It had been a week since she had last seen him; a long tortuous week that had been filled with uncertainty, fear, and a desperate longing that was shaking her thoroughly. She had gone two months without him, had spent two months trying to forget him, but this past week had been the longest and the hardest thing she had ever had to endure. Her fingers twitched, she wanted to cry for the unfairness of this whole situation. She remained frozen instead, motionless with the terror that had locked her muscles into place.
Braith froze, his head turned slightly from side to side. Then, ever so slowly, he tilted his head back. She knew the minute that his shaded eyes locked onto them. Max took a small step closer to her. She could barely breathe as she was squished against the trunk of the tree. Though his jaw clenched slightly, and a muscle jumped in his cheek, Braith showed no other sign that he had seen them. However, she could sense his shock, his displeasure, his anger.
He turned away from them, moving onward through the forest as the small troop disappeared from sight. Max relaxed against her, breathing a huge sigh of relief. “Good thing your former master is blind.”
Aria was fighting against tears, fighting against screaming in frustration and terror. She wanted to tell Max that Braith had seen them, that he knew they were there, and that he would keep them safe. She thought it might help him to understand that Braith was not a bad man, that he was in fact a very good man, and that he loved her. She thought it might help Max to understand that not all vampires were evil, but she could not bring the words to leave her throat. She had promised Braith that she wouldn’t tell anyone his secret, and she meant to uphold that promise. Even if it meant continuing to alienate her friend.
“We have to warn the others,” Aria whispered.
Max nodded, he moved slowly away from her as he began to gingerly make his way from the tree. Aria hesitated, staring out over the forest as she searched for any sign of Braith, and the others. They had moved on though. She descended rapidly, dropping silently to the ground beside Max. They moved swiftly through the forest toward the campsite they had left behind.
***
“What are they doing here?”
Aria shook her head helplessly. How was she supposed to know what they were doing here? “I don’t know Jack.”
“Did Braith tell you about this?”
“No,” she retorted, anger spurting through her. “I would have prepared people if he had. I sure as hell wouldn’t have been hanging out in a tree with Max if he had!”
Jack’s face was hard, his eyes cold and thoughtful. “He may not have known.”
“Of course he didn’t know! He wouldn’t have left me out here, unprepared.”
“Aria…”
“He wouldn’t have Jack,” she insisted, infuriated that Jack would even think such a thing. Infuriated that she was also thinking it, even though she knew it was wrong. Braith would not do that to her, she knew that, but she still couldn’t stop the doubts creeping through her.
“He knew we were in that tree Jack. If he was here to hurt us, or to recapture us, he would have turned us in. I couldn’t have escaped them all, and I wouldn’t have left Max behind.”
“He might not have seen you. He said himself that his vision comes and goes; we have no idea of knowing how good it is when he does have it.”
“I know he saw me,” Aria insisted unwilling to discuss how she knew this.
Jack leaned back, biting on his bottom lip as he closed his eyes. He shook his head before pacing away and coming rapidly back. He stopped before her. “I don’t know what this bond is between the two of you, I don’t know what to say about it, but I do know that it has put us all in danger. Especially if Caleb is here.”
Aria’s jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him. “Did you stop to think that maybe Braith is here because Caleb is here? Did you ever think that he is here to offer what protection, and help, he can?” she demanded fiercely. “You say you and Braith were close, and that you were good friends, yet you have no faith in him. You have no idea what kind of a man he truly is!”
“And you do?” he growled.
Aria stared defiantly back at him. “I know better than you.”
He studied her for a long moment before cursing loudly and pacing away again. “We need to get these people somewhere safe.”
“Yes.”
He cursed again before retreating toward the caves. Aria was unwilling to follow him into that dark, cavernous zone though. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped within the caves again, but that was where everyone had retreated to in the hope that they would stay safe. He turned back to her, but she remained unmoving just feet from the cave.
“Aria!” he hissed.
She shook her head, trying hard to keep breathing, but finding it very difficult through the constriction in her chest. She had never truly liked the caves, but now she found herself terrified by the prospect of going back in there. Her skin was clammy, she was shaking. She found she would almost prefer to be in the hands of Caleb than back in there, trapped amongst the cold rock.
She took a small step back as Jack came toward her, frowning in puzzlement. “Aria?”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t go back in there.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “Aria you must,” he insisted.
She shook her head again, taking another step back. Her heart was thrumming, her whole body was shaking. His gaze raked over her, then turned back to the caves. “I’ll be fine in the trees,” she told him.
“Like hell,” he hissed.
“I’ll be safer in the trees than in there!” she retorted sharply. “I can move through the trees faster than I can through the caves.”
“You can’t stay out here Aria; we cannot take the risk of you being captured again.”
He was coming at her before she even had time to blink. A scream welled in her throat, but his hand was over her mouth as he lifted her up and forcefully carried her toward the caves. Aria struggled against him, wanting nothing more than to be free of his ironclad hold. Then he entered the cave and all she wanted was to be free of the confining space, and stale air. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think as her head began to spin rapidly. She went limp against him, struggling to inhale through her nose as she watched in wide eyed horror as he carried her deeper into the earth.
They were a half a mile down before he finally released her. Aria fell to her knees, gasping the thin air, struggling to control the rapid beat of her heart as a scream rose in her throat. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, what was happening to her, but she couldn’t control the wild, frantic sway of her body. She tried to choke back the scream, but she could not keep it bottled within her any longer.
It ripped free of her, echoing loudly through the caves, bouncing off of the rock walls in an endless wave that pierced sharply though the air.
CHAPTER 9
Braith froze in mid step, his foot hung in the air as his head turned slowly to the side. He tuned out the normal sounds of the forest, filtering through the noise as he strained to hear what had caught his attention. He was certain that it had been a scream, certain that it had been Aria’s scream. His foot dropped upon the forest floor, crackling the leaves and sticks beneath his boot. The men with him stopped walking, turning back to him.
“What is it?” Caleb demanded.
Braith shook his head. His brother had not heard the scream, neither had the others. He didn’t know if it was because they weren’t as attuned to Aria as he was, or if it was the fact that his hearing was more acute due to his blindness. At his side, Keegan bristled, turning to survey the area of the forest Braith was certain that scream had come from. “It’s nothing,” he replied.
Though it was far more than nothing. That scream had been echoing and terrified. And it had come from the one person that he cared about. “I have to go.”
“Wait what!?” Caleb stammered.
Panic was beginning to seize hold of him, clawing at hi
s chest, tearing through his insides. He had to get away from his brother, and he had to find her. He had seen her in the tree with that boy if he had done anything to hurt her Braith was going to rip out his throat. He moved swiftly through the trees, blurring as he raced across the forest. Though he could not see his surroundings, he could sense the obstacles in his way as he swiftly dodged them. Keegan was unable to keep up with him, but Braith sensed when the wolf broke off, going deeper into the woods.
The others tried to keep up with him, but he was faster and stronger than them, and he lost them easily amongst the forest. He jumped on top of a boulder, racing up the side of it before reaching the top and leaping off. Trees began to blur into focus, wavering on the outskirts of his vision. He could smell her blood, taste it in his mouth again. He was getting closer to her.
Hunger spurted through him, his veins burned with the almost intense need to feed that engulfed him. He had not fed since he had left her here a week ago, he had returned briefly to the palace, but no one appealed to him anymore, not even the willing humans he had fed from before. In fact, he was surprised to realize that the mere thought of feeding from anyone else repulsed and sickened him. It was her blood he wanted, her blood he needed, and until he could feed from her again, no one else would do.
And then Caleb had insisted upon going on one of the searches, had insisted upon going into the forest with one of the hunting parties. Braith had known that he’d have to go with him, he couldn’t take any chances that Caleb might accidently find her, that he might stumble across her. The thought was horrifying to him. He’d come with Caleb to make sure that such a thing didn’t happen, and it nearly had earlier, and might still happen if Caleb was somehow able to track him.
He skidded on a patch of leaves as he came to an abrupt halt outside of a narrow crevice between the rocks. He would have missed it if he hadn’t been tracking her scent. He slipped into the hole, barely fitting in between the boulders surrounding it. His eyes adjusted swiftly to the blackness, picking up the small bits of light within the enshrouding dark. Her sweet scent became stronger; her terror was nearly palpable within the confines of the cave.
Braith moved swiftly through the winding, tight turns, keeping his senses attuned to other presence’s as he wound through the cave. He needed to get to her, but he had to proceed with caution. He had just placed himself right into the heart of the lion’s den, he was certain of that. He was surrounded by rocks, walls, and his enemies. He was completely silent as he slipped through the narrow tunnels, keeping himself highly attuned to his surroundings. He felt like a rat trapped within a maze as he stalked her scent. He couldn’t believe that they lived down here. That Arianna lived down here.
She hated to be confined, hated being trapped anywhere. She was everything that the woods were, open, wild, and free. It was confounding to him that she could be beneath the earth within these stale confines.
Her scent was enveloping him as he turned another corner. Voices began to reach him, drifting softly through the tunnel. He stopped, his head tilting to the side as he picked up three separate sets of male voices. One of them was Jack, but the other two he didn’t recognize. He crept closer, straining to hear the words.
“What the hell happened?” one of the strange voices demanded.
“I don’t know,” Jack responded. “But we have to get her out of here. We have to get moving, now.”
Braith bristled, he assumed the her was Arianna as her scent was exceptionally strong here, and his vision was nearly perfect again. He lingered within the shadows. “Be careful with her Jack! Watch her head!” the other strange voice snapped out. “Damn it, give her to me.”
“I’ve got her Max.”
“Give me her!” Max snapped back.
“Just give her to him Jack; you’re going to need to keep your hands free if they come in here.”
Braith’s eyes widened, and then narrowed sharply. It was bad enough that his brother was touching her, but he sure as hell did not want that boy holding her. There was a soft rustling, and then Arianna made a soft, disgruntled sound. “Put me down!” she ordered. “Max, put me down!”
“Aria…”
“Let go of me! Let go of me!” her voice was nearly hysterical, it trembled and shook with the fear choking it. “I want out of here!”
“Aria…”
There was the sound of scuffling and then she gasped loudly. “Stop, please.” Her voice was a low moan of pain and anguish. And it was more than he could take; he was going to kill someone.
He stepped around the corner, his eyes narrowing and his hands fisting as he took in the sight before him. Jack was standing toward the back of the small opening, his face hard, and his jaw clenched tight. Arianna was struggling against the boy holding her, Max, as she tried to tug her hand free of his restraining grasp.
“Stop Max, let her go.” The other boy stepped forward, reaching out for Arianna as her struggles to break free became more frantic. “Aria, you have to calm down. Please.”
“Let me go!” she snapped. Tears streaked down her face as her breathing came in rapid pants. Braith had only ever seen her like this once before, and it had been when she’d thought that Max’s life was in danger. Then, she had been terrified for her friend. Now the terror was for herself; something that he had thought impossible until this moment.
“Let her go.”
Their heads snapped toward him, their mouths dropped in surprise. “Braith,” Jack whispered in shock and horror.
A small cry escaped Arianna; she was finally able to tug her hand free of Max’s relaxed grip. She ran at him, flinging herself into his arms. He lifted her, cradling her against his chest as she clung to him, burying herself against him. He wrapped his hand around the back of her head, threading his fingers through her silken hair. She pressed tighter against him, her tears wetting his shirt as she shook within his grasp.
“Shh Arianna, shh,” he soothed gently. “What happened? Did they hurt you?”
“Braith what the hell are you doing here?” Jack demanded.
He bowed his head briefly to hers, pressing his mouth against her soft hair as he eagerly inhaled her sweet scent. She was the best thing that he had ever felt, the best thing he had ever held. Jack moved away from the wall, the shock of Braith’s appearance was swiftly wearing off of the other two. He did not miss the stake that appeared within Max’s grasp. Jack grabbed hold of Max’s arm, holding him back as his sharp eyes narrowed upon Braith.
“You know what I’m doing here,” he said to his brother, adjusting his grasp on Arianna in order to keep his body in between her, and the growing hostility of the men across from him. He grasped hold of her face, gently pulling her out of his chest. Her eyes still swam with tears, but she was no longer openly sobbing and she seemed to have regained some control of herself. “Are you ok?”
She managed a nod, her bright eyes questioning as she studied him. “It’s not safe for you here,” she whispered.
“I know.” He looked back at the others, his eyes resting upon the redhead who was gaping at the two of them in shock. His gaze turned slowly toward Arianna before coming back to Braith. Max looked like he was about to snap, fury radiated from every inch of him as he glared furiously at the two of them. “Did they hurt you?” he growled. He didn’t care if they were her friends and family, he was spoiling for a good fight.
“You shouldn’t be here, you need to leave,” she whispered fervently, her hands clutching at him as her eyes became frantic. “Braith…”
“It’s ok Arianna,” he said softly. “I’ll be fine.”
“She’s right Braith, you need to leave,” Jack insisted. “Where is Caleb?”
“Elsewhere.”
“Braith…”
“He doesn’t know where I am,” he interrupted sharply.
“But he could find you, and by doing so, find the others.”
“He could also find you.” Jack became silent, his eyes hooded as his gaze turned slowly toward Arianna
. She was still shaking, but her tremors were less fierce now. “Did they hurt you?” he demanded. He would hate to do it, but he would kill Jack if he had harmed her in anyway.
She shook her head, biting on her lip as her gaze darted wildly around the cave. Terror shimmered in her eyes, her fingers clenched tighter upon him. “I don’t like it in here; I don’t want to be here.”
Of course she hated it in here. He had known that she would. “I’ll take you out then.”
“No,” Jack inserted sharply as the other two men took a swift step forward. “She needs to stay with us, and she needs to be somewhere safe. It is not safe above ground right now.”
“I’ll be safe in the trees,” she told him.
“No Aria, absolutely not. We have to meet up with your father.”
Arianna was shaking her head; her tremors were growing stronger again. “No, no, no. I am not going deeper; you can’t keep forcing me to!”
Braith ran his hands over her hair, trying to soothe her, but failing as she continued to shake like a leaf against him. “He forced you down here?” Braith snarled.
“Braith…”
“Back off Jack or I’ll rip your damn throat out if you take one more step toward her, if you touch her one more time!”
“No,” Arianna said softly. “You can’t fight, not here, not now. Please.”
Braith’s hands tightened on her shoulders, he was trying to keep her behind him, but she kept insisting on trying to get in front of him. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Max snarled.
“Don’t push me!” Braith hissed at him, fighting the rising tides of anger surging through him. They had forced her down here, forced her into this place that was obviously terrifying her. Jack pulled Max back a step, but the other man remained immobile as he watched them intently.
“Don’t push you!” Max snapped back, fighting against Jack’s restraining hand. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you!”