Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,69

to end your line, and I will keep that promise.”

I stared at him as my mind replayed the time we’d been in the tent and that he’d already released my sister. I swallowed hard, narrowing my eyes on him as my heart kicked into overdrive, thumping against my ribcage to get free. I’d enjoyed matching wits against him, lost in the sexiness of his bartering and negotiating that I hadn’t considered what could be happening here.

“You released Callista so you could find out where they are all hiding,” I whispered through quivering lips.

“Of course I did, Aria. I’m not a fucking idiot. You’re in over your pretty head, little girl. The first rule of negotiating: always have a visual of what you’re negotiating. Second, always make sure you have the upper hand within the negotiations and cover your bases. You never even considered I would send a magical tracker home with Callista. You should have realized how far I will go to get to them. I promised you that no matter what happened between us, my end goal wouldn’t ever change.”

“So why negotiate at all?”

“Because I want you, and I’m a selfish prick who isn’t above cheating to get everything I want, and I did. In the next forty-eight hours, I will know exactly where they are and how to get to them. I only need one alive, and that’s you, Aria. If I were you, I’d start working on your negotiating skills and a way to remove their magic, so I don’t have to make you into a monster like me. I’m open to hearing what you’re willing to offer me to spare their lives.” His eyes slid down my body leisurely as a sardonic smile played on his mouth. “Now, get your tight little body into my bed because I still have shit to do tonight. Unfortunately, you’re not on that list.” He crowded my space, lowering his eyes to my trembling lips.

“You’re a bastard,” I swallowed past the tightening in my throat, hating the tears that slipped free of my hold as fear slithered through me, wrapping around my heart.

“For research purposes, how rattled are you right now, Little Witch?” he asked, lifting me as he stood. Holding my waist, he set me on the ground, tilting my chin to peer into my eyes while I internally screamed at what had just happened. “I’d say you finally understand that you’re out of your league, wouldn’t you? You may be powerful and the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my life, but you’re a Hecate witch, and that’s a big problem for me.”

“I wish I’d never met you, Knox,” I whispered, wiping the tears from my eyes. “I’m trying to right the wrongs that my people did to you and the Nine Realms, and you’re just trying to destroy me.”

“No, Aria. I don’t want to destroy you. Just your bloodline and those who follow it blindly,” he whispered, holding my chin in place, watching the tears roll down my cheeks. “You, on the other hand, I just fucking want at my side. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you there, and I wish it were as easy as saying you’re mine. You’re anything but easy and everything I shouldn’t want, and still, I crave you. Do you even know the difference between a white witch and a dark witch?”

“One practices light magic. The other follows the darkness into death for the power it offers them.”

“We own one, and they cling to the light. The other, the dark witches, they’re your people, witch. The dark witches within the Nine Realms are what’s left of the Hecate bloodline and the ones who still follow your grandmother’s rules. You’re the bad guys, Aria. Maybe stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get to know the other witches in camp. Ask them about those who held on to your laws and what happened to them. Ask your people what transpired and why they fled from the crown that should have protected them. After all, you’re here to take that crown, aren’t you? You don’t even know what it means to hold a crown, and yet you’re so willing to help Aurora get it from the High Queen of Witches. That will only exchange one evil bitch for another. You’re not here to change the world, Aria. You’re here to put Aurora on the throne, and you’re too fucking blinded by love and devotion to see what is right in