Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,50

she handed it to me. “What does this one do?” she asked softly.

“This one will help you find love and bring forth your heart’s greatest desires,” I announced, holding it between my hands.

I closed my eyes tightly, and my lips tipped into a grin. My smile grew while I listened as the girls giggled and laughed. Inhaling Knox’s scent, I slowly exhaled. Tilting my head, I imagined his lips against mine and opened my eyes to find him inches from my lips.

“What is it that your heart desires most, Aria?” Knox whispered huskily, causing the girls to giggle harder while others listened with curious interest.

“Occasionally, the crystal messes up. Or the heart is just an organ, and the crystal is just a rock,” I whispered to the girls, fighting the urge to lean into his lips and kiss him soundly.

“Is the fierce, beautiful princess too afraid to admit what everyone else already knows she desires?” he asked, cupping my cheek, and leaning closer to brush his lips against mine.

I cradled his cheek with my hand and sucked his bottom lip between my teeth, enjoying the hiss of sound that expelled from his lungs. “She knows who she wants. She’s only ever wanted one man, but he’s a stubborn beast. He’s the king and her sworn enemy, and they’re on opposing sides of a war. That’s difficult on them, knowing right from wrong. Yet, even so, they meet on that line where war rages and the battle drums echo through them. She yields to his battle cry, and he melts into her curves, but his heart is too broken to mend easily. He’s buried too deeply within a tomb even though his heart beats loudly to the steady rhythm of hers,” I whispered, kissing him softly before I stood, leaving him speechless as the girls followed me to gather more flowers under the guard’s watchful eyes.

“Some wounds cannot be mended, Aria.”

“Stick some fucking duct tape on it. That shit fixes everything.” I spun around in time to see riders emerging from the forest at a breakneck pace. Grabbing one girl, I pulled her out of the way, and Knox rattled in warning as we narrowly missed being trampled.

“Aria, get inside the tent, now.” Knox stepped forward, and his men moved in behind him while one rider stared at me coldly. Stunning, crystal blue eyes locked with mine. The iciness of the stare sent a chill racing down my spine. “Lord Carter, glad to see you made it here in one piece. We assumed you had gotten sidetracked,” Knox announced, pulling the man’s attention from me.

“I was gathering intel on a keep besieged by murderous whores,” Lord Carter stated, sliding his attention back to me. “A silver-haired witch. Tell me, My King, is she the Hecate witch you captured?”

The lord dismounted, moving swiftly toward me. He grabbed my hair, wrenching my head back to press his fingers to my forehead. Pain shot through my skull as his eyes glowed. My claws extended, grabbing his hand to remove it as a low purr escaped my lungs, and his eyes narrowed.

“Amazing. So the rumors are true? Freya Hecate slept with a beast and made a bastard creature?”

“Get your fucking hands off of me, now,” I hissed, dropping his hand, and his eyes widened with my warning.

“Have you not taught this bitch her position?” Lord Carter asked, moving to strike me, but Knox grabbed his hand, preventing the man from backhanding me. “You protect her?” He ripped his arm away from Knox, scowling.

“Not only I, but others in the resistance want her alive, and until I know who and why, Aria is to remain unharmed. She is under my protection, so see that your men understand and obey me.”

“Never thought I’d live to see the day that King Karnavious protected a Hecate witch,” Lord Carter sneered, grabbing my chin before Knox could stop him. “I’m going to kill your entire family, witch.”

“You and everyone else, but you’d have to find them first.” I smiled as his eyes narrowed. “You’d also have to go through me, and I may look small and harmless; however, I’m anything but. Touch me again, and I’ll bite your fucking cock off and kiss you with it, asshole,” I snorted, moving out of his grasp, heading toward the tent.

The other witches collected the children, rushing them away from the newcomer to safety. A shiver raced down my spine, feeling his hate-filled gaze on my back. Entering Knox’s tent, I turned to