Ruins of Chaos Read online

  Ruins of Chaos

  By Amelia Hutchins

  Copyright ©November 2020 Amelia Hutchins

  ISBN: 978-1-952712-07-4

  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.

  Ruins 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)

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  Books by Amelia Hutchins along with reading order for series

  LEGACY OF THE NINE REALMS

  Flames of Chaos

  Ashes of Chaos

  Ruins of Chaos

  Crown of Chaos – 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 – To Be Announced

  A GUARDIAN’S DIARY

  Darkest Before Dawn

  Death before Dawn

  Midnight Rising – To Be Announced

  PLAYING WITH MONSTERS

  Playing with Monsters

  Sleeping with Monsters

  Becoming his Monster

  Becoming her Monster Spring 2021

  WICKED KNIGHTS

  Oh, Holy Knight

  If She’s Wicked

  If He’s Wicked – To Be Announced

  MIDNIGHT COVEN BOOKS

  Forever Immortal

  Immortal Hexes

  Midnight Coven

  Finished Serial Series

  BULLETPROOF

  Bulletproof

  Fireproof Damsel – To Be Announced

  Silverproof – To Be Announced

  MOON-KISSED

  Moon-Kissed

  KINGDOM OF WOLVES

  Alpha’s Claim – Spring 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

  Disclaimer

  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.

  No babies that occur or are created because of this work of fiction are the author’s responsibility. Blame the penis mojo that you rode like a bronco for it, not me.

  Table of Contents

  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
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  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-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

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Nine Realms’ Compendium

  Dedication

  To the warriors out there fighting to get through this shit-show year, we’re almost there. Keep your head up and know that it isn’t a bad life; it’s just a really bad year. We’re going to get through it together, and we’re going to be stronger for surviving 2020.

  Chapter One

  Knox, Outside the Border of Norvalla in Steely Keep

  My eyes slid over the dead warriors lying beside camp followers and witches alike. Outside of the keep, the putrid scent of death filled the air. Kneeling, I turned over a warrior, his sightless eyes covered in a milky-white film of death. Studying his body, I noted the lack of injury before standing and staring at the ravens feasting on the dead.

  One raven sat fixated on me, an eyeball hanging from its beak, then dropping it loose. Opening its mouth, it forced out a loud gurgling croak before retrieving its find and taking to the sky. Hounds had moved in, growling while ripping parts and pieces from the deceased, unbothered by our presence as we walked through them, searching for any signs of injury that would explain the deaths.

  “Well, they didn’t just drop dead all on their own, but I can’t see a cause of death,” Brander stated, holding his forearm against his nose.

  I undid the sash from my waist, tying it over my mouth and nose before kneeling beside the next warrior who had fallen onto another body. I noted the marking on the woman’s wrist below him, watching with unease as something moved beneath her lips, forcing them to part. A rat pushed from her mouth, squealing and scurrying across the field, away from those interrupting his supper.

  “Nothing but fucking scavengers are alive within this keep and its village. I see no wounds and no trace of dark magic that would have brought them down without a full assault. They had magic protecting them,” I stated, standing to nod at the six-foot towers of smoky quartz that marked each corner of the camp. “The land remains purified and protected, yet something powerful got through their wards and spells. This keep is one of the older, more powerful strongholds in which we trade, yet their lord and lady sit headless, with no other signs of injury, and all their guards lay dead but unwounded.”

  Someone massacred every village we passed through on the way here. Bodies were shredded and mutilated until they were unidentifiable as human or anything else. Either the dark witches had grown bolder, or they no longer fought alone. They hung people and enjoyed their victim’s deaths as entertainment before removing their heads. “Whoever went through those villages before us, relished in the deaths of their inhabitants. My guess is the beasts that fled from the Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts joined forces with Ilsa. I can’t explain this shit, though. It is morbid and just fucking wrong,” I said, sliding my attention over the chaos.

  They pillaged most of the annexed villages we’ve protected and used for trade, slaughtering all life, sparing no one. I agreed it didn’t seem like something witches would do. Then rumors surfaced from those who had seen the unwanted beasts slaughtering and creating chaos in villages that had joined the trade agreement with Norvalla. Suddenly the thought of them joining the dark witches seemed plausible, but what were the unwanted beasts gaining in return?

  The high queen was trying to stop Norvalla from receiving food or other goods that supplied my kingdom. It was a bloodbath, one meant to send a warning to any of the villages wishing to join the annex, and I’d failed to protect them.

  I hadn’t expected Garrett, the newly crowned King of Unwanted Beasts, to change sides in the war. After what Aria had done to her sister, Amara, his wife, I should have predicted it, but I was too focused on recapturing Aria, knowing that she held the keys to winning this war.

  “I don’t see any sign of the council among the bodies,” Brander stated, drawing me from my thoughts and reminding me of the purpose of this journey since they had sent for me. Maybe it was a ruse, and the council was never here.

  “What about the tents?” I peered at the camp that sat off to the side.

  “Haven’t made it that far,” he admitted.

  I moved toward a tent, withdrawing blades and using one to pull back the flap. Inside was a witch, straddling a warrior mid-fuck, both dead and bloated. Sightless eyes stared toward me, and I frowned. I moved deeper into the tent with Brander on my heels, both of us barely containing the need to gag as the heat made the scent of death overpowering without the wind and breeze to carry it away.

  Staring at their eyes and the way they looked at the flap, my blood curdled. They’d seen their death coming. Their mouths were open, as were the others outside the tent. The witch’s corpse slid to the side, and Brander withdrew his blade as rats emerged from the warrior’s chest. Chew marks covered the witch’s stomach as if the rodents had gnawed on her to escape his stomach. Brander swore, covering his mouth as their bodies released gasses, and the witch’s mouth opened further, dispelling more rats from her corpse.

  “This is so fucking wrong. They’re rotten from the inside out.” Brander continued to gag on the rancid taste of death filling the tent.

  I moved outside to check the other shelters, finding each pair of eyes within, staring at the entrance. They’d looked upon whoever had delivered death to the inhabitants surrounding and within the stronghold. Standing in the middle of the camp, I swallowed down the urge to scream in frustration.

  “Beasts didn’t kill here. This is the work of dark witches, and they didn’t fear someone overpowering them.” I eyed the keep and pointed at the battlement wall. “I’m going up to get a better look at the carnage from above.”

  I moved through the dead, passing over the corpses while ignoring the carrion birds that continued to feast on the deceased. Green water filled the moat, and bloated bodies were half in and out of the water as if they’d drank from the cesspool upon death.

  Unlucky bastards.

  The gatehouse was open, which wasn’t surprising with the full force of an army camped out front. The portcullis was raised, and bodies hung from the wrought-iron gates on each side of the opening. I looked to the ceiling and found the men guarding the entrance slumped in death, hanging from the murder holes from which they should have laid siege, but there was no evidence of battle. Beyond the gates, more bodies covered the inner courtyard and the grounds leading to the castle.

  Within the keep was a grotesque display of well-orchestrated deaths. Men and women sat before a rotted meal, their severed heads placed before them. Food shoved in their mouths, which were wide open, frozen in horrified screams as if the stiffness of death had set in immediately.

  The display was a warning meant for me. It also told me that the witches weren’t alone since they didn’t typically remove their victim’s heads. The evil bitches didn’t like to get their hands dirty, choosing to use their magic instead.

  I forewent seeing it again and moved up the
stairs of the battlement wall, cresting it to peer out over miles and miles of the camp, filled with thousands of dead warriors and witches, all of whom had seemingly died from sheer terror or fright.

  “Fucking hell, that’s a sight to behold,” Brander whispered, his hands resting on the wall. “They didn’t even spare the horses.” My attention slid to the stables, noting the dead horses that littered the ground as if trying to flee when struck down. “That’s fucked up.”

  “I’ve never had a problem determining the cause of death before. There’s always been a way to sense if magic was used, but I can’t find any residue. The fear that the victims felt was real. Was it something conjured or someone they had seen moving through the camp, holding them locked in fear unto death?”

  “They look fucking terrified with their mouths wide open and eyes larger than the snow owls that should be feasting on the rodents,” Brander stated. “Look at the trees, Knox.”

  My eyes swung to the trees, noting the large birds of prey perched on their branches. They didn’t move even though easy meals ran about, eating the dead. My blood chilled, continuing to watch them stalk their prey but never making a move to strike.

  Something dropped inside the tower beside us, and we both turned, eyeing it suspiciously. I nodded to Brander, creeping toward the darkened building, bathed in shadows. Brander went around the battlement, his speed effortless as he appeared on the other side, trapping whatever had fallen. I drew my swords, slowly holding Brander’s stare before we slid into the small, protected tower that sat on the corner of the castle wall.

  “Don’t kill me!” a lad screamed.

  “Who are you?” I demanded icily.

  “I’m Kreyton, Lady Katherine and Lord Demetrius’s son! I am the heir to this keep,” he whimpered.

  I exhaled slowly, pushing my blades back in their scabbards while Brander kept his ready to strike if the need arose. The boy was sickly looking, his face a mass of thin black lines that pulsed with the poison of dark magic.