The blood humming through my veins stilled, then began thundering in my head. I wouldn’t allow her to cut shit if it ended her life. Nothing was worth that happening, even if it meant abandoning her. I wanted her with every fiber of my being. I knew I didn’t deserve her after the shit I’d done to her, but I planned to do whatever it took to ensure she remained mine. Unless the cost was her life.
Without that girl, the world held no value to me. I’d rather watch it burn to ashes than live without her light burning within the realms. If given the choice between her life, and saving this world? I’d choose her. If I couldn’t have her, so be it, then. I’d walk away to ensure she survived at all costs, even my happiness. I had been raised to become a king since I came into this world. But it had also forced me to sacrifice what I wanted for most of my life. It was ruled by a fundamental element, all pertaining to my reign. As king, my wishes and wants came dead last to the entire kingdoms. They had taught me that since my father had told me what would be expected of me. She’d be another thing I’d sacrificed for the greater good.
“Stop that,” Greer growled, forcing me out of my mind. “You haven’t lost her yet. I doubt you can easily sway her to give you up. The difference here is, you’re both fighting for one another. Aria didn’t leave you for another, Knox. She left to discover who she was and where she came from. Don’t you give up on her merely because you’re uncertain if she’ll end up tethered to another? I doubt she’d ever allow anyone other than herself to choose her path, let alone a preordained destiny not of her own making. That thread? It doesn’t attach to her pussy, either. It’s merely a connection, one she’ll decide how deeply embedded into her soul she’ll allow it to touch or link with.”
Greer stood, then sauntered to the whiskey where he poured himself two fingers of bourbon. Swirling it in his glass, he sniffed the amber liquid before pegging me with an arrogant stare.
“The issue at hand is this: Time isn’t the same between their realm and ours. There’s no telling exactly how much time has passed there. I’d also advise you to worry about her brothers. Not all will be so willing to step aside and let the youngest daughter of the Prometheus bloodline sit upon their throne.”
His words forced tension to fill the space we occupied within the library. A quick glance at both Killian and Brander told me they’d felt the same fear churning within them as I did. Lore, on the other hand, was Lore. His eyes lifted as they met mine, then slid to Greer, who frowned as Lore’s brows shot up and a smirk pulled up the corners of his lips. Then he broke the silence with the question churning through all our minds.
“So, how do we get my girl back? Daddy needs to be sure his future baby momma is safe. Can’t have her having all the fun, either. I mean, I get she needed to do this, even if it was a stupid idea. But think about this, gents. If Daddy Lore rides in on a stallion to save the pretty princess? Shit, Aria may saddle up and ride me like a cowgirl in reverse while milking my balls,” Lore stated as he turned his head to peer at a picture of the magazine he held. “I don’t know who this Marilyn Monroe is, but baby girl is on fire! Bet she’d be fun between the sheets. Think she’s still single? Because I’m going to be honest here, I wouldn’t mind rolling around with her. Hell, I don’t even care if it’s in the grass or mud.”
My palm scrubbed over my face at his inability to stay on one subject. Lore was much younger than the rest of us, but his brain had its own thought process, which bordered on chaos and strategic planning. Unfortunately, the former was normally holding the reins. The others chortled before tossing back their whiskey while buying time to find a polite way to break Lore’s heart.
“If by ‘sheets’ you mean a body bag? I’m certain Norma Jean’s currently turning in hers after hearing your crudeness, Lore.” Greer’s rebuttal had Brander and Killian chuckling as Lore’s frown deepened.
“Who the hell is Norma Jean?” Lore asked with confusion stamped over his face.
“Marilyn Monroe was a stage name. Norma Jean was her actual name,” Greer explained with the patience of a saint. “I swear, you and peasant have more in common than she and the king do. For the record, she’s off-limits. I’ll not have you tarnishing her image with your . . . juices. Find someone other than the Blonde Bombshell’s image to deface.”
“Is there a way into the new realm?” I interjected during a moment of silence between them. Both missed Aria and her sass. Greer missed her litany of slander, while Lore missed her down-to-earth attitude and rattles.
“If there is, well, you’d find the answer you seek here. This library houses information pertaining to every land within its cosmos, but also every magical being living in them as well. If it were my girl who’d gone traipsing off to a strange place, I’d be devouring every book pertaining to the creation of it. Then I’d tear it apart until I knew how to enter it as well. But that’s just me,” Greer stated.
“I’ve searched every annex in this place. There’s no mention of the new realm, not that I’ve discovered.” Did he think I wasn’t scouring the entire library for any hint on how to reach her? From the second I’d felt her leaving this place, I’d become obsessed with forcing her back here, to me.
Greer shrugged indifferently before finishing the two fingers of bourbon in a single drink. “Then you’re not looking hard enough, King Karnavious. If you want her? Fight for her. That girl’s worth fighting to keep. If you want her, then fight. If you don’t, then you’ll only have yourself to blame when your prideful ass is alone with no one but your miserable, ill-tempered disposition for company.”
“Damn, Greer,” Brander muttered. “At least use some lube before you fuck his heart that hard. He intends to fight for Aria. It’s Knox. The poor bastard is infatuated with her. Shit, we all are. Knox knows that if he doesn’t fight for her, we’ll all be willing to take his place. He isn’t about to lose her, not after we forced him to face what we’ve all known.”
“And what is that?” I demanded as his words caused Lennox to rear his head, preparing to rattle until they bowed before him.