I heard the sounds of the approaching army, pausing as Knox’s scent struck me, forcing my nose to the air as I inhaled deeply. The door above opened, and I moved, rushing further down the staircase that spiraled into the earth, opening to a long, moss-filled hallway with doors lining both sides of the walls. Sprinting forward, I slid into one of the many doorways, discovering a hidden alcove.
Dark, husky laughter haunted me, Knox’s heavy footfalls echoing as he slowly made his way down the stairs. I slid behind the wall, backing against a moss-covered doorway. Closing my eyes, I tried to calm my racing heart and emotions. Slowly, so slowly, I lowered myself to the ground, and my legs burned from the strain. Reaching in my pocket, I produced a handful of quartz, placing them on the floor to protect the space I held.
“Aria, I can smell you. You’re so fucking close that I can taste you in the air,” Knox taunted, his voice coming from every direction at once. The sexy, deep, rich baritone slid through me, creating a storm of need that only he could create within me. I hated and craved him, which was confusing among a mess of emotions that offended me down to my toenails. “Are you afraid? I smell… fear.” The sound of his heavy boots moved over the moss-covered ground I’d just run over. “I miss the feel of your body beneath mine, and the sweet noises you make when I’m buried deep within your tight cunt. I miss the smell of your hair against my nose when I wake from slumber, wrapped around your heat, holding you close against me. Enough running, Little Monster, I want to taste you dripping down my face. Let me give you what you crave, what we both crave from one another.”
He stopped in front of me, his jaw clenching as he inhaled deeply. His oceanic eyes narrowed to slits as he looked at the floor where the moss showed my last footprint stopping.
His body turned, and he stared through me, the crystals protecting me from discovery. The door at my back was covered in thick moss, a tattletale sign that I hadn’t gone through. His dark head canted as the men entered the narrow hallway of the alcove. Knox lowered his head slightly, and I held my breath while he looked right into my eyes that widened with worry.
“The rooms over here are disturbed,” Killian called from further down the hallway, causing Knox to turn toward him.
When had Killian walked past? How was he at the far end of the hallway without passing me? My attention moved back to Knox, taking in the sleek, rippling muscles beneath his shirt, which did little to conceal the hard-lined contours that my hands wished to trace. No matter how many times I saw Knox, the sheer power and dominance of his presence always struck me.
Relief washed through me when Knox appeared to be moving on, but he paused, slowly turning back toward the door where I stood. He lunged without warning, and I spun, barely missing his hands as he shoved his way through the door behind me. My trembling hands lifted to my lips, holding a scream at bay, and I closed my eyes, relieved that I’d placed the quartz around me to keep my presence hidden.
Knox moved through the doorway, pausing as he turned, inhaling my scent. His nostrils flared, eyes mocking as he stared at me directly, like he could sense me there, but couldn’t see me.
“She was just here. I smell roses, and mutt,” he snarled, turning toward the doorway where Lore appeared, frowning as he inspected the room. “I want Dimitri tracked down and handled. He isn’t with the others if the smell of his aroused state clings to Aria like perfume.”
“I thought…”
“You thought fucking wrong, Lore,” Knox interjected, cutting him off. His tone offered no answer to Lore’s question. Nor did Lore persist, choosing to drop the subject abruptly. “Leave it alone. The rats have eyes, and the walls have pretty flowers listening to our every word.”
I didn’t dare breathe or move my eyes from the room that held enormous, bird-like skeletal remains. I had to refrain from gasping as large, colorful feather plumes glowed with magic. Knox pushed a wall open inside the room, smiling coldly at whatever he’d found. I worried my lip with my teeth, barely standing back as Brander moved through the doorway. Bumping my arm, he stopped and spun to look behind him.
My blood turned to ice in my veins, preparing to run from them, knowing I wouldn’t get far with the army outside the house and the men within it. Brander swung his arm, and I ducked just before it would have struck me.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Brander muttered, running his hand over his mouth before moving to where Knox stood.
“Get the men in here and have them collect the journals,” Knox stated. “She isn’t getting what she’s after today. If Aria wants these, she can ask me nicely.”
I barely managed to stifle a snort as they exited the room, moving back into the long, winding hallway. The men with Knox gathered outside the doorway. Swallowing, I reached into my pocket, grabbing the remainder of the spelled quartz I’d taken from the tomb. Closing my eyes, I exhaled, moving with inhuman speed. I stepped out of the circle, tossing the quartz to shield the entire doorway leading to the journals.
Ocean blue eyes locked with mine, my lips curving into a victorious smile. I stepped back, tilting my head while his heated gaze slid down my body. Knox and I fought hard, but anytime we caught sight of the other, we looked for injuries, or at least I did. Him, on the other hand, well, he was probably sizing my head up for his throne, deciding what to do with the rest of my corpse.
“That was really stupid, Aria,” Knox snorted, his smile all wolf, lifting at the corners of his mouth, promising to draw blood. “How do you plan on escaping a room guarded against the use of magic?” he asked, and the color drained from my face. “Are you planning to spend the night in there?”
I frowned, cocking my head to the side. I sent feelers out, sliding my magic through the room, smiling at him. Knox’s magic may not have worked within the room, but mine did. His body moved closer, sending his power slithering over my bare midriff, causing my eyes to grow hooded with need.
“You’re moaning, Aria,” he announced through a gravelly tone. He leaned casually against the doorframe as his eyes slid over my body, sending thunder rumbling through me, as lightning struck every part of me that came to life in his presence. “Remove the spell and let me ease the tension you’re experiencing. You and I both know how this ends. You’re only delaying the inevitable by running from me.”
“I like the tension you cause me. It’s a reminder of how tense I’ll be when you remove my head for your throne,” I swallowed a moan, inhaling his aphrodisiac scent that fed life to every cell in my body.
“Oh, sweet girl, I had something else in mind for that head. I enjoy that tongue of yours entirely too much to remove it, or the pretty head in which it’s attached. I also enjoy how hot you burn beneath me when I am buried within that tight, clenching cunt of yours.”
I swallowed hard and loud. Knox had a crude mouth, but damn did it do delicious things that made my legs clamp together at the memory. He smiled with an intensity burning in his eyes that almost caused my flesh to combust and catch fire.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Looking at you like what?” he smirked as liquid desire pooled between my apex.
“Stop looking at me like you’re about to consume me and spit out my bones. It’s disturbing because I’m pretty certain I’d enjoy it, up to the point where you left me in a pool of blood and bones.” His lips jerked, and his eyes narrowed to mere slits as his nostrils flared at the moisture collecting in my panties.