Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,99

to pull me back, slowly sliding his hand lower as he smiled against the curve of my shoulder.

“I warned you not to taunt me. I’ve asked you to leave my wife out of your mouth, and I’ve tried to be patient with you. You’re my enemy, yet I still care that you’re not in pain or treated poorly. I am not a good man, Aria. I am your devil, but we don’t have to always be at odds. I can make this easy on you, or I can make it hell. That choice is one only you can make.”

“I’d take hell over you any day. It would be much easier, Knox.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The rain was relentless, causing us to continue through the night until we finally found an abandoned keep. Knox had demanded I remain outside with the others, which ruffled my tail feathers. He’d told me to sit and behave like some pet he held control over.

For three entire days, Knox had given my body hell, bringing me to the edge and leaving it in a heightened state of need. He enjoyed the fact that I found no relief, even though I’d tried several times to achieve that end goal alone, uncaring that he listened and felt me doing so.

Knox chuckled and whispered against my ear, telling me I made the sexiest sounds of frustration when I didn’t get what I wanted. As if he knew that it was futile even to attempt it, but allowed me to try, anyway. There was further frustration when he touched me, and my body lit up like Christmas lights finding a plugin during the first sign of snow.

Explosions sounded from within the keep moments before dark shadows escaped through the large doors. I braced for impact as they sailed directly at me, only for Knox to appear before me, swinging his sword in a wide arc that severed a head from shoulders, sending it smashing against the courtyard wall.

He turned his head, smiling coldly at me as his men exited the keep next, their swords held at the ready as piercing shrieks filled the space in which we stood. I hit the ground, jarring my body the instant my knees slammed into the wet grass.

Dark witches materialized to attack, sending magic rushing into me before they reached me. Black lips and eyes opened as they let loose a deafening shriek that caused my ears to pierce with pain.

Knox slid his blade into his scabbard and lifted his hands, pushing magic toward the witches. I watched as they shattered as if created from delicate glass instead of blood and bones. He didn’t stop there, sending more power rushing through the abandoned ruins, sucking the air out of the space, creating a vacuum that stole the sound. Lowering his hands, it all came rushing back at once, causing my body to double over with the intensity of the magic he commanded.

“Get up, Aria,” he whispered, crouching to push my hair away from my face as I continually gasped for air to feed my lungs.

Knox pulled me up with him, shouting out orders. He didn’t wait to see who was obeying him as he moved us swiftly inside the castle, past the grisly remains of the dead witches. He hadn’t even batted an eye at destroying them. There hadn’t been a single flicker of hesitation before shattering them into tiny pieces.

I’d thought I was special in making witches explode, which admittedly was rather messy and included the use of a raincoat. He, on the other hand, had shattered them without causing a single droplet of blood to escape their bodies. He showed me who was more powerful, and I knew that I’d lose horribly if I went to battle against him.

Inside the keep, I peered around at the empty interior as Knox directed me to a seat in front of an enormous fireplace. Brander was bent in front of it, holding his fingers against large logs that crackled as the flames roared to life. Pulling off the wet cloak, I shivered as the heat from the fire offered a reprieve from the spring rain that had soaked a chill into my bones.

“Sit, and don’t move,” Knox ordered, pushing me into a chair before he took the cloak from me, hanging it on another chair beside me.

“The women are seeing to the rooms and preparing a bath for you,” Brander told Knox, who nodded, moving away from us.

More men entered the large room carrying meat and barrels