Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,98

was a little unhinged and had to hang back so he wouldn’t murder Gerald. He wanted to march in and bring the entire kingdom down because he thought you were dead or that monster had raped you. His beast won’t accept you talking about breeding with anyone else. He’s claimed you, which is troubling, considering the blood running through your veins. You have to stop taunting him.”

“I want to be a mother, Brander. I want to hold my babe in my arms and love it. Knox is going to take that away from me.”

“He’s not going to, Aria. He already has. You’re marked with his name on your thigh. He can find you at any time and place. He was toying with you because he wanted to see where you went and what you did when you arrived here. His ravens are on your flesh, mixed in with yours. He watched over you, protecting you while he learned your mind.”

I shivered, realizing that the mark on my thigh was a lot worse than I’d first assumed. I nodded, understanding what Brander was saying. I would not escape Knox anytime soon, but there was always a way to undo the magic. You just had to figure out how to counteract it, and I was powerful enough to do that.

“Are you still weakened?” I pushed off the wall, and Brander snorted at my irritated frown. “From Knox breaking the connection when he took the witch’s head,” he clarified carefully.

“No,” I lied, and his eyes narrowed as his scent caught my attention. I leaned closer, drinking him in until a loud rattle slithered into the empty room. My eyes slid to the door, finding Knox standing in the shadows observing us. “I’ll be fine.”

Ignoring Knox, I tried to slip past him, walking out of the room until he stopped me. He held his hand out, and Brander handed him the crown. Knox replaced it on my head, standing back and offering his hand. I stared at him for a moment before placing my hand into his, hating the butterflies that erupted at the simplest touch.

“Smile. You’re a queen now,” he whispered, pushing my hair away from my face.

“Hecate queen’s wear black obsidian crowns with smoky quartz. You got me a basic bitch crown, and I’m no basic bitch.” I glared at him, plastering a fake saccharine smile on my lips. I walked beside him, and the witches kneeled when I passed them. I paused, feeling my stomach churn with uneasiness.

“All Hail the Queen,” Knox whispered, smiling wickedly. He pulled me from my stupor, moving me toward his horse. “We’ll be riding for a few days to put distance between your people and us, Queen Hecate.”

“My name is Aria,” I said thickly, sucking my lip between my teeth as he rattled in warning.

“Indeed, Queen Aria Hecate. As I said before, you interrupted me; we will be riding straight through, sleeping only when there’s cover from your people. We can’t have you harmed because you’re willing to lie and say you’re healed when it’s obvious that you’re not. If you were, you could walk and wouldn’t have gone down so hard at my rattle.”

Knox turned me around when we reached the horse, pulling off our crowns and slipping them into the saddlebag. He effortlessly mounted his horse and held his hand out for me. “Up we go, Your Majesty.”

I slipped my hand into his, yelping as he pulled me up with no help. Sliding his arm around my waist, he yanked me against his body, and I shivered. Unable to prevent it, arousal coated my sex from the aftershocks of pleasure slithering through me.

Our horse moved forward, and his men slipped in around us, creating a barrier while the army followed. I stared back at the castle, watching the rodents as they converged on the battlements, scurrying along with us until we reached where they could no longer follow.

“The high queen is watching you, which means she’s afraid. That’s a good sign.”

I didn’t reply, choosing to ignore Knox, eyeing the countryside until Lore sang a rendition of AC/DC’s Big Balls. The other men began singing along as we continued traveling at an easy pace. When Lore reached the lyrics, ‘And everybody comes and comes again,’ Knox leaned forward.

“Everyone comes but you. Isn’t that right, Aria? How’s your clit feeling? Swollen yet? I could turn you around, push deep into that needy pussy, and I bet you’d let me.”

“Pass,” I snorted, leaning forward only for him