hips. He yanked my ass up, rocking deeper into my haven. Lennox didn’t fuck around; he went hard and was ruthless about taking what he wanted. Aria was screaming hysterically within me, her human mind unable to process what was happening. Her fear was natural to finding an eight-feettall beast fucking you, but she’d known he had another form. I slid my hand beneath me, rubbing my clit until her screams turned to whimpers as she felt what he was doing to us. Maybe it would help her understand why I needed dick and hadn’t ever felt fully sated before now. We weren’t human, and we didn’t have human needs. I enjoyed coming, as did Lennox, but we weren’t here for the pleasure. He grunted as his thick tip swelled even more and then shoved into my womb, sealing the entire entrance before he rattled and bit into my shoulder again, fucking me painfully. He somehow still kept sliding his cock into my channel, even seated at the entrance to my womb. “Harder,” I demanded while Aria shouted something about crayons and what not to shove into our vagina. “I need more, Lennox.” Aria went still and then reverted to screaming. She was hysterical, and I smiled like a kitten lapping up cream. The asshole was holding back, and I wasn’t having that shit. Not when I was finally in control and had access to his wondrous cock. “You’re a wanton little bitch, aren’t you?” he snarled, licking my shoulder before he added more inches and growled his approval. “Fucking hell. Look at that, Knox. Look at that cunt taking us. Right down to the knot, and demanding more while that pussy milks, and clenches around it to drain us dry. This greedy cunt is ours, and it was made for us,” he purred, gently using his knuckles to work my clit. “That’s it, Ember. Take all of me and suck me dry.” “Yes! Yes, come in me, you bastard,” I demanded, hearing Aria coming back, panic rising in her tone. “No! No, you don’t get to open for him and then tell him to come! You idiot! We cannot do this right now. It’s not the time to be opening for anything. It’s time to lock the doors and put up a closed for business sign! No vacancy! There’s no fucking entrance into our womb. I fucking mean it. Shut that shit down this fucking minute!” “You want it? Fucking drain me, Ember.” Lennox rolled so I was straddling him.
“I am not entering that place without my mate’s scent on me. I have been good, and I’ve only complained a little about my body not having its needs met. However, I’m riding this dick like a spicy chicken, and he can come. Or how did you put it? Sing whatever the fuck he wants so long as he fucks me?” “A spicy chicken . . . what is wrong with you? That is not what I said to Knox. Jesus, look at the freaking monstrous thing. We have shit to do, people to kill, fathers to meet, and I don’t think waddling the fuck in like the world’s chubbiest duck is a good look for us! Now, back the fuck off it like you stole it and feel remorse or some shit. I don’t care how the fuck you do it. Just get away from that thing! And no fucking babies. We’re about to wage an actual war against an honest to freaking gods, goddess. So, close that shit down, lock it the fuck up, and behave!” My feet went flat against the mattress, and I lifted to watch as I sank down onto the largest cock I’d ever dreamed of. My bravado wavered, and Aria gasped, shuddering so hard that my entire body mirrored her response. “Do not slide down that thing! Don’t do it, Ember. That isn’t even possible!” She screamed as I dropped fluidly, wincing at the pain it created. “You bitch! You’re not the one who will have to walk tomorrow after riding the monster’s cock! Get off it this minute, young lady! Abandon all hope and run like a pussy before you literally destroy ours. I mean it!” “Fucking hell! So, so good. More, asshole, I want more!” I rose and slammed down hard, howling at the sheer magnitude and pleasure he gave me. When I lifted again, I clenched my channel, hearing his throaty groan as I wiggled and bent over a little, showing him what he was doing and exactly how bad of a bitch I was by taking that fucking thing into my body. He lifted me, and I growled, rattling in warning until I figured out he’d merely meant to turn me. He roved his hungry gaze down my body to where I was sliding back and forth. Lennox placed his arms behind his head, watching me riding him slowly. I rolled my hips, and he purred huskily. The smile on his mouth sparked my need to taste him. Only, when I leaned forward, he gripped my jaw, forcing my mouth to his throat. “That isn’t something we do, Ember. That’s your human mindset. I want my mate, not her host, tonight. Claim me and then drain me until I’m fucking dripping out of your cunt until you return to me,” he growled.
Blinking slowly, I licked his throat before leaning back to glare down at him. I purred, feeling his balls tighten as a warning burned in his gaze. His hands unfolded from behind his head, gripped my hips painfully, and lifted me off him. Before I could snarl my protest, he had rolled us, spread my legs wide, and unleashed hell on my pussy. The orgasm ripped through me without warning, and he purred his approval, feeling my sleek channel pulse around him. He thrust deeper, filling me until he’d forced his way into the one place he’d wanted to be. “Now you may purr and drain me, wanton creature,” he hissed hungrily. One hand held my ass in place while the other slid to the swollen nub of my sex, rubbing small circles against my clit. I moaned, moving in sync with him while we became lost in the sensations and pleasure. Aria whimpered and struggled to force her way to the surface, but I slammed her back, holding her there until I felt her relenting. Relief rushed through me, knowing the next part could be worse and she didn’t need to be aware. If Lennox did what we both desired, he’d begin biting us until our shoulders, breasts, and thighs all carried his mark of ownership. Aria’s shock rushed through me, but it was too late, and she sank deeper into oblivion. The orgasm started in my toes and unraveled up to my pussy. I screamed. Pleasure swallowed me, forcing blinding lights to burst behind my eyes. Lennox rattled as he pumped into my cunt, draining himself while I milked his shaft with my walls. His mouth lowered, biting my breasts, sides, and throat brutally as he claimed and marked me. Lennox slowly licked, and kissed the wounds he’d made before he made a loud, delicious sound of pleasure. He braced a hand on the bed beside my head and he peered down, knowing I was clamping onto his shaft, holding him within me. “Perfect,” he growled, placing a soft kiss against my forehead. “Thank you for this, Ember.” I purred, needing and wanting more, but I’d already drained his balls until I was flooded with his come. Oceanic-blue eyes stared into mine, and I frowned as Lennox gave Knox control without even saying goodbye. Silently, he stared at me before lowering his lips, claiming my mouth in a soft kiss that made me whine. When he pulled away, I smiled at the look of pleasure on his face.
“I’ll kiss you whenever you want, Ember,” he stated, slowly withdrawing from my body and settling next to me. “Aria will not be thrilled with what you did just now.” “We all want the same thing, even if some of us are too stubborn to admit it. She intends to be around others like us, and we’re mated, Knox. It is in our best interest to be sated and filled before we enter that realm.” “I see, but you wear my mark. You know who you belong to, and no one will take you from me. No one, Ember. She’s mine, and I’m not giving her up again. Do you understand?” “You keep allowing Aria to run from you. I don’t like it.” He smiled, and it had anger rushing through my belly. “I’ve come to understand that Aria cannot be owned. She has to choose to be mine. I am giving her that choice. Do you hear me, woman?” “She actually isn’t aware anymore. She passed out when I refused to get off Lennox’s dick.” I snorted. “Maybe you’re not that dumb, Dicker. I didn’t think you’d ever understand her, but I think you’re starting to.” “Don’t misunderstand me, Ember. If Aria endangers her life or becomes pregnant, I’ll come for her. I will make her life utter hell to ensure she’s safe from those hunting her and my enemies. I protect what belongs to me. If she takes too long to figure that out, I can’t promise I won’t toss her onto my bed and chain her sexy ass down, either. Aria is my mate, and I’m done fighting against the desire to be with her.” “Yet you allowed them to remove the vows she made to you?” I accused, his smile never wavering. “They were irrelevant. The four of us? We know the truth of what we are to one another. In our culture, vows hold no meaning. We have our own, and once they’re exchanged, they’re forever. They mean more than any wedding ceremony or words can mean to creatures like us.” “If that’s the case, then tell us what you are,” I demanded before turning inward. “We need to go before the castle wakes,” I stated, prodding Aria awake.
Chapter Fifty-Six Aria “I’m not like you, Little Monster, if that is what you’re thinking. You’re so much more than I thought you were,” Knox whispered, watching me batting my eyelashes at him. “What?” I managed to ask before flinching and drifting away from him. “My vagina’s broken. It aches.” He chuckled, yanking me back down against his warmth. “You’re leaving me again, my pretty unicorn girl. Aren’t you, Aria?” “I’m not a unicorn.” “Name one other woman who has ever waged battle in a unicorn raincoat and made it look sexy as fuck. Go ahead, name them, Aria.” I shook my head as warmth washed through me and was swept away before I’d gotten to enjoy the sensation. This was something I had to do, and I wouldn’t stop it for him or anyone else. It couldn’t be put off or postponed any longer. “I have to do this, Knox. I have to know who he is and what I am.” I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. “Did we . . . did we just try to create more babes?” I hated the idea of losing more in this war-torn world I’d trapped us within. “Yes, they did,” he confessed, pushing the hair away from my face. “If they were successful, we’ll know in a couple of months if the pregnancy is viable. If you are pregnant, I’ll come for you, Aria. I’ll keep you safe and help protect our child. I won’t care if you run. I will catch you, and even if you hate me for it, you’d be safe from our enemies. I’ll not lose you or another child to this war. We’ve both lost enough to it already.” “I will not create a son to fight Hecate,” I whispered vehemently. “I don’t think it’ll come to that.” He smiled, studying my face before he sat up, exposing the sinewy muscles of his abdomen. My fingers gently traced over the raven that had our daughters’ names within its wings, and tears pooled on my lashes. I started to pull my fingers away from the tattoo, but he captured them, pressing them back to where they’d been.
The raven pulled away from his flesh and flapped its wings, causing a shiver to rush down my spine. It opened its mouth and projected an image in the space before us, like a 4D movie, with me holding our daughters. “Oh my God,” I whispered through trembling lips. Knox kept my hand pressed firmly against his flesh, holding me steady against the icy-grasp of loss that threatened to pull me in to its dark abyss. Tears ran freely from my eyes, and I didn’t hide them or the pain rioting through me. The image changed to one of him holding them while emotions burned in his gaze. The next one was of him as he interred them into the tomb, and a sob cracked its way up my throat as the image moved, turning into a movie that exposed every raw emotion he’d felt sitting in that place of rest. How his hands refused to falter as he added their names to the mural, bracketing Sven’s. “You did this for them?” I asked, watching as Knox placed his hands on the girls’ tiny and white caskets with their names etched onto the sides. “I wanted them cherished in death as they’d have been if they’d lived,” he informed with something raw and vulnerable in its tone. Tears swam in my eyes as finally the images stopped and the raven returned to his chest. My gaze narrowed on the other ravens, but before I could ask him, he was pulling my hand away. “Each one represents someone I lost and holds the memories through time, so I never forget them,” he explained. I wanted to see Sven, but I didn’t want to dig into that wound. Not unless he offered to let me see the image of the boy he’d once considered his son. Standing, I moved to where my dress hung abandoned over a chair and pulled it over my sore, sensually assaulted body. Knox remained on the bed, studying me. There was so much to say, and yet, I said nothing I needed to. Once I was covered and didn’t feel so exposed, I offered him a tentative smile, which he didn’t return. “You’re going into a place that I cannot follow you easily, Aria,” he warned. I caught the hesitancy in his voice, but I wouldn’t be swayed from the course, not even by Knox. “If they try to hold me there, you won’t need to save me. They’ll be the ones who need to be saved. Besides, I have been rescuing myself for a long time now, and I’ve learned there isn’t much that can hold me down.” I returned coolly, holding his gaze. “I have to do this.”
“And if they try to force you to breed?” His gaze narrowed and a muscle ticked along his jawline. “Ember won’t accept just anyone’s babe into my belly, silly man. Lennox is her mate, and she’s fully capable of handling anyone who thinks to force anything on us.” He smirked in reply, unhurriedly leaving the bed completely naked. When he reached me, he slid his fingers through my hair to force my lips up. He kissed me as if he was saying hello and goodbye in the same earthaltering kiss. I moaned against his lips, chasing them when he pulled away, which had him smirking as if he’d just won some game. Then, one by one, I watched him shutting down his emotion. His eyes turned colder, and his face hardened. There was no laughter or hint of the dirty man who had made me beg and scream his name long into the night left before me. “You should go before I decide to hold you here against your will.” He swallowed as the words came out sharply. “Why are you shutting me out, Knox?” I asked. “This route you’re choosing, it’s a dangerous path and not one I can come down with you. I’m trying not to take the choice from you and put you in chains.” His head tilted to the side, and then I was listening for whatever he’d heard. Hurried footsteps were echoing down the hallway and moving toward us. I grabbed the cloak he’d secured for me and draped it over my shoulders, rushing for the open balcony. Whoever it was threw the doors to the outer room open and stormed straight to the room where Knox was. I slid into the shadows of the balcony, listening as heels clicked into the room. “Where is she?” Aurora demanded coldly. “Where is who, Aurora?” Knox asked harshly, and the sound of clothing being yanked over his legs sounded. “My daughter,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I scried for her, and it showed her here, inside this very castle. The only thing that would draw her to this place is you, King Karnavious.” “Who the fuck do you think you are, witch?” Knox snarled, and I watched her color drain. “Have you been gone so long in your pathetic human realm that you’ve forgotten your place? I am the high king, and your place is on your fucking knees serving me. Not the other way around. I
suggest you tread carefully, or your skull can join your sisters on my throne.” As he crossed his arms over his bare chest, I enjoyed the fear burning in Aurora’s eyes. “Thrones come and go, or so I hear,” she hissed, drawing herself up as if the slight advantage of height did shit against Knox’s stature. “So they do, but only one of our bloodlines has lost theirs in the last four thousand years. It wasn’t mine,” Knox stated coldly, hiking a brow on his forehead as she bristled. “As you can see, I don’t have your daughter hidden in my chamber or beneath my fucking cushions. I don’t see why you’d think she’d be here considering you plastered the news of the impending wedding throughout every village and city within the realms. Unless she came to kill us all, of course. Or maybe you, since you allowed her to be tortured as a child.” “Do you think I wanted to hurt my daughter? You know better than most what sort of monster my mother is. My sisters and I weren’t aware that Hecate could jump to different bodies. By the time we’d figured it out, everything was already spiraling around us. I created her with the purpose of draining her magic and murdering my mother to free this world of her tyranny. She wasn’t supposed to live past infancy, and I wasn’t prepared when she did. Her father is an absolute monster, one who won’t hesitate to use her to his own gain regardless of what it does to Aria.” “Aria assumes she is the daughter of Tirsynth Prometheus. Now, you and I both know that isn’t true. Care to shed some light on that?” Knox snorted, moving away from her as he spoke. I heard clothing swishing and exhaled when Aurora snorted louder than he had. “Griffon Prometheus is Aria’s father, Knox, and Tirsynth isn’t dead. He’s entombed in gold. If you think Griffon isn’t planning to use Aria to free his father and return his people to power, then you’re as naïve as she is. That monster does nothing without having planned, and plotted out everything that is needed prior to doing it.” Knox went silent, and I slipped closer, peering through the curtain at the horror displaced on his features. “What the fuck were you thinking?” He pushed his fingers through his hair and paced before laughing coldly. “You’re something else. You conceived a child with that monster and didn’t think it would be his design?” His reply echoed in the room, sharp like the crack of a whip.
“To end the goddess of magic, I needed something forged in the fires of the Nine Realms. Since Griffon is the son of Tirsynth Prometheus and Scylla Prometheus, who was Fafnir’s granddaughter, I thought it would work. I thought I’d be able to harness the power of the sun and banish the darkness, feeding my mother her magic. It seemed simple, but it’s anything but.” “You didn’t think that maybe bearing the child of the son of a fucking known psychotic king wasn’t such a great idea? So what was your plan? To steal Aria’s power and then face your mother? Then do what, Aurora?” My stomach curled at his tone, as if Knox were horrified by what she stated. Something slammed against the wall and shattered, and I swallowed my gasp of surprise. “I didn’t get that far. I was only intending to win, and the cost to me, or those close to me, wasn’t factored in. it doesn’t even matter what I would have done because it didn’t work. Then you forced us back here, and Aria sealed the exit. Now we’re all stuck in here together with a fucking monster who can literally burn this place to ashes.” She moved closer to the balcony doors, and I pulled back and away from the edge of the balcony above her where I hid. “Is there another twin or did she really consume it in uterine?” Knox pried, slowly moving toward the balcony, which forced Aurora to move farther into the room. “She consumed it, and I immediately realized she wasn’t just a child from Griffon,” she admitted before exhaling loudly. “If she’s a phoenix, you forced her immortality to arrive in her infancy. Phoenix children are rare, and have always been so, which is why I’m surprised Griffon allowed you to live this long.” Knox stated with a tone that bordered on sarcasm, and disbelief. “I’m aware of that better than most, thank you. That sun on her forehead? That means she’s his rightful heir to the Kingdom of Fire. Aria is the sun, the one who is prophesied to murder Hecate. As a bloodline witch, she should have held our mark. She’s my firstborn daughter and my only living child. She’s both my heir and his. Now you see why she cannot live, right?” “No, I don’t. She’s your fucking daughter, Aurora. Your only living child who you tortured, beat, and then abandoned. That’s on you, fucking deal with it. If you’re expecting me to tell you that I agree with anything
you’ve done to Aria, it will never happen.” Knox laughed darkly. “If you’re finished, get the fuck out. Hell, even if you’re not, you can still get the fuck out of my room.” “You’re not getting it. She will kill us all!” Aurora howled, which caused me to jerk at her sudden outburst. “No, not all of us. You and yours? You’re definitely going to fucking burn,” he corrected with a frigid tone. “And me and mine? We’ll watch it unfolding as we sharpen our blades and prepare to win the war you brought to our fucking realm, again.” “Do you think you’ll survive? And if he intends to raise his father and place him on your throne, can you walk away from it without regretting her part in his plan?” “You think she’s naïve enough to trust him? I assure you, your daughter is fucking brilliant, and won’t trust shit. You and I gave Aria enough trust issues that she’s going to question every motive as to why anyone would want to be near her. Griffon isn’t stupid, Aurora. He’ll see what I do when I look at her. She’s naïve, but she’d brilliant enough to see through bullshit easily. Aria won’t blindly join anyone ever again, either. Not after the shit you did, or what I put her through.” Knox chuckled beside where I stood hidden in the shadows of the balcony. “It doesn’t change the threat she poses to us, and the Nine Realms. You’re thinking with your cock, not your brains, King Karnavious. If Griffon gets his claws on her . . . I can’t even imagine the monster Aria will become. He intends to unleash the monster she’ll become on all of us. He will turn her against us as well. Right now she’s easy for you to handle. She won’t be if she figures out who he is, and then sides with him.” “He’s not stupid, and neither is Aria. Think about this. Aria’s his daughter and she carries the mark of his own father on her forehead. She’s fucking impossibly smart, which she probably inherited from his mother. That woman was a strategic warrior, one renowned for her ability to lead armies fearlessly against her advisories.” His tone became sharp, and colder. Knox wasn’t buying her bullshit, but even in her lies, there was a whisper of truth. “Aria will enter the realm he created already five steps ahead of him and his people. You can mark my words that she’ll exit it ten steps ahead of the rest of us. After all, whoever holds the mark of the firstborn king also holds the power to wage war as he did, with brilliance and brute strength. In
chaos may Aria reign, and I’ll be right behind her, guarding her back from those of you who wish to stab her in it.” I blinked at the fierce tone he spoke with. Knox wasn’t buying her shit any more than I was. I was finding him easier to deal with now that we’d landed on the same side of all this. “Do you honestly think he’ll allow his heir to be with you? Your people and his people have been at war for over a millennium. You had barely gained peace when Hecate was sentenced to rot here. You and your family are their mortal enemies. He’ll never allow you to keep her, Knox. The Karnavious and Prometheus lines have been, and will always be enemies.” Knox made a choked sound, which forced me to peer into the room. His lips twitched, and he tilted his head, laughing at her. “You think we told you the truth? Our histories were changed, protected, and sealed where no one could find them. Yes, we were enemies, but then Hecate came, and she changed everything. Enemies became allies, and wars ended to regroup for one common goal. To end her and the other twisted cunts like you, Aurora. I don’t care what her father or anyone else says. That beautiful girl, the one everyone else thinks is nothing more but a monster? She’s my mate, and my girl. So you, Griffon, and Tirsynth? You can all fuck off, and if you don’t, I’ll stand beside Aria, and we’ll level this world until we’re the only ones left.” “He will force her to choose a warrior and marry her to him for power. That is how he works. He’s more power hungry than my mother, Knox.” “Do you even know your own child? I assure you, Aria is the only one who’ll decide her fate, Aurora, and neither you nor her father will dictate what she does. It’s a lesson I’ve already learned, so catch up. Aria Primrose Karnavious is a breath of fresh air, and she deserves better than either of us. You and I both know it.” His dark laughter created a shiver that rushed down my spine. “If you are smart, you will help me find her and help me claim the power she holds before it’s unleashed on us all.” The panic burning in Aurora’s tone made my lips curve into a dark smile. I noted the way she crept backward, keeping distance between them. Her coloring was pale and washed out from fear. She backed into the wall, and he slammed his hand down beside her head, rattling. “Do you think for one fucking second that my world, the same one that forged that pure, beautiful monster you carried in your poisonous womb would let something as twisted and vile as you touch it? It chose her, and it
did so because she’s good and has pure intentions where the rest of us are all fucked up, shredded souls that would level this world rather than save it. Not her, though. Help you?” He pushed off the wall, stepping back slowly while inhaling Aurora’s fear that drifted in the room, corrupting our shared scent. “Yes, Knox. Help me! Help me and the others prevent her from leaving. If we can contain her, she can end Hecate and free us all from her. You’re the only one capable of helping us, and you know it. Do you think I’m buying that you’re willing to marry Sabine? You just told me Aria is your mate. If you intend to keep her, you’ll help me stop her from leaving here to find her father.” “No, I don’t think so. I don’t intend to help you do shit to her, Aurora. In fact, you’re beyond any help I would ever be willing to offer you. She’s aware of what you did and allowed to happen under your watch, and she won’t protect you any longer, either.” She moved from the wall, regrouping her composure while steadying her breath to continue. “That may be, but she intends to wage war against all of us! Can’t you see I am trying to help you?” she snarled, her words laced with barbs. “Is that what you think you’re fucking doing? You’re not here out of the goodness of your heart. I doubt you even have one in your chest. You’re terrified that she’s coming for you, and you’re in here trying to manipulate and lie to gain my help. She and I’ve both been fighting to prevent more senseless death, but you? You only want to protect your own selfish ass because you’re not strong enough to take the throne or hold it without Aria or the power she houses.” Knox laughed darkly, sending a shiver racing down my spine. “Debatable,” Aurora argued. “I can and will hold my throne.” “When she saw who you really were, what you really wanted . . . when she questioned that? You turned on her and denounced her to the council. You’ve done everything you could to turn people against her so you had a reason to detain her and suck out her power to use as your own—just like your mother does to her creations. But I think you’re fucking stupid for thinking it’s possible. Your daughter is given her powers from the realms, and they won’t ever recognize you as a viable option to wield them, ever. You are a poison, and Aria’s a cure. Your desperation’s seeping from your pores, you pathetic, weak-minded whore. When Aria rises—and she will rise—you’ll fall.”
“I have the ear of your council, King Karnavious. You don’t want to mess with me,” she snarled. “She won’t mess with me, either. As we speak, an entire army is marching on the location where she’s hidden her friends. Before she returns, they’ll be in my dungeon.” I closed my eyes, fighting the growl that bubbled up my throat. Raking my gaze over her shadowy form, I looked for a way to escape and rush back to the girls. Knox laughed outright, as if it didn’t bother him in the slightest. “I murdered every single member you and your sisters placed on the last council. I won’t hesitate to do it to this one, too, Aurora. None of them are strong enough or more powerful than I am. That’s why I’m the fucking king, and they serve at my pleasure. I sought a fair and evenhanded council to speak on behalf of their people so that no realm suffered because they weren’t given a voice. I can, and I will, undo that swiftly if you continue to taint them. Celia had the ear of the council, and she ended up headless, didn’t she? What did they do about that? Oh, yeah, nothing.” “You wouldn’t dare, King Karnavious.” “Yeah, I really fucking would. Try me and find out what happens to those who get in my way or fuck with those I care about. If you or any one of them oversteps their station, I will remind them why I’m the fucking high king and that they’re here because I allow it. I’m willing and able to hand Aria the match and reset this entire fucking place back to what it was before your kind got dumped on our doorstep.” “You’re making a mistake.” Knox scoffed. “Aria is my mate. She is mine, and I will do whatever the fuck it takes to see her succeed. I will be right behind her, protecting her as she chooses her fucking path. If Aria’s the heir to the Kingdom of Fire throne and the rightful queen of the Nine Realms, then you should probably get your shit in order because, tick tock, bitch, the countdown has begun. If I were you, I’d start running because your daughter is a savage beast, who was bred to track, catch, and slaughter her prey. And, Aurora, she’s marked you as prey. Now get the fuck out.” “This isn’t over,” she hissed vehemently, but the sound of her heels clicking on the floor indicated she’d chosen to vacate his chamber. I swallowed, frowning as he laughed before the door closed and he stepped fully out onto the balcony. He was smiling, and the sparkle in his
oceanic depths was filled with something that made my chest tighten painfully, urging me deeper into the shadows in which I hid. “Long may you reign, Aria Prometheus,” he whispered, barely loud enough to be carried on the wind. “You’ll bring us all to our knees, and I’ll be there to watch this world fall beneath your beautiful flames.” He spun, smiling into the shadows. “You are the flames of my soul, and I wish I had realized it sooner, Aria. Aurora sent an army to your sanctuary to seize the women who remain loyal to you.” Knox stepped forward, easily finding me and using one finger to lift my chin. “I sent my own to protect them and slaughter her forces. You’ll need to hide them better.” His mouth slid against mine, claiming it gently. After he’d turned my knees to jelly, he smiled and pressed his forehead against mine. “You sent your army to slaughter hers?” I clarified as my confusion played out on my face. “I told you, Aria. You’re mine, and I protect what’s mine. That also includes those you care about.” “Thank you,” I said before sighing. “I am not your queen, Knox,” I stated, growing more confused. “Yes, you are.” His eyes flashed to obsidian and embers before settling back to their oceanic blue. “You are my mate and my queen, and I’ll stand by your side whether you want to take up the throne or burn the realms to ashes. While you’re gone, I need you to hold on to what you want and desire. Promise me you won’t allow them to taint or change who you are. There’s not one thing about you that needs to be fixed or altered, Aria. Do you understand me?” He scanned my face before he yanked me closer, kissing me deeply. Knox pulled from the kiss and pressing his forehead against mine. “I promise I won’t change who I am for anyone, Knox.” “Now go so you can figure out whatever it is you wish to know and return to me so that we may begin planning how to end this war together. If they try to hurt you, kill them all. If you’re not back within the next month, I will come after you. I’m trying to be what you need right now, but I am not a patient man.” I smiled as tears swam in my eyes. Knox gave me a lopsided grin and released the air from his lungs. “You were already what I needed, even at your worst, Knox. You’re broken, like me. That pain you loathe so much, it’s what spoke to me. Your
sharp edges and cracks? They’re like mine, and that means we’re going to cut each other occasionally. I don’t need some grand gesture or to be touched with tender hands. Neither do you. I like you how you are, and while the mood swings were a bit much, it wasn’t you. I know that, and even if it wasn’t all done by design, I know you are not the type of man who willingly inflicts pain on those weaker than you. You’re the type who secretly saves witches and protects children while showing the world. These eyes, when I look into them? I see something more than pain or anger. I see what could be if you and I ever figure this thing out.” I lifted, capturing his mouth in a tender kiss before pulling away. “I’ll see you when I return.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven I’d raced back to where I’d hidden the women and children and made it there before either army discovered each other or my group’s whereabouts. It created more issues knowing Aurora was actively searching for them, and the idea of my leaving sat like a boulder on my chest. So, before Esme and I left, I had to find somewhere protected and undetectable by scrying for them to hide. I’d begun crafting barrier spells and concealment ointments that they could use in my absence, but that wouldn’t be enough. I had to find somewhere outside of the areas they’d search for them in. But the problem was, I’d only been to three realms, and they each bordered the Kingdom of Vãkya. Unsettling silence had settled on the ruins after I’d told them what Aurora had said. I’d turned her and Knox’s words over in my mind, picking out what could be true in them. Most lies held a shred of truth, but it wasn’t easy figuring out which ones were the crumbs and which was the loaf. I hadn’t expected Knox to defend me against Aurora, but he had. He and I weren’t enemies anymore. It was as if something had shifted, and we’d become something less hostile to one another instead. He was no longer murdering witches carte blanche. Not that he’d been when I’d arrived within the Nine Realms. He’d been offering them a choice to run with a head start or to join him against Ilsa, which had actually been Hecate the entire time. It left me floundering over how to deal with him. I wanted him, but I didn’t know if I could trust that he wouldn’t revert to how he’d been before. He’d been hexed, but how much of that was the hex bags and how much was actually him? I didn’t know, but I was finally catching glimpses of him, and I liked what I was seeing. Knox had allowed me to leave him, knowing that I couldn’t be forced or coerced into anything. Ember had admitted that Lennox also agreed that we weren’t something to be chained up and owned. “If you keep smiling like that, I may throw up on you.” Esme snorted, her violet gaze scanning my face before she chortled. “I’m enjoying the thoroughly fucked glow she’s got going on.” Jasmine wiggled her brows at me before they all started laughing.
“Shut up.” Siobhan laughed, shaking her head. “I’m glad you had an amazing night, Aria. I, for one, think you deserve a scrupulous night of sinning with that beast.” My attention lingered on her rocking a babe for a moment before moving over the slumbering children spread out on the floor. “Thanks.” I gave her a slight smile before clearing my throat. “We need to put distance between us and this place and find somewhere that neither Aurora nor Hecate can scry for.” “I vote we all move back to the library. If what Knox told you is true and he sent his army to protect us from Aurora, then I’m inclined to believe he wouldn’t hurt the children,” Siobhan said, likely remembering how children were treated in his camp and how Knox and his men reacted when Hecate used them against us. “You’re sure that he won’t harm them?” Avyanna questioned, her hand pausing where she’d been sharpening her horns. “Knox gave the order that no children were to be harmed,” I assured her. They had gotten attached to our wards, and I understood the hesitancy to trust their lives with someone they couldn’t be sure of. Only, I was sure that no harm would come to them from Knox. “I fear that something will happen if we leave you. The protection barriers only last for so long, and I don’t know how long we’ll be gone. I can’t deal with what needs to be done without knowing you are safe while I do so.” “You opened a portal between here and the library. We can easily enter it if anything happens while you’re gone,” Soraya pointed out, frowning as one child began fussing in her sleep. Avyanna set down the pummel stone to offer the small girl comfort. My heart wrenched, knowing that the child had endured utter hell in her brief life. Another child whined, and Avy shifted so she could rub circles between her shoulder blades. “They would be safe with him. It would allow you guys to focus on finding a place that is more permanent for us to settle down once Esme and I get back.” “We can’t just leave them, Aria. They need us,” Siobhan stated, her nose lowering to the sleeping babe in her arms. “I also can’t promise that Knox won’t reach you, or that you’d be safe with him,” I pointed out, rubbing my hands down my face with exhaustion.
The night with Knox had been magical, but it had allowed little sleep. Not that I was complaining because I’d satiated the hunger of my heat cycle on his magnificent cock, but I was exhausted. I bristled, groaning as Esme laughed. “You keep making those noises, and my beast is going to get jealous that you got off and she got my hand,” Esme scoffed with a groan of her own. “I can’t even be sorry about it. That man is like a drug, and I am the proverbial addict who craves a fix. I enjoy the rush and chase that comes from it,” I admitted, watching Esme’s shoulders moving with her laughter. “What? It’s the truth. He left no inch of me untouched, and the man is a beast when he claims.” They laughed, which caused heat to flood my cheeks. It was nice having friends who didn’t judge me or expect anything from me. They laughed at me, sure. They also laughed with me and were happy that I’d been happy if even for a moment. “Do you think Aurora hid your other sisters in the tomb?” Soraya asked, her eyes slanting as she watched me. “I don’t know,” I replied, hating my uncertainty about what Sabine and Kinny had said. I didn’t trust them, and that was the sad reality of it. I’d thought I knew them, but they’d known that my whole life had been built on a lie, and not one of them had thought to tell me. They’d destroyed any trust I had in them the moment not a single one of them denied knowing the truth. Sabine had basically raised me under the guidance of Aurora, who was my mother. Most had stood there, allowing me to endure sessions of torture meant to weaken me to the point of death. Sure, they weren’t strong enough to protect me as I’d needed to be. I could forgive them that, but when they had grown up, and still had done nothing? What about then? If they really cared for me as they claimed, well, they should have at least tried to help me. Aurora had tried to drain the doppelgänger I’d created, and I’d watched as they’d moved to help her. Kinvara had been the only one to hesitate because I was one of them. The others had jumped the moment Aurora had demanded they do so. No, I couldn’t trust them.
“It doesn’t matter where they are,” I reaffirmed, hating the guilt that washed through me with the words leaving my tongue. “They made a choice, and it’s one they’ll have to live with now. I can’t trust them, and I am not chancing them betraying me again. Too much rides on us not screwing up right now.” “That can’t be a simple choice to make,” Soraya muttered with pain dancing in her stare. Soraya’s sister had been lost. And while I understood her pain, it was something she had to sort out and learn to live with. It was something all of us were adjusting to and learning to cope with. Grief was something that either swallowed you or became your armor. Soraya had been through hell, and trusting people didn’t come easily. But she was learning to trust that I wasn’t like my bloodline and that my intentions were pure. Her armor was there, just waiting for her to pull it on. “No, but I know it is the right one,” I replied after a moment. Exhaling a shaky breath, I peered at the children who were slowly waking. “I don’t know what to do.” “About your family?” Soraya asked before her attention moved toward the children. “Do you think King Karnavious will kill us?” My lips twisted before I pushed them to the side, considering her words. “No, I don’t. I think he’ll want to punish you for the betrayal, but I don’t think he’ll murder you. Murdering you guys would hurt me, and he claims to want to avoid that at all costs.” “How much longer will the barrier hold up in the library?” Siobhan asked. “I honestly don’t know. I thought we would have a year, but it’s weakening faster than it should,” I admitted. The barrier getting thin was why I’d had us leave it last time, but that was when I still thought Knox had sided with Aurora. I would have to trust Knox to do the right thing. I didn’t think he’d hurt them. He would not allow Siobhan and Soraya to walk away from betraying him unscathed, not as the high king of the Nine Realms. He couldn’t. It would be considered a weakness or a kindness toward his enemies. “There’s another option,” Avyanna said. “It was my home, and a once glorious place. The demon queen came one night and demanded the lord repay the price of demons slain on his lands. The lord refused, claiming the demons he slaughtered were in the wrong, and had broken the peace
between realms by taking women from our kingdom into theirs. The demons slaughtered were ones returning to capture more women, but the lord was ready when they came back. It was done justly, but the demon queen stated otherwise. His refusal to pay for the lost lives was seen as an act of war, which she wouldn’t allow to go unpunished. After the fighting broke out, everyone fled. That was how I’d ended up engaged to the lord, who paid my parents a sizable bride price for me. Many people who fled did insane things to protect their young.” “Where is it?” Soraya asked, pursing her lips tightly before staring expectantly at Avy. “Valley of the Red River, where the mountain pass leads into Norvalla,” she explained. “How long ago was this?” I asked, wondering why she hadn’t mentioned this place before now. “It was a little under three hundred years ago, when the war broke out between the dark witches and King Karnavious.” I turned her words over in my head, peering at the children who were now sitting around us. It was worth a shot to see if it was still vacant, and it couldn’t be any worse than the ruins we were currently squatting in, right? “It’s on the edge? On which side, exactly?” I pried. “On the farthest side of Norvalla, and away from the Kingdom of Vãkya.” “Let’s go see if it is still vacant and in need of new guests, shall we?” I asked while getting to my feet, stretching my limbs out. “Soraya, Esme, you’re with me. Jasmine, Siobhan, Avy, move the children down to the tunnels just in case. The walls will glow if anyone or anything enters the doors or windows. We’ll be back shortly.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight The stronghold was large with high battlements, and vast towers that shot up high into the vibrant blue sky. On the ground, skeletal remains were scattered, but otherwise, it looked livable. Soraya, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard spinning in a tight circle, seemed to think so as well. We waited in silence, watching the shadows for any critters or monsters to lunge at the bait we were using. Soraya hadn’t been happy about her job, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right? After enough time had gone by without anything trying to eat Soraya, Esme and I made our way down the spiraling and into the silent courtyard. It was large, and while there was some damage, it seemed as if most of it was from time and neglect instead of fighting. Lofty towers bracketed the entrance, which actually had a path built above it so you could move from one side to the other without having to touch the ground. The gates, which seemed undamaged, appeared to have been opened from within, which could mean someone had been lying in wait to assist the demons. The air here wasn’t cold, either, which was a pleasant change from the snow-capped mountain we had been staying on. Fruit trees sat forgotten, with ripe fruit covering their limbs. The impressive gardens had become overgrown with weeds, but the perennials were already blooming with new growth. Fountains, which were fed by a natural spring, shot water into the air, which then landed in a slim pool that moved around the garden as if it were an irrigation system. Together, we moved into the castle. The large, opulent doors whined as we forced them open before peering into the room. The afternoon sun was lighting it up enough to see the skeletal remains that littered the floors within. “I don’t think they got out of here like Avyanna thought they did.” Esme frowned and sidestepped a skeleton. Glancing at the head table, I discovered the remains of what must have been the lord and his lady. They were both slumped over the largest, raised table. Their hands were together as if they’d faced the horrors unfolding while holding hands. I swallowed the anger and unfairness of the scene, shoving it away to focus.
Large pieces of the wood floor looked to have been broken, as if something heavy had landed on them or had pushed up from beneath the ground. A mature tree sat in the middle of the room, heavy with bright-red apples. The windows were colored glass images, which shot rainbows onto the floor, making the corpses look more morbid than they would have in gentle lighting. “Yeah, it appears she was mistaken,” I agreed, stepping deeper into the room. There wasn’t the stench of death in the air, which was a relief. Thick vines covered the walls, growing up over the stone. On the far side of the room, a small throne sat with the remains of a creature seated upon it. My eyes swung back to the table, and my eyebrows pushed together, uncertain of who had died on the throne if the lord and lady were at the table. After taking a closer look at the lord’s remains, I sucked my lips between my teeth and slid my worried stare back to Esme, who’d followed me into the room. “I don’t see any wounds,” I noted. “Dark witches enjoy inflicting pain, and there’s no visible damage to his skeleton.” It was as if he’d simply gone to sleep and never woken up. A sword sat against the large wooden chair, and there was a shield at his feet. His armor held the insignia of Norvalla, and large, intricately twisted horns protruded through the helm he wore. “It is weird,” Esme agreed, slowly pushing on the creature’s shoulder, which disintegrated under the pressure. We both jumped as the armor crashed onto the floor. “Oh my mother-humping, brother-wanting, fatherloving shit!” “Are you two planning on hugging if we’re attacked or is this just your battle poses?” Soraya laughed at the fact that we’d wrapped our arms around each other and jumped away from the commotion. “Wasn’t expecting that to happen,” Esme growled, releasing me to rub the back of her neck. “This place is creepy.” I frowned at the mess we’d need to clean up before bringing the children into the stronghold. “We should check the other floors before we decide.” I moved toward another corpse that was little more than bones. “I don’t see any sign of what killed them, and that’s concerning. Magic would have left fingerprints of whatever spell killed them.”
Soraya snorted, produced a blade, and slit her palm open, letting blood drip onto the ground. The moment her lips began moving, the room spun around us until it became a vibrant, brilliant room of laughter with light shining in from the windows of the great hall. Men and women spoke in small circles against the wall, while children rushed about. Food had been set out for a banquet, and musicians played in the far back corner. Spinning in a tight, small circle, I smiled at the lavish details of the beautiful, amazingly decorated room. A woman moved through me, and I gasped as frigid air shot through me before she’d fully moved through my body. “What the hell?” I asked, backing up as a couple danced through me. Soraya laughed. “It’s a spell to see what occurred here. They’re not here. Only their memories are,” she explained. Horns blared, and then screaming erupted in the bailey as someone from outside forced the doors open. The denizens paused, staring in open horror at the men and women strolling into the hall with lethal-looking blades and weaponry. Horned demons flooded the room. People screamed, grabbing the children and the women, rushing toward the mouth of a hallway that appeared to go deeper into the stronghold. I moved to go after the people running, but Soraya grabbed my arms, shaking her head. “It only works in this room,” she explained as more demons rushed through the door. A hooded figure entered with them, calmly pushing back her hood to reveal her face. Ink flowed delicately over her cheeks in swirling patterns. Her vibrant golden gaze looked through me, and the smile on her lips was anything but friendly. Her platinum hair was plaited behind her pointed ears. Silently, she moved toward the creature being held in his chair by demons. Her mouth moved, but it was as if someone had hit mute and her words didn’t reach us. Then she placed her hand on the creature’s forehead. A soft glow started from her palm, and the creature’s eyes turned from brown to amber. His expression changed, turning from pain to pleasure as his skin paled and wrinkled before our gazes. “It appears that she drained him.” Esme crossed her arms, not taking her eyes off the scene playing out in front of us. “She consumed his life force, stealing his soul in the process. She’s Isadora, Queen of Demons. I’m guessing that happened to everyone here as well. It’s why there are no signs of a fight. She just walked in and murdered them all. King Karnavious
probably assumed the witches did this and left it at that. He’d have to see the handprint to know the truth, and her men are removing it now.” “So, what was she doing here?” Soraya asked, turning to look at me as if I’d know the answer. “They have been on the same side of this war for as long as I can remember.” “I don’t know,” I offered with a shrug. “I’m new here. Remember?” “She is part fae, part demon,” Esme explained. “Isadora has only been a queen for a few hundred years. She was notorious for fighting and breaking the laws without ever being caught. I guess you could say she’s a predator of convenience. If the time is right and the stage is set, she attacks and let’s others take the blame. She has the ability to change perception and what people see. Nowadays, though, she isn’t quite so bold since she can no longer count on King Lennox to save her ass.” “Why would Knox’s father save her?” I asked. “Rumor was that King Lennox slept with her and she bore him a prince. He forbid her from speaking of it and took the son home to his wife, Queen Eira. But that’s just rumors whispered by women and maids. It matters little. Queen Eira was smitten with the boy, and accepted him without resentment, loving the babe as if he was her own child. Of course, the entire kingdom was merely told he was and that they’d concealed the pregnancy to enjoy it privately. Queen Eira barely left the library, so it worked perfectly to explain how they’d managed to hide her condition. Of course, there wasn’t anything to hide, but it appeased the people, or the lie did for the most part. It’s not talked about openly, and I’m not sure if Knox knows, or merely hides the secret from his brother. He’s protective of him because he, himself was the one to actually raise his brother. The king and queen were murdered months after the birth of their little prince was announced to the realm. After their deaths, it wasn’t something anyone voiced out loud again.” “I thought that once they mate, they cannot create life outside of their union?” I asked, watching as the room returned to the duller version, which was once again covered in moss. “It’s more along the lines of won’t instead of can’t. Mates are very rare, so when you found yours, you didn’t chance losing them by sleeping around, and that was even if your creature allowed it. His grandparents weren’t mates, but they were a powerhouse couple that created life.”
Turning Esme’s words over inside my head, I frowned. Knox had told me he couldn’t have children because he’d created Sven with Liliana. He’d believed what he’d said. But there was also the curse Hecate had placed on them, and Sven wasn’t his child. He simply couldn’t be, because he’d carried the mark on his skull, which should have been impossible. Unless he was the son Freya carried and gave life to? I could see Hecate using him against Knox, but would she have allowed him to live? Or was that the real reason he’d suffered the fate of one thousand deaths? It would ensure he hadn’t survived, hurt Knox, and end the threat against herself in one swiftly calculated move. “Draghana Karnavious was the last full-blooded creature to hold the dragon form. She was Knox’s grandmother, but his grandfather? He was another type of monster entirely. Some say he was part-dragon and partdruid. Knox’s line can wield magic as you learned. Using magic wasn’t something dragons or those within Draghana’s bloodline did until her line was united with Knox’s grandfathers,” Soraya elaborated. “Knox is a fucking dragon?” I whispered, as if the dead would repeat it or spill the secrets we spoke. “You fucking knew what he was this entire time and never told me?” “Uh, you never asked what he was, Aria,” Soraya stated, aiming a pointed stare at me. “I thought you had figured it out?” When I just blinked at her, she shrugged. “I guess it’s not only the men alphas with intelligence issues.” Esme patted my back, and we started moving again. “Knox is born of the dragon bloodline.” Esme laughed, shaking her head. “Hecate cursed their line once she entered the realms. She removed any creature that could wield fire against her. She took away the dragons’ ability to shift into their true forms and then encased the king of phoenixes in gold and slaughtered all his people,” she whispered, gazing around at the bodies littering the hall. “But they’re phoenixes. Doesn’t that mean they can be reborn?” I countered, stepping over a couple who had died while holding one another. If I died, I wanted that. The need to protect each other as they died, knowing they wouldn’t be able to survive what was coming. “If they could, they chose not to,” Soraya replied while pushing her dark hair away from her face, scanning the hallway in which the ghosts had fled. “This place has amazing bones.”
“That’s pretty morbid.” I grunted, and she rolled her eyes. “Oh, you meant the stronghold?” Laughing wickedly, I stared into an open doorway. “Holy shit.” Enormous statues sat along the wall, lining the entire room. Each one held a sword up to the vaulted glass ceiling. It made it look as if they were holding it up instead of decorative. Between them, images of dragons were etched and painted on the high walls. Just visible on the outside of the glass, there were a dozen or so large perches, and my heartbeat thundered with the idea of what they were for. “Dragon perches, from when they flew freely,” Esme announced, smiling at the wonder dancing in my gaze. “I never got to see one, but I have read the books and ledgers from when they roamed the land. I’ve often wondered if maybe I am one of them, too.” A smile played on our lips, and I laughed softly before shaking my head. Moving farther into the room, I stalled as power erupted and the swords lowered, humming with a gentle pulse of power. As we watched, some began glowing an eerie hue of blue while others glowed a sunset orange. The walls changed, and images of dragon and large firebirds flew around mountain tops together. “The swords are glowing with protection runes,” Soraya stated softly. “They also covered the floor within them. It’s a fucking protection room meant to protect those within it from evil or harm.” I nodded. This place was something else entirely. I could feel the pulse of steady power, as if they had built the castle on a vein of magic. “They were trying to reach this room when the demons attacked,” I stated, stepping back into the hallway and looking back in the direction we’d come from. Bodies littered the floor in the long hallway, long forgotten in death. Moss had grown over some, making it a little easier to stare at what once had been a living breathing thing. Silently pulling magic from the realms, I summoned the dead to join my army. Instead of sinking into the floor, they simply disintegrated to dust. “When a demon consumes the soul, it leaves only the flesh behind. Fortunately for these creatures, the process brings pleasure instead of pain. It’s a lot more than anyone in the realms would have offered us,” Soraya said from beside me.
“Let’s get the others here so we can leave and start the trials,” Esme said, unimpressed by the dust filtering through the air. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I pray you find your peace with whatever God you trust,” I whispered softly, peering back into the large opulent room.
Chapter Fifty-Nine It had taken hours to move the children to the new location. Esme had collected food while Soraya had collected bedding and other creature comforts. Avy, Siobhan, and I had cleared out the remains and freshen it up as best we could. We’d placed wards, barriers, and runes to conceal and prevent anyone from locating them. Once we’d finished gathering what they would need, I opened a portal that opened to the pathway that led into the forgotten village. Esme and I didn’t start forward right away. We just stared down the long, winding trail with apprehension flooding through us. It wasn’t the idea of going through a trial that worried me; it was walking blindly into unknown circumstances. If we made it through and I discovered my father was the same ilk as my mother, I was going to lose my shit. That would not stop me from going, though. I had to find out who I was. “Do you hear that?” Esme asked thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side as her lips tightened. “I do.” There was a beautiful, soothing melody playing into the cool evening air around us. No sooner had I answered than the sound of feet moving down the pathway reached us. I gathered magic, and then I exhaled in relief as silver hair came into view. In the front of the small group was Aden, a cocky smile pulling his full lips. Men stood behind him, smiling in our direction, with curiosity burning in their gazes. “Your father cannot wait to meet you, Little Queen,” Aden stated. “Aden.” I dipped my chin a fraction in greeting. He tossed a bag toward us, and out of reflex, I moved to grab it out of the air. When I returned my attention to him, he was inches from me. Aden lifted his hand, cupping my cheek in his warm palm. A tremor of unease rushed through me before he lowered his lips to my ear, pressing them against it. “I cannot wait for you to enter our world and learn who you really are, Aria Prometheus,” he whispered while his heated breath fanned against my neck. “You could just spill it now?” I offered, enjoying the sound of his laughter that vibrated against my shoulder.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” He stepped back to look into my eyes. “Inside the bag is clothing for you to wear during the trial on your way to the Kingdom of Fire.” “Any hint about what we’re heading into?” Esme asked, which forced his attention to her. “I am not privy to any aspect of the trial, Esmerelda. The path depends on which one you both choose to take. I can tell you that the easier path is never the one you should take,” he offered before his eyes slid back to mine and heated with desire. “Is this to test our strength or our intentions?” I questioned, studying him as he soundlessly stepped closer to me once more. “You don’t need to be tested for strength,” he stated before running his finger over my cheek. “Will we have to do this every time we come?” I countered, hoping it wasn’t something we’d have to repeat. “No, but to enter it for the first time, you both must make it through it alive. Are you afraid, Little Queen?” he inquired before lowering his lips against my ear again. “If I feared you couldn’t make it through this, I’d tell you to be careful. That isn’t the case. You’re an amazing fighter and survivor. Make it through this, and I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.” Aden’s gaze darkened and roved over me with a ravenous hunger that caused unease to swirl through me. “And when we reach the Kingdom of Fire, if we want to leave?” “I’ll escort you out myself if that is what you wish. However, once you’ve reached our haven, I don’t think you’re going to want to go anywhere else. I know I don’t, but I also don’t intend to cower in the shadows anymore. Do hurry, your father’s rather impatient to meet his only daughter, Aria.” He nodded to the others, who turned and started up the trail. Aden twisted back, sliding his turquoise gaze down to my stomach before frowning. He sucked his full bottom lip between his teeth before he brought his hands together. The smirk on his lips didn’t distract from the worry dancing in his stare. “He sought to ensure you were his after all, didn’t he? Did he succeed, Aria?” Aden questioned, but if he wanted the answer, he didn’t wait around for one. Aden just spun and followed the others until they vanished before our eyes. Apprehension returned, and I turned to find Esme scowling at me.
“No matter what happens, Esme, we make it through this together. Promise me,” I whispered, unable to shake off the feeling that this wasn’t only a trial to reach the Kingdom of Fire. It was something much more sinister. “I promise to do everything in my power to get us through this shit show together,” she agreed, digging the outfits Aden had told us to wear from the bag. We changed into skin-tight, black leggings that hugged our thighs perfectly and long-sleeved blouses that were a soft baby-blue color. There were two black, long-sleeved, hooded cloaks that hung to mid-thigh. The backs of them tightened like a corset so they were form fitting, and the fronts of them laced up the same way. I yanked on the boots that stopped just below my knees and narrowed my eyes at the fit. Esme had the same stupefied look on her face. Neither of us had any idea how they’d gotten our sizes right. The last items in the bag were four daggers, two for each of us, and harnesses for us to strap them to our upper thighs. Everything we’d worn here went into the bag, and then we were on our feet again, looking down the trail Aden and the other men had disappeared down. Exhaling the anxiousness I felt, I started forward with Esme beside me, the bag secure on her back. The moment our feet touched the trail, everything around us shifted. It was as if the world had tilted, and we were moving through changing scenery. The hair on my arms stood up as I exchanged a look with Esme. Trees pushed up through the ground, sealing the path we’d arrived from. The air around us filled with the sound of rushing water. The sky went from day to night, filling with rainbow-hued colors. Galaxies of stars fed us their light, bathing the landscape in its glow. “It looks simple enough,” Esme pointed out, and before she’d finished jinxing us, a howl came from somewhere in the forest of trees. “You said the quiet part out loud again, asshole.” I snorted, stifling the groan. “Dire wolves,” I whispered before twisting to look behind me, gasping at the live dire wolves rushing toward us. I pulled myself up and onto the nearest branch, nodding for Esme to follow my lead as I climbed higher. When I was as high as I could go, I gazed over miles of streams that flowed from the edge of the cliffs
surrounding us. Esme landed beside me, opened her mouth to speak, but then her eyes went as wide as mine did. “What in the . . . fuck!” I screamed as the branch flung us off it and launched us into the air. I landed in the water, yelping as pain shot through my submerged flesh. It was ice cold, and if I wasn’t mistaken, that was freaking frost fire ice burning through my skin. I grabbed on to the nearest limb and pulled myself out of the water and onto the sliver of land the tree’s mangled roots attached to. “Esme?” I snapped, scanning the area for her and discovering her dragging herself out of the water. “I don’t think the trees want to be stood on.” Once she was on dry land, she collapsed onto her back next to me. The dire wolves snarled and shuffled around the edge of the water. Their teeth snapped together, and then one howled, which was then echoed by hundreds of dire wolves deeper in the forest. Goose bumps broke out over my arms, and a shudder of fear slipped down my spine. “Holy shit,” Esme muttered, sitting up to scour the area for an immediate threat. The wolves didn’t linger, but I wasn’t sure that was a good thing, or bad. We could still hear their paws treading over the soggy ground, but the few that had chased us had creeped back into the shadowy terrain, vanishing from sight. Getting back up wasn’t easy, but we had to keep moving. I stared down at the water, glaring at the ice beneath the crystalline surface. I summoned magic, but nothing happened. Blinking slowly, I tried again, but it was as if there was nothing to pull from here. Again I tried, and again, I failed, and panic was beginning to burn through my veins at the vacant place my magic normally sat. “Esme, try casting.” After a second, her frown mirrored mine and panic colored her eyes. “Nothing, Aria. I have no magic.” She pushed from the ground, peering back toward where we’d started. “And there’s no way out of this shit, either.” Groaning, I jumped toward her and barely escaped being dunked again as the ground gave out beneath me. We both jumped to a different patch of ground and watched in horror as the tree sank into the water behind us.
“Go!” I demanded, following behind Esme as we moved from one small patch of land to the next as the trees began dropping behind us. They were making sickening cracking sounds, and then the earth shook, forcing me to glance back, watching as they fell toward us. “Run!” We sprinted as fast as we could over the slivers of land. The patches were growing thinner the farther we ran. Esme paused, but I grabbed her and threw us both toward a small island off to our left. Seconds later, a tree slammed onto the ground where she’d stopped. Rising to my feet, I tried to figure out which way to go. In front of us was a quickly moving river that rushed over the edge of a cliff, and behind us was a never-ending hopscotch full of sinking trees and wolves. “Which way do you think we should go, Esme? You want to go over or across?” We needed to make the choice before the land gave way and forced us both into the water. She didn’t have time to choose before the land mass we were on dumped us into the water. Pushing up from the bottom, I spit out water searching for Esme, who I found clinging to a large branch that was sinking. I swam toward her, but a sudden current caught me, yanking me away. Esme howled in fear, forced to abandon the branch as it sank and threatened to take her down with it. The haunting sound of rushing water grew louder. Spinning, I scanned the edge of nothingness. “Esme, breathe!” I demanded, knowing we couldn’t swim fast enough to escape what was coming. She released a piercing cry as she saw the edge. I swam toward her, but before I could get close enough to grab her, we were both shot over the edge of the falls. It was deafeningly loud and far longer of a drop than I thought it would be. Rocks stood out of the water we were falling toward, and their jagged tips reached into the clouds we were falling through. I could only hope that we weren’t on a direct collision course with a hidden spike. I spread my arms, gasping as I slammed into Esme’s body. Her arms and legs snaked around me as we plummeted toward the large body of water below us. She screamed, and it was the only thing I could hear over the rushing water and wind whipping by us. “We’re going to fucking die,” she bellowed before she started laughing hysterically.
“Neither one of us is dying today! Breathe in, now!” I ordered, inhaling a gulp of air before we slammed into the water. Pain shot through my feet, moving up through my thighs until it threatened to engulf me. I refused to accept dying in a pool of frozen freaking water. The moment my feet touched the rocky bottom, I pushed off it, and swam as hard as I could toward the surface, looking for any sign of Esme. When I didn’t find one, I dove back under, spotting something with a tail moving toward me. The murky depths didn’t allow me to exactly see what it was, and I definitely didn’t notice it had a row of razor-sharp teeth until it slammed into my body, knocking the air from my lungs. Grabbing the dagger strapped to my thigh, I gripped the handle and brought it up to slash it toward the creature. It swam slowly, forcing me to react. My motions were slow, and it felt like it took forever as I punched my hand out, stabbing the monstrous creature, turning everything red with its blood. Ripping the blade through the creature’s side, I stabbed it repeatedly until something grabbed my arm, jerking me up toward the surface. I slammed my blade toward the creature pulling me up. A glimpse of bright hair and a humanoid form caught my focus, but I didn’t waste time trying to figure out what horror shit show it was from. I shot up, gasping and sucking in air before diving back down again, searching for Esme. I found her floating at the bottom, unmoving. It took an effort to grab Esme’s unconscious body and force her up with me through the murky depth, all the while watching for more of those creatures. Once I broke the surface, I gasped for air greedily as I held Esme with one arm and treaded water with the other. From the shore, an angry woman glared at us as she held her side. My jaw dropped back into the pool of water as I took in her long, intricate tail from where she sat on the edge of the shore. She reached forward with clawed-tipped fingers, grabbing Esme to pull her onto the edge of the land she sat upon. Once she’d dropped her, Esme began coughing up copious amounts of fluids. The mermaid grabbed my arm, pulling me up beside her. “Holy shit,” I muttered, taking in her soft, jade-colored hair and startling crystalline-blue eyes. “You stabbed me, bitch,” she snapped.
“I thought you were with that monster that was trying to eat me,” I explained aloofly. Her gaze wandered over my face before settling on my wet, silver hair that hung limply against my face. “You’re pretty, but I prefer my meals to have more meat on them.” She snorted, turning to peer at Esme, who was glowering up at the waterfall we’d gone over. Colorful birds swooped through the spray, catching fish in the air that were unlucky enough to be shot over the falls. Around us, blue and green lights blazed from the high cliffs that surrounded a sweeping valley of vibrant emerald-green fields that spread out as far as I could see. Small, glowing bubbles seemed to light a pathway to where the high cliffs opened and parted as if there was something vast beyond them. Quartz crystals that stood as high as trees cast rainbowcolored prisms across the landscape. Pushing up from the ground, I stared over the beauty of it without words to describe it fully. In the middle of the meadow there was a giant tree with what looked like lightning bugs swarming around it invitingly. “I wouldn’t remain out here once the sun sets over the mountains,” the mermaid informed, diving back into the water before she popped her head back out, glaring at us. “And stay out of my water. Next time you won’t escape it.” Esme coughed, pushing to her feet. “She was pleasant,” she offered before coughing a few more times. “Why do you think she is afraid of being out at night?” No sooner had Esme said it than the sun slowly vanished and an eerie scream ripped through the land. I spun toward the cliff the water had forced us over, staring at the slithering creatures that howled and snarled as they surveyed us from above. “What the hell are those things?” I asked as they pawed the water with lethal-looking claws. They looked like a mix between shadowy creatures of doom and large cats with really terrifying needle-like fangs. One jumped into the air, but the light from the setting sun caught it, and it burst into flames before it hit the water, splashing and making a god-awful sound that threatened to make my ears bleed. “That’s our cue to fucking run.” “Agreed!”
We both rose and hauled ass without looking back. The world around us hummed, as if it were excited that we were being hunted. The air was cooling, and the last rays of sunlight were disappearing, ushering in the night. This place was a death trap, and we didn’t have magic to combat the creatures. It was bullshit, straight up, because no way I was letting a single one of those monsters close enough for me to stab it. Did I really need to figure out who my father was or what I was this badly? No, but were we stuck in the trial from hell with things trying to murder us, anyway? Yes.
Chapter Sixty The grass we moved through was relentlessly trying to wrap around our ankles. Every few steps, I had to reach down and swat at it to make it release me. The tree we were aiming for seemed to get farther away no matter how far we ran trying to escape the shadowy creatures tracking us. We’d moved through the shallow water, hoping to prevent them from following our scents, but they were persistent. I continued trying to rouse Ember, but she was silent within me. It was like the land had nullified my magic and my beast. Esme had confirmed that she couldn’t cast, and her beast was dead silent within her as well. Pausing for a moment, I gazed around the large meadow. “I think we’re going in circles.” “How? We’re literally walking in a straight line.” Esme groaned. “We’re not walking in circles. The land is moving in a circle.” Scratching my head, I frowned at where the side of the mountain opened into a valley. It shifted, and I snorted at the absurdity of it before starting toward it again. Esme grabbed my hand, pulling me to a stop. “We cannot reach it because we’re not meant to reach it,” she informed, pointing toward a bridge. “That is where we should be heading.” I muttered beneath my breath and followed behind her while swatting the grass, which probably wasn’t grass at all, away from my face. A rumbling noise had me turning to gaze at the tree once more. I gasped, finding it directly beside us. Since Esme was still leading me by my arm when I froze, she was yanked backward and ended up slamming into me, making us both stumble. “What the hell—” Her eyes went wide when she finally saw what had stolen my attention. They weren’t bugs floating around the tree as I’d assumed. They were some kind of lights floating in small, round bubbles. I poked one, and then cried out as it scalded my fingertip. My knee-jerk reaction was to soothe the burn by popping my finger into my mouth, but Esme slapped my hand away and shook her head gently. “It is acid, Aria. It protects the tree from creatures foraging it or using it to build with,” she chuckled, watching the confusion spreading over my face. “Some things, the land protects, and others, it allows to be used. Like
the Beltane Circle. You killed Bel, and the land allowed it because he will be reborn so that he can return next summer. If you’d tried to take him out of the circle, you and everyone inside the circle would have died.” “And who created this place because I’m pretty sure it isn’t part of the realms?” The question caused Esme to pause, and her brow creased in confusion. “Honestly, I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I just know that when something hurts, you shouldn’t stick it in your mouth, idiot.” A loud, groaning sound echoed through the terrain, and the vibrant greenery was now dreary brown earth. The tree that had been following us had vanished, and skeletal remains scattered the ground throughout the valley. High soaring cliffs had risen, reaching to the heavens to vanish into the cloudy night. Shrill animal noises erupted, forcing us to step closer to one another, scanning the area for whatever threat was coming next. The skulls on the ground began shaking and added to the already haunting song of the wildlife. Beneath our feet, the earth continued to vibrate, and the scent of earth mingled with musky undertones. “I don’t like this,” I stated, feeling the sensation of being watched creeping up my spine. “Yes, me either,” she agreed, stepping back as loud crunching noises tore through the area. We both peered back slowly. A soft breath of air left my lungs, as we discovered eyeless creatures that looked as if they’d had all the moisture sucked from their flesh. Then we took off running toward the bridge. The sharp scraping continued, and guttural moans began swarming around us. Esme peered over her shoulder, her eyes growing wide as she turned back and picked up speed. I didn’t need to look to know that I didn’t want whatever those creatures were to catch up to us. Fear shot down my spine as the ground gave way to a bridge, but Esme and I didn’t slow as we hurtled across it. Once we’d made it safely to the other side, Esme spun and cut the old, decayed ropes. We watched as zombie-looking things and other creatures bumped up against those on the ledge, sending them down into the endless ravine we’d crossed. My legs, chest, and abdomen were on fire from running. Everything ached, and a quick glance at the rising sun had me furrowing my brow in confusion. Either time moved differently here, or we’d been running for over twelve hours already. The ground rumbled again, and I wanted to
stomp my feet and pout because I needed a second to catch my breath. The ravine vanished and replaced with solid land once more. Doing a quick scan for threats, I snorted at not finding more monsters already in place to force our exhausted bodies forward once again. What I did find was yet another bridge waiting for us. Esme made a strangled sound and took a single step back from the ancient-looking bridge. The rope was frayed, and the boards appeared to be rotten to the point of falling apart. We both stared at the monstrosity with horror stamped across our faces. Just the thought of stepping onto the thing had my heart thundering against my rib cage. Esme shuffled another step back, as if she were getting ready to brave the acid tree, but the growling sent us both rushing toward the rickety bridge. Not even five steps onto the thing, Esme lurched forward as the board she had stepped on gave way. I grabbed her, yanking her back up just as the first creature inched its way onto the bridge. I backed up, keeping myself between the creatures and Esme, who was peering back in horror. Her hand pressed to her thigh, and concern pulsed through me. They were shadows, but they snapped at one another to be the first to feast on our bones. Blood splattered into the air and rained onto the ground, painting it crimson. “It’s fucking broke!” she snarled. “Your leg? Or the bridge?” I demanded, still backing up, inspecting the shadowy images of the silky dark nightmare cats moving closer to us. They were taller than we were, which I hadn’t expected. Of course, when we’d seen them the first time, they’d been on the cliff above us. “The bridge!” She groaned, and the whole thing started swinging beneath the weight of the creatures. We continued inching backward, but the shadows lunged, ignorant of the horrifying sound of the planks and ropes creaking under their weight. I spun, forcing Esme to move as we rushed over the bridge. I risked a glance back over my shoulder, which I should have known was a huge mistake, and watched in abject horror as first one, and then the other, rope support snapped. The end of the bridge dropped, dumping the shadow cats into the chasm below, and Esme and I screamed. We held on for dear life as the bridge swung wildly through open air. Wide violet eyes spun toward me as she began to slide, but my legs
wrapped around her waist just as we slammed painfully against the side of a cliff. Grunting, I tightened my hold on to her, staring down. She’d wrapped her arms around me, clinging as if she feared I would drop her. I released a frustrated scream, fear and horror pouring through me as the ropes burned my hands and we slid down, closer to death. “Don’t drop me, Aria,” she pleaded through trembling lips and chattering teeth. “If we die, we die together,” I informed her with tears stinging my eyes. My arms burned with the strain of holding us both up, but I would not let her drop. Not unless I dropped with her. I struggled to hold on, fighting to grip the ropes on both sides as I prepared to climb. I had to bear her weight with mine and get us up to the top or we’d both be falling to our deaths. There was no world where I removed her from my waist to save myself. I wouldn’t do it, and I was beginning to think that was the fucking test. Did they want me to forego saving her? No, Eva had said, we both had to make it through. Fighting to remain calm and steeling my spine, I swung my arm up, grabbing higher. The motion jostled Esme, who screamed and tightened her hold until it felt as if she would cut me apart. I gained another handful of inches, and I exhaled an excited whoop until I realized we’d hardly moved. Deflating, I released a slow, deep breath and closed my eyes, praying we made it out of this alive. “You need to hold on because we have to go up!” I shouted so she could hear me over the howling wind. She nodded against me, her wide, terrified eyes swinging between the dark, endless drop below us and the cliffs that opened to expose a vast ocean of water. The light from a multitude of stars glittered over the water but faded into the light of the sun rising on the horizon. Returning my focus to the climb, I fought for strength to get us both to the ledge alive. “I don’t want to go up!” she snapped, panic thickening her tone. “Would you rather we go down?” I inquired, waiting for her reply before moving once more. The climb felt endless, and my entire body burned from holding us both suspended over certain death. Beneath us was a void. One that looked bottomless. It would be easy to drop her and work my way up without the
added burden, but I would never willingly do that. I wouldn’t be able to live knowing I’d dropped her to save myself. It was that thought that kept my hands moving, but when my head cleared the ledge, I had enough forethought to make sure nothing was waiting to eat us. When I was sure it was safe, I moved higher, using my lower body strength to pull Esme with me. She climbed over me, crawling onto land before she turned to grab ahold of me and hoist me the rest of the way up. The moment we were both on firm ground, we laid on our backs, staring up at the dawn spreading splashes of vibrant color across the sky above us. “You could have dropped me and saved yourself, Aria,” Esme whispered, her lips trembling. I looked at her, smiling as she turned her tear-streaked face toward me. I grabbed for her hand, clasping it until it stopped trembling. “That isn’t who I am, Esme. And I meant what I said. Either we get there together or we don’t get there at all. What kind of asshole would drop their best friend?” Smiling tightly, I lifted, peering over the ravine to where gnarled and misshapen cat-looking creatures paced, making the same horrible noise. One snarled, sending shadowy tendrils into the air. I inched up, bracing myself on my elbows to study the way the wispy shadows moved. “It’s really too bad we can’t fly and make this shit easier.” The ground lurched under us, and a sharp clap of thunder split the air as the landscape shifted yet again. A dark, spooky cave appeared, and I made a sound of frustration as the air grew thick with the fragrance of flowers, which bloomed around our prone forms. For a second, I considered just remaining here until another option presented itself. Aden had told us not to take the easier paths, but we weren’t really being given a choice which direction we went in. Esme lifted, peering toward the entrance with a frown creasing her forehead as I glanced back to the shadow creatures. “It’s a good thing those fuckers can’t fly,” I muttered before the sound of wings filled my ears. I sat up, peering up into the sky. A tingle of unease settled around us until the squawking shrill of a giant-ass bird shook the ground. “I just need one fucking moment to rest!” I yelled at the bird that snapped rows of razor-sharp teeth toward us. Esme grabbed me, yanking me to my feet and hauling me toward the protection of the dark, mustysmelling cave.
The moment we entered, the bird was right behind us, slamming into the entrance and snapping its jaw. We inched back, forced to move deeper into the space to avoid being eaten. “Aria, there are stairs,” Esme said, and I spun to where she was pointing. The staircase led downward, and I groaned at just the thought of having to walk down them. My legs ached from running and my arms were little more than Jell-O from climbing. “We need to rest a minute.” I didn’t wait for her reply before moving toward the stairs and sitting on the top one. Esme sat next to me, and we stared into the pitch-black hole we were heading into. I tried to adjust my eyesight, but it was as if we were nothing more than humans trying to survive an endless trial of horrors that promised to end us. My body was drained, and I didn’t have the added strength from Ember. I hadn’t even been this exhausted when Knox was endlessly chasing me around the Nine Realms. “I can’t see shit,” Esme grumbled. “Me either,” I admitted, leaning my head against the cave wall, unwilling to move from the cold slate seat that felt like a feather bed to my weary body. The second my eyelids drifted closed, light glowed around us, which forced them back open. I laughed softly, but it was dipped in sarcasm and laced with anger over the fact that we wouldn’t be able to rest. Strange markings covered the walls and glowed crimson. It looked like we’d stepped into a gentlemen’s club, and they had added the red lights to set the mood. The only thing I was in the mood for was a solid nap. “Can you read those?” I asked, but Esme snorted, shaking her head. “We could ask our friend the carnivorous bird.” She sat up, jerking a thumb back at the thing that was still trying to wedge its way into the cave. The entrance shook, and I gazed back over my shoulder, glaring at the dust dropping from the ceiling. “I may not understand what they say, but in my experience, red is never a good thing,” she muttered, moving down a few more steps, stopping to wait for me to catch up. Bracing my hand against the wall, I stood and slowly made my way down to her. Esme found it hilarious that I could hardly move, but I snorted because her ass hadn’t been holding us up, and she knew it.
At the bottom of the steps, we found ourselves inside a cavern with icicle-like stalactites that dipped into water, which flooded the floor and flowed deeper into the tight channel of the cave. The glowing red runes didn’t carry past the stairs, but the walls glowed a soft blueish-green color, as if the algae itself was giving off light. Smaller stalagmites poked their sharp tips from the water that made me vacillate entering the waterway. Toward the walls of the cave, the stalagmites and stalactites met, forming columns. Above us, cave pearls dropped liquid from their smooth surfaces and added a constant dripping noise that echoed through the space we were in. Slowly, I entered the water as we cautiously forged our way forward. The farther we went, the eerier it became. Neither one of us spoke, too busy watching the cave ceiling that looked as if a nebula was stolen from the galaxy and captured within its walls. The whole place seemed to pulse and change colors as it expanded around us. “That is something else,” I whispered, afraid to make too much noise in the space we occupied. “It’s beautiful,” Esme admitted. “Which means it will probably eat us.” I chuckled, but something brushed against my calf. “Mother fucker, what now?” My eyes focused on the water around me as I took another step forward, only to find nothing to step on, and I ended up sinking under the surface. Because why not have uneven ground? Was that too much to ask for? I pushed off the bottom, breaking the surface in time to watch Esme leap toward me. I barely avoided having her land on top of me. Reaching out, I grabbed her arms and yanked her toward the side of the cave with me. We managed to reach it just as the water started to pick up speed around us, but the column was slick with algae. My grip faltered over the wet slimy column, and the quickly rushing water swept us away before I could make another grab for it. Esme’s hold on me may have been solid, but it was still an added burden when fighting the water. If we survived this shit, I was teaching her how to fucking swim. “I hate this fucking idea,” Esme sputtered, spitting water from her mouth. “It’s a little late now to turn back.”
“Do you hear that?” she asked, forcing me to strain to hear what she was talking about. We allowed the current to direct us since we didn’t have another choice, and the flow started to pick up speed. Before I could grasp on to anything, we were being spit out over a small waterfall, which dropped us into a large pool that flowed blindly through the dimly lit cave like a lazy river. That was when I heard what Esme had been talking about, and my heart stopped. The water that was washing us through the cave system was emptying into a giant whirlpool. I blanched, closing my eyes before I started kicking us toward the only ledge available to escape the rushing water trying to suck us into an abyss. “Swim!” I screamed. Esme kicked her feet, adding power to my strokes. Her hold shifted to my waist, so I had both arms free, and I swam as hard as I could toward the small ledge even though my body had almost nothing left to give. “We aren’t going to make it!” I yelled as I continued to fight against the current that threatened to drink us down into the unforgiving cyclone of water. Esme climbed my body, her survival instinct strong enough to overcome her panic. I wasn’t powerful enough to get us both there, though. One of her hands touched the edge as the other gripped my clothing, but then something slammed into my head, sending us careening away from safety. I blinked past the pain, trying to hold off unconsciousness, but the last thing I heard was her panicked screams and the sound of rushing water.
Chapter Sixty-One Hands held me tightly, and I muttered profanities at the pain rippling through me. When I opened my eyes, it was to the sight of glowing stars dotting an endless night sky. Esme was plastered against the cave’s side, holding me on a thin sliver of the ledge. “You saved me,” I mumbled, running my fingers over the cut on my head. “We’re going to die here,” she whispered so softly I almost didn’t hear her. I snorted in agreement. In front of us was the whirlpool, which seemed to be the only exit out of the cave unless we wanted to go back the way we came. I looked up and then dismissed that immediately. To get back to the opening we’d come through, we would have to scale a vertical wall, which was slippery with precious few handholds. “I can’t see another way out of here, Aria,” she babbled, her gaze locked on the whirlpool. “I’ve been down one of them before.” She tensed behind me, and her grip tightened as if she feared I would slip over the edge and suck her down with me. I wondered if I should tell her that perfectly flat walls more than likely meant that the water rose, but then I dismissed the idea. She was already shivering so forcefully I was shocked we hadn’t already gone over the edge. “Maybe it’s our greatest fears we must overcome?” I offered. “And which was yours? The rope bridge?” She scoffed, indulging in the mindless conversation to avoid the reality that we were about to die. “Nope. Guess again.” “Mermaids? Oh, no, it’s the murderous shadow creatures,” Esme offered, tightening her hold on me. “Losing people I love or care about, like my sisters,” I supplied, hating the pricking of tears that burned behind my eyes. “I spent almost my whole life being afraid of being alone or worried that they’d die and I wouldn’t have anyone in my life. In the end, I am without them. I guess I’m stronger now because that fear has been realized already. Sure, I had to fight hard not to become bitter or become what the world tried to turn me into, but I did it.”
“I hate that they turned against you, but if it’s true that Aurora has their siblings, I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing, Aria. I’d move mountains and do whatever it took to get Siobhan back,” she replied, forcing me to consider that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t as against me as it appeared. “I don’t see another way out of this for us, Esmeralda,” I announced, unwilling to continue that conversation, which may not even matter in a few minutes. “I can’t go into that thing. I don’t even know how to swim.” Her tone was filled with horror as it echoed off the cave walls. “We’re going to die if we go down that.” “We’ll die if we stay here,” I countered, carefully leaning to the side to look back at her. “I can’t do it. I won’t,” she whispered brokenly. “Look at me.” I waited until she did as I asked. “We have to.” “I cannot do it, okay?” Her teeth chattered even harder than they had been. “We’ll freeze to death here, Esmeralda. That, or we’ll fall asleep and end up in the whirlpool when we’re not strong enough to fight against the current. If we go willingly into the water, we have a chance to escape this alive. And you’re immortal, so you’ll probably drown and just wake up once this is over. I choose not to let fear lead me, and so should you. Be the girl who runs blindly into battle beside me.” “I have magic and weapons when I rush into battle!” “I’m your weapon right now. I’ll be your blade, Esmeralda. Together, right? You’re my ride or die, and who wants to live forever?” I countered. “Sane people, Aria,” she returned with a worried look burning in her eyes. “My friends call me Esme, and you’re my friend.” “Best friend?” I asked. “Nope.” Her lips twitched into an almost smile. “Oh, come on! I hung on to you while you screamed like a bitch. Did I let you fall? No, because best friends never let their bestie fall to her death in an endless void. We might actually fucking die here, and you still won’t be my best friend?” “No, because you think we need to hide bodies and I am not shoveling anything,” she scoffed in a haughty tone. “Breathe,” I ordered.
“Why?” “Because you’re not my best friend,” I returned with a smile on my lips. “Which means I won’t feel bad about doing this.” I laughed, pitching myself forward and yanking her with me. Esme howled, but she sucked in a lungful of air before we hit the water and were sucked under. She clung to me just as fiercely as I held on to her, and no matter how badly the water tossed and spun us, there was no way I was giving up my grip. Far too soon, my lungs burned and stars exploded in my vision, but not once did my fingers loosen. Our bodies slammed against the hard tunnel that the whirlpool sent us spiraling through. The farther the water carried us, the more lethargic I felt. I held on because it was the only thing I could do anymore. I wouldn’t lose her or allow us to be separated because I’d been the one to force us into the water cyclone. Esme was limp in my arms, but before I could panic—or even tell myself that panicking was pointless since there was literally nothing I could do but die right alongside her—the whirlpool spit us out onto dry ground. I threw up water, coughing and gasping as I tried to get precious air into my lungs. Beside me, Esme didn’t seem to be much better off, but she was alive, so I’d take it. We struggled to sit upright and ended up collapsing back to the ground. “You could have killed us both!” “We didn’t die, though.” “But we could have died, Aria! You did not know where that blasted whirlpool went, and you forced me to get sucked into the thing.” “I did, and we are alive, Esme.” I was fighting so hard against the need for sleep. “We’re heading back into the water because it’s easier than climbing over the shit on the side,” I announced, and her head dropped back before she looked at the rushing river that cut a path through the cavern. “Fine.” This time, I didn’t have to pull her with me. We jumped, and while we still clung to each other because we were unwilling to be separated, neither of us fought the water when it swept us away. I prayed silently that there wouldn’t be any more waterfalls or whirlpools or whiny women. Pretty much anything that started with a W. The river carried our bodies endlessly, but it wasn’t so deep that Esme couldn’t bounce her feet off the bottom. It wasn’t until what felt like an
eternity later that I bounced off the bottom and discovered that I could stand, so we began walking instead of floating. Something brushed against my leg again, and I glanced down and discovered a male watching me. He exploded from the water, and I slammed my fist into his face, grabbing for the daggers still strapped to my thighs. Esme did the same, slamming her back against mine. We peered around the waist-deep water, watching for him to reappear. I felt him before I saw him, anticipating the moment he would break the surface. I slashed my dagger forward and tore the blade through his throat. Esme growled, fighting against another one behind me. We danced, spinning and slicing as one after another fought to drag us to a watery grave. When there was finally a lull between attacks, we rushed toward the side of the cave, trading the water for the large swath of stone. Several more of the males popped up to the surface, and I stepped forward, ready to fight them, but Esme grabbed my arm. She forced my attention to a staircase that led up, away from the creepy mermen who had rows of sharp needle-like teeth snapping together. On tired legs, we ascended the stairs swiftly, watching the walls growing narrower the higher we climbed. The moment we hit the top step, we rushed toward an opening that would see us freed of the cave. I sucked in air, fighting to control my breathing until voices sounded in front of where we stood. The scent of food hit me first. Freshly baked bread and meat caused my stomach to growl loudly and drew my focus to the bustling village we’d entered. Blinking, I fought to pull whatever reserve strength I had left up, preparing to fight our way out of whatever the hell was coming for us next. Leaving the darkened cave, I gaped around at the magnitude of what was revealed. A crowd had gathered and was watching us with curiosity. Large firebirds flew in the air over the city. A dragon jumped from a perch to sail through the sky. Even more people were flooding from strange, dome-like buildings, trying to figure out what was creating the frenzy. The large, elegant castle that sat in the distance almost stole the breath from my lungs. It was the same one from the dream I’d had. Wide cobblestone pathways connected to bridges, which led to houses on the other side of a river. Beneath them, slow serene water moved toward a loud
waterfall that dropped beyond sight. Birds flew over the crest, ravenously snatching fish as they went over the edge. At the winding trail that led up to the palace, a large archway lit with glowing stones that seemed to pulse with welcome. The pathway to the palace was awash with runes and pulsing wards. Huge perches sat on the cliffs that the castle sat on, and caves filled with musical sounds that echoed their way to my ears. Swallowing the excitement of making it here alive, I turned to Esme, who was still busy gawking. Her violet stare swung to me, and a brilliant smile lifted her lips. “We made it, Aria,” she whispered. “We fucking made it. Holy shit, look at this place.” “So we did,” I said as I turned, catching sight of Aden approaching us with a smile on his lips. He was walking behind another man, who made my heart thump with anticipation and unease to slither down my spine. He was the same man who had been watching us from the woods in the picture of Amara and me in front of the House of Magic. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, a loud rattle started above, and then the ground shook as an enormous dragon hovered before me. My hair shot up, and wind battered my face. Another thunderous rumble vibrated over my skin before my view of Aden was blocked by a large white dragon. My heart raced, beating wildly against my rib cage as it snarled, revealing sharp, elongated teeth. The scent of smoke and something enticing filled the space, and a soft rumble of purring started from me. The beast’s eyes, which were larger than my entire skull, blinked to reveal emerald and vermilion that slid together, shattering into fiery embers while they examined me. Huge beautiful scales covered his body in alabaster and a soft silverish-blue color, which glistened and shimmered in the light. It paced before us, lowering its head and then moving its snout forward into my stomach. I grunted, lifting my hands to cradle his nose. A whispered purr slipped from my lips, and its eyes closed as if he found comfort in the sound. The dragon jerked away, throwing back its head before it opened its mouth, releasing a loud, blusterous rattle of sound. A phoenix landed beside it, snarling and spreading its wide, beautiful azure-and-midnight wings. The dragon turned, purring as the phoenix kept pushing it back from us. The moment the dragon made a chuffing noise and took off into the air in an effortless move, the phoenix turned on me.
Rattling loudly and, putting both Ember and me on edge. I purred, and it made a soft keening sound. A smaller dragon landed beside it, butting its head into the large, gorgeous birdlike creature’s side. “Holy shit,” I whispered, slowly extending my hand to touch it, but before I could, the birdlike creature turned and hissed. I folded my fingers against my palm, stepping back, but something bumped my rear. Peering over my shoulder, I found a smaller cyan-blue dragon rubbing against my thigh. Ancient eyes viewed me from the smaller dragon, who I wasn’t certain was as young as I assumed it to be. “Dragons and phoenixes,” Esme whispered softly. “This shit is almost worth dying a million freaking times to see with my own eyes.” The phoenix moved closer, rubbing its head against my still-closed hand. My fingers unfurled, and I stepped closer, smiling as tears swam in my vision. Its wings expanded, revealing a dark, rich hue of claret coloring underneath. The feathers glittered with soft cyan and claret sparkles beneath my touch. The smaller dragon behind me keened and then purred in a deep, soothing tone that had Ember echoing him. A thunderous rattle released, and the phoenix turned and pushed from the ground, soaring into the air. The smaller dragon didn’t go, deciding to hide behind me and peering out from between Esme and me to see where the rattling had originated from. Aden and the older gentleman stood before us as others whispered. Startling, vivid turquoise-colored eyes roved over my face. His hair was silver with wispy tips of obsidian on the edges, with hints of white mixed with it. He was tall and intimidating. He didn’t move or speak as we took each other in. I could see why Aurora had hated looking at me after she’d stopped altering my appearance with magic. I looked like the female version of him. His high cheekbones were sharp, while mine were softer, but still regal. The way his eyes blazed and pierced into me was unnerving, but I didn’t blink or glance away. Thick, black lashes surrounded the same captivating eyes, which were the color of turquoise with small golden flecks speckled within. Where my nose was small and button, his was prominent and straight. The surrounding people rattled low, and his lips curled into a grin. It built until they released it loudly, and a sense of warmth and belonging settled inside of me. The men before us joined in, and the tone changed to something else. The crowd bowed, arching their spines before lowering to
the ground. Esme went down as well, but I refused to bow. Both men watched me, and the octave they rattled in changed once more, becoming deafeningly loud. The lines appeared around the older male’s eyes as he looked at me. The sound died off, and the people stood, curiously staring at me since I’d refused to bow. Once everyone had stood and was nervously chattering, I began building mine. My lips curved into a grin, and the sound came in a pulsating, thunderous tone that had the crowd slamming against the ground, arching their spines. Esme would forgive me . . . eventually. The men before me frowned, fighting against the drive to join the others. Ember added to our shared noise, and Aden bowed at the spine. The other man held steady, smiling with something that almost looked like . . . pride? I cut the rattle and released a soft, sonorous purr that carried through the air. The dragons and phoenixes had lowered, giving me their attention, which felt as if it were a nod of respect. Both creatures released their own sweet purrs, and I returned my attention to the man I suspected was my father. “Welcome home, Aria Prometheus,” he announced in a lilting tone that wrapped around me, soothing my fears. “Thank you,” I returned, peering behind me as the dragon curled up at my feet. “Hello, Little Queen,” Aden murmured, leaning closer to place a kiss against my lips. The enticing scent of masculinity, sage, and bergamot washed through me, and I edged back from the feel of his lips against mine. There’d been something unexpected and natural about the kiss. “I told you that you’d make it, didn’t I? Welcome to our home, where you belong.” He pulled back, frowning when I didn’t reply. “You seem overwhelmed,” the man, who I assumed was Griffon, stated. Eva grumbled and slowly strode up to where we stood. Her posture was stiff, but a quick shake of the man’s head had her stepping to the side as he moved in closer. He placed a palm against my cheek before he purred softly. “You look just like my mother, Aria. I have watched you from afar and never expected you to turn out so brilliant and fiercely brave. You’ve surpassed everything I expected of you. Of course, I knew you’d be powerful and beautiful. Your mother is both even if she is heartless and