I’d died that day my mate had gone to her grave, and yet Aria was bringing me back, but with Aria, I couldn’t remember what Liliana had looked like, or the sound of her voice when she spoke. I forgot the woman I had loved since my youth, wiping her image away as Aria fucking Hecate erased it from my mind. She dulled the fucking pain that fueled me with a simple smirk, and that was a big fucking problem.
When I closed my eyes at night, I no longer saw my wife’s face or heard my son’s laughter as he discovered something new. Instead, I saw beautiful turquoise eyes that smiled when they lit up and curves that I wanted to know on the deepest level a man could know a woman. It made me crave the need to murder her to get the memories back. I couldn’t forget them now, not when everything I’d done had been for them.
Aria was a fire within me that needed to be extinguished and smothered. I would fuck her and end this obsession quickly. She wasn’t mine, and yet I’d placed my name right beside her pussy so I would know if anyone touched it or tried to hurt her. I’d done that because I’d wanted to.
I wanted her to survive, but I also wanted to hurt her. Aria was one of them. She was one of the enemies who had taken my family from me, and I would stop at nothing to get revenge against them. Not even chaining her to my wall and keeping her there to play with could prevent what I’d set into motion. She’d hate me when she learned the truth and even more the moment I started murdering witches. Neither fucking mattered to me since she was my enemy.
Chapter 28
Aria
I silently drummed my fingers on the table that held the feast of all feasts on it. I watched my sisters shoveling food on their plates, while the men joined them eagerly. The only sound in the room was the silverware scraping the expensive china they’d pulled out. Today everyone was leaving me, going into the Nine Realms to get the items we needed to bless the house and fix the spell which would activate it.
Pushing food over my plate, I watched Brander from beneath my lashes as he sat silently brooding. At the same time, he consumed enough meat to feed a village on an undiscovered coastline, or maybe the entire coastline of Fiji. It reminded me of how Knox ate; consuming mainly meat, while gulping down milk by the gallon.
He was pleasant enough to look at and used a napkin to dab his mouth, which was more than some men were doing. Still, I didn’t feel a connection to him. I felt lust, and that was easy enough to achieve, but there wasn’t the sizzle I felt with Knox. Every once in a while, he’d move his stare to me and hold mine, but the moment Aine spoke, it would go right back to her with intrigue.
He seemed safe enough, but it made me wonder why Knox would say to pick him. From what I’d seen since coming here, he had a different woman in his room every day. I wasn’t worried about STDs since it was one perk of being immortal. Even if he was a slut, I didn’t have to worry about getting the last woman’s residue on me.
“Aria,” Kinvara whispered, interrupting my thoughts and placing her hand on my shoulder as she spoke.
“Yeah?”
I turned to look at her, and she smiled. “Are you going to devour poor Brander?” She looked between us and tilted her head, and my stare slid to Brander, who smiled before covering his mouth as heat banked in his pretty blue eyes.
“No,” I said in a high-pitched tone. “No, I was just lost in thought.”
“You look as if you’re trying to decide to either fuck him or fight him. I’m not sure which thought is winning.” She dropped a large piece of meat back onto her plate and then wiggled her brows at me. “I’m stuffed, but I bet Brander would stuff you in an entirely different way.” The men chuckled at her words, and I groaned, hating that my cheeks heated with color.
“Knox has been kind enough to prepare packs for us to take and sent word to the Witchery that we’re coming,” Sabine informed the room, causing me to slouch at the thought of being left behind. “Aria will remain here, protected and safeguarded by his men. We can’t chance her entering the Nine Realms and anything catching her scent. I have tasked Brander with protecting her during the time Knox is gone.”
“Yay me,” I muttered as I sat back in my chair, folding my hands in my lap to keep them from fidgeting.
“Aria, you know if we weren’t counting on you being our virgin sacrifice, we’d take you with us. Knox is right, his mark only works here or wherever he is, if he is telling the truth. We cannot take the chance of you losing your virginity before we gather the other materials we need. I have sent word to Aunt Aurora that we could use her and the others. She’s been keeping up to date with the situation here and is selling off the house to move here.”
At the last part of her words, the chatter started up. Aurora was selling our home to come to Haven Falls, which meant we wouldn’t be leaving here again. I frowned and listened to what everyone’s chattering was about. Normally, I’d be doing the same thing with my twin, but she wasn’t here.
“That means your communication to the friends you made, the men you fucked, ends now. Do whatever you need to do, call, or email them, whatever. Just break any connection to that world off because they’re not able to come here or discover this place for any reason. You can do it once you return from your trip.” I frowned as they groaned at my words.
I was the sister in charge of ex-communication and communication. I served as the representative of the family since I’d studied communication and diplomatic relationships. We each had taken a major to increase our place here or in the Nine Realms once the time came to play our part.
“But they’re our friends,” Aine said as she shook her head.
“No, Aine. They were, but once the house is sold, we are again residents of Haven Falls, and by being so, we can’t have outside relationships. There are over twenty-thousand people here in this town. You will make friends here.”
“My friends were witches,” Luna interjected into the conversation.
I smiled sadly while she frowned. “Outside witches are not witches of the Nine Realms, nor can you tell them anything other than what I have stated. Cut all ties, end all communication. Be glad you have your twin, Luna. Some of us do not even get that.” I pushed away from the table to leave the room, offering her a tight smile as I went.
I made it most the way down the hall before Brander called my name. I turned, dropping my eyes to the package in his hand.
“Knox left this for you. It’s for your birthday. Happy birthday, Aria.” He handed me the package and pushed his hand through his hair, studying me.
I watched him a moment before speaking. “Thank you,” I frowned, noting how heavy the package was. “He didn’t have to do this.”
“Take it, Aria. Knox doesn’t do gifts. Whatever the hell is happening between the two of you, I’m about to be thrown in the middle of it.”
“He told you? I haven’t decided on you yet, to be honest.”
“You haven’t?” He cocked a brow before rubbing his finger over his lip, exhaling slowly. “Knox said you would pick me and told me to be gentle with you.”
“This is awkward,” I muttered, adjusting my hold on the box. “Honestly, I have no idea what to do. I mean, it should be easy, but it isn’t.”
“If you do pick me, I will be gentle with you. I can handle plucking your cherry, as Kinvara referred to it. I’ll respect you in the bedroom, but I will dominate you. I accept nothing less in the bedroom. Knox won’t be back before your sisters’ return, and if all goes to plan, you must choose someone by tomorrow night. Happy birthday, Aria,” he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I was about to turn away from him and make my way to the bedroom, but his hand lifted, cupping my chin. “Maybe this will help you choose.” His mouth lowered, brushing his lips against mine softly.
He smirked, watching me as my eyes widened, knowing that there was a wow factor from the touch of his lips. I didn’t feel like throwing up all over him, either. I set the box on the floor, and his gaze narrowed.
Stepping on my toes, I brushed my lips against his, pleading to fe
el something or even a fraction of what I’d felt with Knox. His hand slipped to my back, and his mouth opened against mine, forcing my tongue to duel with his slowly in an erotic dance as old as time.
Brander walked me toward the wall, the gift forgotten on the floor as he took control, directing my tongue with his as they dueled. His hands grabbed mine, capturing them over my head as he broke apart the kiss, slipping his heated mouth to my throat, to kiss my pulse before slowly moving up to my ear.
“You’re fucking delicious-smelling. Can you feel that?” He pressed his hardened cock against me, and I gasped. “Feel that wetness between your thighs? That’s our bodies working to help this happen, Aria. Choose me because I want to spend hours bringing you into womanhood and cherish every inch of your flesh while giving as much pleasure as possible as I do it. You won’t be sorry, little witch.” His lips brushed against mine softly, barely touching them. “Plus, it would piss Knox off that I had you first, and I’m getting the feeling you enjoy doing that.”
“He told me to pick you.”
“Yeah, because anyone else would be in such a rush, and they’d forget that we need your blood for the blessing. You’re rare, Aria. In a realm of immortals, the women have one first time to give their purity to a male of their choosing. Some men spend an eternity trying to find that first time for a woman, but normally it ends up being lost to some man who can’t be bothered to prepare her cunt to take him. It shouldn’t hurt more than it has to. Not if you find someone who knows how precious it really is.”
“You make it sound like it is something bigger than it really is.”
“I’m over a thousand years old, and I’ve never been blessed with deflowering a maiden. Think about that, Aria. In a thousand years, I’ve never found a maiden who still hadn’t known the touch of a man. I pick up broken females because, through me, they heal. Others come to me because they want to be controlled, and I give it to them. I’m a kinky prick, but for you, and considering what I am getting from it, I’ll play nice, I promise.”
He kissed my cheek before heading down the hallway with a purpose. I turned to leave and remembered the gift, lifting it up. I frowned at how heavy it was. Inside the bedroom, I set it on the bed and then gasped at what sat on the pillow. A single long-stemmed midnight rose.
I lifted it up, grabbing the note beside it and read.
Happy birthday, Aria Primrose.
I inhaled it, sitting on the bed in silence while smelling the rose and the rare beauty of the flower. I’d never seen one before, let alone held something still alive from the Nine Realms. Setting it down on the nightstand, I turned to glare at the box.
The man was an enigma. My own sisters had forgotten my birthday, but he hadn’t? The man didn’t even like me, and yet he’d sent me gifts? Rare, once-in-a-lifetime gifts in the shape of a rose from a land he knew I craved. I lunged for the package, tearing it open until it revealed a box. I frowned, opening the blood-red box to brush my finger over the gown.
He’d bought a deflowering dress. Of course, he had.
I picked it up, noting the expensive design as another note fell from the package.
I thought it would look beautiful on you, and it’s new. Inside the box are pictures and things from the realm you so wish to see. Sorry, you missed out on being able to go home with your sisters; someday, you will see the Nine Realms. ~Knox Karnavious.
I set the note down and picked up the smaller box, staring at the picture of a castle that had cascading waterfalls in the background. The castle had massive spiraling pillars and towers, with an actual battlement that surrounded the top of it. Masculine handwriting was beside the photo, and it matched the note in the box, with the description ‘Norvalla Stronghold, Castle Karnavious’ on the back.
There were several pictures, most from Norvalla, with images of creatures all around it. Smiling, I looked through them all before pulling out the crystals that were filled with rainbow hues inside them. They resembled high-quality quartz, but the rainbow coloring that moved as if filled with water told me they were something else. The moment they touched my hand, power leapt into my body, and I closed my eyes. I wondered if everything from the Nine Realms would feel so exotic and pure once I got to experience it firsthand. Someday I would go home, and I’d spend weeks there learning the realm I’d originally come from.
I lay back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling before exhaling. Knox had given me things I’d never touched before, things from our homeland that, to him, probably weren’t such a big deal. To me, it was everything. I looked at the clock, realizing I’d lost track of time with the gifts and staring at the pictures, and would miss seeing my sisters off. Pushing everything back into the box and eyeing the flower, I left the room in a hurry.
Chapter 29
I returned to the mansion shortly after my sisters stepped through the portal, leaving me with an army of men at my back and Brander between me and the portal. The moment it closed, they whisked me back in a dark SUV with sinisterly tinted windows.
Changing into my pajamas, I scooped up the pictures and began studying each one again. I knew I should protect the rose or drain the essence, but I had nothing to pour it into. It would be a loss since the essence wouldn’t be collected within the first few hours of harvest.
Bringing it to my nose, I inhaled the scent greedily. It smelled like I imagined heaven would smell. It had an aroma that seeped from the flower onto my fingers. I smiled to myself, running my fingers against my neck to keep the exotic scent on my flesh. Getting back up, I headed into the shower silently, picking out a sheer white nightgown that hugged my frame and yet left a little to the imagination instead of giving everything away.
Showered and ready for bed, I entered the room to find Regina sitting on the bed with the rose in her hand. Her eyes turned to me and slid over my body with mirth like I wasn’t even worth looking at.
“You won’t keep his attention long, you know.”
“Whose?” I asked, staring at the rose.
“Don’t play coy with me, bitch. You know who I speak of.”
“If you’re speaking of Knox, I’m relieved that I won’t.”
“He ate your pussy, and you fucked his face while he did.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “He licked it once.”
“No, you stupid girl, he ate it, and you came on his tongue for hours, you just don’t remember. Knox isn’t from this realm—he doesn’t play by the rules either. You’re cute, but that only lasts until he fucks you, then his interest will wane, and he’ll come back to me. It’s just that innocent pussy he wants from you. The moment you lose your virginity, you will lose his interest and just be another discarded whore. Hundreds of them pine for him. You’ll just be another one of the sad, pitiful bitches discarded into the trash bin.”
“He isn’t taking my virginity, Brander is.” I crossed my arms, studying her as she lifted the notes I’d placed together and then gazed at the dress. “You should go now.”
“You think he will allow his brother to take your innocence? Don’t be stupid, girl. He is a virile male, all hunter, and you are marked as prey.” Her anger erupted, slithering through the room, and for a moment, her face changed into that of a hag.
I stepped back, noting the smirk that lifted her lips while she fingered the red chiffon cocktail dress. She tossed it aside, standing to stare at me.
“Doesn’t matter, I chose Brander. Knox didn’t want it and left.”
“You’re not even pretty.” She ignored my statement as she let her gaze slide down me with disdain. “Why do you get gifts when everyone else gets bent over whatever is closest and pounded into it like a piece of fucking meat?”
“Because you allow him to do it,” I mocked, watching her as her cheeks heated with anger. “Look, you don’t want to be treated like a whore? Stop allowing him to treat you like one. Stand up for yourself, or shut the fuck up, sit down, and continue to take it. You are allowing him to treat you as he does. If you allow him to
do it, he will continue to treat you the same way. Bottom line, Regina? Close your legs until he respects you. You have the pussy, he wants it. Use that, and if you don’t, you have no one but yourself to blame.”
“You think you get a choice? Knox is the type of man you want to be owned by. When he fucks, he fucks you with every part of him. It’s so fucking brutal that you spend the rest of your life searching for it again, and never find it. Being owned by him means you are his to use when he sees fit. Why do you think his household is mostly run by women? There isn’t one who wouldn’t slit your throat to take his bed for one night to feel him again. He offers protection and his body. You’ll fucking take it if you’re smart.”
“I’d rather not know what it feels like to be owned. I am a Hecate witch. I’m royalty by birth. Neither Knox nor any other man will ever own me. I choose my fate and my chaos, and what I allow to happen to me is on me, no one else. You won’t find me bitching about you sleeping with my man, because the moment he betrays me, I’m done. I’m worth more than that, Regina. So you want to be owned? Fine, but not me,” I snorted, shaking my head as she frowned, and her power filled the room again.
She snorted and shook her head. “You already are, Aria. The moment you laid down in that chair and allowed him to place his name on you, you became his. The moment you parted your thighs and came for him, you sealed the fucking deal. You parted your flesh, touching it while he placed his name on your thigh, and when you started coming with your clumsy attempt to fuck your own flesh, he did it for you. You screamed his name, riding his face until your screams turned painful because he wouldn’t let you stop coming. He drank your essence, slurping it clean before he covered it back up. I listened to him as he erased your memories, and you woke up talking as if it had never even happened, but I know otherwise because I watched it happen. He needed one last taste, so you knew he’d tasted your sloppy cunt first. It was so sloppy, glistening with come from that glorious tongue of his.”
Flames of Chaos Page 19