart with his words and ripped it