I stared at him, shaking my head. “Fuck you, Knox,” I whispered brokenly.
“No, Aria, I’ve had enough of you in this last week that I won’t need to fuck you again. You’re just like the other witches, weak, needy, and miserable right down to your corruptible black heart. Cover your tits, and get the fuck out my sight, little girl.” His gaze slid over me with disdain, and something inside of me closed down, feeling as if he thought me nothing but a whore because of what had happened without my knowledge.
I stared at him, shaking my head. “I’m not a whore, Knox.”
His eyes widened, and he shook his head, snorting before he placed his hands on his tapered hips and smiled coldly. “Not yet, you’re not, but give it time, Aria.”
“I wish I had never met you.”
“The feeling is mutual, I assure you,” he said, retrieving a shirt and throwing it at me.
I slipped it over my head and then was slammed against the wall before I’d finished getting it on. His mouth pushed against mine through the shirt, holding me by the throat as he growled loudly. I didn’t make a sound. He pushed against my throat harder, shoving his fingers against my sore flesh to steal a cry from my lips before he chuckled.
“You should have left town when I gave you the chance, Aria Primrose,” he hissed, pushing harder until the air refused to enter my throat. His head rested against mine, and his chest rattled, but mine didn’t answer him in return. His hand released me, and I slid down the wall, gasping for air past the pressure he’d placed on my already swollen throat. I trembled, not bothering to fix the shirt as it hid the tears from the fear that had flooded me.
His feet padded across the floor, and something beeped, and the sound of glass doors sliding open and closing filled the room. I didn’t move, couldn’t move as a violent tremor rushed through me. I felt boneless, and worse, I felt him in my body and knew he’d left more than a mark on my flesh. He’d written his name within me, marking me on a visceral level that wouldn’t ever be erased, no matter how much I wished it otherwise.
Slowly, I pushed myself up the wall and slipped the shirt over my head. Wiping the tears away, I looked at the open elevator and started toward it at a run, slamming my hands on the buttons until the doors closed, and I exhaled a shuddered breath. The moment they opened, I was heading toward the front door, the same as I had after he’d taken my virginity.
Greer watched me approaching as Brander moved to the door, holding it open before Greer could react. His eyes took in the tears and what I was sure were red marks covering my throat before he stepped back and watched me escape as if the devil himself were on my heels. The House of Magic was lit up, and in the dark of night, I cried as I barreled toward the protection it would offer me.
Chapter 38
When I burst through the door, Aurora turned, staring at me with wide eyes. The moment I saw her, my silent tears became giant sobs as she rushed to where I stood, pulling me into her arms. Her soothing noises offered comfort as she patted my head, holding me even as I dropped to the floor. I felt other hands touching me; my sisters moved in close, dropping to their knees as they tried to soothe the ache in my soul. It wasn’t pain; it was something deeper. He’d broken something within me, and it hurt on a different level than I could comprehend.
“You’re home now,” Aurora whispered, running her fingers through my silver hair. “You’re safe, Aria. Nothing can hurt you here.”
“I’m losing my mind. There’s something inside of me; I can feel it.”
“We know, but we don’t know what it is yet; no one does.” She cradled my face between her hands to wipe away my tears. “My sweet Aria, we have always known you carried something else inside of you. It’s a part of you, and whatever it is, we will deal with it.”
“When did you get here?” I asked, pulling back as a smile curved her full lips.
Aurora looked to be in her early thirties, but then she’d looked that age ever since I could remember. Witches from the Hecate line stopped aging at twenty-five, and while it was a blessing, it also made it hard to judge our ages. No one wanted to listen to a younger woman for advice, especially on the council.
Soft turquoise eyes watched me, frowning as she took in the mark on my throat, touching it as her magic pushed through me. She healed my neck, but there was concern marring her face. Her blond hair was held in a braid and pinned in a bun to the top of her head, while fine strands framed her ageless face. This woman had been my mother. Unlike the others, who had Freya’s undivided attention when she was here, I’d had Aurora’s.
“I used magic to sell the house to a gentleman who could afford it but tried to argue the price. He offered me ten times what it was worth. How could I refuse him? I had everything packed, and when Sabine told me what had happened to you, we came.”
“I’m glad you’re here. We need you,” I admitted, exhaling.
“The house is blessed once more, and the skeletal remains of my father are in the correct order. It appears someone moved one of the smaller bones, making it hard to determine which bone had been removed. The house itself is still acting peculiar, but working.”
“Amara?”
“It appears so, since the bone wasn’t taken from the altar, and instead placed elsewhere. Anyone else wouldn’t have cared if it was ever replaced.”
“Do you think she did this? These crimes are bad,” I swallowed, hating the tightening in my throat that burned with the words. I hadn’t wanted to believe it, but everything stacked together looked really bad.
“I think it doesn’t matter right now, you need to come first.” She clapped her hands together once and shooed me. “You need a bath, you smell of his creature and sex. Then you need to be examined for new changes since I can see a difference in your eyes, and your hair is now black on the tips,” she concluded, sending me off to shower.
In the bathroom, I stared at my reflection. I had changed; my face was more defined. My silver hair had obsidian-colored tips as if it had been scorched. Naked, I looked like I’d been abused, but a closer look showed he’d had a lot of fun with my bits and pieces.
My nipples were swollen. Knox’s teeth marks sat around the pink, swollen tips. There were bruises on my hips, probably used to control my body since the fingerprints were on the front. My thighs held the same marks just above my knees, and more around my ankles. My flesh was purple, covered in a substantial bruise from days of fucking, or so he’d said. If it was causing me pain, why hadn’t the thing inside of me realized it?
I’d never considered it being a separate being, but I carried the proof of sex I hadn’t been a part of all over my flesh.
Most of my sisters had been aware of what they would become or shift into once they reached a certain age. Freya hadn’t been forthcoming with the names of the creatures she’d been with when Amara and I were conceived. Aurora had begged her to tell her so that we could prepare for it when the time came, and she’d laughed in her sister’s face. My sisters had either shifted into a creature while holding the mental link to their mind or had been born with abilities. If I shared the same body and mind, then I wouldn’t remember taking Knox every which way from Sunday? Obviously, I’d been willing and fully participated. Admitting that sucked, but my bruises were from being used, not held down or forced.