“We’re not leaving. I will not walk away from this spot until they are on their knees and this place of death is destroyed. You will do as I command, Aria,” Aurora demanded, and my eyebrow hiked to my hairline. “They do not get to win this fight.” “We only have ten witches here,” Esme pointed out, her voice sharp. “We should leave and come back with more to assist us, Aurora.” “I don’t remember giving you permission to address me informally, Esmeralda,” Aurora hissed, and I narrowed my eyes, disapproving at the condescension in Aurora’s tone. She had grown bolder over the last couple of attacks we’d waged. Her words had become full of barbs, and the way she carried herself made it seem as if we had already crowned her the new queen of witches. I didn’t like how she talked down to those who had joined us, either. It felt as if the moment we’d all gathered together, she’d changed to reflect the old ways. It made me hesitant to argue with her in the presence of others, but Esme was right. We only had ten witches to face off against an entire garrison, and I was drained from endless assaults I’d led for Aurora. She knew I wasn’t at my best. I’d told her as much before we left to come here, which was hardly the small keep she claimed it would be. For her to insist we move forward despite our clear disadvantage was reckless and unlike her. “I only say that because I agree with Aria. Something isn’t right here. Whatever it is, it’s causing discord and anxiety to rush through us all,” Esme said coolly, her tone even and sure. “Aria isn’t the one leading the assault, is she? No, I am, and I’m ordering everyone to prepare for the first attack. The people behind those walls think they can hang witches until death, and I intend to show them they will not continue down that path any longer.” Aurora tossed me a scathing glare, and I expelled the air from my lungs. I hadn’t questioned her about any of the multitude of attacks she’d ordered to this point, but to her, leading them didn’t mean she was the one taking point and unleashing her own magic. It meant that she was ordering I do that. And with every place I left in rubble without comment or complaint, she became bolder. Clearly, we’d gotten to the point where she’d forgotten it was my magic, my power, that was being wielded and not her own. Still, to point that out would invite resentment where I didn’t want any, so I tried a softer approach.
“It’s ten of us against an entire army, Aurora. Those aren’t odds I’d bet on.” I held her eyes. “This isn’t a little keep as we’d assumed it to be. It’s a freaking stronghold with a large army wanting to murder us. I’ve never argued with you about anything you’ve asked me to do. However, I agree with Esme. Something is off and horribly wrong here.” “Hold your tongue, Aria. You give the enemy power when you speak that way.” That was all she said before she turned back to the fort. I exchanged a worried look with Esme before focusing on the battlement once more and yanking magic toward me, preparing to unleash it onto the keep. Then the sound of metal scraping over metal drew my attention to the gate and had my eyes widening in horror. Arrows shot from slits in the battlement, and Aurora lifted her hand, flicking them away like twigs. Within moments, they fired more toward us, and we all started softly chanting, allowing Aurora to use our magic to battle against the onslaught. Once again, I felt her tugging for mine, and this time, I allowed it, forcing my magic to join hers against the assault. Our words fed her power, but I could feel what little I had left in my reserve draining to nothing as I attacked the keep with her. Even though I’d told Esme that it was as if the Nine Realms were a bottomless well of magic for me to use, that hadn’t strictly been true as of late. When I’d taken the water element, I’d pushed myself to depletion just to survive it, and my best guess was that I’d done far more damage to myself than I thought. Then, before I’d fully recovered, I’d cast the barrier in the library, which must have reopened whatever damage the water element had caused. Now, I could barely pull magic from the realms and my reserve was a bucket full of holes, unable to store my usual amount of magic inside me. Men shouted from above, and my eyes followed their darkly shrouded forms. The exotic scent of magic slithered all around, but it wasn’t ours—it was something else, something wicked. Before I could shield against it, the oily magic slammed against us, knocking me back, forcing my body to fight to remain upright. Icicles shot through the air, pelting a few of the witches. Esme grunted, forcing me to face her. I silently took in the blood peppering her side. Another wave of icicles exploded through the air, forcing me to use magic, which sent them scattering to the ground. Esme howled as one icicle hit the ground, shattering, only to send shards shooting up, pelting her side with crimson marks that spread through her shredded shirt. Glancing at the
others, I noticed they were all leaking blood from the merciless ice. A strangled cry brought my attention back to Esme, watching as she yanked an icicle from her thigh. The eerie, shrill snarl of the dark witches forced me to return to the issue at hand before we all ended up dead. The wind howled, and my skin stung as a violent burst of cold air whipped stray hairs across my cheeks. My dress offered little protection against the assault, and I could smell a fresh wave of magic swelling in the courtyard. When the spell was unleashed, a wave of power shot down from the battlements and slammed into our group, forcing us onto our knees on the hard, frozen earth. Frost slithered toward us from the keep, spiderwebbing over everything it touched as it sought us out. I gasped loudly, struggling to get up and away from the deadly frost fire. The others did the same, holding hands as we shouted at Aurora, who had remained on her feet. My dress ripped in my effort to stand, and ice seemed to form instantly on my skin. I cried out, shaking my body to free myself from the bitingly cold layer of ice that tried to encase me. “Aurora!” I shouted, and the wind swallowed the scream. “Pull back!” I demanded, but no one heard me over the noise of the attack and the elements. The wind forced us to release one another, sending several witches to the ground. Night took hold unnaturally, snuffing out the torches and plunging the land into complete darkness. Ember grumbled, pushing forward in my mind to find out why I was gasping and crying out in pain. I felt her fumble and then vanish as if something were preventing her from helping. Red-hot pain sliced through me as an arrow slammed into my side, and I bellowed as warm liquid soaked my dress. I wrapped my hand around the metal object that had speared me, and yanked as hard as I could, withdrawing the arrow. They were shooting at us in the dark? Several grunts sounded around me, alerting me I wasn’t the only one hit. “We have to leave,” I said, barely above a whispered breath. “Aurora?” Keeping my eyes closed, I searched the area around me and found only one person alive. I crawled toward her, following the steady sound of the heartbeat. Panic tried to claim control of my mind as I finally found who I was looking for on the ground and unmoving, but where were the others? How had they left without calling to us? Had we missed it, or was the magic holding us beneath some sort of enchantment that was screwing with our minds?
“This was a bad fucking idea,” Esme snarled, and I laughed in relief that she was awake and able to speak. “Come on.” I helped her stand, and then we started to retreat. We tripped, landing hard, and it took me several tries to get us up and moving again. All the while, I focused on getting us as far away from the stronghold as possible. “It’s not much farther. We need to run,” I stated firmly, fighting against the pain burning from where the arrow had been embedded in my abdomen. The sound of men issuing orders drew me to look where I’d assumed the fort walls were, and I changed my and Esme’s trajectory so we were moving in the opposite direction. The unnatural night was more disorienting than it should have been, which told me the confusion was by design. After a handful of labored steps, the voices sounded again, only this time they seemed to be coming from all around. I cocked my ear, listening and noting that they seemed farther away than they had a second ago. It was as if they were out here searching for us, expecting us to be encased in ice or pin cushioned by arrows. I didn’t wait to see if our pursuers had spread out before moving us both toward the sound of rushing water, barely containing a cry of agony as I slammed into a tree. I placed a hand in front of me, searching for obstacles in my path, then my foot got hooked in a tangle of roots, and I pitched forward over a downed cedar, grunting when Esme fell on top of me. She groaned in displeasure, standing and yanking my arm until I followed her. Neither of us made a noise as we barreled through the thick forest. We heard dogs snarling and barking, and it made us pause to locate their position. Anxiety ripped through me, and I choked back the urge to scream in pain as I pulled off my blood-covered dress and tossed it in the opposite direction of where the sound of the water was coming from. “Can you open a portal?” Esme whispered through trembling lips. “No, I’m tapped on magic. Hurry, take off your dress and throw it as far away from us as you can. Now, Esme,” I ordered in a hushed tone. It wouldn’t stop dogs from following our trail, but it would buy us precious moments to get deeper into the forest. I wasn’t certain I held enough magic to even open a portal, and if I did, I knew Knox would be on my heels. I had no intention of slipping away from one monster and into the arms of another. I didn’t have time for that bag of shit today.
Our feet crunched loudly over the frozen vegetation, but neither Esme nor I slowed. My muscles ached, burning from exertion, and branches slapped against our cold flesh, causing gasps of pain to slip free from our throats. The dogs and men hunting us kept us moving onward, unwilling to be captured. Esme’s top, and bottoms were both drenched in blood. Her thigh was also leaving behind a trail as we moved through the terrain. She limped, while I held my burning side. The issue was, we were weakening, and the injuries were much worse than either of us had realized. “I’m losing too much blood,” Esme admitted softly, forcing me to pause as she slowed to a jog. “Go, Aria. I’ll be right behind you.” “Fuck that,” I snapped frantically. “I have seen that shit on enough television shows to know better than to trust that you will actually follow me, asshole. Come on. We can make it,” I urged, grabbing Esme’s hand once more and forcing her to run with me. “I can’t!” she cried out, and the men’s yelling echoed closer to us, alerted by her scream. “I’m not leaving you,” I informed, accepting that we were about to be caught by the enemy. “If we go down, we do so together.” “Just go! You have to leave. They’re coming.” “I know they are,” I whispered, trying to gain control of my breathing so I could fight them when they reached us. The shouting grew louder and closer, and fear curled within me because if they caught us, we would decorate the walls along with the other witches. Esme continued to softly argue against my stupidity while I was slowly succumbing to the cold was seizing my muscles and burning my lungs. Worse than that, though, was that it was a race to see what claimed my life first: the men and the dogs or the poison rushing through my system. It took everything I had to stay upright, and when I pressed my hand against the wound, I sucked in a breath when my blood singed my palm with the familiar burn of hemlock. My legs finally gave out, and I fought to get back up, gasping as the air escaped my lungs with the agonizing pain on my side. I saw a blur of motion before someone slammed into us, sending Esme and me back to the ground. The echo of weapons clanging against one another filled the night, and confusion slithered through me. A dog barked, snarling before a loud whine sounded inches in front of us.
Carefully, I wrapped myself around Esme, who hadn’t made a noise since we had been smashed backward. Blood dripped down my side, soaking into the earthen floor beneath me, and a fresh wave of copperscented air hit me. I wasn’t sure if what I smelled was our blood or that of our pursuers, but with how much pain was rioting through my body, I didn’t care. Hands grabbed me, pulling me off the ground, and I cried out. The woodsy aroma of male and spices surrounded me, replacing the obnoxious odors. I struggled against the arms holding me, fighting to get to Esme, but I was weakened beyond the point of doing anything other than being a slight burden. “You’re safe,” a deep, soothing voice whispered as my eyelids closed and everything went silent. “Grab the other one and let’s leave here before the frost takes them both.”
Chapter Seven I sat upright, groaning as pain shot through my side and memories of almost dying in the woods assaulted me. I lifted my hand to the spot where I’d been impaled by the arrow, and I whimpered when I found the wound covered in moss, mugwort, and other herbs. Esme’s unmoving form was on a cot beside me. She was on her side, and the injury on her leg was covered in the same green goop concoction that was on mine. I shifted so my legs were over the edge of the bed and then had to grab my head to try to stop the world from spinning. Nausea pushed at the back of my throat, burning with the threat of expelling the contents of my stomach. “I wouldn’t be up and moving so soon, mistress. You were shot with an arrow soaked in hemlock. You’re lucky the men carried you here to me. If they hadn’t, you’d be dead. As it is, it took me days to remove the poison from you. Someone wanted you to breathe no more,” a woman announced from beside me. I turned toward the voice, and when my eyes landed on the speaker, my jaw dropped open. Silently and unnervingly, I studied the woman with horns protruding from the side of her skull, right above her ears. She had enormous eyes that looked as if they didn’t fit into her sockets, and her skin was mottled, as if it wasn’t all hers and had been patched together over time. Blinking sluggishly, I backed up until pain ripped through me. She lifted her hands, palms exposed as her soft brown gaze lowered to my abdomen. “You will reopen the wound if you continue moving as you are. You are safe here. I am a healer, and I am only trying to help you,” she pointed out carefully, and as far as I could detect, her words carried truth. If what she claimed were true and I’d been out for days, then she’d had plenty of time to harm me. She clearly hadn’t and I didn’t see any weapons around her or the bed. Still, trusting strangers wasn’t exactly high on my list of smart things to do. Nodding cautiously, I noted the windows were covered in makeshift curtains and random objects littered the floor, as if she’d scavenged for them. Glass containers of herbs and tonics sat on a table with other alchemy items and what appeared to be a chemist set were tucked away beneath it.
Bottles were being filled as the blends being brewed dripped into them. The scent of lavender, chamomile, and sage was enticingly thick in the air, comforting me as a fire crackled in the stone fireplace. “Who brought us here?” I asked softly. “A group of men delivered you to me demanding I tend to you and your friend immediately. They remained outside until I assured them you would survive, but the taller one, he was fearful of losing you. That much was clear enough to deduce. They were worried about the poison fighting to end your life but neglected to mention your condition.” “What condition?” I asked, carefully reclining on the stack of pillows behind me. “You are with child,” she answered, confusion stamped across her face. Her brow creased as my eyes rounded in horror. “Oh! You didn’t know?” “Nope.” I snorted before laughing outright, which then made me groan in pain. “You’re mistaken.” “I am not wrong,” she returned coolly, losing the softness of her tone. “I can’t be pregnant,” I clarified, shaking my head as sweat beaded on my brow and spine from the effort to remain upright. “I am fighting a war against an insane goddess while running from an asshole who wants to own me, use me, or murder me. Who knows which he’ll choose today? It could be any of them or it might even be all of them at the same time. I cannot be carrying his child—this isn’t happening right now.” “I do not think what you are willing to believe is relevant. You are indeed pregnant.” She snorted, as if she couldn’t believe I was arguing the truth of her words. Grabbing a metal cup from a crude, makeshift table, she rose from her seat. “I saved them for you.” My hands trembled as she filled the cup with hot water and added chamomile. “Them?” I asked, needing her to use crayons to explain the plural term. I guessed it shouldn’t have been a shock considering my line, but it didn’t sit well knowing that I’d not have one life to protect, but two. She sat beside me, helping me sit up before offering me the metal cup of herbs. My mind whirled with ramifications of what she’d just told me. I couldn’t have babies during a freaking war. It wasn’t responsible and wouldn’t end well. Who the hell got knocked up before going head-to-head with a goddess? Ember, you asshole!
“If you listen, you can hear two hearts beating in perfect harmony together,” the healer explained softly. My hearing perked up, and I swallowed the fear that shot through me when the two, strong heartbeats she’d spoken of met my ears. Denial leaped to my tongue, and I felt the prick of tears against my eyes. “What are you?” I asked before taking a sip, unable to process my being pregnant and needing a new focus. “I am a hag.” A frown marred her lips. “You don’t know of my kind? We are renowned for our healing, which you should count yourself fortunate was something your saviors were aware of since they traveled through the swamp to deliver you to me. The men that left you here said nothing about you or who you were, other than you could not die,” she stated. “They did not mention any names, nor did I ask.” “Thank you. Is Esme going to be okay?” I inquired, closing my eyes against the pain burning in my side, and the hag slid the metal cup from my hold and set it on the table for me. “Those bastards used hemlock against us. They controlled frost fire as well. It explains why neither Aurora nor I had scented the danger.” The stink of rotting corpses mixed with the overpowering scent of hemlock would prevent detecting the obnoxious odors of pretty much any herb, and that was unsettling. Another concern was that I had searched the field around where we had been standing and had only sensed Esme, which meant Aurora and her followers had left and abandoned us. That truth caused a pang in my chest that fought to be examined closer. “Your friend is alive and healing. I do not know Aurora, but I guess she’s another witch?” she asked, and her curious tone made me hesitate before replying. “Yes, she is,” I confirmed. “Can you tell me what the men who carried us to you looked like?” Someone had saved our asses, and they hadn’t stuck around to take credit for it. She smiled softly before waving at her eyes. “I will tell you what I can, but I am blind to colors, as was the creature that had these eyes before me. The men were tall and well built. They spoke with deep voices that soothed me and caused me to ache. I am certain that they were warriors, as they walked in a manner that belayed strength and surety. Unfortunately, I can’t
tell you which land they were from, as they carried no insignia or other markings to discern where they called home.” After all that, I was still stuck on one thing. “You took someone’s eyes?” She looked like something out of an urban legend, which should have terrified me, but it didn’t. It intrigued me and made me want to hear her story. “Yes, I did. I was left here to die, and so I became a renowned healer instead. I made do with what was on hand, as well as taking what I needed.” She blinked rapidly, as if to point out she’d taken something’s eyes. I bristled at the thought of this woman being abandoned to die in the swamp alone. The fact that she rose from the sludge was a testament to her strength, but then she’d chosen to learn the healing arts. “You find my fight funny?” she asked carefully, her demeanor changing. “No, but I find your strength inspiring. They threw you into the swamp to die. You could have easily let your oppressor win, but you didn’t, which tells me you’re a fighter. I am gathering such creatures together. I wish to change how this world treats the ones like us or those who are viewed as weaker. I am fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. You could join me and assist those who have been treated as you were.” “I fought for myself, though, girl. I murdered the man who harmed me, and I wear his skin to remind myself why I am here. I have seen war, and I don’t welcome it here. Those who think they are good are, more often than not, evil. War is no friend to either side that wages it. It is, however, great for business. You are a witch, are you not?” she asked, her strange eyes roving over my face. “And you’re very powerful, correct?” “I am,” I confirmed with a nod. “I don’t see what either has to do with anything transpiring here, though.” “Don’t you? You owe me for what I’ve done to save you, or I can easily undo it and watch you and your friend die from a slow, painful death. Once you are healed, you will perform a spell that makes me appear young and beautiful to men. I wish to look like you, minus the weirdly colored hair,” she stated, reaching forward to rub the strands of my hair between her fingers. “Even without the ability to see color, it is so light that it shimmers.” “It’s silver,” I offered, slightly offended by her demand. “Is it?” She pushed the piece over my shoulder. “It’s like silk. Obviously, it didn’t prevent men from finding you . . . worthy of fucking.”
“Ouch.” I snorted, pulling away from her before wincing at the pain in my side. Esme groaned, forcing our attention to where she was shifting in discomfort. Nausea churned in my stomach again, and I carefully laid back and pressed one hand against my abdomen and the other hand over my lips. “Try salty foods to relieve the sickness,” the hag muttered, moving to a large basket and withdrawing some dried meat. “They say it helps to ease the queasiness women endure in the first months of pregnancy.” “I am not pregnant.” Even as I argued the truth, I heard the weak lie slipping from my lips. “I am in the middle of fighting a damn war.” I was also pretty certain that salty meat didn’t do crap other than churn my stomach further. “Many mothers have fought wars while pregnant. Do you think the battles simply stop because your womb has been filled with babes? Let me clear that assumption for you. They don’t. My mother battled against the King of Alpha’s during one of her pregnancies,” she offered smoothly, handing me what appeared to be a fruit roll-up instead of meat. “And what happened to the baby?” I asked, fighting the urge to vomit when I tasted the thinly sliced cured meat. “Died on the battlefield as my mom pushed her into this world.” She clucked her tongue and shook her head. “I never said it was smart or safe for the unborn. Only that war doesn’t stop because you chose to create life. My mother had other children, and my brother was conceived and born on the front line. Women rise above diversity while men wish to stand above us with their foot on our throats. You could permit them to do so, or you can fight against the boot holding you to the ground.” “What is your name?” I asked, and her gaze widened. “I am the hag,” she fumbled over the question with a confused expression. “That is what you have become not your name,” I pressed. “We do not have names. We are banished to hide in the shadows, where no one is forced to look upon our hideous forms.” “You weren’t born a hag. I will have your name so that I know who I have to thank for saving my life and that of my friend.” The hag opened her mouth, closing it before she expelled the air from her lungs. She looked uncomfortable as she fidgeted and pushed her hair back, but I wasn’t backing down. No one should be banished or unable to use their real name—no one.
“Avyanna was the name I was given at birth,” she admitted softly. “That is a beautiful name.” “I was once pretty as well, with a very feminine form. I was to marry a lord, but he used me and then took my beauty so no one else would look upon me with impure thoughts. Afterward, he brought me here to hide the evidence of his trespasses against me. He cut my eyes out and flayed the skin from my face. I’m unsure if it was to conceal his crimes or to ensure I was too disfigured and ashamed to ever return and force him to admit to his actions.” She rubbed her arms as if experiencing a chill from telling her tale out loud. “What were you before you were left here and became a hag?” I pried, hoping it didn’t offend her. Not only did I need the distraction from my predicament but also because Ember hadn’t been cheering or laughing that she’d accomplished her goal. I’d expected for her to at least admit that she was aware that we were pregnant. I was choosing to blame her, even though it had been my choice to open up for Knox in order to steal the library. Ember should have been active and bragging. The fact that she’d gone silent mid-battle alarmed me. I’d felt her rising within me, intending to assert control, and then something had slammed her back, and since then, there’d been nothing from her. The magic had felt strangely familiar, like when Ilsa had used magic against Knox, preventing Lennox from rising. In fact, it was exactly like that. “I was part witch, and part Cervitaur,” Avyanna confirmed after a few moments had passed. “Lord of Grayer Manor may have coveted me, but he never intended to marry a witch,” she whispered, swallowing thickly while she wiped at her unusual eyes. “He told me as much as he destroyed me, bragging about how naïve I was to think he would ever soil himself with one of our kind. Karion Grayer was a monster who preyed on young witches by convincing us he could love us past our genetic flaws.” “We are not flawed, Avyanna.” I shifted, dropping my legs over the side of the mattress and sitting up to look at her. “He was wrong to do what he did to you. In the world I am from, people feared witches instead of the monsters disguised as men who burned the witches alive. They revered those torturers as godly men. I will not allow that to happen within this world, at least not if I can help it. I intend to show our enemies that we cannot be burned or driven into the shadows. They will fear our daughters
because we will teach them that we will never burn or yield to tyranny. We will always rise and destroy those who wish to own or control us. We are the witches they seek to kill, but we’ll never bend or surrender. Our children will learn what true magic is, mastering and wielding it long after we’ve been returned to the earth.” “Who are you?” she asked, passing me my cup again. “I am Aria Hecate, High Queen of Nothing. I will set this world on fire and sleep on the corpses of our enemies before I allow them to harm more witches. My grandmother tried to control us through the darkness she unleashed, but she forgot one thing.” “What is that?” “Witches aren’t afraid of the dark because we are born of light. I was conceived of both, and I won’t bow to a mad queen who craves power that isn’t hers to take. I am the granddaughter she thought to murder in infancy, and now I’ll show her why she was right to fear me. I’ll take the throne of Vãkya and burn it to cinders so that no witch may ever again reign above another. Witches were never meant to rule, and that is not a mistake I mean to allow to happen again.” “I might have used too much chamomile in the tea I gave you,” she muttered, snatching the cup from the table to peer into it. “No,” Esme mumbled, laughing quietly from her spot on the cot next to me. “You are in the presence of the true high queen of the Nine Realms, Avyanna. Aria is also fantastic at giving speeches, even if she does it at the most random times. She thinks she rules nothing, but she’ll learn that she was meant to rule everything.” “Glad to see you didn’t die.” I smiled at Esme, who grinned back. “You’re pregnant, and that’s a fucking problem. It means we have to figure out how to keep you safe until you give birth.” “No,” I said without hesitation, knowing that I couldn’t disregard the truth. “I won’t cower or shy away from this fight. If anything, I have even more of a reason to fight. They should be born into a world that doesn’t seek to destroy them when they are delivered. If the Nine Realms won’t stand with us and discontinue this path of genocide against witches, I will kill them all, and walk them to the gates of the otherworld myself. That is my vow to my unborn babes.” “Daughters, Aria. You’re a Hecate witch, cursed to only bring forth female children into your line,” Esme pointed out, rubbing her eyes with a
wariness that I felt to my bones. “We shall see, won’t we?” I smiled at her narrowing gaze. “I will need your help to turn Avyanna back to her original state of being. Her face was ruined because of the blood running through her veins, and I have agreed to remedy that as payment for our lives.” “I would love to help, Avyanna, but Aria is drained, and in her current condition, which we will keep to ourselves, but we’ll need more help to deliver on the promise she made to you. Since we can’t really hang out here until that happens, you have two choices. You can come with us and we’ll get you fixed up when we get back to where we’ve been staying, or you can remain here and wait for us to come back to do it.”
Chapter Eight Avyanna tended to us throughout the night, but when the dawn rose, we all left her rambled shack. Walking was slow and painful even though I’d drank more of the medicine she’d crafted, and just knowing that the trip back to the sanctuary would be a long, daunting task in our condition. As it was, we were spending more time stumbling through the dense underbrush than making progress in the woods. There was nothing but giant, sprawling trees that reached toward the clouds above us, which promised rain soon. Well, other than the incessant underbrush, biting our legs and twisting around our ankles. Insects buzzed and made other noises as we moved deeper into the forest, and no matter how desperately Esme or I wanted to take a break, we wouldn’t allow ourselves to rest for more than a moment or two before we were moving again. Avyanna wasn’t any help, either. She hadn’t left the shack in decades other than to hunt for ingredients or food. Not that I blamed her, considering we’d learned rather quickly that her sight was more problematic than just a bit of color blindness. Avyanna had downplayed it inside the hut, and I understood why she had. You didn’t admit to weaknesses in this world, not unless you wanted it to be used against you. However, it had her tripping on twigs and vines far more often that Esme and I did. Esme grumbled under her breath, and I paused, closing my eyes. My side burned like a hot poker was continually being pushed against the skin. I placed my hand on my wound and gasped as fresh pain shot through me. A round nodule was growing where I’d been hit, and I could smell the toxins building up beneath the flesh. Esme stopped, and her sharp, violet gaze lowered to my abdomen. She didn’t offer to help or make a fuss while I tried to catch my breath before starting forward again. My strength was waning, and I was regretting my choice not to stay in the comfortable hut another day. I didn’t know who had saved us, but sticking around to see if they came back sounded like a bad idea. “I brought the tonic with us,” Avyanna announced. “We will require shelter before dark anyway.” “We’re not stopping,” I argued, hating the weakness raging through me. Sweat beaded on my brow, dripping and rolling down my neck and face.
The borrowed dress I wore was covered in mud from trudging through the swamp to reach the higher ground of the woodland landscape. The fabric might have been a baby blue at one time, but it had turned green with sludge and other shit I wasn’t sure I could identify. “We will have to stop unless you plan to battle orcs and other miscreants that live within these woods,” Avyanna returned coolly, as if she hadn’t just dropped an orc-bomb. Her fingers lifted to her perfectly curled hair and pushed the stray strands behind her horns as if she were fluffing her hair in anticipation. I wasn’t going to judge her taste in bedmates because I was a notorious monster-fucker myself. I didn’t have room to say crap about anyone’s likes or dislikes where sex was concerned. My fingertips brushed a cedar, and I leaned my weight against the tree, pausing to listen to what lived within the woods. “You did not just say orcs?” Esme asked. Her eyes sparkled with mirth at how my head swung back and forth, following the silent conversation. Both of them were making faces, which was pissing me off. She enjoyed it when I was left out of the loop or didn’t know something about the creatures in the realms. “They’re not really that bad unless you are in their forest after dark. After all, orcs own the woodland area, and those who wander in normally do so for a night of unbridled passion, which the orcs are more than happy to deliver,” she stated with a shrug. “They agreed to give me my space in the swamp, so I followed their rules, mostly.” Avyanna’s eyes widened—if that were even possible. Her lips curved into a wicked smile at the same time as Esme’s did, and my curiosity was hitting an all-time high. “You forgot to acknowledge how much they enjoyed fucking you like crazed beasts once they have captured you. Or the part where they share you because normally there are more of them than wayward travelers to go around,” Esme added. “And how do you know that?” I asked. “I could tell you it was a guess, but I’ve purposely wandered in here from time to time, fully willing to be shared.” “When you talk about orcs, do you mean big ugly things?” I questioned, praying my imagination was wildly off base. My gaze slid between the women, who were both smiling wickedly with dreamy expressions on their faces. “Seriously, orcs? We don’t have time for orc dicks!”
“They’re easily the tallest creatures inside the Nine Realms,” Esme explained conspiratorially as we started moving again. “They are not ugly, but they’re not beautiful, either. They have enormous cocks and fuck like wild beasts. Orcs don’t speak our language, though, and that tends to keep them away from other species unless they wander into these lands. They give witches wide berths, but I think that’s because we can make them smaller. Or it could be that they just don’t want to be associated with us since the entire realm seems to want us dead and they don’t want that kind of attention,” she concluded, smiling when my mouth dropped open at her explanation. “You’d probably like some orc dick, Aria. After all, I heard about the tent you and Knox shared during your heat cycle. I believe the words Siobhan used were monsters, destruction, and oh-my-lord-what-inthe-ever-loving-fuck-was-even-happening-in-there?” “Okay, so we find somewhere to hide until the sun rises?” I asked, needing someone else to feel the panic rushing through me. “You said they give us a wide berth so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about anyway, right?” I persisted, holding my hand on my burning side. “Wait, Siobhan told you about the last stage of my heat cycle?” “Of course, she told me all about your tent excursion. Siobhan is my sister. And no, we don’t have too much to worry about, but too much isn’t nothing. You heard me when I said they fucked like beasts, right?” Esme chuckled, her eyes laughing at the horror displayed on my face. “But first, we must find somewhere to stash you.” “Mmm, it has been a while since an orc rode me.” Avyanna sighed dreamily. “I do like when they hold on to my horns while going hard against my soft flesh.” Blinking slowly, I struggled to stop the images playing inside my head, which was more or less a picture of Shrek riding Avyanna like a horse, and no matter how much I fought the urge to laugh, it escaped, bubbling from my lips. I coughed violently before wheezing in pain and clutching my side. “Are you sure you two aren’t nymphs?” I snorted and then braced against a tree because the ache pulsed and shot liquid fire through my stomach until I gagged. “Jesus,” I groaned and plastered my hand over my mouth while both women looked at me with worry. “We need to hide her somewhere,” Esme announced. “If we have to run, you wouldn’t make it very far—not with the injury festering. So, sit down, and let Avy look at it, Aria.”
“Avy? You’re already on a nickname basis with her?” I asked in an exhausted tone, which belayed my status more than the fatigue displayed across my features. “She likes me more than you.” Esme snorted, watching the way my body moved sluggishly. “You’re certain you removed all the poison?” “I did what I could.” Avyanna ripped a portion of the dress open to reveal the angry red gash of the arrow wound. “Obviously, I didn’t get it all out,” she hissed upon seeing the black lines spreading over my side from the hemlock. “We need water and moss immediately,” she growled, not waiting for us to follow as she rushed toward the sound of water. “Help me pick her up,” Esme demanded at Avyanna’s back. “I can walk.” I groaned, allowing Esme to sling my arm around her neck so I wouldn’t collapse. We slowly trailed Avyanna to a river, and by the time we got there, my hair was damp with sweat, which probably should have warned of the fever ravishing me. “There,” Avyanna called the moment we reached our destination. I followed her finger to where she pointed at a cave that seemed to have been carved into the side of the riverbank. Avyanna slid up beside me, and she and Esme worked together to keep me steady and out of the icy water. Once we were close to the opening, Esme went inside alone. Light bloomed from inside, and then she was back and hurrying toward us. “It’s clear, but I think someone lives here,” she offered, moving to support my other side. Inside the cave, I frowned at the giant nest in the corner. Someone crudely stacked food wrapped in fabric beside it. There were the remnants of a fire in the middle of the space, and directly above it, someone had carved out a hole for ventilation. There were a few books next to a seat, which almost looked like a rickety-built couch. Esme placed me on the material while Avyanna inspected the cave. The worry flashing in Esme’s eyes concerned me. Not that there was much I could do about it, though. Once I’d stopped trying to ignore the pain, it had become the only thing I could focus on. The toxicity of hemlock was ravaging through my system, killing me or the babes. I hadn’t even considered them in the equation, which meant I was already a shitty, hemlock-poisoned mother-in-the-making. My energy was waning to the point that it took effort to stay awake.
“You should have fucking said something, Aria.” The anger in Esme’s tone did nothing to hide her fear. “I didn’t feel it because we were moving so much. It only got worse when we stopped walking,” I admitted, closing my eyes again. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” She pulled the dress away from my clammy skin and gasped. I considered making a joke about the dire situation, but I decided to take mercy on her. Esme wasn’t handling it well, and while I understood it was serious, I also knew I would survive this. I had been poisoned by Freya enough times that enduring a little arrow dipped in hemlock was child’s play. “Stay awake, Aria,” Avy snapped, pulling the dress farther away from my injury and hissing as the thick, putrid scent of dying flesh filled the air. Her fingertips pried the wound open, and I swallowed the scream trying to shred my throat before forcing myself to assess the damage. Puss oozed from the reopened wound, and there were black veins pulsing against my pale skin. They moved toward my stomach as if reaching for something. The cold sweat dripped down my spine, and I whispered, barely audible to my mind, in denial. “Stop it,” I pleaded, watching their horrified gazes rise to mine. “It can’t reach the babes. You have to stop it from spreading.” Avyanna popped the lid off the medicine and poured it over the wound she’d reopened. I gasped as violent pain ripped through me. Esme lunged and covered my mouth while I shook and sobbed as the concoction burned like flashfire through my veins. “I know it hurts, but you have to be silent. There is someone outside.” Tears soaked the hair at my temples and dripped into my ears as more of the herbal remedy was forced into the gaping wound at my side. Having hemlock withdrawn from your veins was so much worse than removing your own rib. That pain was excruciating, but it was short lived. Once hemlock was inside a witch’s body, it acted very much like a living organism that fought to end the host’s life. “Someone is coming,” Esme murmured again before placing one of Avyanna’s hands over my mouth, taking off her cloak, and pulling magic to her. I watched through watery vision as a man ducked beneath the cave’s entrance. Soft brown eyes assessed us and what was happening, and he
gently brought his hands up to signal he wasn’t a threat. Esme didn’t back down. “I wasn’t expecting guests tonight,” he stated in a quiet brogue that made him seem less intimidating, but I didn’t believe he wasn’t a threat either. No, he held too much power to be harmless. “Do make yourselves at home, ladies.” “We don’t want any trouble,” Esme warned, which had me cackling with mad laughter. “She’s hurt badly,” she went on, glaring at me before sliding her violet stare back toward the male. “Once she has healed, we will be on our way.” “I wouldn’t do that tonight,” he shrugged nonchalantly. His lips curled into a smile as he stepped closer, and his gaze moved over Esme’s ruined dress. “The orcs have already caught the scent of women in the woods. They’re out hunting you.” The man lifted his nose, inhaling deeply as his eyes slid to me. He tossed a bushel of sage onto the simple table before leaning against the cave wall, nodding toward me. “Hemlock? I take it she’s a witch?” “Yes,” Esme replied. “Aren’t you fucking brilliant?” Bitch was Esme’s default setting, I’d realized. She became mouthy and mean when she was afraid, which made me more attached to her cantankerous ass. He chuckled, releasing a soft rattle that had Esme and me mimicking the sound. Mine was much lower without Ember’s added power, but it was loud enough that it gave warning. His eyes narrowed, shifting between us with intrigue. He stepped forward, but Esme hissed in warning, making him hesitate. “She isn’t only a witch, and using mugwort on the wound is hurting her. Your friend needs the bark of a dryad tree, which I have here. She will die if you don’t allow me to assist her, and it won’t be a peaceful death, either. That hemlock was laced with other toxins, I’m afraid. If they did what I assume they did, it basically put her beast into a heavy slumber. Whoever did this attacked both parts of your friend, and they did so quite brilliantly. Now, do you want my help, or do you wish to stand here making those cute noises all night while she dies?” I’d heard that dryad bark could be added as an enhancer to lotions, or concoctions for lotions, and other things. Unfortunately, it was very hard to procure. The dryad trees only grew in the planes and mountains of Vayahan. Vayahan wasn’t a nice place or easily reached. It also wasn’t common to
have some on hand, either. It explained why Avy hadn’t had any, but I didn’t take her for someone who got off on almost dying, either. “If you harm her, I will end you, sir. Do you understand me?” Esme warned, her tone icy cold with promise. Venom poured from her stare, ensuring the stranger knew she would follow through on her promise. “I understand, pretty witch. Now, I am going to walk to the box behind you and retrieve the bark while you make sure that she doesn’t start screaming. It will signal the orcs that their prey is inside my cave if she does. I assure you they won’t care that she is dying and will just end up passing her corpse around to one another.” “Do it,” I muttered weakly, squeezing my eyes closed while I fought to remain conscious. I didn’t want to die or lose the babes. “This sucks so bad,” I groaned, exhaling slowly. The man moved through the cave, retrieving the bark and other essentials beneath Esme’s laser-sharp gaze. I knew she felt his power and realized that he wasn’t some hobbit cave-dweller. He was powerful, and he rattled. “What are you?” Esme whispered, but the stranger merely chuckled. “I could tell you what I am, but that would endanger you and me both. It’s best we don’t whisper such things, even within the shadows. Help me move your friend to my nest,” he ordered. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Aria to be in your nest.” Esme scrunched her forehead as her arms crossed over her chest like she was gearing up to argue. “Well, she doesn’t have one of her own here, and she is with child. Is she not? The beings within us calm when inside a nest, and it doesn’t matter who owns it. I don’t see a mate here with her, so I am the only male around who can ease and reassure her and her unborn babe.” “Babes,” Esme pointed out, uncrossing her arms to place her hands on her hips. “I will comfort her and the babies.” I chortled, but it came out more like a strangled cough. Everyone turned to look at me, and I peered down at where blood had escaped from my mouth, splattering over my soiled dress. Clearly, that was the breaking point for the man because he sidestepped Esme, lifted me into his arms, and then settled me inside his large nest. Esme nestled in beside me, wrapping her arms around me as something was
pressed over my lips. I didn’t even have time to brace before the worst pain imaginable tore through me. A hand clamped over my mouth as a scream ripped free, and the male pushed the hair from my face, softly making a chuffing sound from deep in his throat. It vibrated through his chest before escaping his lips and capturing me and Esme’s complete attention. “I am Rhett,” he offered, watching us. “I am Esmeralda, but my friends call me Esme.” “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Esme.” “You’re not my friend. You can call me Esmeralda.” I wanted to laugh as I fought to remain conscious. Excruciating pain was ripping through me, chasing around the paralyzing fear of losing the babes before I’d even settled into the idea that I was carrying Knox’s children. Finally, it all became too much, and the room spun until everything darkened and blissful nothingness swallowed me.
Chapter Nine I awoke to Esme lifting my eyelid, and I shoved her away. I smelled like sweat and something else I couldn’t put my thumb on. Whatever it was, it stunk of death. There was a slight stirring within me, which had me pressing up and off the harsh material of the nest. The pain wasn’t as awful as it had been, but it was still there. “You didn’t die.” Esme made a noise of relief that trickled up from her throat, and then she blew out a breath. “If you ever scare me like that again, I will murder you, Aria Hecate.” I snorted, incapable of forming words past the dryness of my mouth. Esme grabbed a canteen and handed it to me. I untwisted the top and sniffed its contents before raising it to my lips and guzzling the contents greedily. “Where’s Avyanna?” I inquired, loathing the weakness weighing me down. “Bathing in the stream, which you’ll be doing next. You stink like death, but then we spent all night fighting him to keep you alive. Thankfully, the toxin is out, but Rhett says you’ll be weakened for a few days,” she pointed out, examining my face with relief flashing in her gaze. I nodded, still fighting cotton mouth. “I feel like I could drain a sea’s worth of water.” “That’s because your fever cooked all the water out of your body. Between that and the tremors, I’m surprised you don’t also feel like your cracked half the teeth in your mouth,” she snickered, but it was as flat as I felt this morning. “Rhett assured me it would be safe to move you later today.” Glowering at her, I snorted loudly with her using his name instead of a slur or rude nickname. Normally, she was quick to pick an insult to toss at them. “You got close to him over my dying body? That’s some skills you got there,” I quipped, chuckling as she rolled her eyes. “Hardly. He’s not even my type.” “What is your type?” Her expression darkened before her focus moved back to me. “It’s a straightforward question, Esme.” “A question that has no relevance considering you just almost died.” She shook her head. “How do you feel?”
Slowly, I rose, only for Esme to freak out, exploding to her feet to support me. “I’m not a cripple, woman. Pretty certain I can stand up without help.” My words didn’t seem to be on the same page as my body, and I listed sideways. Esme caught me. “I’m sorry. I’m just irritated. I hate feeling this incompetent, and I keep getting beat down before I can even get back up.” “You have a right to your emotions. Just don’t think I won’t call you on your shit when you’re an ass. Weakness sucks, I get it. I do. And it could be the herbs making you sharp and pitiful, but even when you’re the true high queen, I fully plan to call you out on shit when you need it. You’re my friend, and it’s my job, right?” “High queen?” Rhett’s soothing baritone caused us both to spin and face where he stood in the mouth of the cave, holding skinned rabbits on a flimsy metal hook. “It was a joke.” Esme chuckled, her mask easily sliding into place. “Do you think the high queen would slum it up with someone like me? Somewhere like this?” “Considering that, as of yesterday afternoon, there was a rather large bounty on her head?” he answered with his own question. We stepped back, warily watching him while the information of the bounty sank in. I was willing to bet that the prick we’d barely escaped had placed it on our heads in an attempt to find us. “I am not here to collect it, so simmer down, My Queen. I figured you’d be ravenous when you woke, so I went hunting. If you need, you can bathe while I cook these,” he added, lifting the rabbits. “The smoke inside becomes a little heavy and will probably sting your eyes.” “Thank you.” I resisted the urge to snatch the uncooked meat and gobble it up. Esme noticed and shook her head. “Better than hunting down the lord and consuming him, I guess.” Esme helped me rise, and we exited the cave into the crisp, fresh air. She chuckled before propping me up against the boulder outside the cave. “You’re pregnant and should only consume cooked meat now,” she chided, wiggling her finger at me. “Besides, it freaks everyone out when you eat people, Aria.” “You don’t freak out,” I taunted, authorizing her permission to help me outside into the crisp, clean air.
“That’s because I’m off to the side devouring your leftovers.” Her eyes narrowed as I smirked at her admitting to eating people, too. “Don’t you dare laugh at me,” she grumbled, scouring her palm over her face. “My monster isn’t picky and is content to dine on your scraps. She also enjoys frolicking in prairies, fucking random men, and eating dead shit. It’s awesome,” she said, her tone dripping with mockery. “Mine takes delight in slaying my opponents, banging our arch-nemesis, and supplying me with vivid hallucinations and dreams of cobwebs on my vagina because she feels it’s squandered on me,” I admitted around a shiver. “It is cold out.” “Yeah, the weather is even conspiring against us.” Esme helped me disrobe and then to move deeper into the water before handing me a fragment of soap and stepping back. I sank beneath the frigid stream, still wearing dirty undies and a bralette that had seen better days. I wasn’t stupid enough to strip naked and bathe, not with a powerful stranger only a couple feet away from where we’d crept into the stream. If this world had shown me nothing else, it was not to trust anyone or anything within it. My entire body was shuddering violently as I tried to scrub the sweat and herbs from my skin. I bobbed beneath the surface, sliding beneath it to appear at the edge of the water and step from the arctic water. Forcing my way to the edge, I made it two steps before Esme and Avy stopped me. “I can barely wash myself. I can’t believe we stood there and waited for her orders like sheep to the slaughter,” I whispered through quivering lips as a violent shudder rushed through me. “Aurora wouldn’t listen to me. I warned her I was drained, and she still demanded we go. She knew I was weakened already, but forced the choice from us. It doesn’t make sense.” “You got shot in the abdomen with a hemlock-tipped arrow. You have a weakness, and our enemies used it against you. It happens, which we all understand. I don’t understand why you’re allowing her to lead us though. It’s clear which of you is the more powerful witch.” “I gave my word that I’d help put her on the throne,” I conceded. “I know she can’t hold the throne, Esme. I know that.” “Yeah, well clearly, she isn’t strong enough to hold a toilet without you to ensure her arse remains on it, Aria. When your strongest warrior says we need to pull out, it shouldn’t be overlooked or challenged, and if you have to point that shit out, then you’re higher in the hierarchy than Aurora.”
Esme scrubbed me roughly. Her anger and fear were evident in the way her hands shook. “I agree, but she’s changed. I don’t know how I missed it, but I should have seen it before now. I warned her, and she refused to listen,” I muttered before wincing at the force she used on my flesh. “I need the skin to remain on the bone, Esme.” “Sorry, but I am pissed right now.” Her scrubbing softened a bit. “She shouldn’t talk over you, let alone argue with your assessments. You noticed that something wasn’t right, and you vocalized your apprehension. That disregard to heed your warning is what damn near ended us. I vowed to stand with you. The others are here because of you, not her.” She spun me around, scrubbing my back softer. “She’s my blood. My mother didn’t want me and tried to murder me. Aurora saved me and kept me protected. On the hierarchy, she’s higher because of the blood she houses.” “That Hecate blood rushing through Aurora’s veins doesn’t call to us, but yours does. When we’re in battle, you think of us first, and you analyze the outcome over the lives it’ll cost to win the battle. You care about us, and she just confirmed she doesn’t. A leader leads by example and never looks at her followers as acceptable losses. She’s not a leader, no matter how much you dress her up to appear like one. I witnessed an egotistical person placing her ambition to win before her people. That’s how kingdoms are taken, not gained.” Esme tossed the cloth into the water and then moved to stand in front of me. “I get it, Esme,” I growled, swaying as Avyanna silently took over and began washing my trembling frame. “They’re my family though, and I don’t want to lose them, either.” Did I intend to see her crowned? No, because I wholly intended to dismantle the monarchy that the witches worshipped. I didn’t expect her to concede initially, but I’d persuade her. The witches within the realm had been dehumanized and broken down. They would need time to trust us anew, and in order for that to happen, we had to be equals and teach them we were different and wished to protect them. “Tell me right now if you intend to give that woman the throne and walk away from it. Give me a reason to stay beside you, Aria,” Esme hissed, her remark interwoven with fury even though I’d never implied that I would take a throne—not the witch’s and not the high queen.
“I do not intend to hand her anything. I plan to incinerate the entire kingdom to nothing more than ashes. I don’t mean to establish anyone on the throne, myself included. Our sisters need us to be with them, not above them. The whole monarchy’s swimming in poison from what Hecate’s done to them while occupying the Throne of Witches. To start it anew, we must dismantle it to rubble.” “They’ll falter without someone to lead them,” she stated, exhaling anger while scowling at me as if she’d lost all confidence. “Who says they won’t have a leader? You follow me, Esme. I don’t carry a crown to compel you to do so, do I? There are many aspects of leading that don’t include ruling over populations.” Departing from the stream, I fought through lethargy the icy water caused and longed for the hot weather of Norvalla. I allowed Avyanna to dress me in the vile-smelling clothes once more, and we started toward the heavenly scent of roasted meat within the cave. Once inside, I smiled at discovering the domesticated view of Rhett cooking over the spit. His warm golden-brown stare rose, and a smile played on his lips while we settled near the cozy fire. “I figured you ladies would be chilled after you bathed,” he clarified, passing out plates loaded with meat. “Unfortunately, it’s not much, but if I hunted larger prey, the orcs would have an issue with my presence here.” “It’s fantastic,” I reassured him, ripping a portion of the fatty meat and cramming it between my lips. The meat melted in my mouth, generating a low rattle of bliss to escape. I could feel Ember waking, but she was lethargic from whatever they’d used against us. We ate in silence, devouring the fare until I sensed panic blossoming within me. “Throw it up, now!” “What?” I demanded, but my vision blurred and the room began darkening around me. My stomach heaved and emptied its contents onto the ground in front of me. I gagged, fighting whatever was happening to me. Angling my head, I watched as Esme collapsed sideways before Avyanna accompanied her into unconsciousness. “What did you do to us?” I mumbled, but my words were slurred and scarcely decipherable. “I lied about cashing in on that bounty,” Rhett admitted smoothly, not a shred of remorse in his statement. “As I mentioned, it’s substantial.”
“I’ll bu-butcher you f-for this,” I stammered, barely capable of speaking past the saliva pooling in my mouth before retching again. “You’re not in a position to do so right now. It isn’t personal. Freya, your mother left me in a rough spot when she executed my father. I was a prince, but thanks to your mommy, I’m just another outcast who is forced to dwell in a thicket crowded with filth.” I tried to appeal to him once again, but the words failed to leave my throat as I succumbed to the drugs. I was seriously over being weakened and ending up on the ground to be kicked by jackasses.
Chapter Ten When I woke, I glared up at the men in front of me before the younger of the two caught my arm, wrenching me to my feet as bile pushed against the back of my throat, forcing me to dry heave. He started nudging me forward, but my legs refused and threatened to give out. I grumbled at the pain throbbing against my temples, noting shrewd blue eyes lewdly on me. “You’re positive this is Aria Karnavious?” the fellow challenged, leaning closer to sniff my scent. He flinched, and I smirked, realizing all he could smell was the vomit I’d spewed before passing out. “If this is her, then we’ll pay the bounty once her identity’s verified.” “Garrett’s a fool to trespass against the king,” the other replied beneath his breath, provoking terror to surge through me. My heartbeat thundered against my rib cage, and consciousness sought to flee with the visions of the beast that had violated me. The man chuckled, clutching my arm even harder. “The penalties for his actions are not our fucking issue. Besides, Garrett has the dark witches on his side now. So maybe he’ll do us all a favor and dethrone that pompous prick.” Unable to stop it, I vomited on the man in front of me. His fist smashed into my cheek before I realized it was moving, and I whimpered, attempting to remain vertical through the shock. When I’d steadied my balance, I glanced around, looking for Esme and Avyanna. “Where are my friends?” I asked hoarsely, struggling against the ropes holding my arms behind my back. “On their way to be auctioned off to the lords and ladies of the borderlands,” Rhett announced, moving into view. “Gentlemen, I’ll be departing now.” “This is to hold you over until we verify she’s the bitch our benefactor is seeking,” one of them stated. The male nearest to him tossed a bag of coin at Rhett, who snorted and held it up. “That wasn’t the agreement we made,” Rhett stated, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It is now,” the other man chuckled. Rhett glanced between the duo, snorting before he pocketed the bag. “I expect the rest the moment you verify who she is. You’ll make good on the
rest of the bounty or I’ll come for you and murder everyone you love.” “Scurry back to the swamp, Rhett. You’ll get the fucking rest when we get ours.” The older fellow turned his back to Rhett, yanking me behind him as he trudged through the middle of a small town. The individuals we passed watched us warily, but no one sought to prevent the men from dragging my struggling form into a simple hut. Inside, a grease candle burned, and the rancid odor had my stomach rolling again. They jerked me deeper into the room and then thrust me toward a crude, soiled mattress topped with filthy blankets. “Are you interested in helping me teach this whore how to party, Darren?” the mature male inquired with a lecherous gaze that plunged to my cleavage. I shuddered as he advanced toward me, smiling lewdly and exposing blackened teeth. His eyes blazed with need and hints of madness. Darren chuckled, shifting closer to the mattress they had thrown me onto. I could feel the monster stretching her claws and extremities within me. “She’s awfully lovely. Garrett likes the women we deliver to him more browbeaten and broken. So, I say we break the bitch in and stretch her out a bit before he takes her off our hands. He might even thank us for doing it,” Darren suggested, sinking to my level. “What do you think, pretty bitch? You wish us to fuck you? You may even enjoy us and plead to stay here as our whore.” My heart rate spiked, but my nails slowly worked against the ropes. The moment they dropped away, I wanted to laugh. “I’d rather not play with you, but my monster’s willing to take part.” I grinned wickedly, rumbling with Ember backing up the noise building in my throat. The lustful smiles fell, and before the first man could dart away, I lurched forward. My nails exploded from my fingertips, and my teeth broke free of my gums, ripping deep into his throat. I gave Ember complete control, and she snarled as she released the male’s throat. “Don’t go too far. I’m fucking hungry, and even though you taste like shit, you’ll do for now.” Her tone was so chilling that it had me pausing within her and she sank her teeth back into the male to take another bite as she watched the older of the two men stumbling over his feet, struggling to put distance between us. Ember split the skull from the neck, lifting from the mattress to wipe the dripping blood from her chin. She stretched languidly, sliding her palms down to our shared womb, purring tenderly at the unborn babes slumbering. The man made a lung for the door, forcing her to yank him back and hurl
him into the wall. An icy, vicious grin danced over our lips before she lowered beside him, sinking serrated teeth to his throat, shredding a sizable chunk from it to gnaw from. He’d never managed a sound before blood stained our face and his life-force dwindled. “I don’t like arrows,” she complained between feeding. “No shit, Sherlock. Me either, specifically ones soaked in hemlock. But let’s have a conversation about how you got us pregnant,” I said pointedly, feeling her amusement. “I succeeded, and we are. You’re not delighted?” Ember challenged before grabbing another hefty chunk of meat from the carcass. She released her prey, allowing it to slide down the wall before she lowered beside him, ripping portions of meat from his torso. “There’s been no chance to determine how to feel about it yet. The fact is that I think it’s foolish to have a child with the way shit’s moving right now. I’m weak and can’t even stand at the moment.” “But you have love for them already,” Ember purred, eating more of the fellow. “I feel you, Aria. The sense that you want them filters through us, even though you just found out they exist. I thought it was best to let you discover them on your own. You’re stubborn that way. Do you think we’ll have daughters or sons? We shall have both in time if you are successful, of course.” “I fear for them, Ember. I cautioned you that now wasn’t the time for this. I cannot stop the war for these babies, and I don’t know how to protect them. What if I do something that endangers them?” I confided, abhorring the fear etching my words with bitterness. It was plausible that we’d lose the babes because of what was evolving around us. This world wasn’t safe for children. “If they perish, then they weren’t meant to be ours. If we lose them, then they weren’t powerful enough to develop into what we are. You should understand that it’s a possibility that they may never know life.” “Don’t say that,” I wheezed, already needing to protect my twins from harm. “Even if they are weak, Ember, they’re ours to nurture and protect. Now finish your meal because we need to become stronger and go find Esme and Avy, the healer with horns who saved our ass.” “I am weakened, same as you,” she countered offhandedly, in a somewhat annoyed manner. “It arises when I don’t feed often enough or eat enough men. And for the record, I loathe fruit.”
“Does that mean you’ll skip the pineapple before you ride Lennox?” I chuckled as she inclined her head, contemplating it for a moment. “It won’t help, but it’ll make him crave to ravage your—” Something crashed against the door, causing Ember to push up from her feast. “That could be Garrett.” The shiver that pushed through us came from me, but Ember merely grinned and dragged her tongue over the blood coating her lips. “Let’s hope it is, and just in case, good night, Aria. Heal, so that we may carry the babes successfully.” She’d no sooner said the words when everything went dark around me. It felt as if she’d encased me in a tomb and hysteria burst through me. A soft whisper of purring wrapped around me and cleared away the apprehension saturating my mind. Ember had languished silently inside me most of my life, and it left me wondering if she’d experienced this emptiness during that span of time. I could discern things, but I couldn’t see them. Had she been trapped within me, incapable of emerging from this nothingness during that time? I felt us running before crashing into something. Wet slurping noises reached my ears, alerting me she’d made a kill. Angling my head to the side, I stared into the darkness, not seeing or feeling anything. If I actually moved while roaming the abyss, I couldn’t tell because there was nothing but a deep, infinite void stretching out around me. I could hear our organs functioning, but there was little else to help me identify what happened outside of the desolate nothingness. I was truly locked within myself, incapable of watching through our shared sight. Letting out a puff of air, I calmed and decided to trust her not to do anything foolish. Okay, so I attempted to do that but wound up praying to any god listening that she’d be smart and not embarrass the hell out of me. After all, I knew Ember, and she reveled in generating pandemonium and chaos as she roamed through the Nine Realms.
Chapter Eleven Ember Blood covered my dress, which had become nothing more than shredded rags dangling loosely from my curves. Aria had a thing about people looking at us naked, but that wasn’t something that troubled me. I’d left the panties on her skinny ass but had promptly discarded the torture contraption she’d placed on our breasts. Why females wore those things was beyond me. Men were running about, squealing in shrill voices that made me crave to shred their throats to end the unrelenting noise. Jumping down from the top of the building where I’d perched to revel in the chaos, I stretched and scanned the area for another snack. I’d given Aria time to awaken from her slumber within me, providing her with the chance to see that her trust in me wasn’t misplaced. She had to regain her strength, which had drained because of her need to help the others, letting their demands come before ours. Knox had taken a lot, but she had yet to recognize just how much he’d stolen. He’d tapped into her magic, which was something so conveniently accomplished through the vows she’d made, but she’d strengthened it through the mating bond she wasn’t aware had formed. I had known Lennox was mine the moment he marked her slender throat, even if he was stuck within that tenacious, broken male. But she’d mated with Knox, and that wasn’t my choice. But I hadn’t resisted it, either. She was braver than I assumed she’d be. I’d known she was fierce, but she was heroic at the most random of times, which left me bumbling to judge if or when to intervene in order to shield her mind from misery. Knox had threatened to murder us repeatedly, and it had wounded Aria more than she’d willingly admit. Her emotions ran deeper than she thought, but even without the bond, she wouldn’t have been capable of hurting him as he hurt her. Now me, I’d thump his ass and remind him I wasn’t some bitch he could play hot and cold with anymore. I was the mate to his monster, and he was merely its host. A man rushed toward us in full battle mode, and I smiled before slamming my nails into his throat. His useless head rolled to the ground, the
body following soon after. People were so delicate, but Aria wanted to save them. I didn’t understand why. They were stupid, and who were we to stand in their way and the natural order of things? Another creature rushed me, and I side-stepped a second before we would have collided. Then, slowly turning, I watched as he smashed headfirst into the building, knocking himself out. Did Aria really think to save them all? Were they even worth the trouble? I doubted it. They were crunchy and tasted good, but they were too ignorant to survive. “You’re a monster!” a woman snarled, running toward me with a sword drawn. I lifted a delicate brow and yawned at her antics. “Duh.” I snorted, easily dodging each swing of her blade. “And you’re weak and slow and stupid. I think I prefer to be what I am.” I chuckled, grabbing the sword before swinging it toward her. Her body slid apart, and I riffled through her organs until I found what I wanted. Then, holding her heart, I skipped barefooted toward where more thundering heartbeats sounded like a welcoming dinner bell. The house before me was more prominent than the shacks around it, and the stench coming from within was of refuse and bodily waste. The fear that filled the air told me whoever was inside wasn’t there willingly. After ripping the door from the hinges, I tossed it aside, looked into the dark interior, and frowned. “In the words of the games Aria liked to play with her sisters—come out, come out, wherever you are,” I called, hearing soft whimpers. “Well shit, you’re just little ones. I’ll leave the door open, and you can do whatever you want. Everyone is dead . . . mostly,” I chirped happily as I bat my eyelashes. Only no one came forward. “You’re welcome! Ungrateful things, aren’t you?” I snorted, backing away as a small human moved closer. Turning up my nose at the creature, I studied it as it padded on bare feet toward the light. My sense of smell was offended, and a quick glance at the shattered door revealed I couldn’t simply lock it back in place. I rattled in warning to the critter. The thing was tiny and stunk like it had rolled in shit. I curled my lip as small fingers touched me. “Eww, stop that. Do not touch me! You reek.” I took a step backward, and it followed as if it wanted something from me. “Why are you trailing me? I am not your mother. My children won’t stink.”
The little human-ish thing was soiled and covered in strange, dark markings. Kneeling to its level, I pulled back my lips, baring my fangs at it to hiss again. I could scare it back into the house and run away, right? Aria would approve that I hadn’t eaten the stinky monstrosity. But it pushed its fingers against my serrated teeth, and I deflated, trying not to gag. “This is where you run screaming in the opposite direction, little human,” I explained, wondering if it needed to be written out for him. Did these things come with instructions? I’d read a magazine once through Aria’s eyes while she’d stared at it, pretending to ignore everyone in the room. It had said children required structure. It needed chores! “Go clean something. Obviously, you shouldn’t keep cleaning the toilet, though.” The child glanced up at me, wide, blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. “Oh, don’t do that. Aria will hear you! Stop that this minute! She’s touchy-feely, and you’re too stinky to touch.” Recoiling from the urchin, I winced as it let loose a deep, anguished scream. Shuddering, I snatched it up by the arm, and the noise assaulting my ears ceased. Victory! Something whizzed through the air behind me, and my lips curled. I turned, tossing the silent child way above me before I dodged the blade and shot my hand out, slicing through my attacker’s throat. His head went bouncing across the courtyard, and I smirked at my next meal. I heard squealing above me, and I looked to where the dirty creature was coming back down toward me. Reaching out, I grabbed its ankle before it landed. It stared at me with wide, owl-like eyes before it opened its mouth to unleash a blood-curdling scream. “No, no, no,” I pleaded in a singsong tone, trying to recall lyrics to any song Aria hummed inside her head. “I like big—uh, no. Hmm, you a fine mother—” I paused. “Back that—nope. Choke me like you—” The thing was still screaming. “Here I come. I’m petty as—fudge.” I grimaced. “You know, singing isn’t my thing, critter. Just don’t make that sound again, okay? I’d hate to explain why you ended up in my stomach.” Another blade rushed toward me, and I held the toddler out of the way as I swung my other arm, slicing my nails into the throat of another man, forcing him to drop his blade. Bringing the silent creature back in front of me, I lifted him, frowning as blood squirted onto his body and face. Then, smiling victoriously, I realized he’d been protected and bathed. Albeit, in blood, but who cared?
“See, Aria. We’re going to be good mothers! I can totally fight and keep this child alive. It’s easier than I believed it would be,” I announced before chuckling. “I will be great at this, right?” He screamed, and I dropped him, barely catching the boy before he landed headfirst in the dirt. “Let’s keep that last part between us, okay?” I asked, as the tiny human began howling. “I wonder if it’s too late to change my mind about this whole baby thing. It appreciates nothing I’ve done, and I literally saved him. You are a little, ungrateful, dirty, whiny creature. Oh, eww! Did you poop? This was such a bad idea.” I plugged my nose while the child continued to howl with his displeasure. “If I kill something for you to eat, will you shut up?” I bent to the corpse and ripped off the arm. “Eat,” I explained, putting the limb to my lips and snapping my teeth beside it, showing the urchin what to do. He kept squealing, so I set him down and scowled, becoming more frustrated by the constant noise it made. It merely screamed more. Dropping the arm, I tapped my foot, realizing I would need Aria to soothe the little monster so it would stop making those horrid sounds. Apparently, he was like the others within this place that lacked brains and didn’t know how good I was at tending to him. “Aria, we have an issue that I can’t seem to fix,” I groaned in defeat, shaking my leg when the creature wrapped its arms around my thigh. “Eww, it’s touching me again!” “What did you do here?” a feminine voice inquired, forcing me to turn toward it. “I tried to feed the boy, but he won’t shut up.” I narrowed my eyes at the woman, noticing that she was dressed how Aria usually was. “Food or friend?” I asked, hoping she’d make it easy and clarify it for me. Instead, her eyes widened, so I rattled to warn her. “If you try to harm me or this ungrateful pest, I will eat you.” “I understand,” she murmured, as if she feared pissing me off. “You’re wiser than the ones who lived inside this village. Do you know how to make this thing stop crying? It lacks directions. Aria always says Knox needs instructions, and I suspect he’s much like this boy. Turn it off,” I pressed, shaking my leg again to dislodge the creature. I surveyed the woman as she dragged the child from my thigh, lifted him, and curled the toddler’s body against hers, making soft noises. My eyes veered to how she cradled him in her arms against her breast. Aurora had done the same when we were little, which had soothed Aria.
“You freed them, didn’t you?” she asked, with salty tears running down her thin, sunken cheeks. She needed to eat the arm more than the urchin did. I considered ripping some meat from my kill and offering it to her, but if she was as squeamish as Aria, it wouldn’t end well. “Not willingly,” I admitted. “I heard them and was curious as to what was within the building.” I studied the way she responded as I spoke. Typically, people didn’t like my words. Knox especially didn’t enjoy me talking to him. Not that I cared. “Why were they inside the house?” “The men took them to trade for payment. None of the children are fullbred creatures, which would give their captors the coin they wanted at the lord’s auctions. They also bring enough money at the slaver’s market to keep the landowner rich.” Blinking slowly, I tilted my head. “This urchin is not yours?” “No, they sold my child a long time ago. Those men you killed murdered this sweetheart’s mother when she thought to prevent them from taking him.” The woman kept moving hypnotically, which had the creature settling. She was making strange noises between talking, and I scrutinized the toddler as his eyes closed in exhaustion. “What are you doing to soothe him?” I demanded, striding closer, only to recoil when the smell hit me. “What do you mean?” She took a step back as if she intended to run from me. “Do not run, or I will chase you. I immensely enjoy hunting. Even if I cannot kill you, I will catch you.” I sighed in irritation and the woman settled. “You’re moving with him, and he seems—shut up. He isn’t making that obnoxious noise.” The woman stopped, and the boy gave a soft whimper. Immediately, she started swaying from side to side again, and he quieted. “I need to know what you are doing. Aria worries we’ll not be good mothers. You are great at it. I shook him by the ankle, but he didn’t stop screaming. Tell me how you are doing this.” “You shook this child by the leg?” she asked in a high-pitched squeal. “Should I have not done that? He didn’t seem to mind, not until I had to toss him in the air to stop the sword from reaching his flesh. I even caught him before he landed on the ground.” Her eyes grew round before she peered at the child, who was sticky and coated in blood. “No, they’re delicate. You shouldn’t throw them, ever.” “I caught him, didn’t I?”
“He’s only one year old and it could have hurt him,” she stated. “But did he die? No. He merely started up with that insufferable noise. Then you came,” I snapped, crossing my arms. “You’re all so ungrateful. I don’t see why Aria wishes to save any of you, truthfully. You are miserable beings who think only of yourselves.” “That’s called being alive. What are you?” the woman demanded. “According to this town, I’m a fucking monster,” I hissed, smiling when she rolled her eyes down my delicate frame and then to the dead bodies and parts strewn everywhere. “You did this by yourself?” “I am never alone. Aria is with me.” “And where is she?” “Right now, she’s sleeping. They shot her with an arrow laced with hemlock, so I made her go into the alone. She sleeps there to heal so that when she wakes, she is powerful once more.” “Where is this—alone?” she asked, causing my annoyance to rise. I’d been wrong. She wasn’t smart. “It’s a place inside me, of course.” I snorted, buffing my nails against the bodice of my dress. “You ate her?” she gasped, backing farther away. “Of course not.” I waved away the line of questioning because she was, clearly, too stupid to understand. “Tell me what you’re doing to make the child stay quiet,” I demanded, as her eyes narrowed on me. “It’s important so that I can prove to Aria that when we have our babes, I will be good with them.” “I’m swaying. They enjoy the back-and-forth motion because it reminds them of when we carried them in our wombs. That’s the idea, at least. You wish to be a mother?” “Yes, but this is our first pregnancy, and normally, the babies are lost because the merge is new or hasn’t taken fully to connect our genetics. Aria fights it still, but she’s getting better at accepting that we’re not meant to be two creatures, at least not entirely. It cannot be easy for her, as she just recently discovered me. Aria is a powerful witch, and we haven’t found out what I am yet. But I know that I’m always hungry, which means we’re growing.” “Indeed.” She swallowed loudly as several women scrambled out of the dark house with more dirty, stinky creatures. “We will leave you to feed,”
she stated, turning to retreat. “I’m going to run now.” “Run fast, and I’ll see you soon.” I tilted my head and smiled at her when the color drained from her face. “Have a nice day and shit!” Then I turned to peer around the bloodied, lifeless town. I required more food, and my body ached for Lennox to find us and slake the other hunger growing within me. I also needed a nap. Yawning, I reached down, took hold of a man who had yet to cease breathing, and dragged him with me. Then, walking away from the courtyard, I grabbed a few limbs and other pieces to snack on before settling against a tree to feed. Aria was waking, but then I’d called to her when the filthy urchin wouldn’t obey me. It was probably best she not know that I’d tossed it into the air or painted it in blood. Snickering at the idea of her response to it all, I dug into my meal. She’d been asleep for over an entire week, and I wanted back inside my comfortable, warm cocoon. I’d searched for the minatour, seeking to end the threat he posed to Aria. There’d been no hint of his scent within the village, and after I’d ensured he wasn’t near, I’d searched the surrounding forest. Discovering trails, I took the higher one, which moved through the mountain range, using the days and nights that Aria had slumbered to heal, searching for the monster who had tormented her. Garrett wasn’t within the mountain ranges, nor had he been near enough for me to track. That meant it hadn’t been him who had offered the bounty, or if he had, he didn’t intend to be the one to collect her or deliver the coin he’d promised Rhett. That one, he had sniffed me coming and gone to ground, but he couldn’t dig deep enough that I wouldn’t find him sooner or later.
Chapter Twelve Aria I woke covered in gore with pieces of bodies and gnawed bones littering the space surrounding me. Groaning, I pushed from the ground, staring at my hands, which were caked in dried, crusty blood. I glared at the shriveled man parts she’d left me. Ember was so subtle in her cryptic messages—not. “Gods damn it, Ember. Not again!” I accused, staring at a lifeless pair of eyes that looked back at me accusingly. Not that I blamed him, considering I’d probably eaten him and all of his friends “I’m a growing girl. We need food and dick. My mate needs to find me and fuck me because we require his scent again. You’re a sucky host and a fruit-eating, whiny human who keeps allowing us to be placed in dangerous situations because you think we should save people. Plot twist, they need to save themselves. Anyway, Knox is ours, and he is close enough to fuck. But no, you won’t let him give us what we all need. Instead, you taunt him and read his books. Books do not replace cock, nor do they provide us with his essence.” “Knox wants to strangle us, probably while fucking. You get that, right? I’m okay with some mild choking during sex, but I let him into my soul, and within an hour, he accused me of shit he knew I didn’t do. He deserves a long time-out, which includes staying the fuck away from us, Ember. You agreed, and I am holding you to it this time.” “Men are stupid. We agreed on that. Tape his mouth closed and ride him. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. It’s time, Aria. We both need him. I grow and sleep because we’re about to be reborn into something sexy.” “Yeah, but we can’t go around just eating folks, Ember. I can’t keep waking up covered in bodies and blood. It’s not sanitary. It’s also wrong, really wrong, to feed on people! This is the third time I’ve woken up with no memory of what happened. So, who did you eat?” “Ignorant slavers who tried to murder us and got what they deserved. Now they can’t do stupid shit anymore. See? Logical reason to eat them,” Ember chuckled. “I’m serious. You’re out of control. Did you say reborn?” I questioned, picking her words apart.
“I think so, yes. I’ve decided we’re pretty big. We just ate a village of predators, and I’m still not satisfied. I require more meat. Maybe some deer instead of people? Knox is an excellent hunter. You’re not. You need to touch yourself and make him see. He wants it; he feeds it. It’s basic math, really. If you flick it, he will come.” Her laughter bubbled up from inside me, escaping my lips. “Perhaps if you moan loud enough, we can drive him crazy and then chain him to the library and fuck him whenever we want.” “That’s kidnapping, and it’s also illegal. Plus, I’m worried because I find that concept appealing at the moment. You’re turning me into a crazy female who is fantasizing about chaining up my mate and placing tape over his mouth so he can’t say anything stupid.” The mental picture of Knox in chains had my body heating. A wicked smile crossed my lips before turning into a frown. “Great, my inner psycho roommate is feeding me criminal ideas. You have to stop this. I have a world to bring to its knees, and we can’t do that riding Knox.” My head tilted, considering it for a minute before shaking off the image. “For you, yes. You’re a prude and mostly boring. I’d ride that male into battle. Hell, I’d ride him like I was in a war if you’d get the hell out of my way. But you’re playing hard to get, not allowing him near you. The bean wants to be touched! We want him to rub it. Wait! Are those more villagers coming to attack us? Yummy. Dinner time!” “No, absolutely not! Ember, you ate a village. How can you still be hungry?” “Growing girl, duh!” “Growing into what? A freaking whale? No one needs to eat this much, ever. I’m worrying about what we are becoming. So far, we’re pretty much eating our way through the Nine Realms. They’re putting up warning posters about us, but instead of the picture being a woman, they’re literally drawing us as having five heads and a stick-figure frame! Get ahold of yourself, Ember. I have a plan, though, and it’s a good one. You just have to follow it.” “Does it include dick?” “No, there’s no dick in the plan!” “But why?” “No.” “But—why no dick?” “You’re worse than a child!”
“Am not.” “Are too.” “Dick.” “No dick!” “Lots of dick.” “Ember, enough!” My gaze slid to the male approaching us with a wicked-looking farm tool in his hand. “Great, now they’re hunting us down with pitchforks!” “Then fight! You’ve healed and are ready. It’s my time to sleep! Oh, and we will be excellent at motherhood! I fought with a dirty creature attached to my—leg. Yes, my leg! I definitely did not throw it into the air or hold it up by its ankle. I learned how to soothe them! We can totally do this. We’re ready, Aria! But I think you should deal with the poop and screaming part. I’m just not into that crap.” “What? You threw a child?” I asked in a horrified tone, dodging the pitchfork so that it stabbed the ground beside me. “Stop that!” I lifted my hand, sending the weapon sailing through the air, where it stuck into a tree. “You better run, motherfucker.” Ember’s growl of warning escaped my throat, and the man turned white as a sheet and passed out. “That was disappointing,” I muttered before growling internally. “I concur,” Ember chortled. “Give it time. You were asleep for over a week. I considered seeing if dick would wake you up, but you just snored away happily!” “An entire week?” “Yup! A glorious week that I spent feasting, and slaughtering stupid people. It was amazing!” she replied in a singsong tone. Her earlier words echoed in my head, and I snorted realizing she was trying to distract me. The issue was, it had worked. “Let’s focus on the child you tossed in the air.” I tapped my foot while another male stepped closer. “Really? I can kill you with a single thought,” I lied, rolling my eyes when he didn’t take the hint to get lost. “I am not the bitch to try today! My hormones are everywhere, and I don’t know if I want to feel sorry for you or murder you right now. I have dead meat stuck in my teeth, and I am over you assholes fucking with me!” I pushed my hands forward, slamming so much magic into him that he popped like a balloon. “Can’t a woman have a moment? I just need a fucking minute to catch my breath and think.” “Uh, I got to go. My house is on fire,” Ember whispered sheepishly.
“Ember! I asked you a question and you better answer me!” I yelled, frustrated with everything happening and not having any control. “I am your fucking house!” I snapped, staring at my fingertips, which were literally on fire. “Oh,” I grunted, shaking my hand to extinguish the flames. “Yeah, see? Totally on fire. Anyway, there’s a convoy with slaves being taken to the market that passed by here an hour ago. Esme and that strange deer-horned woman are on it. You can catch them before they reach the next town if you run. Love you. Call me if you need me!” I groaned, starting toward the road that Ember had pointed out. I hated that she wasn’t sticking around, but she’d let me sleep and recharge. Since my hormones were suddenly spiking unpredictably, I shuddered at the thought of how bad they’d be, had I not had that time to rest. It pissed me off that, for over the entire week, Ember has implanted images of Knox doing sexy shit to my body. I’d learned enough about pregnancy to know it was my hormones talking, but it didn’t make me less irritated. Instead, I was horny, hungry, and an emotional mess of turbulence that wouldn’t end. Not to mention, I felt Knox pulling on the thread that I’d discovered within me, which meant he was using my magic. That left me floundering because I knew he didn’t have access to the magic of the Nine Realms and he was using my Hecate magic. I’d known that I’d agreed to give him access to that when I married him, but that was before I started running into all these hiccups with my magic in general. The problem was that I had an uneasy feeling that his pulling it to him was part of the reason I was so vulnerable and drained. It also explained why I couldn’t build it up as quickly, and worse, I didn’t even know if he had realized he was using it yet. I’d felt the tug from within Ember and pulled it back. The second time it had been yanked on, I’d allowed it and followed it directly back to Knox, who closed the line before I’d fully reached him. I’d sensed him, and I had also caught the shock at how much power he’d pulled to him before he sent it back. That wasn’t what I’d expected him to do, and it didn’t make sense that he had. The second person who’d sent a line searching for me was Aurora, but it hadn’t been urgent. It had been hesitant. Knox using my magic had been horrifying at first. I still had to return to the sanctuary, and I needed to figure out why Aurora had placed us in danger despite my warning to retreat.
It took me an hour to reach the wagons holding the would-be slaves. It was easy enough to zero in on the one holding Esme and Avy because it was the only one off-kilter. Avy was on the side that rose higher in the air than the other because everyone else had placed distance between themselves and her. I moved toward a house that had dresses hanging on a line to dry, and once there, I pilfered one and changed while I listened to the voices drifting out from the home. “Make sure she isn’t too thin. You know those skinny ones don’t work hard enough and you end up using them every night. By the time you’ve finished with them, they barely have the energy to cook for us. I hate that they act so exhausted after everything we do for them, Hal. Also, find a girl who isn’t prettier than I am, or I’ll ruin her face and tits just as I did to the last bitch you purchased. Don’t spend more than a copper coin, either. That greedy slaver thinks he can charge more for them whores nowadays.” I pulled the dress on before sensing that I wasn’t alone. Turning, I made eye contact with a girl who had cuts all over her face and looked as if she were ready to fall over. My stomach tightened, and I swallowed the bile that rushed to the back of my throat. I shook my head, holding a finger to my lips before I crooked my neck and motioned for her to follow me into the house. When we entered, the woman who had been scolding her husband looked at her slave and then at me, sliding her gaze down the dress I’d just stolen. “That’s mine! I will beat you, you insolent bitch!” she screeched, standing as if to attack me. I lifted my hand, twisted it, and she whimpered as blood dripped from her mouth. Then her lifeless body collapsed to the floor. The man, who was obese and stunk of garlic, rose from his chair, but I didn’t allow him to make it to the door. “Such a naughty boy,” I hissed, smiling cruelly as he shook with fear. “You like to rough the ladies up, don’t you, Daddy?” My husky tone vibrated through the room, and I bit my lip as my magic forced him to speak the truth. “I love their screams,” Hal admitted stupidly. “Too bad I can’t enjoy yours.” I snorted, sending my magic down his throat to mute him while I lifted the other hand, ripping his dick from his groin. His eyes widened in pain, and I turned, finding the girl smiling
beside me. “You get one chance to hurt him for what he did. Use it wisely,” I whispered. I silently observed her walk to a drawer to retrieve a large blade. The slender, scarred girl moved to the struggling man and then drove the knife deep into his torso. Once I was sure he was dead, I placed a hand on her shoulder, barely preventing the blade she aimed at me from reaching its goal. Tears were streaking down her cheeks, and my gaze went to the wrist I held, finding a silver bracelet on it, marking her property of the sleazy people who had owned her. I used my magic to unlock the mechanism, and the sound of it falling to the ground jarred her from her mind. “You saved me.” She sobbed, dropping the knife to wrap her arms around her middle. “They were monsters.” “So am I,” I offered, frowning when she stepped back. “You’re free now.” “Monsters don’t save slaves from their owners,” she whispered as soft sobs rocked through her body. She hiccupped and peered down at the dead couple. “Oh, but they do. I’m learning that not every monster is bad. Sometimes, they’re just people who are trying to undo terrible things. Someone once told me I’d make a horrible villain. He might be right, but I’m still a monster, and I’ll be here at the end of my story and the closing of this book.” She blinked, and I shrugged, knowing she hadn’t been reading the same bedtime stories as I had. “I need a pack and the dresses from the clothesline, and then I need to leave. My friends are on one of those wagons, and there’s a feeding frenzy because the slavers are allowing the merchandise to be sampled.” The girl nodded, rushing to do as I asked. I didn’t wait for her to return before I exited the house and headed to the wagon holding Esme and Avy. I could hear them struggling against men, fighting to remain untouched. A soft hum slipped from my lips as I wandered closer, knowing I was the biggest threat present today. I stared at the men grabbing women, ripping their dresses down the middle to grope them. My feet moved, but I focused on pulling magic and wrapping it around me, and I felt Knox’s awareness that I’d forcefully yanked it back to me. I sensed him tugging our connected thread, stroking
my mind as if he sensed me, and was sending me a rush of warmth through the link. Or, maybe it was a warning he wasn’t far away? That thought made me almost lose my footing. Humming Miranda Lambert and Carry Underwood’s “Somethin’ Bad,” making it sound creepy as it echoed through the village. Men turned, staring at where I walked down the middle of the road toward them. My feet were bare, and my toes felt good against the earthen path, forcing nature to regard me as deeply as I did it. I smoothed my hands over my hips and smiled coyly as they took in my tousled hair and blood-splattered silver dress. And, well, everywhere else was painted crimson too, but washrooms were hard to find here. Murder was messy, but then, so was this entire world. I winked at Esme, who stood holding her ripped, dirty garment against her chest closed as she watched me. “Gentlemen, it would seem you’ve created a tremendous problem for yourselves,” I announced, resting my hand on my hip, grinning demurely as they began inching closer. “So, this is how we’re going to handle it. You’re all about to die horribly. I decided that on my way down here from where I just slaughtered a delightful couple—well, that’s a lie. They were fucking horrid, honestly. And since we probably shouldn’t start our relationship out in such a manner, I’ll admit that I decided before that.” I called for rain, watching it hit only the men who stood around unchained. They started toward me, and I raised my hand, locking them into place. “I wouldn’t move. It’s about to get electrifying.” I snorted, hearing the distant sound of rumbling thunder. The slavers were drenched in the rain that I’d called. I pointed my finger to the sky, causing them all to gaze upward. Lightning shot down violently, frying them as their bodies jolted and shook with spasms, and igniting their eyes in an ultraviolet color. Whispering a spell, I brought forth the people in town who enjoyed and prospered from the slave trade occurring here, sentencing them to the same fate as their friends. When I finished, I turned, smiling at Esme. “Ta-da!” I announced with my arms held wide, wiggling my brows. “It fucking took you long enough,” Esme snapped, crossing her arms over her ruined dress. I deflated, placing my hands on my hips. “Tell me that wasn’t a badass entrance. I just killed them with lightning. How many other people do you
know who can do that?” I scoffed, offended that she hadn’t clapped or anything. “It was pretty cool, but it would have been way better if you’d done it three days ago! Those bastards groped and prodded me, then bathed us and brushed our teeth to ensure they got top dollar! Did you at least murder Rhett while you were fucking around?” I folded my arms across my chest, knowing Ember hadn’t caught him during her killing spree. When I didn’t answer quickly enough, Esme exhaled and made a strangled sound in her throat. “Forget it. I’m exhausted, and you look like you have fed on half the realm,” she complained. “I killed dinner for you.” Hiking my thumb over my shoulder, I indicated the men and women still twitching from the voltage running through them. “They’re even slightly cooked.” Her lips jerked up into an awkward smile, and she sighed. “You’re the worst rescuer ever, but thank you for not leaving us to die,” Esme whispered awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. “I thought you were dead, or that possibly you’d escaped and hadn’t been able to get to us.” “I was busy being held captive, but I discovered who had placed the bounty on my head. Ember also ate an entire village. But I didn’t forget you, Esmeralda, because that’s what we do for one another,” I promised, holding out my arms, and she folded into them. “We’re friends, perhaps even best friends.” “Don’t push it, Aria.” “Not pushing.” I smiled over at Avyanna, who had been hanging back. “Bring it in, Avy.” She grunted and rolled her eyes. Esme backed up, and we turned to find the folks who had been brought to be sold, staring at us like we were freaks. “We should probably go.” “Yeah, we should. I didn’t make any friends here.” “That’s not surprising. You’re not the slightest bit friendly. I’m honestly shocked anyone gets to call you Esme, ever.” I chuckled, wincing when she elbowed me. “Yeah, we’re best friends.” “You’re really pushing it, you know? It took you over a week to come save us,” she began ranting and cursing under her breath, and I smiled while we walked toward the first house in town, which was where I’d started this
leg of my murderous rampage. The girl was standing there with a bag overflowing with items. I was pretty sure she’d even added some food for us. I tossed the bag to Esme, and she continued to mutter about how long it took me to rescue her and Avy as she looked inside the satchel. “You got clean clothes for all three of us?” “Best friends?” I asked, smiling cheesily while wiggling my eyebrows. I felt the tug on my magic and barely had time to open a portal, forcing all three of us through it before Knox’s power slithered along my flesh. “Oh shit,” I swallowed, peering back over my shoulder. “Run!”
Chapter Thirteen Knox was hunting us relentlessly, and the quicker we moved, the closer he got. I couldn’t shake him, and pausing long enough to open another portal wouldn’t work. Not when he was right on our trail, refusing to stop. We’d crossed through water and clambered down a ridge into a gorge that started in to another rock-covered decline, and yet he steadily closed the gap between us. I pounded over the terrain, creating a bloody mess from where the rocks and sharp debris bit into the pads of my feet. There was desperation in every step I took, pushing my burning legs to endure while Esme and Avy remained right behind me. The stink of sweat and moldy vegetation made my stomach turn, threatening to eject the nutrients that Ember ate to keep us healthy. Ember had woken, but she’d merely chuckled before suppressing the essence that my sweaty body discharged so Knox wouldn’t detect that I was pregnant. He deserved to know, but I required time to come to terms with the situation and forgive him for what he’d said that day in the library. I was determined to protect the babies and keep them safe, and that meant I had to give myself a moment to iron out the details. First, I had to avoid ending up captured. It wasn’t looking promising, though, seeing how the girls hadn’t recharged like I had. We rounded a massive formation of rocks, and Esme stopped, compelling me to pause. Wide, lavender eyes met mine, and we strove to even out the air burning through our lungs. Exhaustion shot through me, and my muscles burned like the ligaments inside me were being melted over an open flame. Shouts rang through the valley we’d entered, and my stomach sank to my toes. Knox’s tone was biting and abrupt, directing his men to spread out and hunt in a wide search pattern to ensure we weren’t hiding. There was no cockiness in his tone—just the anger curling around each word he voiced. Knox was stalking me, and this time, it seemed different. It was as if the stakes were greater than before. I shifted my palm over my belly protectively and peered toward where his voice grew closer by the minute,
trying to determine how far away they were. They were tearing through the gap effortlessly, and we were awaiting the inevitable. “We can’t keep this up for much longer.” Esme put her concern into words while she continued, rapidly pulling air into her lungs. Her stare locked with mine, expressing a silent plea, and my gut clenched as denial rose to the tip of my tongue. “He only wants me, Esme. You guys can get away.” I sighed, viewing her dark curls bouncing as her head shook in denial. “No. That isn’t happening. You’re not throwing yourself at him so we can escape, Aria. We need to figure out a different way to put them off our trail.” She continued struggling for breath as she spoke. “It is better that he captures me than you guys. He won’t kill me, or I suspect he won’t,” I muttered softly, seeing his men moving down the bank. I locked gazes with Knox before slowly sliding mine unhurriedly over his armor. Time ceased, and my heartbeat thundered against my rib cage as I breathed rapidly, drinking in the sight of him hungrily. His mouth crooked into an arrogant grin, and I absently took a step forward, only to pause as more men crested the ridge behind him. Esme’s fingers folded around my wrist, jerking me backward, and we started running once more. Everything within me yearned to go to Knox. I craved to confess to him what we’d made together—that we’d created life, but that also frightened me. He’d already vehemently vocalized his position on the topic, already explained that he’d made a mistake when he married me, that he wished I wasn’t pregnant. It had left me reeling. “They’re faster than we are!” Avy bellowed, stumbling before she’d finished getting her words out. She grunted as she landed hard, crying out in misery even as she pushed herself upright. I pulled Avy up while the men stormed toward us, not showing any hint of tiring. We ran once more toward the noise of the rapidly flowing river the creek fed. Esme issued directions, and I faltered when she slung her fists up, urging the terrain to open for her. My eyes expanded, gawking at the vast chunk of earth that she sent sailing behind us. “You’ll kill them!” I squealed, but she rocked her head. My heart clenched, twisting painfully as fear of harming Knox ate at my mind. “They’re immortal! It will merely slow them down, Aria,” she vowed, still holding on to my arm while we advanced forward.