Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,4

pass where I had instructed them to meet us. They should have beaten us to the spot, but they had yet to arrive.

Smiling, I imagined Aria curled up beside me, throwing one of her fits. Once sleep overtook her, she would curl her body against mine for warmth, and hell if I didn’t enjoy the feel of her against me. Aria was the first woman to sleep in my bed, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel right.

I’d missed Aria since leaving her in camp. I hated I missed her and that my mind always wandered to what she was doing or if she missed me. Fucking pussy shit. I didn’t miss women, nor crave them curled up beside me.

Her banter gave me life. Her snarky comments and quick wit promised to engage my mind. I didn’t just miss sex with Aria; I missed her mind. I fucking hated it. I hated that I craved her intelligence that matched mine and her smirk that promised she imagined disemboweling me. I missed her fire that burned brighter than any sun or moon in the Nine Realms, even the desert lands that sweltered like a forge.

I fucking missed the companionship her presence offered me. When had it changed from sex to more with her? She was quirky and a little spitfire of energy. She fought me toe-to-toe on what she believed, and I fucking respected her for it. She challenged me, and people didn’t fucking do that, but Aria did. She stood her ground and stood for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves.

Shit. I’d gone to stop the separation of the mothers and children coming into the camp, and Aria had gone full battle queen on Bekkah. I’d no sooner told the lord to stop his men from assaulting the witches and their offspring to hearing the men shouting that the witches were fighting. It enraged me that I’d fucking caved to stop what had upset Aria, only to find her assaulting the fucking witches I ordered to remain unharmed.

I’d never noticed the damage inflicted upon her by the guard. The anger that filled me when she’d attacked Bekkah blinded me and forced me to punish her for assaulting someone under my order of protection. The penalty for that crime was death or fifty lashes. I would have had to stand in judgment for Aria’s slight and either whip her smooth, supple flesh or sentence her to death. My word was law. My word as King was my bond to my people. Aria had broken it, and as a result, I had broken my vow to my people to protect her soft skin from the cattail whip. In no world could I whip Aria and be okay with it. That terrified me because she continued to fight me.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by my men either. They’d seen the favoritism after Bekkah had made damn sure that everyone knew Aria Hecate had broken the law of protection. Luckily, having the men stand as a witness to Aria’s treatment by the guard and me, and relaying those details to Bekkah, provided her with the information to brag how badly Aria was beaten, sparing me from losing face amongst my people.

“You think something happened?” Brander asked, settling beside me as I leaned against the boulder, watching the sun setting over the furthest mountain range.

“I think they should have fucking been here by now,” I growled, unwilling to allow the uneasiness to settle within me.

“Killian is never late.” Brander ran his hand through his hair in worry. “I hope Lord Andres isn’t the reason for their delay.”

I considered his words, acknowledging that Killian had only been late once in the entire time I had known him. He was a warrior, a brother in arms that had been through hell with us. He was dependable and honest to a fault. My stomach flipped while I considered what could have forced the indomitable warrior to be late.

“Aria wouldn’t give Killian trouble. Not with Greer and Lore present,” Brander stated, troubleshooting and eliminating obstacles they may have faced.

My eyes followed the path to the bottom of the pass, and the crease in my brow deepened. “Killian wouldn’t have waited for the army to prepare before leaving. That would slow down their arrival, and I instructed him to leave immediately. He’d have taken King’s Crossing and moved deeper into the forest, but that wouldn’t slow him down. That would have shortened their journey. Even if they’d