Looking over my shoulder, I stared as Knox punched through the soil Esme had dropped on them. His face was crimson with rage as he launched himself toward us. “We will not outrun him!” I predicted as perspiration beaded and rolled down my eyebrow. I could buy Avy and Esme time to flee, but at what cost? I’d be in chains this time, and I wouldn’t be able to get away from him as I’d done before. There was also more at stake considering I wouldn’t be able to hide specific elements about my changing form. “Aria! Stop,” he shouted, his tone demanding as he strode closer to me. “You will not elude me, woman. I won’t tolerate it!” “Go! He won’t follow you, Esme. Take Avy and get out of here, now. Go so that he can’t use you against me. That’s an order! Do it, please.” I fought the tears that burned as they rolled down my cheeks. “Aria,” he rumbled, strengthening the rattle in his chest, forcing my body to ignite with lustful hunger. I closed my eyes and cried with need, squeezing my thighs tightly together as Lennox reinforced the sounds Knox created. “Good girl.” He laughed, slowing as he neared me. Turning to confront him, I sucked my lip between my teeth, blocking the sultry purr that grew in my chest. He hoisted his nose to inhale, but power blasted through the area between us. Knox yelled in shock as his body shot back toward his men without warning. I strode forward, unable to establish what had transpired. He twisted, hissing in anguish as his spine bowed off the ground. Blood erupted from his lips, and I shrieked. Everything inside me turned crimson with rage, and my magic clapped loudly through the heavens, simmering and churning to strike against whoever had harmed him. The wind lashed my hair against my face, and the snarling sound leaving my lungs wasn’t human. I was rushing toward him, drawing magic to use and shield him from his assailant. Panic and rage overwhelmed me as hands seized my arms, restraining me from reaching him. Knox forced himself up, and liquid-onyx eyes latched on to me. Flames burned within their inky depths, and he snarled until the gorge echoed with the vibrations. A rattle left my throat, and his gaze jerked to where I was being dragged farther from him. Magic expanded around us and suddenly slammed into him repeatedly. I whirled, wrenching even more magic to me, fully intending to lay waste to whatever or whomever was hurting Knox, but the fight in me vanished
when my stare landed on my sisters. There were hundreds of witches behind them at the mouth of the river, every one of them feeding power to Aurora and my siblings. “Stop,” I murmured breathlessly. I clutched my hair, rattling from the sense of overpowering malice riding the magic. “Don’t hurt him,” I beseeched, battling between shielding him or them. A sob escaped me, and I shuddered with dread, knowing Aurora wouldn’t quit once he was down. Kinvara’s gaze veered to mine, and she squinted. Relief at finding her alive shot through me, and I exhaled as I continued to gather magic. My fingertips burned, extending the dark, wispy blackness over the skin of my forearms. Knox howled again, and Aurora laughed viciously, reaching to draw power from the witches to unleash on him. She walked closer, accepting the sword Reign held out to her. She was going to murder Knox and didn’t care that it would hurt me. My teeth chattered with the intensity and amount of power I held, barring either of them from employing it against the other. Thunder clapped loudly above us, and the breeze shrieked as Aurora strode closer while gathering sufficient enough magic to paralyze him. Staring back at Knox’s body, I resisted a furious sob, understanding she didn’t plan to depart until his life was forfeited. Aurora raised her palms skyward, and I turned and dashed toward Knox to shelter him from the incoming attack. No sooner had she aimed it at him, I reached him, twisting inches away from his body, slapping my hands to shield Knox with the only thing I could—myself. My body flew backward, convulsing in pain that exploded through me and caused my vision to flicker. I struggled to get upright, but it felt as if I’d consumed a full bottle of tequila and had no equilibrium left. I faltered, sinking to the ground as blood streamed from my nose. Knox moved closer as I collapsed. His sea-hued eyes grew larger, and he peered at me retching up liquid, resisting the magic flowing through me, attacking every part of me. Dropping to his knees, he brushed the hair from my face, blanching at the blood dripping from my lips and nose. He growled as his gaze lifted, leveling on Aurora, who silently glowered at us from afar. Indecision warred across his features as he slowly backed away, putting distance between himself and where I squirmed on the ground.
Aurora hadn’t held back, fully planning to incapacitate him and remove his head, and I’d thwarted her assault. I hadn’t had time to bypass the spell, leaving me to soak up the magic. It was dangerous because absorbing magic without preparing to do so could be deadly. The harder I sought to get air, the less air entered into my lungs. My entire body convulsed, and fear built within me over what I’d just done. Gasping, I continued to struggle for breath, but it wouldn’t come. The noise I created was awful and sounded like I was dry drowning. Esme and Soraya rushed to me, uncaring that Knox’s men were moving to circle him with swords drawn. The girls slid on to their knees, forcing magic into my body to counter the spell that was seizing control of my body. “Knox,” I hissed, choking noisily for oxygen. He didn’t speak as he quietly watched me battling to inhale as blood gushed from my nose, decorating the earth with my life’s essence. I blinked rapidly, resisting the agony so that I remained responsive. The witches started screaming, but the sound resonated distantly. It was taking all I had left to remain cognizant enough to prevent the magic from ending my life. Hands were grabbing me, but I couldn’t keep my mind from seeking to shut down. Those around me were working to keep me from drowning in the silky grip of magic, but it was advancing too rapidly, and I was losing the battle. Slowly, I struggled to my feet, and when I wavered on unstable legs, Esme and Soraya caught me. Knox took a step forward, then stopped and shifted his savage glare to Aurora. Her fury was palpable, but then, so was Knox’s. The entire clearing went silent, and tension curled through it with the magic hanging between them. Knox took yet another step back, and confusion flooded me. He was backing away? If he fought us, he’d win. So why wasn’t he using the chance to slaughter everyone present? Esme curled her hand around my waist while Avy slid hers to my face, hovering in my line of sight. I whimpered, pushing her away to stare at the indecision burning in Knox’s turbulent, sea-colored depths. They slid to me, and then back to Aurora. But instead of moving forward, he took another noticeable step away so that he stood with his men. I fought the arms seeking to lift me, unable to make words leave my lips. He turned toward me, a white line marring his mouth. Blinking slowly,
I cried out, which made his Adam’s apple bob and his cheek jerk before it tensed. His chest heaved with rage, but he didn’t retaliate. Knox merely examined the women dragging me away. My feet barely scraped the earth as I held little control over my body. Ember was snarling, and yet, no sound left my lips as tears flowed from my eyes—or, at least, I assumed they were tears and not blood. “If she dies, so will every single one of you,” Knox hissed in a tone I’d never heard him use before. His hands had become tight fists with white knuckles as if he were physically fighting the need to do more than watch me escaping him. I’d taken the full force of a spell meant for Knox, a spell cast by Aurora, who had pulled magic from every witch here. I hadn’t thought or wavered. I’d acted, and now Knox was allowing me to escape so that they could heal me. It had to be why he hadn’t struck back, and it astonished me that he would rather I escape and live than for him to catch me and I die. Avyanna and the healers in Aurora’s group rushed toward us. Her remarkable eyes looked alarmed, and the blood emptied from her face as she stalled, taking in my appearance. I choked, and a quiet rattle unlike one I’d ever created before rumbled from me. “She’s dying,” Avy announced with a tremor in her tone. “We don’t have time to move her. I need to tend to her now.” “You’ll create time,” Aurora snapped chillingly. Something dangerous churned in her eyes. Slowly, her glare tracked to Knox, who watched us with his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Open the portal. We’re moving now. No magic from this point on, Aria. I don’t wish to face him so soon after you interfered this time.” Magic pulsed around me, and I looked up at the sky as someone carried me through the portal. Voices shouted from all directions, but they hustled me past them and into the sanctuary. They placed me on a bed. Women’s hushed voices filled the chamber, and I grabbed Esme as she backed up to give the healers room to work. “No one knows,” I whispered through the wheezing of my closing throat. “I’ll tell them, Aria.” “No.” I swallowed, coughing as my lungs struggled to fix the damage done to them. “I don’t want that. Do you understand? You cannot tell
anyone. Promise me, Esme. No one else can know about them. I only want Avy to work on me. Please, no one else.” “I promise, Aria,” she whispered vehemently, leaning over to place a kiss on my ear. “I’ll take it with me to the grave. I will ensure Avyanna makes the same vow. You should know that Aurora didn’t stop when the magic hit you. She kept casting on you.” Her words were spoken so softly that they barely registered. Then Esme was backing up as the room filled with my sisters and aunt. I stared into her violet gaze, blinking away the prickling of tears and betrayal that slithered through me. Had Aurora really continued, or had it merely appeared that way? If she’d meant to paralyze him and undo it afterward, that would make sense. It wasn’t easy to stop the momentum of that much power tearing through you, either. I’d done it once before, miscalculating the intensity of the magic I’d pulled to me. But the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach told me it hadn’t been a loss of control on Aurora’s part. “That was stupid, Aria Primrose! You could’ve been killed. Do you honestly think Knox would die for you or care if you’d perished today? Think again. He didn’t even try to protect you. He allowed you to take a hit that was meant to end him!” Aurora snapped in a tone heavy with regret. “If I had killed you, this fight would have ended on a riverbank in the middle of nowhere, and for what? Nothing! You’d have died protecting that monster. Do you realize what you did?” “He wasn’t going to hurt us,” I whimpered, knowing that had he cared if I died, he wouldn’t have let them leave with me. She searched my face before snorting and standing. I wanted to know how Aurora found us, and if she’d discovered us so easily, why hadn’t she tried to reach us when it was needed? “Keep telling yourself that, but his hatred for you burns in his eyes, Aria. That man will be the death of you. Mark my words.” I turned toward the healers, choosing not to respond as they chanted, balancing out the magic within me. Aurora didn’t lift a finger to help them. It was her way of letting everyone know that, as far as she was concerned, I’d betrayed her today. I’d chosen the enemy, and in doing so, I’d drawn an invisible line between us as surely as I’d erected the barrier between myself and Knox inside the library.
Chapter Fourteen It took almost two months to heal completely, and I’d spent most of it alone, tended to by Avyanna, who Esme and a few others had managed to restore to the beauty she’d been before Karion Grayer had attacked her. Avy’s bright green eyes narrowed on me cautiously, and she frowned when I left the bed to slide into the large porcelain tub, which had been brought in for me to use. “Quickly,” she ordered, standing to block the door in case anyone tried to enter unexpectedly. “They may not notice the slight changes when you’re dressed, but they might if they see you naked.” I was a little under five months along in my pregnancy. Of course, I had been oblivious that I was, indeed, pregnant for most of it. Witch pregnancies varied in gestation times, and I didn’t know how long mine would be or how much longer I could hide it. Luckily, I was small, and the rounded curve of my belly was easy to conceal. Avyanna said it was because it was my first time being pregnant and that I wouldn’t show until much later. It had eased my worries until she also pointed out that I was malnourished as well. Just in case, I’d done a spell that allowed only those I wished to know about the pregnancy to see the changes in my body. Ember had changed our scent and kept it the same, preventing anyone from scenting the difference. She’d assured me that Knox and Lennox hadn’t scented the pregnancy either, which was a relief since, apparently, they would have had a far more violent reaction to my being injured had they known. Carefully lowering myself into the bath, I cradled the swell of my belly, smiling at the feel of the twins nestled within me. Then I closed my eyes and groaned in pleasure at the heated water over my cold flesh. Ember purred softly, and my smile grew wider. Avyanna had assured me they were both healthy and hadn’t been harmed by the hemlock or my interfering to protect their father. Apparently, Knox created strong, durable babes. I’d had time to adjust to the truth, and even though I didn’t allow my hopes to get too high, I had grown attached to them. I was going to be a mother, and that fact was as startling as it was amazing. My joy was shadowed by not sharing the news of them with their father, but he’d made it clear he didn’t want this with me. Releasing a soft purr, I flicked my
attention around the room when Ember intensified the sound to ensure I knew she approved of my thoughts. Ember did it often when I touched the babes that felt like butterfly wings fluttering inside me. She chuffed or purred when we felt them moving or she sensed my love for them. There was still the fear of being pregnant and fighting this war, which had forced me to reevaluate how I approached matters. I hadn’t thought about them—or even myself—when I’d protected their father. I’d acted on instinct, and it could have killed all three of us. Though, realistically, it was doubtful I would have done anything differently. Aurora had every intention of killing Knox, and that was wholly unacceptable. “You’re glowing.” Avyanna handed me the bar of rose-scented soap and my favorite shampoo Aurora had made for me. “Am I?” I smiled as my hands moved over the perfectly round bump in my lower abdomen. “They’re moving.” I laughed as something pressed against my hand and paused. Using my fingers to gently press, I could feel the babes shifting positions. It was the most amazing sensation to experience life flourishing within me. Ember was also in wonder over the twins, trying to pick out the worst names possible because, according to her, I’d failed to offer her acceptable options. “Hurry,” Avy instructed, watching me with a concerned expression. “Your sisters are coming to check on you again.” My sisters had been in and out of the room for the past few weeks. I knew they had felt me pulling away from them, but I couldn’t prevent it. Ember no longer wanted them close to us, and I understood her fear. Hell, she didn’t want anyone near me in my current state. A quiet rattle slid free as if she agreed with my assessment. I rinsed my hair while Avy leaned her slight weight against the door. Then, quickly washing off the suds, I stood, dried off, and pulled on the first dress I found. The skirt had barely settled into place before Avy was behind me, carefully tying the ribbon, as the bedroom door swung open, revealing my sisters. “Are you planning on remaining inside this room forever?” Reign grunted, flopping onto my bed and staring me down. “Not forever, but I am still sore from being hit by Aurora’s magic.” I lied smoothly. “I am feeling better, though. I’m more myself than I was and see things more clearly that I had been.” I took a seat, allowing Avyanna to
brush through my tangles, which she insisted on doing. Kinvara settled beside me, smiling impishly. “You’re up, Aria! I thought you’d never stop lazing around and enjoying the pampering. Plus, Aurora won’t let us attack without you, and it’s pretty boring here without something to pass the time,” she announced with a pout. “I miss drinking together and singing off-tune to the songs we love. I miss home, too.” She assumed I shared her sentiments about missing the human realm, but I never had fit in there. Enough time had passed that I barely thought of that world, or the things in it, either. I knew that most of my sisters missed Haven Falls. They yearned for the convenient things that life there offered, such as fast food, movies, and grocery stores. I’d probably be homesick for the Tenth Realm, too, if it weren’t for the library and all its amenities. Aurora hadn’t attacked because I wasn’t available to throw at her targets? Shocker. It took effort not to roll my eyes at the statement tossed out as if it was my fault they’d been unable to attack. “I miss the closeness we shared at our old house,” I replied. “I should be better soon enough, but absorbing the amount of magic Aurora used, well, it left me needing time to heal,” Reign frowned, and her gaze searched my face before lowering down my frame. She sat up, standing to walk to the wall, and leaned against it. “Something is different with you, Sister,” Reign stated, scrunching her nose. “You’ve also started using that obnoxious shampoo Aurora makes again.” “You never were a fan of roses or their scent.” I laughed, watching her eyes sparkle with mirth. “You would rather use blood-scented shampoo, right?” Ember was already concealing the scent of pregnancy, but the shampoo offered another layer of protection from it being detected. “Always.” Reign fidgeted, which gave away her anxiousness. I wondered if she was feeding off my own unease about them being in my room. “You could’ve died, Aria, and I still find it hard to believe you did that for him. You told us how cruel he was to you. How could you stop Aurora from attacking Knox after all that he’s done? She could easily have ended the threat he posed to us.” Reign’s bluntness had never bothered me before, but there was a hint of betrayal in her tone that hadn’t waned as the weeks slipped by. I understood the confusion because not even I knew why I’d reacted how I had. It had
been two months since it had happened. My thoughts had gotten no clearer on him, or why I’d chosen him over them. Knox had issues, sure. Did he deserve to die because of them? No. We’d created those issues, and I was pretty sure Aurora would have ended his life. That wasn’t a choice I could’ve lived with. If I were being honest, I’d tell Reign that Knox’s broken pieces fit perfectly against mine. I’d say that he made me feel a little less alone in the world and that, when he held me, I felt safe. I’d make sure she understood that, between the whiplash of his emotions, he somehow gave me glimpses of the man he could become one day. Knox loved with a vengeance, with the same fierceness in which he fought, and he’d done so by using all he had within him. Broken things had nothing to lose, and when they found something worth holding on to, they rarely let it go. They’d forced him to live through hell, and he refused to stay down. Of course, he wielded his pain like a blade and had murdered hundreds of blameless witches, so I could see how she’d be blinded to all that I saw in him. “I don’t know.” I lied. “We could have ended the threat he posed if you hadn’t intervened,” Sabine said with a trace of underlying malice. I slid my gaze to hers, holding it briefly before I shook my head at their shortsightedness. Did they really think someone else, who may or may not be far worse than Knox, wouldn’t take his place? “Do you honestly think that would end well?” My tone was neutral, even though anger was simmering inside me. “I am mated to him, and until we know the consequences of it, I don’t think we should kill him, Sabine. What if we do and I die along with him? Is my life worth ending the danger he represents?” She swallowed audibly, shaking her head before her soft moss-green gaze locked with mine. Reign snorted, and Rhaghana echoed her sentiment loudly. Callista scowled, her eyes narrowing. I had to stop the rattle that threatened to escape when I realized she was considering me as an acceptable sacrifice. “He would’ve killed me, Aria. Your lover would have ended my life if you hadn’t agreed to play the perfect puppet for him,” Callista snapped, her magic flowing around us without warning. Her nymph power of creating lust and need slammed through me, and I gasped along with the others.
“Turn the pheromones down, Callista,” Tamryn growled, her legs pushing together as if to ward off Callista’s magic. “Aria got you out of that cage; she didn’t put you in it. Dimitri did, and he paid for his betrayal.” “I can forgive a lot that’s happened since we arrived here.” Callista snorted. “Mate or not, I fail to see how you could ignore what he’s forced you to do. Because of him, you ended up murdering your twin, and yet you can look beyond it and protect him? That I cannot get past, nor will I.” “Knox didn’t do that, Callista. I killed Amara, who had been manipulated by Celia.” My words fell on deaf ears, because she wasn’t open to hearing them. She’d made her decision on him, and nothing I said or did would change it now. Blinking slowly, I considered divulging the truth about Dimitri, but every time I tried to tell them that he wasn’t dead, something held my tongue before I could spit the words out. I also had told no one that I’d taken Bel’s heart during Beltane to break the spell Hecate had placed on Knox’s people. Aurora was leaning a shoulder against my open doorway, listening to us. My hackles rose, and I fought the sensation of worry that drifted into my mind. The way she held herself above us was becoming more apparent in little gestures like that. It wasn’t anything overly noticeable, so you wouldn’t see it unless you were looking, which I was. “Do you honestly think he didn’t know of Celia’s part in what happened to Amara? The bastard can tell you he didn’t, but we know the truth. Celia was following orders, I assure you of that,” Aurora accused. “You may lie to yourself all you want, Aria, but he is her king. She does nothing without first seeking his compliance or permission. Knox was fully aware of the spell, and he allowed you to dangle inside that room and murder our sweet, misguided Amara. Knox Karnavious is no fool, sweet girl.” “I don’t think it’s as easy as that, Aurora. Celia is obsessed with him and will do whatever it takes to get him. She’s intending to claim him, and his kingdom through any means necessary.” Aurora snorted at my explanation. “He’s playing on your emotions because you’re still young and so very gullible,” she said in a soft voice meant to ease the insult. “He’s changed you, and it isn’t for the better. I had him down and could have easily subdued him without ending his life, but you stepped in the way. By defending him, you chose him over your own blood, and that’s a very dangerous path to wander down. He’s not worth betraying us for, and you
need to realize that quickly. You’re merely a weapon for him to use, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can see him for the cold-hearted, murderous prick he is. You also promised to allow me to lead and that you would be my blade against those who harm witches. Yet, during the siege on the keep, you argued with me in front of the others. I barely escaped with Kinvara because of your inability to listen and obey me.” Her eyes held mine, and the others fidgeted uncomfortably. “The magic you lost control of may have been meant to subdue, but the sword in your hand hadn’t been. Furthermore, during the attack against that keep, I felt the wrongness in the air almost as soon as we got there. I said as much, and I wasn’t wrong. But I stayed because you demanded I do so, and then you left Esme and me there to die. You never even tried to come back for us,” I returned carefully, watching for any signs that had done so intentionally. “The other six witches we had with us that day are dead and likely hanging lifelessly from the battlement of the fort we failed to take. You abandoned them and leave them to that fate. Yes, I am glad you at least protected Kinvara, but you left the others to perish on that field without thinking twice about their lives.” “They knew what they signed up for,” she said icily. “Had you not wavered or been afraid to follow through, we’d have won. But you hesitated, and that cost them their lives. I am not alone in carrying the blame for their losses, Aria. If those fighting with us hadn’t been forced to decide which of us to listen to, we wouldn’t have lost a single witch that day.” “The enemy was prepared for us, lying in wait with hemlock-dipped arrows. They had Hecate’s witches directing them and deflecting the magic we tried to use. Had I used my magic, Esme and I really would have died on that field. You, though? You vanished to safety taking only Kinvara with you.” “Of course, I did. I am to become the queen, so I must stay alive at all costs.” My heart twisted with her disregard for the lives of the witches we’d lost. It left me wanting to take those who’d joined us away so they were safe from being her cannon fodder. Before I could do that, though, I’d need to find someplace safe to keep them. What she had just said made me never want to follow her into another battle, but I knew that, if I didn’t, she’d get us all slaughtered.
“Understandably, but if you hadn’t dismissed my concerns, no one would have died that night. These witches joined us because we vowed to be different from your mother and the witches who ruled in our absence. Instead, all we showed them was that we’re more of the same. If that continues, then they won’t follow us and we’ll stand on our own against Hecate.” “If they abandon us, they’ll learn the true wrath of a Hecate witch.” Aurora shrugged her thin shoulders, and I could only stare at her in silence. “You’ve taken nearly two months to lie about in bed. Are you healed, or do you intend to linger in bed until the war is over?” Her soft-spoken, motherly facade returned as if switching between personas were an art form she’d perfected. “I am.” I thanked Avyanna for braiding my hair. “Do you need me?” I asked, hating that Aurora’s attention shifted to the beautiful woman with unblemished skin and freckles that kissed her cheeks who stood behind me. She still had her horns because she’d actually been born with them. “There’s a little keep that is known for abusing witchlings. It isn’t well guarded, but I’ve gotten reports of a small armed force within the walls. It won’t take much to assume control and free the girls inside,” she explained before she straightened and came to stand in front of me. Her knuckles brushed over my cheek and satisfaction shone in her eyes. “If you think it’s going to be a simple thing to achieve victory, then why do you need me?” I countered with a sinking sensation fluttering in the pit of my stomach. The idea of her leading us anywhere was abhorrent. I didn’t trust her to keep us safe. “I wasn’t asking if you wished to come. You’ll join me for this fight because I’m demanding it of you. We’re in this war together, and that means we take the field together as well.” “I am healed physically, but my magic has yet to be refilled.” She smiled tightly, but didn’t comment. I swallowed the knowledge that she was, once again, disregarding a weakness I’d admitted to. “You’ve had enough time to replenish your magic. Any more time spent in bed, and you’ll become lazy. You’ve always been so pretty, Aria. It is no wonder that monster’s positively smitten with you. Remember where your loyalties lie and who has earned it by being there for you. Knox Karnavious isn’t what he’s led you to believe he is. He’s a master of manipulation, and you’re young and fallible. You’re just one of many women he’s applied his
arsenal of tricks on. Do you honestly think he wants you for you? He’s seduced thousands of witches into betraying their families. Do you think you’re any different from the ones he’d seduced before you?” “No,” I admitted, frowning at the spell her words were trying to lay like webbing over me. “You’re nothing more than another notch in his belt, Aria. He’ll use your innocence against you if you continue to allow him to. I understand that you’re mated, but do you honestly think that makes any difference to him? I raised you to think beyond lust, and desire for your own needs,” she continued, touching me while my mind whirled. Standing abruptly, I walked to the basin of water on the dresser. Peering at Aurora through the mirror, I noted the glowing tips of her fingers before washing my face and turning to lean back against the chest of drawers. While I struggled against the desire to throw up, she grinned as if she hadn’t just tried to spell me. I cleared my mind, slowly grasping on the threads she’d sought to use to influence me. The moment my magic had grasped hers, I shot a jolt of warning through the tendril that floated in the air between us. Then I ripped the anchor the spell had been tethered to from her fingers. It had been a warning, but if she tried to alter my thoughts or mind again, I’d do more than just slap her on the wrist. “I will meet you outside once I am ready.” I said, hating that I was allowing her to demand I fight again while weakened, and then added, “We should discuss the alliances you’ve been brokering when we return tonight. I need to know who isn’t to be touched when I’m away from the sanctuary and on my own.” What I really wanted to do was call her out and end her leadership over me, but if I did that, the witches would be fractured. So, for the time being, I would allow her to continue with her power trip while I built my contingency plan just in case. Aurora grinned with a sharp glimmer burning in her eyes. “I knew I could depend on you, and yes, we will. I’ll consider this slight a momentary lapse of judgment, and we’ll never speak of it again after today.” She stood and stepped closer, but I kept an eye on her hands, making sure she wouldn’t attempt to cast magic on me again. “I’ve started rumors that are now circling throughout the realms. After your reports of being coerced to the altar, I intend to remove the claim he has on you. I won’t allow him to think he has any claim to a throne through you. Not that it would matter,
since you’ll not be the one to ascend the throne, but we can’t have him seeking to harm me so you can replace me on it, either.” “Good,” I stated, allowing her to think she’d won me over. An ache started in my chest, wrapping around my heart to squeeze tightly. She’d changed so much in the short time we’d been back in the Nine Realms. While I’d been fighting to keep them safe, she’d been seeking to make alliances behind my back. I’d attempted to discover who she’d spoken with, but she’d snuffed me off, and had swiftly changed the subject. She had become willing to forgive crimes against our sister witches to gain power. I hadn’t wanted to believe it was possible, but I’d seen her doing it with my own eyes. This hadn’t been the plan when we came back. She wasn’t helping to clean out or repair the damage our absence had caused. She was just hiding the filth in the crevices and beneath the cushions. I’d promised these witches more, and I fully intended to see it through, even if it meant I’d be standing alone to do it. That Aurora was no longer the woman I grew up with boggled my mind. I hadn’t been naïve enough to think it couldn’t happen, but I’d also not wanted to believe she’d changed. I’d told Knox he was wrong about Aurora, but was he? Aurora was proving him right, and that left a bad taste in my mouth. She was a horrid leader, and without me, she wouldn’t hold the throne long enough to sit her ass on the throne. He’d said I was the bad guy, and if I followed Aurora down this path, then it would just prove him right. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Aurora was setting me, and the other witches on a collision course. The problem was, there wasn’t an easy way of escaping that course yet. I needed to formulate a plan to make her realize she was hurting us all with her leadership, and her inability to listen to anyone else. She was already acting like she’d been crowned the queen, but even queens listened to their people’s worries. Knox had foreseen this, and I hated realizing he’d been correct in his assumptions of what she’d be like, if she took the lead. Silently, I changed and then joined my sisters, who were waiting by an open portal. My gaze slid over them, memorizing the concern etched on their expressions. I wasn’t the only one worrying about what was happening here. No one spoke up or voiced their fears as we followed Aurora, though, because loyalty demanded we stay silent even when common sense argued otherwise.
Esme, Siobhan, and Soraya threw me curious looks, as if they sensed the unease washing through me. I shrugged the worry away, squaring my shoulders and straightening my spine. I marched through the portal the witches had opened to set siege to an unknown enemy. Sending a prayer heavenward, I prayed Aurora wasn’t leading us headlong into something we’d regret.
Chapter Fifteen The little keep wasn’t small at all. In fact, it was a rather significant stone dwelling with a fortified wall that surrounded it. I memorized every arrow slit and every man lingering in the shadows of the battlements. They weren’t moving or readying to defend against us. The portcullis was shut tightly, but other than that, it didn’t appear as if they feared our arrival. The knowledge that they did nothing sent unease rushing through me. Unlike the last place we’d attacked, this keep didn’t seem ready for an assault. Yet, I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that was rooted inside me. The witches around me seemed excited by the prospect of the violence about to unleash here. Not a single one of them seemed to sense the same disquiet I did. Lifting my nose into the air, I smelled for any signs of hemlock, but it was as if there was a barrier around the battlement preventing scent or sound from reaching us. I tilted my head, listening for the sound of hearts beating with anticipation or fear, but there was only a foreboding silence. Pushing my senses farther into the keep, I found nothing that would cause the worry swirling through me, and I turned to Aurora. “Do you hear that?” I asked softly. My voice cut through the quietness like a knife, slicing melted butter. Blinking, I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, widening my eyes when Aurora started to sway. It took effort to ignore the fear, which I decided was due to how the last attack ended and not because something was actually wrong. “I hear them,” Aurora replied. “They’re waiting for us to make the first move.” My forehead creased in concentration as I listened again, hearing nothing but the echo of dead silence. The only sounds I heard came from us, our heartbeats pattering with excitement, pounding like war drums. Closing my eyes, I let my magic seek out our enemies. Something popped, and I shivered. Metal clanged, and I opened my eyes to focus on the portcullis. Slowly, it lifted a sliver before stalling out. The hair along my nape rose with the warning that something was horribly wrong. Where was the expectancy of the coming fight from inside the stronghold? Where were the shouts to
prepare or any of the normal noises that proceeded combat? Slowly, I began threading the magic I’d need to erect a barrier of protection around us. “Something isn’t right,” I mumbled, stepping back before I glanced at Esme, who was hearing the same unnerving silence. “Aria’s right,” Esme agreed, sliding her violet gaze to Aurora. “I don’t hear shit from inside, and the men on the wall don’t have heart beats.” “You can’t hear them speaking? They’re singing about watching us burn,” Aurora whispered in a manner that caused goose bumps to cover my skin. “I remember this song well.” I shared a confused look with Esme before we both went back to trying to hear what Aurora was talking about. Still, there was nothing but silence. It was eerie and wrong, as if the whole place held its breath and waited for something we couldn’t see or feel. Scratching began behind the portcullis, and torches lit along on the battlement, bathing the men in a soft light revealed their faces. I swallowed hard and forced myself not to take a step back when their mutilated faces came into full view. “What the hell?” Esme said, her tone full of disgust as the eyeless men tilted their heads in our direction. She moved next to me, and Soraya did the same. “Something is seriously amiss here,” I muttered, barely containing the need to run. The issue was, if we tried to retreat, we wouldn’t all escape. I wasn’t certain how I knew that, but I felt it in my bones. Everyone was here. All of my sisters joined in on the strike at Aurora’s behest, and I was unwilling to lose so much as one of them. I lifted my hand to the swell of my belly and ignored the fear surging through me. “It’s a fucking trap,” I hissed loud enough for everyone to hear. “Call your magic to you, now.” I was already in the process of ripping power to me from the realm. “Can you hear them singing?” Aurora asked, still swaying. Still not pulling power. “My mother used to sing that song to me when I was a child.” Kinvara snorted while shaking her head. “I don’t hear a thing. Does anyone else?” “I don’t,” Reign announced. “I can’t hear or feel shit. It’s almost like there’s no life in this place—at least, not within the stronghold.” Reign
withdrew her blades and poised for an assault. Rhaghana grunted in agreement, and a white line of worry appeared on her lips. Others stepped closer to Aurora, as if it would help them zero in on the singing she was clearly enjoying. Dark shadows stretched over the battlements, and still, no noise came from their movements. I moved my palm from my abdomen, readying to defend my sisters against the strike that was inevitably coming. “Who told you about this place, Aurora?” Sabina asked carefully, her midnight-blue gaze drifting to where I stood. “The runes told me,” Aurora said in a singsong tone. “They’re the same ones that predicted Aria’s death.” Color drained from my face, my heart hammered against my ribs, and fresh unease churned in my stomach. “What runes did you cast?” I murmured through chattering teeth. Siobhan shuffled closer, joining Esme and Soraya, who were already flanking me. My aunt just continued rocking, and the faster she swayed, the more fear flowed through the group scattered around us. A sweet lullaby started, and this time, we all seemed to hear it even if we still couldn’t pinpoint its origin. A heavy pressure formed in the air, and the wind picked up, causing our hair to whip against our faces and around our heads. “We cast the runes to find out who’d be amongst the dead,” Aurora declared as she drifted toward the wall. “They informed us you’d soon pass through the veil and into the afterlife. The only way to alter the reading was to come to this place and rid it of the evil that lingers within.” She spoke so quietly that we were forced to strain to hear her words. “So, that’s what we will do.” The fire in the torches eddied in the breeze, drawing my focus back to the warriors on the battlement. Along with the expulsion of their eyes, someone had sewn their lips shut with black string. Blood oozed from their noses as if they yet lived. However, the absence of any heartbeats and their very obviously slashed throats told me that wasn’t possible. “We need to get out of here, now,” Reign stepped back, but a powerful, piercing wail shot through the air. The arrow slits in the battlement blazed with light, and when a volley of arrows rushed toward us, I started shouting for people to take cover. The wind devoured my warning as the world seemed to slow until it stalled on a
single second of time. I clapped my hands over my ears. The magic pulsing through the field turned my body slugging and seemed to settle like lead in my limbs. My arms shook with the effort it took to hold them up, and I gritted my teeth as I tried to pull more magic to myself. I managed barely enough to produce a thin barrier, but the moment it slammed into place, I knew something wasn’t right. The magic surging around us didn’t ease when it should have. The webs of spells already gripping me should have retreated, and whatever was causing everything to appear to be moving in slow motion should have been snuffed out. Screaming clapped throughout the meadow, coming from all around me, and then the pungent stench of blood invaded my nose. Pinpointing anything in the dimly lit meadow was impossible, and the piercing wails were disorientating. All at once, everything exploded back into motion, and it jarred my mind. Reign roared in pain, but Rhaghana shot toward her with lightning speed, blocking the arrows that had been meant for her twin. Reign grabbed her sister as she stumbled, and together, they dropped to their knees. Rhaghana’s throat had been virtually severed by the missile’s impact. Ripping power from the realm, I thrust it out in every direction as I screamed with the savage anger rushing through me, spitting more shouts of agony from my throat. Reign held Rhaghana in her arms, and the tortured sob slid from her parted lips as she pleaded for her twin to hang on. Blood gushed from the wound and pooled on the ground while we stood trapped under this dome, unable to retreat. “Help me!” she implored, continuing to cradle Rhaghana’s unmoving body. No one moved because we had all frozen under the awareness of other witches encircling us. “Get up, Reign!” I silently prayed Reign heard me over the wind’s deafening roar. “Get up, now!” All around us, the ground shifted and vibrated as black, feathery shadows began to break through the top layer of soil. They solidified, revealing themselves to be the dead who were clawing their way free from what had to be their unmarked graves. The barrier wasn’t preventing them from coming up through the soil, but then it was barely doing anything other than offering a thin layer of protection. A shiver of dread rushed down my spine as howling sounded from the darkened forest that encircled the graveyard. I turned to the new threat,
watching in horror as dark witches strode from the gloom and into the meadow. Fluid bled from them in streams, oozing from their eye sockets like liquid ink, unmasking their soullessness. Their lips were gray, as if they’d asphyxiated on the crap spilling from their mouths. Someone had dressed them in thick, black cloaks that dragged over the earthen terrain, but their feet never touched the ground. Dead, rotting dire wolves trotted beside them, their luminous eyes solely focused on their prey—us. As if our situation couldn’t get any more perilous, the metal chains of the portcullis started to move and the wooden door began to rise. A second later, more wolves and witches emerged from within the keep. They closed in around us from every side, and I knew in my bones that the thin barrier I’d erected wouldn’t be adequate to hold them back, and even though I yanked frantically at the realms’ magic, it was coming to me in a trickle instead of the flood I needed. “You thought to best me?” a bitter, ghostly voice rang through the darkness. It turned my blood to ice and slammed horror into my chest. Terror threatened to shred what was left of my composure as recognition drove through my soul. I scanned for the owner of the voice, inspecting the soulless faces of the witches encircling the barrier. “Mother,” Aurora murmured in an eerie-sounding voice that shot the world reeling off-kilter around me. She was watching a veiled figure that was slithering through the swarm of witches. The hood attached to the neckline of her dress dropped back, revealing raven-black hair, which was threaded with crimson curls. Perfect, unblemished alabaster skin covered the delicate features of the woman. Green eyes, which were the tint of recently picked limes, fixed on Aurora, and the woman’s blood-red lips twisted into a derisive smirk. “Oh, my sweetest darling,” she crooned, combing her narrowed gaze over the young woman behind Aurora with interest that troubled me. Hecate was terrifying and exceedingly beautiful. Her midnight-colored gown hugged her thick, alluring curves perfectly. Soft tendrils of blue lines that pulsed with magic slid down her arms. Her power was infinite, and the taint of it oozing into the air told me she was pulling even more from the witches close enough for her to siphon from. It wasn’t just magic, though; there was something more. It had a bonedeep chill of evil that promised death. I held on to the barrier, willing it to
stand in place while everyone else looked on in suspended silence as the Goddess of Magic came to a stop before us. My gaze flicked down to Reign, who continued cradling her twin in her arms. Blood soaked the front of her clothing, and her twin’s eyes had long since gone lifeless and glassy. Without taking my eyes off her, I sensed movement from the keep and tried to brace for another volley of arrows. “Did you truly think I’d tolerate you trying to take my throne from me? Or do you presume I wasn’t aware that my own, treacherous daughter sought to entomb me for an eternity?” Hecate laughed indifferently before she snapped her wrist, sending us all tumbling in different directions. Hands shot through the earth, gripping our clothes or whatever they could reach. “You and your whores are nothing but traitorous, selfish creatures that I’ll drain and never think of again.” I threw off the ghastly hands trying to rip into my wrists and rose to my feet, bracing against the wind battering through the clearing. The others were doing the same, and Hecate threw her head back, laughing cruelly as the magic that had clasped to her like tattoos left her flesh and was swept up by the wind. I concentrated on it, probing for a vulnerability I could exploit to buy us time to escape. Kinvara slapped Aurora, jerking her out of the spell that had her enthralled. Aurora turned toward Hecate, gawking in horror as our situation finally registered. Reign continued sobbing, holding Rhaghana tightly, which drew my aunt’s attention. Aurora’s deep blue stare swelled at the sight, as if she truly was just realizing she’d escorted us all into another ambush. Finally, and likely far too late, Aurora gathered magic from those we’d brought, but it was a drop to Hecate’s ocean. Aurora’s regret-filled gaze found mine. Her lips quivered, and she worried her head in a silent signal for me to remain unnoticed. I couldn’t just stand by and allow Hecate to murder my sisters, friends, and my unborn babes, though. So, I yanked even more magic to me, and finally, I felt it unraveling, answering my call. Hecate zeroed in on me, her lips pulling back over her sparkling white, needle-like teeth that were twisted within her mouth. She didn’t even try to appear mortal as she often had throughout the history of the Nine Realms. Mist pooled around her as she walked toward me, her lime-green eyes dropping to my stomach. They flashed with malice, and hatred billowed
from her, threatening to roll me under its wave and hold me there until I ceased to draw breath. The dire wolves surrounding her howled, gnashing their teeth as saliva dripped from their mutilated jaws. “You’re a monstrosity!” she snarled, spewing acid-like spittle over the barrier, which sizzled and smoked under the droplets. “You shouldn’t be alive,” she continued. She leveled a murderous glare on Aurora. “I told you and Freya to end the bitch before she drew her first breath of air! Do I have to do everything myself?” she asked, turning back to face me. “You die here, as well as the monster inside you.” “Hello, Grandmother.” I sneered. Cocking my hip, I placed my palm on it, and bowed my head while forcing more power into my fingertips. While Hecate’s attention focused on me, Aurora flung the magic she’d pulled from our witches at her mother. The bitch sailed backward and slammed into the stone wall that surrounded the keep, but Hecate had barely landed before she was back on her feet. Her scream was full of fury as it echoed off the stone walls. Hecate’s angry shrill snarl released wispy ropes of violent, angry magic that slammed into the witches, and dire wolves rendering both to dust clouds. It slammed against the barrier, creating eddies of ashes that sought to escape her vile, wicked magic. The wind battered us viciously, knocking the remaining dark witches down and forcing them to use their inhuman nails to gain purchase in the soil so they wouldn’t be swept into the thick trees. The sound of wood creaking and groaning under the strain of her anger filled my ears. In silence, I observed the remaining dark witches slowly turning to ash. I sent my magic to fortify the barrier, feeling the sickening, oily dark magic she released continually battering against it, seeking a way to slaughter us. “You are nothing! I am the Goddess of Magic, and you will heed me now or die on this unhallowed ground,” she snarled, dancing back to avoid the power Aurora continued to push toward her. This time, I added my magic, shoving it hard and fast at Hecate, and when I hit her, she screeched in pain. Once again, she hit the wall, but this time, she stayed down under our relentless assault. The dire wolves crashed into her, crushing her with their rotten corpses. I added more and more magic until I felt the realm pulling back from me. I silently begged for it to give me a little more, knowing it would do me no good.
Still, I pulled until my ears popped and blood ran from my nose. The others weren’t faring any better, collapsing and howling while fighting against the agonizing pain she unleashed. My fingers began bending in the wrong direction, and I gasped, releasing some magic. It was enough to allow Hecate a chance to slam magic at us, sending those who hadn’t prepared for the attack to the ground. “Open us a portal, now!” I ordered over the wind as we all tried to regain our feet, knowing Sabine would do as I demanded. Instead of pulling from the realm this time, I added my witch magic to Aurora’s, and Hecate’s gaze sliced in my direction. Her eyes rounded, and then she smacked her palms on the earthen floor, causing everyone within the barrier to fly against its invisible wall. The runes she’d employed attached the barrier, working to bring it down. The runes mimicked leaches, sucking against the magic of the barrier like blood, draining it with a sloppy, wet suction sound that was sickening. Her fingers curled against her palms, and the sensation of being crushed shot through me. Blinking rapidly, I shivered as she bypassed the barrier with the runes, with them removing the intricate spell by layers. They’d easily removed the protection and spell that prevented her from touching us with magic. It meant we had to move, now. Whispers left her lips, and I yelped with the agony of being ripped apart as her attack united into one well planned assault. Hecate didn’t want us dead because if she did, we would be. That knowledge was terrifying since I’d rather be dead than turned into a battery for her. I whimpered, making myself get up and send another wave of magic at her. Sweat trickled down my spine, and Ember finally joined the battle, adding her strength to mine while I faced off against my grandmother. Hecate’s attention slid to my stomach yet again, and I fought the urge to wrap my arms protectively over my unborn babes. I could hear Sabine yelling for everyone to hurry through the portal, but if I stopped fighting, more people would die before they were able to reach the portal to escape. We would be lucky to escape this fight at all, let alone with our lives. I hadn’t wanted to reveal to Hecate that I had been collecting the elements, but I had no choice. I called on the lightning, smelling the thick scent of ozone seconds before bolts of blinding white light began slamming down through the field and hitting the witches who were feeding Hecate her power. The smell of freshly fried witch hung heavy as the rain began to pelt everyone, wetting the earth and enticing the lightning.
Hecate’s wild gaze searched the sky, and I raised a brow as Aurora glanced back at me as she passed through the portal. When she slammed it shut, panic rioted through me, and then magic flooded into the few who’d been left behind. Still, I refused to go down. Hecate’s eyes had lowered, and her magic was gathering as the others struggled to get to their feet. I prepared to unleash another wave of lightning on Hecate, praying it would be enough to keep her distracted while we escaped. “Open another portal,” I whispered, barely able to get words past my trembling lips. My teeth chattered from the intensity of the magic I was fighting for as well as fighting against. “She’s about to break through the barrier,” I warned, grunting as her magic slashed against the invisible shield while her attacks smashed into me. “I need more time,” Siobhan shouted over the howling wind and rain. “We’re out of time,” I hissed as the barrier popped. Hecate attacked me with her magic at the same moment I unleashed mine on her. It plowed into me violently, and I screamed in agony as something flashed through the space between us. Someone advanced on Hecate, Hecate’s magic pulsed, and the whole world ground to a stop. Reign had gone still a few feet in front of me. My sister’s twin blades were drawn as if she aimed to take Hecate’s head. My heartbeat echoed inside me, and Hecate’s green eyes shifted, holding mine as she closed her fist. Reign exploded, and I yelled in rage and grief. “No! Reign, no!” I shouted brokenly. I pushed the last of my magic toward my evil grandmother, hearing her screaming in agony as I unleashed everything I had in me at once. Sobs burst from my throat as I saw the red mist floating in the air. The pain flooding me was deafening, and I barely registered hands yanking me backward. They were too slow to move me out of the path of the white ball of magic that Hecate threw at me. I stumbled, which had me tumbling through the portal that Siobhan closed the instant I was on the other side. My haunted scream continued to echo through the realms long after my ears pulsed with the silence of the room we’d landed in. Reign had attempted to save me, and she’d died. Hecate had murdered her. As my three friends tried to quiet my shaking, pain-filled cries that consumed the dark underbelly of the sanctuary where Siobhan had brought us, all I could see was the mist of red that had billowed from my sister.
Aurora had abandoned us. She’d calculated the odds and cut her losses to save the others. We’d faced Hecate for the first time, and we’d lost two sisters, and Aurora had abandoned us. The thoughts looped and taunted and refused to release me as I leaned against the girls and sobbed. I couldn’t stop or ignore the grief, but Hecate had gotten a hit in, and she’d made it count. I felt her magic pulsing through me, and I knew what she’d done without having to be told. “You’re bleeding,” Esme muttered in a terrified tone. I shook my head, and another sob escaped my lips. I covered my mouth with my hands, fighting to calm the emotions churning through me. I didn’t want to look or see what was dripping down my legs. I knew what I would find because my belly was tightening with contractions, and it was all too much to handle. Still, I had to look. Peering down, I gazed at the blood that ran down my thighs as my heart shattered. Siobhan held me tightly, her own panicked words barely registering as the sanctuary castle trembled as if being attacked from outside. I used the blood from my legs to paint the doorway for the library while they watched. “We must get her to a healer this instant,” Soraya demanded, searching for Esme and Siobhan, who watched in silence with horror shining in their eyes. “We won’t make it to one,” I whispered weakly. “And even if we did, it wouldn’t matter. The babies are coming.” “There’s too much blood, Aria. We need help.” Esme was frightened, and rightly so. “No,” I argued, placing my hand over the symbol for the library. “It’s going to be okay,” I promised, knowing it was a lie. “You’re going to assist me in delivering my babes. We have no time to go to a healer, and we don’t know who we can trust anymore.” “What?” Siobhan snapped, her eyes widening as she peered into the portal. “Oh, shit.” I dropped into the library, landing hard on the floor as the first scream ripped from my lips. My body contorted, and Ember rattled her anguish from inside me.
Fluids covered the tiles, and blood painted my thighs. The pain ripping through my stomach wasn’t natural; something else fueled it, working against me. I could feel it. There was an evil undertone to the sensation. My heartbeat pounded in my ears in warning as I cried out against the agony. Hands grabbed for me, pulling me onto my feet as I fought to keep the babes within my womb, aware it was too soon for them to be born.
Chapter Sixteen I was bruised and battered by Hecate’s relentless attacks. My dress was soaked in amniotic fluid and blood, and the latter was dripping from my nose due to pulling too much magic too fast. We’d fought her and lost. There was no disputing it any more than there was no denying we’d walked into an ambush. Aurora may not have planned these events, but she’d been weak enough to become susceptible to her mother’s siren call. She hadn’t felt the difference in the runes, which was a novice mistake. She’d allowed their influence to guide her, and it ended with Reign and Rhaghana losing their lives and me losing the lives of my unborn babes. Standing in the library, I yelled when another wave of pain flooded through me. It started in my back and moved to my stomach before settling in my lower abdomen. My scream turned into a broken, heart-wrenching sob as my friends gazed at me sadly. Everyone was searching for anything to help stop the blood flow, but continually returned, pausing at the proof of what was happening. I was losing them, and blood was steadily dripping to make a sickening sound on the marbled floor. “You should lie down, Aria.” Esme yanked on her hair as I curled in on myself and cradled my swollen belly, and her fear and helplessness mirrored my own. “This isn’t happening.” I barely breathed the words as I reached for a table so I wouldn’t fall. “I won’t do this. I refuse to let Hecate take them from me. I’ve lost too much already tonight to lose them, too.” “You’re bleeding badly, Aria,” Siobhan whispered. “It’s too much.” I shrieked as more tried to tear me apart from the inside. I heard boots on the library floor, stalling near the barrier. The table I held on to groaned in protest as I pressed my fingers into the wood. The girls looked at Knox, and I moaned as the pain finally relented. Turning, I locked gazes with storm-colored eyes before they slid down my ruined clothes to where my blood dripped on the tile. I gaped, noting he was actually looking at us. I didn’t have the time or the strength to figure out why the illusion spell had failed, though. It was too late anyway. “Aria,” he spoke softly, moving toward me. “What the fuck happened?”
“She fought Hecate and lost,” Soraya replied in a tone full of emotion, and Knox stepped closer to the barrier, not taking his eyes off me. “If you have them now, they won’t survive,” Esme whispered, her hand touching mine. “It’s too soon.” “You faced Hecate?” Knox asked, but I screamed as another severe cramp hit and my hands slid to my abdomen, trying to apply pressure to counteract the pain. I felt the glamor fail, and his attention fixated on my stomach. “Have what right now?” His tone was haunted and flooded with confusion. “Get the dress off her,” Siobhan commanded, peering around the room before releasing the air from her lungs. “We need you to lie down so we can try to slow the bleeding, Aria,” Esme helped undress me, revealing my current state to Knox. A cry of denial rose within me, and I curled in on myself again. I wasn’t doing this yet. I was early, even by witch standards. Ember’s gestation period was unknown, but I wasn’t sure it would matter. I’d barely hit my fifth month, which meant I wasn’t far enough along to birth healthy babies. “You’re expecting a child,” Knox asked, finally realizing what was taking place. “You fought with Hecate while pregnant?” His eyes grew wide as he searched my face for the answer and racked his fingers through his hair. “Aria carries twins, which aren’t ready to be born, Knox. And yes, she fought Hecate, but it wasn’t her fault,” Siobhan snapped defensively, helping me out of the soiled slip before tossing it aside. “Aurora walked us all into an ambush, and Aria saved us by fighting long enough for us to open a portal, and if she hadn’t, we’d all be dead. Now, if you don’t mind, we have to stop the bleeding.” She looked at my bloody panties, and I covered my breasts with my arms, holding my belly as I trembled in pain. I turned toward Siobhan, covering my nakedness as more heavy footsteps rushed into the library. One glance was enough for me to note that Lore and Brander were standing with Knox, all three staring at me. Brander quickly stepped into his position as a medic while Lore gaped at the situation, looking like he’d pass out at any moment. “Where is she hurt?” Brander asked soothingly. “She isn’t hurt. Aria is miscarrying my children, and the barrier is still separating us. She’s fucking bleeding out, and we can’t to her to help her,” Knox growled in a low voice as his eyes flicked uncontrollably between his
sea blue and pitch-black with glowing embers. Knox’s eyes finally returned to their normal oceanic-blue, burning with agony. “You’re pregnant.” As he repeated the words, I nodded, struggling to control my crying. “How long have you known?” “For just a little while,” I admitted before screaming out in pain. My body jerked from the intensity of the contraction ripping through my middle. “I don’t want to do this.” The cramping was violent enough to make me want to vomit. Every intense contraction sent fresh fluids rushing from within me, and I was certain my spine was being snapped in half. No matter how hard Ember tried to soothe me, she failed. “Lore, go find Greer and tell him we need blood immediately. Aria is losing more than a mortal can withstand. Do it discreetly, and without others overhearing what’s happening.” Knox walked closer to the shield, his hands pushed against it, staring into my terrified eyes. “Breathe, Aria. Just breathe for me, Little Monster. It’s going to be okay.” “Lay her down, now,” Brander ordered, which snapped the girls into motion. “How long has she been in labor?” “No more than a handful of minutes, maybe less. Hecate hit her with something as we came through the portal,” Esme announced. “It slammed into her stomach, and then she began losing blood. There was a lot of it at first, but it slowed to a trickle when the contractions started.” “Hecate?” Brander asked, glancing at me and then turning to face Knox, who was barely keeping his shit together. Sighing, he spotted the enormous pile of blankets I’d been collecting for my nest. “Gods damn,” he whispered, bringing his attention back to me, studying my midsection. “You need to get her laid down, now.” He ordered, but no one moved. “Aria followed Aurora into an ambush,” Knox explained in a shaky voice, appearing as if he would throw up. His expression almost brought me to my knees, and I shook my head at the truth of what was happening. “You jumped in front of magic meant for me while carrying my children,” he accused softly, but there wasn’t any anger in the statement. “I didn’t think before I acted,” I admitted, whimpering through clenched teeth as another contraction hit. Soraya and Esme helped lower me onto the crude, makeshift bed that they’d thrown together flush against the barrier. “Aurora wanted to hurt you. I wasn’t going to stand there and allow that to happen. She planned to murder you, and I’ve never wished you dead!”
“Thirty seconds apart,” Brander stated, rolling up his sleeves while he gave me a once-over. “We need to get this fucking barrier down.” Knox didn’t reply to Brander. Instead, he stared at me as if he didn’t know whether to strangle me or hold me. He didn’t look away from where I lay, and his hair was standing up where he’d tugged on it, as if trying to force the information through his mind. A soul-deep scream tore from me as the emotional and physical pain warred with one another. Knox stepped toward the blankets where I was placed. Something was yanked over my head, and then, once the wave of agony passed, Esme helped me sit up so she could lower the soft, clean nightgown over my chest, leaving my belly exposed. “How do you know it was Hecate?” Knox asked, dropping to his knees so he was closer to me. “It was her,” Siobhan answered, nodding her dark head. “Aria told her the place didn’t feel right, but Aurora wouldn’t listen. Hecate and the other dark witches appeared, and then Aurora opened a portal and left us to die. Reign bought us time, but she didn’t survive, and neither did her twin, Rhaghana.” Sighing, Siobhan reached down and removed my blood-soaked panties. A sob tried to choke me when I thought of what happened to my sisters. Knox exhaled, his expression turning guarded. My head shook as pain sliced through me again and my back arched from the floor. “I can’t do this,” I pleaded, incapable of putting words to the anguish of losing the babies. “Yes, you can,” Knox uttered softly. “Blood!” Lore shouted, sliding to a stop by the barrier. “Holy shit, you’re really pregnant! Wow.” His expression filled with wonder as he examined the nest I’d been building. One whole side of the library was covered with blankets and whatever else Ember had wanted us to collect in the last couple of months. “I knew there was something cool behind there.” “You look like shit, Peasant,” Greer declared as he entered the room while removing his jacket. He saw the blood around me and flinched. “As much as I enjoy watching you bleed out, we should probably address that, don’t you think?” I screamed, unable to answer him as fire tore across my abdomen. “Oh, Aria,” he whispered as pink tears rolled down his cheeks. He was choked up and wiped at his eyes, trying to keep anyone from seeing, but we
all had. “Are you fucking crying, Meat Suit?” I asked, fighting a spasm. I bared my teeth, clenched down, and my back twitched as a burst of pain shot down my legs and curled my toes. “Grab some towels to clean the blood away so I can get a clear picture.” Brander kneeled beside Knox, staring at my junction with clinical eyes. “Where the fuck do you suggest we get those? It’s not like they’re just going to pop out of—” Soraya paused as several towels dropped from thin air. She lifted her shocked gaze toward the ceiling. “What the fuck?” “Warm water is needed as well, preferably in a basin.” Brander watched as Soraya caught it in mid-air before it could spill everywhere. Esme held me against her chest while Soraya and Siobhan settled between my legs. Someone new moved into the library, and then something hit the ground and shattered. We all looked up to see Killian, who stood with his mouth open in horror. “What the hell?” He grunted, not needing crayons to figure out what he was seeing. Slowly, he exhaled before dragging his hand over his mouth, staring at the substance pooling beneath me. “Bloody hell.” Shaking my head, I cried, twisting my hands into the blankets and closing my legs. I fought, aware that if I allowed this to continue, I’d lose the babes we’d made and Knox would be here to witness it all. He’d be forced to see more taken from him by Hecate, and I didn’t want that to happen. He’d lost enough already. “She’s fighting to keep them. It will only make this a lot harder on her,” Brander whispered, but even through my scream, I heard him. “She will die, too, if she doesn’t stop struggling against what her body was made to do.” Knox exhaled and took a deep breath. “It’s okay, Aria. You can do this,” he said firmly. “You have to let your body take control. You’re losing way too much blood, and the babes are coming no matter what we want, Little Monster. You need to stop trying to prevent what nature has demanded. Just let it happen.” “It’s not okay! I want them even if you don’t!” I screamed at him, and he flinched. “I can save them,” I said softer, shaking from the adrenaline and pain that was telling me I was lying to myself. “You can’t, but it’s okay.” He lowered his eyes to where my hands rested on my stomach, protectively guarding our unborn children. “You
can’t be a mother if you die here today. Do you understand me? You’ll die with them, and that isn’t what either of us wants. I know you’re tough enough to survive this, but you can’t keep it from happening any more than I can.” Killian moved toward Greer and Brander as the scene unfolded. He pushed his fingers through his dark hair, and his startling bluish-green eyes dropped to my swollen abdomen. “That’s quite a bit of blood, Brander,” Killian hissed. “What can I do to assist?” “Tell me what you found at the borderland?” Brander asked, and Knox turned, waiting for the answer. “Did it appear that witches fought there?” he demanded when Killian didn’t reply quickly enough. “Yes. There were dead witches strewn in front of the keep, but nothing lived within the walls, either. The entire place looked like a war had been fought, and lost. The corpses inside, they’d been dead for quite some time. It didn’t make sense, but it’s starting to come together,” Killian stated. “The corpses outside the keep had carved symbols on their skulls. The bodies on the battlements had the same symbols carved into their chests. I’m guessing that’s where Aria was before she came here?” “Was there anything else there? I need you to think, Killian. Did you smell hemlock or anything that would be harmful to the babes or Aria at the scene?” Brander demanded. “No, I didn’t. The only thing there was death.” Killian turned, facing Greer, who moved from the table toward the barrier. “Done,” Greer announced. “Peasant, drink,” he demanded, and seconds later, the bag of Greer’s blood dropped into Esme’s hand. She stared up in confusion and then shook it off. “The library will allow us to pass things to one another. The only thing it won’t do is let anyone alive through it,” he explained to her puzzled look. Esme pushed the plastic end between my lips, but I swung my head to the side in refusal. She forced the edge of the tube into my mouth, and I took a strong pull before gagging on the coppery tang that dripped down my throat. When I tore away from it again, Esme growled while adjusting me to press it past my lips. “How can you be my best friend if you’re dead, asshole? Will you please drink it, Aria?” she pleaded, her voice thick with emotion. She’d given up acting tough. “I just need you to stay alive, okay? So, just do it for
me. Normally, I’d say that I don’t care if you died, but I do. I care, are you happy? So, just drink the shit and live so we don’t lose another person tonight. Don’t let that bitch rewrite your story. This isn’t the end, you get that? If you choose to be stubborn, I’ll force this crap down your throat.” “You could have just left it at best friends,” I offered weakly, feeling her shake with a mixture of laughter and tears. “You’re insufferable sometimes.” She leaned over and sniffed my hair while I drank the bag’s contents. “What is up with the shampoo you use?” She wrinkled her nose, frowning against my cheek as she made sure I finished. “Are you sniffing me right now?” I asked, but then I screamed as my body jerked in agony. As the contraction grew worse, a sob slipped from me. I whimpered as Knox and his men started purring softly, trying to comfort me. “I am not doing this!” “You are,” Knox muttered mid-purr, which sounded off. It was as if he was forcing himself to do it even though he was in as much pain as I was. “It isn’t something you can stop or undo. You’re strong enough to do what you must and survive. I need you to live, wife.” “I can’t―I won’t lose our children, too, Knox. If they stay where they are, they’ll be safe. I have to hold them in a little longer,” I said through the sobs racking my body. “I want them.” “Your water broke, Aria,” Brander said softly. “The babes are coming, and it can’t be stopped. They can no longer live inside you. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. They’re being delivered with or without your permission.” I knew he wasn’t attempting to hurt me, but his words cut deep. “What do you see, Soraya?” “Blood.” She sighed, sitting on her heels to stare between my thighs. “There is so much blood. I can’t help you,” she stated, trying to back away. Siobhan caught her, keeping her in place. Esme rattled in warning, and it reverberated through the chamber. The men swung their eyes to her, and she realized her mistake too late and made a distinct sound in her throat. It wasn’t even remotely close to the one she’d allowed to escape. “Did you guys hear that? There’s another one like her,” Lore declared before he softly rattled to Esme, who grunted in reply. “Hey, pretty girl. I’m Lore, and you are?” He purred from deep in his chest, but I held on to the one Knox released.
“Are you serious right now? Do you really think now is the time to beat your chest and for us to get to know one another?” Esme asked irritably, rolling her eyes so hard I was sure she’d rang a bell at the back of her skull. “Men are such insensitive pricks,” she muttered beneath her breath, but Lore didn’t seem phased by her dismissal. Another wave of pain began almost as soon as the first one faded, and I groaned as my spine lifted off the floor. “It hurts,” I cried, uncaring how weak I sounded. Esme tightened her hold, purring louder against my ear to calm me. “Look at me, Aria,” Knox pleaded, coaxing my focus back to him. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, pretty girl. I will be right by your side through it all. But you have to breathe slowly or you’ll hyperventilate.” “Soraya, face me,” Brander ordered in a soft, soothing tone. “I am going to walk you through the deliveries. I realize you’re nervous, but you can handle this. All you have to do is listen to me and remember that you’re not doing this alone.” “Esme, you can stare at me. I’m pretty, right?” Lore asked, wiggling his brows, and she snorted. I screamed as fresh pain twisted my body toward Knox, who clenched his hands into fists. I fought to quiet the pained noises while I prayed for some relief. Knox swallowed loudly and offered me a tight smile. Rolling up his sleeves, he shook out of his shock. Stabbing his fingers through his hair, he released a rumble of purring that sent a wave of comfort sliding through me. Leaning even closer to the barrier, he silently reassured me with his noises while I whimpered and clung to the sensation they created inside my mind. “I can’t,” Soraya told Brander. “When shit breaks or turns bad, I run away. I’m not a healer. I’m not even a fixer-upper! I mean, my flight instincts kick in when things get even a slightly hard to handle, and this is terrifying.” “There’s nowhere for you to run, Soraya. You don’t have time to run away because the babies are nearly here, whether or not we like it. So, take a deep breath and let it out, then look at Aria, and watch for the next contraction. The babes are so tiny that it won’t take long for them to be delivered, and you’re going to need to catch them.” Soraya wiped at the angry tears on her cheeks. “Fine, tell me what to do, Brander. Next time, we bring the healer with us to a fight, Aria.”
I snorted through my tears and nodded as Esme used a cloth to wipe away the sweat on my brow. My hair was soaked, and the pain was getting worse with every contraction. Turning, I saw Knox staring at my slight belly. He looked as if he could will our babes to remain within, to survive the same monster who had single-handedly destroyed his world and continued to add bodies to the pile.
Chapter Seventeen I’d been pushing for over an hour with hardly any reprieve from the contractions. Sweat dripped from my brow, soaking my gown, turning the material sheer. My strength was waning, and every moment that passed drained me even more. The pain was too much, and everything inside me felt wrong, as if my very cells knew that whatever Hecate hit me with was vile. Ember had been adding strength, but she had gone silent within me, and now it was a struggle to keep my eyelids open. Knox had tried to distract me by talking, but eventually, I’d stopped replying to the things he was asking. After that, he’d offered me soft, soothing purrs, but the tone of them was still off as he fought through his own emotions. Esme continued uttering encouragement in my ear while Brander talked Soraya through what was occurring between my thighs. Hushed voices filled the room, but the moment I started screaming again, they all paused. “Aria, you need to push on the next one,” Brander urged, peering at what Soraya and Siobhan pushed my thighs apart to show him. He frowned before sliding his eyes to Knox, who sat frozen in place with a haunted expression. “I am pushing,” I whispered weakly, collapsing back against Esme once the pain ebbed. It no longer really went wholly away. “Drink,” Esme ordered, adjusting me so she could pick up the blood. I let my head fall away from what she offered. My silent refusal was punctuated by my eyelids finally sliding closed. I couldn’t do this. “You’re weak as fuck, Aria.” Knox chuckled coldly from beside me. My head turned, and I glared at him through watery eyes. “You crave to know why I don’t want you to have my children. Because you’re not fucking strong enough to carry them,” he continued shattering me even more. “Look at you. You’re weak and pathetic. You’re not a fighter, after all, are you? You are not worthy of carrying my children.” I turned away from him, swallowing the sob—or, at least, trying to. It slipped from my lips, filling the otherwise quiet room. The silence and tension grew as the collective anger replaced the air in the library. The girls stared at him with death promised in their glares. Soraya opened her mouth to speak, but Lore beat her to it.
“That’s screwed up, Knox,” Lore hissed. “What in the hell are you thinking? She’s fucking trying, and you want to pop off with that? Come on, this isn’t the time or place for that, brother.” “For once, I agree with Lore. This is not the ideal time for you to be a massive dick, asshole. You don’t fucking do that when a woman is giving birth. Especially when you’re the womb-raider, prick,” Killian snapped, but Knox merely snorted his reply. “Why not? Aria’s too fucking weak to give birth. She can’t even manage to do the one fucking thing she was literally created to do. Isn’t that right? Your entire purpose is to create life, and that’s not working out so well for you right now. You’re a fucking disappointment, wife. What the fuck did Lennox think when he chose you as our mate?” I snarled, fully intending to find the strength to tear his head from his neck, but another wash of pain stole the breath from my lungs. Grabbing behind my knees, I pushed as a scream of anguish and rage ripped from my throat, and that was followed by a broken keening noise that echoed through the room. I continued pushing until the look on Soraya’s face made me hesitate. She reached down, peering up at me with wide, rounded eyes. “Don’t pull on it, Soraya,” Brander warned urgently. “Push, Aria. The babe is coming, and it needs your help right now,” he demanded. “Fuck you!” I sobbed but did as he’d asked. I cried out, gritting my teeth as I glared at Knox. His expression was one of pride instead of disappointment. “Come on, Aria, let’s finish this. I know you can,” he whispered, his eyes searching mine as I cried, pushing harder. He didn’t look away from me, never taking back the strength he lent me as I felt the babe leave my body. I looked to Soraya and then Brander as they studied the tiny creature I’d created. I struggled to sit up, but Esme held me tighter. When Soraya shook her head at my expectant look, a fresh sob shredded my throat while tears rolled down her cheeks. “I want to see!” I demanded, clinging to my denial even as grief threatened to swallow me whole. “Please let me look at her,” I begged through deep, heart-wrenching cries that shook my whole body. “Cut the cord and hand the babe to Siobhan. The next babe is coming,” he continued as if my heart weren’t sitting in Soraya’s arms, soundless and still.
“Let me see her, Siobhan. I want to see my baby!” I continued relentlessly, needing to see the babe more than I needed to breathe. “Aria, focus on me,” Knox stated. “Just breathe. Just breathe for me, please.” The pressure started again, and I sobbed. I was exhausted, and my heart was shattering into a million pieces with every second that passed without a sound from my daughter. Siobhan’s eyes pleaded with me, but I already knew the truth. My child was dead, and the next one would be as well. Grabbing my knees, I bore down again, screaming as the pain intensified. The moment it let up, I leaned back, staring at Knox, who watched Siobhan rocking the babe with a look of raw, unadulterated pain on his face. The next contraction tore through me, and I groaned through my teeth as I brought the next out of my body. Esme released me, and I sat up as Soraya grasped the babe. I took it from her. A watery smile that felt like betrayal tugged on my lips as I cradled the small, red, wrinkled body. It was only a fraction of a moment before my heart shattered and a sob escaped my lungs and filled the silent room. Siobhan placed the other beside me, and I cried harder while taking in their perfect faces. “Sons?” Knox asked in a thick tone laced with emotions, but I didn’t have time to answer. “Daughters,” Soraya whispered. “Twin girls.” “No, please,” I begged, rubbing their chests as if I could will them awake. “No, this isn’t happening. Please wake up,” I prayed as I bawled brokenly. “I need you to wake up for me.” My body rocked, and I could barely draw enough breath. It was so unfair that my heart beat while there’s didn’t. “Oh God, please don’t do this. Wake up, babies.” “Aria isn’t done yet,” Brander stated softly. “She is for the moment,” Esme snapped, leaning over to push the hair away from my face as I tried to bring the babies back. “Aria, they’re gone.” “No! No, they can’t be. I want my children. I want them!” “They’re already gone. They didn’t suffer, and I assure you, your daughters aren’t in pain right now. I know you’re hurting—trust me, I know. But they’re beyond pain, and even though it feels like your universe is crumbling, you’re going to be okay,” she murmured through the tears running down her cheeks. “Eventually, you’ll be okay again.”
“This is my fault,” I whispered, stroking a trembling finger over the promise of darker blonde hair on her head. Leaning closer, I kissed one and then the other before wiping away the white coating from their faces. They were tiny, but my fingertips against their hands felt right. “I did this to them because I trusted the wrong person to do the right thing.” I curled around them, staring at their tiny bodies. When Brander instructed Siobhan to push on my stomach, I barely noticed, too swept up in my agony. Afterward, other than the sound of crying and the occasional whisper from the other side of the barrier, the library was silent. Time passed, and I didn’t move or look away from my daughters. They were small, barely over a pound from the looks of them. Both had a touch of dark blonde-colored hair on their heads, but beyond that, it was difficult to gauge what they would have looked like had they survived. I brushed a finger over their cheeks as I fought the wealth of emotions swelling inside me. I touched their feet, marveling at their delicate toes and fingers. They were perfect and would have been if they’d lived. But they hadn’t, and it hurt deeply to accept that they wouldn’t ever laugh or cry. They would never know how much I grew to love them after I’d found out they were within me. No one disturbed me as I said hello and goodbye simultaneously. “Did the bleeding stop?” Brander asked softly, forcing my attention to where he kneeled on the other side of the barrier. “Mostly, yes,” Siobhan answered, leaning down to wash my legs before Esme and Soraya helped me to change into something softer that wasn’t covered in blood and muck. Once done, they carefully pulled the blankets out from beneath me. I studied the nest I’d created for my babes, wanting it destroyed and left undisturbed at the same time. It had taken a lot to create the perfect place for them to be delivered, and it felt like destroying it would eradicate a part of them. My body was already healing, and every sign that they’d ever existed would soon be erased. Panic formed within me, but soft purring erupted, drawing my eyes to Knox. He was staring at the unmoving babes that he said he hadn’t wanted. He paced back and forth along the length of the barrier, but he never looked anywhere but at the girls we’d made together.
He paused when he caught me watching him, and the muscle in his cheek jumped before he whispered, “I didn’t mean what I said earlier.” He pushed his fingers through his messy hair and exhaled. “You needed to get angry because, when you are, you fight harder. I needed you to fight.” He swallowed thickly, clenching his hands together before his gaze slid back to the lifeless babes. “I know.” My voice was weak and hoarse from screaming and crying for hours, and the sole thing I craved in that moment was to be in his embrace. “Lennox needs to see them, Aria. He’s demanding to see them,” he replied, allowing me to catch the hint of obsidian and flickering embers that burned in his gaze. I opened my mouth to argue because he’d rejected them. Only, he wasn’t acting like someone who never wanted these babies. No, he was just as broken and full of helpless agony as I was. Swallowing my fear and need to keep them close, I turned to the girls, agreeing to allow their father to see them. Siobhan and Soraya gathered them carefully and then shifted them closer to where he waited. Knox removed his shirt, and I narrowed my gaze on him as Siobhan gasped. A second later, Knox exhaled audibly. The library had moved the baby to her father. I examined him as he stared down at her wrinkled appearance, wondering if he found her as perfectly made as I had. Knox held the babe as if she were precious, and while she’d seemed tiny in my hands, she looked like a miniature toy in his. He ran a finger down one cheek and then over the whisper of sandy blonde hair on her head. Despite what he’d claimed a moment ago, his eyes never changed to allow Lennox to take in the tiny being we’d created. They remained the color of the ocean right before a storm rushed through it. Silently, a slight smile tugged on his lips before his eyes lifted and he looked right at me. “She’s as beautiful as her mother, Aria,” he whispered gently. “If they had lived, they would have been ethereal and delicate like her, too.” I blinked past my watery smile. Knox had survived the death of a child before, but I examined his raw, agonizing pain with fresh eyes. Sven had been around a lot longer than our daughters, and Knox was forced to watch him die one thousand times. That curse took an entire year to unfold, and
he’d stood beside the child he’d thought was his through each painful death. I wasn’t sure I’d survive losing our daughters even a single time, but at least I hadn’t lost them alone. The anguish I felt was debilitating, but buried deep beneath it, hate and rage swelled. I knew it would grow until it was the only thing filling my veins and allowing my heart to keep beating. And while it may not be close to the same thing, I found I understood Knox’s animosity a lot better, and that was scary. Knox nodded toward Soraya, and she gasped as the library delivered our second daughter into her father’s arms. Slowly, he went to his bed, sitting with both girls nestled lovingly in his palms. The men moved in closer, their eyes sliding between Knox and me for permission. Greer was the only one who didn’t move toward the newly born babes. Tear streaks had stained his face, but he didn’t look away from where I sat, as if his worry and sorrow were wholly meant for me. Knox silently asked my permission, and I dipped my chin. Lore leaned closer, his eyes slowly following his finger as wonder lit in his expression. He smiled sadly, lowering to brush soft kisses over the tops of their heads. “They’re so tiny and perfect,” he whispered, as if fearing he would disturb their sleep. “You and your mate created perfect daughters, my friend,” Killian stated, but there was a catch to his words, as if he struggled to admit them. “She did, didn’t she? They’re flawless,” Knox agreed, but his piercing stare had remained on me. My heart ached hearing the pain that shook his words as he spoke. “She’s an amazing creature, isn’t she?” Killian backed away, and Brander looked at my babies through a clinical eye. He pushed the towel down on one, quickly doing the same to the other babe before pushing out a harsh breath. Finally, he looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Hemlock? How would they have hemlock in their systems? Even if introduced to your body, it shouldn’t have entered the womb.” His sapphire stare slid over my face and lowered to what little skin was exposed. His gaze was suspicious, but Esme shut it down quickly. “Aria was shot with a hemlock-tipped arrow when Aurora refused to retreat.” Esme’s violent gaze clashed with mine as she put a hand on her hip. “That’s twice she placed us in the path of certain death.”
“I’m aware,” I whispered through the trembling of my lips, accepting the teacup Siobhan handed to me. I thanked Greer, who’d demanded the library make it exactly the way I liked it. Blowing on the steam drifting up from the cup, I ignored the way Siobhan flitted around me, adjusting the blankets. Placing the teacup aside, I weighed my words carefully. “I think Aurora used that day as a test, which I failed. I questioned her orders, and she wanted to know if I would argue with her in the presence of others. The second test was when I protected Knox from her. I failed that test when I chose him over her. I guess she didn’t think I would if my sisters were there and in danger, but she was wrong. Tonight, I saw fear in her eyes for the first time. She realized that she’d walked us into a trap and that it cost at least one life. She doesn’t know Reign died as well, and I’ll never forgive her for costing me my daughters. Aurora changed when we returned to the Nine Realms, and she thinks she stands on a pedestal. I’m about to knock her off it, and I won’t be there to help her back up after she falls.” “About fucking time, Aria,” Esme muttered before she released a shaky breath. Knox was watching me with a pointed expression, and after a second, he frowned and stood, forcing his men to back up as he moved away from the bed. My eyes widened as he turned toward the door with the babes in his arms, and panic shot through me. “What are you doing? Give them back to me!” I demanded as I forced myself to my feet and all but threw myself toward the barrier. “They’re dead, Aria. They’ll both be blessed and laid to rest in the crypt with Sven,” he whispered, soundlessly daring me to argue. “It’s a sign of honor and something I can give them that will matter. I wasn’t even aware they existed until I was forced to watch them be born lifeless and unmoving. So, I ask that you allow me to put them safely in the one place Hecate can never reach.” “I need to say goodbye and bless them, Knox. No one else will bless them for burial when their mother wants to do so herself. That is my right, and you will give it to me. Please,” I added, fighting the tears tightening my throat. “Do not shroud our children in a blessing cloth. I have my own that I would like to use once they’ve entered the tomb. It will make it so that no one can sense the power they hold, even in death,” he explained.
“Okay, but I will bathe them and burn sage,” I agreed, holding my arms out as I saw his tightening on our daughters. They didn’t drop into my arms as I expected. They landed in Siobhan’s and Soraya’s. A white bowl rose on a silver pedestal as sage was lit around us. I grabbed the babe and removed her towel, staring at the black, poisonous veins that covered her torso. My emotions churned, and my hackles rose. “It’s not hemlock. It’s dark magic that Hecate used on me to reach them,” I whispered, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. “She tried to turn them toward the darkness while they were still inside me.” The realization rocked my sanity, and I shook my head. That was what I’d felt when her magic was inching through me. It was searching for the unprotected vessels that could house a piece of her vile soul. She had tried to take control of my children before they’d been born, but she must have forgotten Ember was within me, protecting us from her. “That’s impossible,” Esme stated, shifting closer and exhaling loudly as she glanced down at the fading marks. My hands trembled uncontrollably as I pushed an eyelid up. When I found black, lifeless eyes, my anger blasted through the library and I growled until the shelves shook. “I’m going to fucking destroy her. I am going to end that bitch, and she won’t see me coming next time,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “She cannot be allowed to live any longer.” “She was able to get to your babies because they were of her bloodline, right?” Soraya asked, staring at the infant she held. “Any child you or your sisters create can be turned, and Hecate can hide within them. She wasn’t trying to murder them. She was trying to plant a slice of herself to be reborn as your child. It doesn’t make sense.” “Actually, it does.” I snorted through my tears. “Hecate knew who I was and called me a monstrosity. She still fears that the prediction is in play, and she knows that I broke the curse of infertility she placed on your people as well as the one she placed on her bloodline. She was afraid that I carried the son that would end her once and for all,” I explained, rocking my head back and forth. “If I am the creature born of the Hecate bloodline and the first people of the Nine Realms, what better way to circumvent your death than by hiding within the one destined to murder you? It is too bad my mother isn’t here so I could ask her who she fucked to create me,” I whispered,
dripping water over the babe’s head. “Considering her skull is on your throne, I doubt she’s willing to offer up anything to either of us that would be helpful.” “But it isn’t, Aria,” Knox snorted, causing my gaze to lift to his. “Freya wasn’t your mother.” “Yes, she was,” I countered, glaring at him as he leaned against the barrier. “No, she isn’t. Freya gave birth to twin girls. One died, and one lived. Amara was Freya’s daughter who lived. When you got older, your mom stopped spelling you to look like Amara and allowed you to think it was your other half that caused the changes. Eventually, you would have discovered that truth anyway if you had left home for any length of time.” Knox swallowed, dropping his focus to the daughter I held, and I allowed Soraya to take her and continue to bathe her. “You’ve always felt alone, even in a house filled with people you love.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but chose not to. “Are you implying that I’m not a Hecate witch?” I asked, already preparing to call him on the lie. “Oh, you are born of the bloodline, Aria. Just not how you think.” He snorted, holding my stare as his cheek jerked and a tic began hammering in it. “Who named you?” I blinked slowly and shook my head. “It isn’t the time for this conversation. I’ll bless their souls and bathe them once more before you entomb them where I can never visit them.” I swallowed, spinning on my heel to accept the other daughter I’d failed from Siobhan’s arms. “Listen to him, Aria,” Ember whispered, sending warmth surging through me. A soft wailing noise slipped from within me as she peered through our shared sight, looking at the babe we’d lost. “He is hurting, too. Four of us lost children, but they will not be the last we create. Mourn them, but be glad they are free of the Hecate’s poison.” “You aborted them,” I accused, already knowing the answer as more warmth rushed through me. Ember had aborted the babes because Hecate had reached them and won. She’d invaded their souls, altering theirs with a sliver of her own, poisoning them to be used and wielded by her. “Yes, I did. They were wrong within us, and if you’d carried the babes to term, they’d never have been ours, Aria. They’d have belonged to the monster who forced her way into their souls. I will never let her do that to
our children. Hecate has no place here or within our daughters souls. I know because the moment she was near me, I wanted to rip you apart until you no longer existed. You are mine to protect, as I am yours. Us against the world, right? When we fly, this world will burn around us and know the true rulers of the Nine Realms have returned to wage war against she who trespasses against the land. We belong here, but Hecate does not.” “Do you mourn them with me?” I questioned carefully. “Of course, but I will move on much faster than you will. You still love with a human heart, and that isn’t something I’ll ever do. When we heal and you are ready, we’ll create something never seen before within this world or any other.” I felt her offering me what reassurances she could. “They are sorta cute, if not a little small and wrinkly. These babes wouldn’t have been strong enough for what is coming. The next ones will be. I promise you. Heal, Aria, and take time to fully recover before leaving the library. Hecate is hunting for our kind now that she is aware we are within the Nine Realms. Fear will make her clumsy. Use it against her, and we’ll rip her to pieces and eat her corpse so when she returns to her tomb, it will be as a pile of shit.” “What shall we name them?” I asked, knowing everyone knew I was speaking to Ember and were giving us the illusion of privacy. “Let their father name the babes, Aria. I do not give the dead names for they’re no longer here with us. To Lennox and me, it is irrelevant what they will be called on the cold stone walls of a silent tomb.” I forced my eyes to return to Knox, who silently waited for me to finish. “Name your daughters, Knox,” I whispered, wondering if he’d refuse. He swallowed loudly, lowering his gaze to the babe being swaddled into a clean, pink blanket. His throat bobbed, and he moved closer to the barrier, staring at me with thick emotions. “Eleanora and Evelyn Karnavious, princesses of the Kingdom of Norvalla. Daughters of the high king and queen of the Nine Realms,” he stated, watching me as if he feared I’d argue his choice of names. “Eleanora is ready for the blessing,” I said softly, turning my swollen eyes back to where Esme waited to take the babe. “I am ready to bathe Evelyn,” I continued, letting him know I accepted their names, if not the titles. He may enjoy the titles, but I didn’t care for either that he’d declared.
Chapter Eighteen Knox I sat, silently observing Aria as she bathed our daughters. She’d fought so hard to save them, and I’d beseeched her to quit. The idea of losing her hadn’t just terrified me; it had threatened to decimate me. Literally, I’d sunk to the floor, unable to remain on my feet as she sobbed and pleaded for her misery to end. When I’d heard her scream, I’d rushed from the courtyard, expecting to walk into the library to find her grieving a sibling. Instead, I’d discovered her bleeding all over the floor. Minutes were all it had taken me to realize the gravity of what was actually unfolding. Aria’s screams had brought Lore and Brander rushing into the room, and they’d been just as shellshocked as I’d been. As the hours passed, I’d sat silently at her side with that cursed barrier between us. The fucking thing was preventing me from being where I wanted to be, which was holding her tightly, and easing her pain. I hadn’t felt that helpless since Sven passed, and I’d resented Aria for being unwilling to drop that damn barrier. It had been short-lived, though, because watching the fear in her turquoise-colored eyes caused deep, visceral pain that shredded me apart and left me adrift in misery. There was nothing either of could do to stop the births—the babies were going to be born no matter what she wanted or how hard she fought to keep them safe within her. She’d fought for them hard to keep from losing something we’d created together. She left me shocked at how to react to her cries and prayers for our babes to live. Even though I’d begged her to stop and allow her body to give birth, she kept battling the inevitable. I’d felt the punch in my gut when she’d admitted that she’d known for a while that she was having my children, but there wasn’t any room inside me to be upset that she hadn’t told me. Not after what I’d said that night in the library. Regret wasn’t an emotion I felt very often, but there was shame for my having said I hadn’t wished her to carry my babes. Shame because I’d lied to get her to reveal herself. I’d denied wanting them, but I’d lied to her and myself. The realization I wanted babes that would have held her eyes
and laughed from their bellies like their mother floored me. I wanted more than a few hours of getting to watch her hold them and to see her expression fill with wonder at what we’d created. “We’ll make more,” Lennox stated. “Get her to us, now.” “She needs time, Lennox. Aria’s body needs to heal, as does her soul. Unlike you, we are mourning,” I stated coldly, hating that he only wanted her so he could attempt to make more babes. He chuckled ominously, and I felt him unfurling his need inside of me. “Aria will heal quickly enough, Knox. You’re mistaken if you assume she’s not ready. Ember unseated them from her womb, and she was right to do so. You and Aria now know that we can make them, and the truth about being mates. If you think we will not make more soon, you’re naïve. Ember feels sorrow for the cost and pain from what she’s done. I can smell it on them. It is like what occurred when you lost the boy, Sven. There was your grief that turned to rage, and you must prepare for what Aria and Ember unleash. They will not be the same after this. Aria is soft edges, and a tender touch. In order to become what she needs to be, she’ll endure greater pain and grief. She’s merely on the brink of her change, and still too soft to do what’s needed. Do not change for her, Knox. And do not ask her to change for us. Life forges us into what we need to become, and neither of us will bow to the other. That means we have to find the middle ground and meet her there. Aria was born to be your queen, and Ember, my mate. I care little about the kingdom or a throne. I admire that Aria has no fucks to give about them, either. Be gentle with her tonight, but tomorrow she must rise stronger, which she will not do if you treat her differently.” “You expect me to treat her as if this didn’t happen?” I clarified, studying her frame. Her shoulders slumped, and her scent was filled with grief and despair. I hated seeing her in anguish, but this soul-deep grief was even worse. “Indeed, Knox. She is Aria, and forged from the same flames that molded us. The fire within her has dimmed, but it has not extinguished. Tomorrow, it will rekindle and ignite to burn brighter. Now, figure out how to bring her to us. I am about to rip this kingdom apart and dismantle the library to reach her.” “Calm yourself down, Lennox. I’ve yet to place our daughters in to the mausoleum with their brother. Give her tonight, and tomorrow we will see if she’ll come to us on her own. And for the record, you can’t touch the
library. You’ve tried and failed several times. Now give me time to grieve with my queen because, even if I can’t touch her, I can offer her my strength.” Her soft cry filled the room, and I purred, doing what I could to soothe her from a distance. She wouldn’t bring the barrier down, and I didn’t fault her for it, either. I hadn’t reacted well to finding out that Liliana had been her aunt in disguise. My whole life had been one big fucking lie and deceitful game that her family had erected. But Aria repeatedly proved that she wasn’t cut from the same cloth in which they’d been sheared. Aria was so easy to want, and it wasn’t only because of the mindblowing sex. It was everything about her. Her mind was sharp, and I enjoyed listening to her speak on matters that others didn’t even care to consider. I craved her beside me in bed, to hold her close and silence the demons inside my thoughts. That girl was the sun in my world, the warmth that heated my flesh. I was the ice that threatened to freeze her pretty skin until it was blue. Still, she protected me, even from her bloodline. Aria had stepped in front of an attack meant for me, and I hadn’t been able to do anything but stand aside as her family took her away. She was fearless, and now she knew genuine pain. I loathed that this would turn the bright, beautiful creature she’d become into something colder, but death had a way of altering us. The light in Aria’s eyes was already dimmer, and the grief was a shroud draped over her. She wouldn’t buckle or stay down, though, and that gave me hope. Two of her sisters and our daughters had been the cost of waking her up to the fact that Aurora couldn’t lead shit. Aria learned a hard lesson that she wouldn’t likely forget in her lifetime. You chose a leader based on their strength, endurance, and their sheer determination to leave the field with the numbers they’d entered with. Emotions had no place in the equation. My attention slipped back to Aria as she grabbed the blanket. Tender hands cradled the babe, carefully wrapping Evelyn in a small, white-lace cloth. My stomach dropped, and my hands fisted with the desire to touch Aria. Tears rolled down her pink cheeks, which were still flush from labor. Exhaustion showed in her sluggish movements and the dark circles beneath her puffy eyes, but she continued to take care of our girls. I wanted to kiss her tears away, to wrap my arms tightly around her broken form, and prove to her she was not alone in her grief. Lennox
wanted to hold her, too, pining to wash away the sadness consuming her soul. He and I had both been shocked by how tiny the babes were, and I refused to allow him to demand making more beautiful creatures with our mate yet. Not yet, at least. Ember hadn’t spoken to us yet, and Lennox wasn’t happy about that. We’d been forced to endure months of their silence, and in that time, we’d had to learn to trust that they were okay. It was the longest couple of months of our life. I’d spoken to her every night as if she were in the library with me. She’d never revealed herself, but that hadn’t stopped me. Aria had a calming nature, one that I’d felt occasionally, and I liked to entertain the idea that she was leaning against the barrier, listening to me. She approached the barrier with our daughter in her arms. Pushing up from the couch, I moved to meet her. Stormy turquoise eyes held mine, and we stood there in silence, neither of us speaking or disturbing the peace. “Evelyn’s ready,” she finally whispered. “I wish you didn’t have to feel this sort of pain, Aria.” I pressed my hand to the barrier, and she stared at it briefly before pressing her palm against mine. “I never wanted this for you. You need to know that.” “Ember aborted them,” she admitted, confirming what I’d already guessed. “You deserve to know the truth, Knox,” she whispered. “Hecate tainted them, as if she was seeking to conceal part of her inside of them or looking to control them.” “We’re not on opposing sides of this fight anymore, Little Monster,” I confided thickly as she absently rocked the babe in her embrace. “Come to me. Let me hold you through the pain, Aria. You need me, and I could sure as hell use you right now.” “I just gave birth, asshole,” she said through a soft sob. “I don’t want sex, Aria. I just want to hold you against me, feel you, and ease your anguish. Come with me to lay our daughters to rest in the crypt. I won’t keep you or try to prevent you from leaving me. I give you my word.” “That’s not a good idea.” She backed away with agony sparkling in her vibrant eyes. “I deserve pain for not putting them before the needs of the realms. I was terrified of being pregnant and of losing them. And that was what happened. I wasn’t strong enough, Knox. They died, and it was because of me. I did this,” she continued, softly running her fingers over the hint of dark hair.
“No one deserves this pain. Look at me, Aria,” I pleaded, waiting until she finally did before saying, “This isn’t your fault.” “If I’d told you and then admitted that I had no intention of not fighting, you’d have argued against it. Tell me I’m wrong, Knox,” she hissed vehemently, the self-loathing she felt at her actions cutting me deeply. “I’m complicit in their deaths because I put them second to the others. Ember wanted a baby, and I did, too, but I asked her to wait because the Nine Realms aren’t safe for innocent lives yet. Even knowing that, I can’t say that I hadn’t wanted them. In fact, from the instant I found out I was pregnant, I imagined us all together. I was happy that I was going to have your babies.” “And now?” I urged hesitantly, not knowing if her answer would be truth or tainted by the grief running through her. “I crave to destroy the world because our little girls will never live in it with us. After all the visions without you, I kept thinking that if I just tried hard enough for what I wanted, I’d get that happy ending. Now I see you were right. Creatures like us, we’re not meant to live happily ever after. You and I made life, and I failed them. Aurora doesn’t see me as anything but a weapon. You both look at me and see me as something to add to your arsenal. Tonight, they left me to die. I learned I can’t count on my family, or anyone else, to save me. I lost our children, Knox.” “You’re my mate, so we can try again when you’re ready, Aria,” I whispered hoarsely, and she placed her palm flat against the barrier, which shifted to allow me to feel her warmth against my skin. Her eyes closed as I held my palm in place, afraid to move from her touch. She looked delicate, and defeat burned in her stare. “I don’t think I want babies anymore,” she stated, pulling away from me once I held our daughter’s still, lifeless body. “I almost had that, but I lost them,” she whispered, studying Evelyn’s face before she turned and walked across the room. Her wounds were still so fresh, her soul forever altered. I knew that agony and how deep it cut. The guilt riddled you every moment of the day, and grief snuck up at the most random of times, over the simplest things. Memories came out of nowhere, and those were the ones that hurt the most. There was no easy way to get through the loss, and I hated that she planned to grieve alone.