was literally saving witches. He was offering them a place in his army, even the babies. The babes wouldn’t be able to do anything until they matured to at least fifteen years old, and then it would be iffy, depending on their magical precision and parentage. He was spending resources to keep them alive, which meant he wasn’t an asshole. Correction, he wasn’t as big of an asshole as I’d thought him to be.
I’d been arguing that we could save some witches, and he was already doing it! He was taking in children, feeding them, clothing them, and keeping them safe within his army as he marched them toward his palace. He was taking them to his home and offering them a new life.
“Does he save all of them?” I asked absently, turning to look at the woman, balancing the sleeping toddler on my shoulder while the babe sucked on my fingertip.
“Not the dark ones, as they’re evil,” she murmured, bouncing the other babe in her arms. “I mean, not all of your line is evil.”
“Why do you say my line?”
“Because the high queen is of the royal blood,” she said, eyeing me peculiarly. “She’s a watered-down version, but all Hecate bloodline witches are now dark. When your grandmother went to her entombment, the line began changing. With none of the royal bloodline inside the Nine Realms, Hecate’s power faded from the line. Knowing they were weakening, your bloodline reached for the darkness to maintain balance and to remain the strongest race in the realms. It happened right before the king’s son got sick.”
“When my mother and her sisters left to take the Tenth Realm,” I frowned, wincing as the babe grabbed my hair. “Ouch, that’s still attached to my head, little lady,” I cooed, bouncing as the babe howled, causing me to smile. I made a shushing noise, and she blinked up at me with sleepy eyes.
“She’s probably a bit hungry,” the woman stated, turning to hold her arms out for the infant. I paused, trading her babes, watching with wide eyes as she whipped out her boob and began feeding the child.
“Oh, yeah, I can’t do that trick,” I chuckled nervously, tucking the other babe into the sling, starting forward again once the woman was ready.
“I lost a babe a few months ago, so I offered to help with the ones abandoned. It isn’t often that we have little ones anymore. When they come, those of us who could, shared in feeding the little witchlings.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I stated, turning at the sound of someone moving toward us. Lore jogged up beside me, picking up the child that had been hanging on my skirt, trudging through the trail that was becoming more rugged. “Thank you,” I whispered as he chuckled.
“You’re stubborn. What did Knox do to make you walk rather than ride with him?” Lore asked, helping the child onto his back.
“It’s a rather inappropriate conversation for innocent ears,” I muttered while heat blossomed in my cheeks.
“So he primed that flower, and something prevented it from reaching pollination?” Lore asked, lifting a platinum brow, watching my face turn red before he laughed outright at my expense.
“Something close to that,” I admitted, turning back to the woman who was smiling while pretending she wasn’t overhearing our conversation.
“Are you telling me we’re walking because the king didn’t get you off?” Siobhan asked, coming up to stand beside me. At my reddening face, she began laughing. The women behind us did the same, and all conversation came to a halt so they could hear my reply.
“Yes! Well, no,” I amended. Siobhan laughed louder, following along with the others. Knox turned around, finding my face bright red with a horrified smile playing on my mouth. “It wasn’t like that. Okay, so it was something like that, but not from lack of trying. It was an outright ploy to induce a state of arousal without allowing the end goal to happen.”
“He edged you, didn’t he?” Lore hooted. At my look of frustration, he started laughing as the women joined him, much to my mortification.
“You guys are assholes,” I mumbled, chewing my lip as Knox’s eyes narrowed to slits, taking in the group of witches walking, who laughed while staring at him.
“What is edging?” the witch beside me asked, and I realized I didn’t even know her name.
“It’s a thing you do to bring a woman right to the precipice of orgasm, and before she reaches it, you prevent it from happening.