Queen of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms, #5)(3)
I couldn’t argue it, not when what Griffon had stated was fact. Facts didn’t care about feelings, and if I were going to keep an open mind about his role in my life, I needed to leave my feelings out of it for now.
“How is it he allowed the council that he, himself, had elected to annul your marriage vows?” He was fishing for information, but why? I made them promise that we would not be coerced into anything without our consent. Knox had warned me of how na?ve it sounded, but I’d be damned if anyone forced me to do anything.
“If you want to know something, Griffon, ask the question. My time is entirely too short to spend it skirting around what you’d like to know about me.” The truth was harsh but undeniable. I didn’t have time to waste on dancing around indirectly asked questions.
“Eva and Aden both warned me of your bluntness. I must admit, it’s rather refreshing. Not only do you look like my mother, but you also have her curt response to bullshit.” I hadn’t expected his reply, which left me wondering what she had looked like and what her true nature was. “Do you love your dragon?”
‘Unequivocally’ was what my response should’ve been. It wasn’t a straightforward answer, though. Knox and I had made strides in our relationship, but I didn’t know if he loved me. Love wasn’t something he’d readily relinquish of himself, not after what he’d been through, but maybe he’d get there one day. As for me, that information was exactly none of Griffon’s business.
“Love can be fleeting and often gets destroyed or becomes a casualty during war. Considering we’re preparing to engage in a war, Griffon, I didn’t demand a vow of undying love from him. If what you really wish to know is if I’d consider mating another, the answer is no. I don’t want, nor do I need another mate. Love is also an emotion, which is conflicting and draining most days.” The crooked smile that sliced across his lips told me he knew I was full of shit. “Why would it matter?”
“Because one day you will be a queen, Aria. You need no throne nor crown to be one. The moment you drew air into your lungs and the land fed you its power, was the moment it chose you to lead its revolution as one. The land chose my mother, Scylla Prometheus, to rule the Nine Realms. Like she once did, you’ll control the power of the land.”
“What if I’m already a queen?” I asked, wondering if he’d allow me to hold the title still. Obviously I could take it, but that would be another battle, which I didn’t want.
“Of Norvalla?” His eyes slid to mine, even as we continued forward. An uneasy tension clung heavily in the surrounding air, as if it were loaded with upheaval at my words.
“Maybe, I’ve not decided if I intend to fully forgive him yet, or not. It depends on why he’d want the marriage. If it were merely for political gain, or to otherwise use me, then I wouldn’t. Knox needs to ask me, and he’d have to want me and nothing else.”
“King Karnavious forced you to wed him, he knew what you’d become. He’d seen you using your magic against a keep, which foretold just how powerful you’d eventually become. He may not have known you held the same power as my mother held, but he had to have suspected it was close to what she wielded. Did he not? Maybe not in its entirety, but he had to have known whose blood ran through your veins. He married you, then allowed his private council, hand-selected by none other than himself, to be guided by your mother. A woman who had no right to you, or the throne she seeks to implant her tiresome ass into.”
“Knox wasn’t aware of how powerful I was, or would become when he married me. Sure, he knew I was the most powerful of the sisters, which he’d chased back into the realms. Beyond that, Knox was as surprised as I was over the true symbol on my forehead. It is true that he assumed I’d be the likely one to ascend the Hecate throne, but that was squashed when she returned and reclaimed it. He didn’t leave me then, even knowing I’d bring him no potential gain. Instead, I left him so he could think about his reasoning for . . . certain things.”
Once again, Griffon hadn’t been incorrect, though maybe a little misguided. Anyone could see that I possessed the bloodline of Prometheus—or, at least some of it in my genes. The silver hair mixed with the large, cat-shaped turquoise eyes and lighter complexion was hard to ignore. Sure, I’d seen others with similar coloring outside of the hidden Kingdom of Fire, but very few. Not enough that the striking complexion hadn’t drawn my attention.
“You’re positive he didn’t already know?” he asked, which made the line in my forehead crease. “My daughter left a king so that he could think about his behavior toward her?” His head tipped back as laughter burst from his lips. “Aria, you’re a breath of fresh air. I’m pleased you came to meet me and see what this side of your family is like.” Griffon’s laughter was contagious, forcing a smile over my lips.
“I am too, Griffon.” After a moment of considering his question, I replied. “Maybe, but he seemed genuinely shocked when the sun appeared in the center of my forehead. Then there’s also the fact that when I recited the prophecy, he called it a nursery rhyme.” My brows pushed together, seeing the irony of me reciting a prophecy about myself. “I’ve also seen others outside of this kingdom with a likeness to our people. Sure, some have different eye colors or hair, and vice versa. If I’d not seen the people here, I’d never have assumed who or which people I belonged to,” I stated cautiously.