Men were such inconsiderate pricks when they didn’t know how to ask a bitch for an invitation. I should be thankful he hadn’t just sent me a picture of his cock with a date and time for a fuck-and-duck. Flames exploded from the pyres, and my hand touched the altar as I turned, canting my head to the side, blowing Knox a raspberry.
“I’m waiting, Knox. Come and take it if you can.”
Chapter Fourteen
Knox was starting to understand that his terms were null and void. He’d wanted me on my knees, watching as he killed my army, but they were already dead, so that was a moot point.
My house wasn’t just dirty; it was filthy. If anything, Knox downplayed the state of affairs inside the Nine Realms. I’d walked into a mess far beyond my imagination.
I’d been captured, beaten, abused, and almost killed by witches. They were the one creature within the Nine Realms that should have welcomed me with open arms. Yes, I’d found some nice ones along the way, and they’d assisted me in slaughtering the army I had now, but my reality check had bounced pretty hard on its way to the bank.
This keep wasn’t like the others I’d taken, murdering their witches for being vile. The dark witches filling this castle allowed monsters to force-breed innocent witches. I’d freed most that were pregnant before ever lifting a finger against the stronghold. I’d made damn sure those who raped unwilling witches or had taken their babes, didn’t escape my wrath.
Turning away from Knox, I peered up at the battlement where the last of the dark witches stood, flanking their leader. My hand waved, dispelling the image of a sprawling meadow, exposing the burning embers and scorched corpses of the army she’d sent to attack me.
I allowed her to see Knox and his army as well, enjoying the fear that fluttered across her face before she concealed her expression beneath a veneer of malice and betrayal. Like I was the bad guy here, right?
A song from The HU Band, The Wolf Totem, started playing in my head. I released the barrier on their side, and the leader of these dark witches leaned over the edge of the stone wall, screaming out orders. My body swayed to the beat, sweat beading on my brow, dripping down my spine as swirls of embers filled the air around me.
The witch screamed for her archers, who rushed forward on the wide battlement. They dipped cloth arrow tips into oil before aiming the fiery missiles toward the skies. Smiling, I laughed at their attempt to thwart me by setting me on fire.
My arms lifted, as did the witches’ arms under my control, standing next to me on the field. The moment the archers released their arrows, I sucked power from the ground, slamming our hands down hard, causing the airborne arrows to turn before finding purchase in the archers who had freed them.
The barrels of oil exploded, causing men to fall over the battlement walls or be burned alive by the fire rushing through their ranks. Closing my eyes, I listened to the screams of those burning as my body and my army of witches continued to sway to the music in my head. Lifting my hands, I delicately moved them through the air with the heady beat only I could hear.
Shouting began, and I opened my eyes, thrusting my hands toward the keep. Magic slammed against the castle, causing the far sides of the stone walls to cave, preventing escape through anything other than the main gate.
Men jumped over the edge of the stone wall to engage my army. I pulled arrows from the corpses at my feet, sending them singing through the air, impaling the men, and crashing them into the earth as if they were nothing more than raindrops painting the ground.
I lifted the blood from the earth, each in a single droplet, sending it to extinguish the fire on the battlement. I waited for those still upon the wall, to assume it was safe, only to flick my finger as men surged forward to attack, catching fire with the oiled blood I’d rained down upon them.
Slowly, I moved backward as I felt the army preparing to escape through the gate that creaked open, knowing it would be a long process. Smirking, I turned, swaying my hips as I walked toward Knox, who silently watched me.
“Not bad for a witch from the suburbs, right?” I asked, rolling my neck as he narrowed his eyes, staring over my shoulder.
“You’re going to end up hurt, Aria.”
“By you? Yes. I’m aware. Not today, though, nor tomorrow. But eventually, it will happen. I’m not sure if I should be excited or worried about what you will do to me once you have me.” I swiveled to face the last of the witch’s army that had assembled outside the crumbling keep. “On a scale from one to ten, how bad is this thing?”
“What thing?” He pressed his hands against the barrier that should have sent him doubling over in pain. Instead, he looked unbothered by it, which was worrisome. The heat in his eyes told me he knew exactly what ‘thing’ I was asking about, which made me twist the question.
“This war, of course,” I stated aloofly. “What else would I mean?” I whispered huskily, bending over to stop the ache as heat rolled throughout my body. I laughed, sucking my lip between my teeth as I stood straight again, staring into his hungry eyes.
“You won’t fight your need for much longer, Aria. It is inevitable, and you can’t fight evolution either. Soon, you won’t care who takes you, just so long as you’ve sated your hunger.”
“This is the second keep this week that I’ve seized, as you’re aware. I did leave some of their skulls for you as my calling card. The others, well, as you can see,” I said, waving my hand behind me, “I needed them in battle.” I smiled sweetly at Knox as he grimaced, looking at the witches’ decaying bodies under my control.
“I noticed, and you shouldn’t have. I enjoy killing witches. It makes my cock hard when they scream and beg me for mercy,” he said huskily. “Now, let’s get back to your personal matter because sooner or later, it’s going to become too much for you to disregard. You’re underfed and over your pretty head, Aria.”
“I guess I’ll have to find someone who can assist me then. You want my head, and all I want to do is ride that deliciously amazing mouth of yours. I think our idea of ‘head’ differs, Knox.”
“I’ll let you ride me for however long you can stand it, woman. I’ve enjoyed the taste of you, and the wonder lighting those beautifully expressive eyes when you screamed my name, dripping your arousal down my chin as you tried to escape my tongue while your body unraveled in an orgasm. Come fucking ride it. I’m hungry, and you’re fucking delicious.”
I studied the look of victory sparkling in his eyes and tilted my head. “Hard pass, Knox. I don’t think you’re worth losing my head.” Spinning around, I strutted away, rolling my eyes so hard I was checking out my ass in the process.
The remaining warriors had spread out in front of the keep, each one armed with a variety of weapons. Soundlessly, they started moving forward, and I grinned, lifting my hands, I spun in a circle. I severed the warriors on the front line into two grisly pieces, causing the others to back up, trampling one another to get closer to the castle’s stone walls.
“What do you want from us?” a woman screamed, untangling herself from the men who fought to guard her.
“Your fucking soul,” I chuckled coldly.
“You’re a witch! We will yield to you,” she cried.