Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms Book 2) Read online

  Ashes of Chaos

  By Amelia Hutchins

  Copyright ©September 2020 Amelia Hutchins

  ISBN: 978-1-952712-04-3

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book in its entirety and in portions is the sole property of Amelia Hutchins.

  Ashes of Chaos Copyright©2020 by Amelia Hutchins. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, paperback or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  This eBook/Paperback is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the place of purchase and buy your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Authored By: Amelia Hutchins

  Cover Art Design: Eerily Designs

  Copy edited by: Melissa Burg

  Edited by: Melissa Burg

  Published by: Amelia Hutchins

  Published in (United States of America)

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Books by Amelia Hutchins and reading order for series

  Legacy of the Nine Realms

  Flames of Chaos

  Ashes of Chaos

  Ruins of Chaos

  Crown of Chaos - Spring 2021

  The Fae Chronicles

  Fighting Destiny

  Taunting Destiny

  Escaping Destiny

  Seducing Destiny

  Unraveling Destiny

  Embracing Destiny

  Crowning Destiny

  Finished Series

  The Elite Guards

  A Demon’s Dark Embrace

  Claiming the Dragon King

  The Winter Court

  A Demon’s Plaything

  More coming 2021

  A Guardian’s Diary

  Darkest Before Dawn

  Death before Dawn

  Midnight Rising -TBA

  Playing with Monsters series

  Playing with Monsters

  Sleeping with Monsters

  Becoming his Monster

  Last Monster book -TBA

  Wicked Knights

  Oh, Holy Knight

  If She’s Wicked

  Book Three -TBA

  Midnight Coven Books

  Forever Immortal

  Immortal Hexes

  Midnight Coven

  Finished Serial Series

  Kingdom of Wolves

  Alpha’s Claim coming 4/23/2021

  If you’re following the series for the Fae Chronicles, Elite Guards, and Monsters, reading order is as follows.

  Fighting Destiny

  Taunting Destiny

  Escaping Destiny

  Seducing Destiny

  A Demon’s Dark Embrace

  Playing with Monsters

  Unraveling Destiny

  Sleeping with Monsters

  Claiming the Dragon King

  Oh, Holy Knight

  Becoming his Monster

  A Demon’s Plaything

  The Winter Court

  If She’s Wicked

  Embracing Destiny

  Crowning Destiny

  Warning

  Warning: This book is dark. It’s sexy, hot, and intense. The author is human, as you are. Is the book perfect? It’s as perfect as I could make it. Are there mistakes? Probably, then again, even New York Times top published books have minimal mistakes because, like me, they have human editors. There are words in this book that are not in the standard dictionary because they were created to set the stage for a paranormal-urban fantasy world. Words in this novel are common in paranormal books and give better descriptions to the action in the story than other words found in standard dictionaries. They are intentional and not mistakes.

  About the hero: chances are you may not fall instantly in love with him, that’s because I don’t write men you instantly love; you grow to love them. I don’t believe in instant love. I write flawed, raw, caveman-like assholes that eventually let you see their redeeming qualities. They are aggressive assholes, one step above a caveman when we meet them. You may not even like him by the time you finish this book, but I promise you will love him by the end of this series.

  About the heroine: There is a chance you might think she’s a bit naïve or weak, but then again, who starts out as a badass? Badass women are a product of growth, and I am going to put her through hell, and you get to watch her come up swinging every time I knock her on her ass. That’s just how I do things. How she reacts to the set of circumstances she is put through may not be how you as the reader, or I, as the author would react to that same situation. Everyone reacts differently to circumstances and how she responds to her challenges, is how I see her as a character and as a person.

  I don’t write love stories: I write fast-paced, knock you on your ass, make you sit on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next in the books. If you’re looking for cookie-cutter romance, this isn’t for you. If you can’t handle the ride, unbuckle your seatbelt and get out of the roller-coaster car now. If not, you’ve been warned. If nothing outlined above bothers you, carry on and enjoy the ride!

  FYI, this is not a romance novel. They’re going to kick the shit out of each other, and if they end up together, well, that’s their choice. If you are going into this blind, and you complain about abuse between two creatures that are NOT human, well, that’s on you. I have done my job and given warning.

  Table of Contents

  Books By Amelia

  Warning

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Th
irty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Nine Realms’ Compendium

  List of Realms Visited

  About the Author

  Dedication

  This one is for my ex coworkers in the medical field who talked shit about me and chose to be catty bitches. Look how far that got you. Thanks for the lies, the backstabbing, tossing labs into the trash, and then finding them there by a ‘miracle’ even though I’d seen your petty shit coming and reprinted them…(Seriously, people’s lives depended on those labs, which makes you a huge asshole)…because I knew you were that ugly inside. I would like to say that I’m a bigger person, and not being petty as fuck, but here I am, being petty as fuck. To the two special women who consistently lied, and were extra catty bitches, I’m thankful that recent circumstances allowed me a front-row seat to see that after all these years you’re still in that same dead-end job. I hope you got everything you deserved for lying, scratching, and screwing people over. Maybe one day karma will fuck you side-ways in the nose with a screwdriver, but until then, may the world give you many, many years like 2020 has been for the rest of us. You know who you are, and I hope one day you figure out how to be a member of the team instead of an asshole. Until then, karma is coming for you… But, also, thanks for being such petty bitches, because without you, I’d never have left the medical field to achieve my dream of being an author. The world works in mysterious ways, now doesn’t it? I’ll think about you often while I am working in my pajamas instead of scrubs. While I’m living out my dreams, and you’re still being obtusely obnoxious to get that raise, I’ll think of you often. So, like, in the words of Aria Hecate, go un-fuck yourself.

  XOXO

  Amelia Hutchins, that one bitch you fucked over and life made lemonade and added vodka to those lemons you tried to hand me.

  Chapter One

  My pulse thundered loudly as sweat beaded on my brow and neck, dripping from me while I pumped my legs faster, harder. The need to escape from the monster hunting me took precedence over everything else happening around me. My body had transformed into toned, sleek muscles because of the endless running from beasts, men, and creatures alike, trying to catch me off guard to rip me apart.

  Moonlight was absent in the night skies, hidden behind inky clouds that blanketed the forest into velvety darkness that made every step precarious. I ran from the hunters, knowing I was nothing more than their prey. I slid through the trees blindly, making the headlong run dangerous as my feet crunched over debris and large, jagged rocks tripped me repeatedly, rushing through the terrain.

  I could smell the men, their enticing, spicy, masculine scent calling to the creature within me. She begged for me to stop, to run toward the monster hunting me, and give him what he wanted. Knox was a mountain of a man. His sleek muscles called to me, begging me to get to my knees and worship him and his glorious cock.

  He’d been stalking me for weeks, forcing me deeper into the deadly countryside that had hidden enemies behind each rock and ominous shadow. Knox hadn’t been lying when he said he’d be within every single realm, no matter how fast I ran, or how deeply I dug into the Nine Realms to hide from him. Here, in this place, Knox Karnavious was an absolute power that no one dared to challenge.

  I wasn’t ready for him to capture me. I still had so many pieces to move into their respective places that I couldn’t allow Knox to get to me. I’d been slowly rearranging things and forcing parts to shift. I made my way in this twisted world that was a giant mess. Not that I wouldn’t mind one night in Knox’s arms, feeling him moving within me.

  Knox wasn’t just good at sex. He was a master of manipulation, twisting my body to bend to his touch. He turned me inside out and left me struggling to remember my name when he’d finished. He was a mixture of rippling muscles and sexy tattoos scrawled in a language I wanted to learn explicitly, I danced over the lyrics his body sung.

  Growling sounded closer than it had been, forcing me to spin toward the noise. My foot slid through something slick, and my body lurched forward, slamming into a large boulder that sent me rolling down a steep ravine. I cried out, hitting more sharp rocks. I continued to fall down the unforgiving hill. When I finally came to a stop, I laid there, staring up at the darkening sky. Breathing heavily, I took a moment to notice the few stars peeking out from the cloud cover. This world, for all its faults, was beautiful and unreal.

  Shouting started from the top of the cliffside I’d just come down, compelling me to move again or chance being at Knox’s mercy, and from experience, I knew he had none. Whimpering softly, I lifted from the ground, wincing and hissing, forcing myself to get back into a standing position while taking inventory of the injuries I’d endured.

  Blood covered my hands, and my fingers trembled. I reached toward my palm to remove a large twig protruding through the skin. Gritting my teeth, I pulled it out and tossed it to the ground.

  Peering down, I noticed my shredded dress sticking to a cut that dripped blood down my thigh, undoubtedly caused by the sharp rocks that broke my fall.

  Lifting my nose to the air, I inhaled the male hunting me relentlessly. I had to give it to Knox; he devoted all of his attention to capturing me at all costs. I’d been on the run for months, and every turn I took, he was there. I’d even caught his scent in my sleep, as if he haunted my dreams.

  I started forward again, knowing he wasn’t far behind me. If I stopped too long, he’d capture and enslave me before I was ready for that to happen. I craved that asshole like a drug and needed him more than the air that fed the cells to my blood.

  I should hate him, and maybe I did, but I craved him even more. I wanted to feel him against me, to hear the beat of his heart against my cheek after the sweat had cooled from our bodies. I yearned to feel his indomitable strength against my softness and feel him pumping into my need with the intensity that was Knox.

  I hadn’t had contact with my family in weeks, not since he’d increased his efforts to find and claim me. I’d forced my sisters and my aunt to sever their attempts to reach me, forcing them into the tomb that held too many secrets. What I’d found inside that tomb had changed my direction and altered my course, which was how I had ended up hunted tonight.

  Light caught my eye, and I slowed, studying the swaying torches that seemed to come from a village in the distance. The choices for my directions were simple; the darkness behind me, or the light before me? The darkness held Knox and his men, which meant I was going toward the light one way or another to escape him.

  I paused momentarily, resting my hands on my knees, flinching from the pain the wounds and scrapes caused. My lungs were burning from hours of running. The inability to draw magic within the forest had nullified my powers, draining my strength as well as my energy. I was certain Knox had drawn me into the woods specifically to null my magic. He had thought to bait and trap me, luring me to a place where magic wasn’t accessible. He forgot I had feet, and my need to escape him was greater than the need I had to ride his glorious dick.

  I loved that dick.

  I craved that dick.

  Unfortunately, I just hated the prick attached to that dick.
/>   If I’d been smarter, I wouldn’t have fallen into his trap. I’d have sensed it before entering the woods, but I’d never expected an entire forest to be a void for magic. Knox knew this place, giving him one hell of an advantage. He pushed me into the corners, watching me stumble through the trees and down the mountains as he prowled within them, enjoying toying with me.

  He’d almost caught me a handful of times already. Once, when I was sleeping, his scent alerted me to his nearness. I fought my body’s need as his aroma rushed through me, causing dangerous, dark desires to swell within me. It was as if Knox could sense my body’s predicament, having gone into heat the moment I’d escaped him.

  I trembled, swallowing down the memories of him studying me from the shadows as I’d tried to force relief to my swollen sex. Another time, he’d found me moving through a crowded city. I struggled to discover if I was even in the realm I’d aimed to visit.

  His eyes met mine through the crowd of people milling about, and I’d stood rooted to the spot, craving the taste of his kiss against my lips. The heat in his stare liquefied until my sex clenched with a carnal need that threatened to allow my creature to grasp control of my mind. That would have been a catastrophe.

  The creature that slumbered within me was working against me. She wanted Knox, and it wasn’t just desire; it was a primal need that had me waking up in the middle of the night, screaming for him until I was hoarse.

  I would wake on my feet, standing in the midst of nowhere with no memory of how I’d even gotten there. I knew it was my creature, and I knew who she was hunting. Luckily, Knox hadn’t been close any of those times, or I’d be in chains at his feet, looking like something out of Star Wars, but less sexy.

  Stepping into the shadows of the village, I shivered. The sensation of black magic slithered over my body, alerting me to the dangers awaiting me here. I’d felt it several times since being on my own in the Nine Realms.