“It’s ok Arianna, I hardly felt a thing.”
She gazed up at him, her mouth parted, stunned by the rate in which the wound had vanished. She knew that vampires were able to heal rapidly, but this was something not only stunning and amazing, but also slightly unnerving. She couldn’t stop the shiver of fear that ran down her spine. “Braith?”
He kissed her again, his fingers lingering on the back of her neck. “I’m good.”
She squeezed his hand tightly, wishing that they could go somewhere, wishing that they could be alone for just a few moments to recoup. Unfortunately, that was not possible right now. He turned away from her, and though he did not try and block her from everyone again, he kept his hand on the wall by her head, and his other hand lightly on her waist. She was well aware of the fact that he had kept himself in a better position to stop her if she tried to jump forward again.
She wanted to chafe against the invisible restraints he had placed on her, wanted to chafe against his protective urges (she could take care of herself after all), but she knew that it would only irritate him more. Braith had to think that he was in control right now, even if he wasn’t. Max was still in the grip of Ashby and Jack, but he wasn’t trying to fight them anymore. He was simply staring at her and Braith as if they had just sprouted two heads, jumped on a table, and started dancing a jig while singing at the top of their lungs. Aria understood his reaction, if it had been anyone else from their camp, she would have felt the same way. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was her, and she knew that what she felt for Braith was real, it was genuine, and it was so good and pure that it made them both stronger and better.
“It appears that we have a lot to discuss.”
Aria looked across the room, trying hard to keep up the appearance of strength and courage, but her father was staring at her in a way that made her feel like a child all over again. She wanted to go to him, she wanted to hug him, she wanted to be his little girl for just one more minute, but she knew she could never be his little girl again. She wanted to apologize, wanted to tell her father that she had never wanted any of this, but she couldn’t. It was true that the last thing she had wanted was to fall in love with a vampire, but she wouldn’t change any of it. Not one damn thing about what had happened between her and Braith.
“Yes,” she agreed softly.
CHAPTER 17
“Our mother’s family was nearly as powerful as our father’s. They were married over a thousand years ago, the world was different then. Just as it was different a hundred years ago, before the war started. At the time of their marriage, superstition ruled, witches were burned, and our kind was relegated to the shadows. Our father always chafed against that, but he knew that to try and come out during those times would only result in death. So he waited. He bided his time, and he married our mother so that he would have more power, and more allies, for when the war broke out.
“And yes, I think that he planned on starting it even back then,” Jack said swiftly, cutting off Braith’s question before he could ask it. “I think he planned it for even longer than that. He stayed with our mother, continued to have children with her. He had to keep up the pretense that he cared for her a little more than the rest of the nobles cared for their spouses, had to treat her well if he was going to keep her family as an ally.
“There was no king at this time, but a conglomerate of nobles that ran the underworld, dealt out the rules, and meted out punishments rapidly, and with imaginative, disgusting flare. The nobles had grouped together to wrest control, and murder, the previous king. Before then the underworld had been nothing but a series of civil wars that had started to decimate the more powerful families as each king was swiftly brought down. Upon ousting the last king, it was decided to rule as group in order to keep the inner slaughter somewhat under control.
“Our father had to find a way to wrest control from them if he was going to become the single, most powerful figure again.”
“Damn!” Braith hissed.
Aria was staring wide eyed at Jack as he spoke. Though Braith seemed to have figured out where this was going, she still wasn’t quite sure. Her hand shook in Braith’s as he enfolded both of his around hers. She could feel an awful trembling working its way through her, but she could not stop it. “If you remember father was never cruel to mother, at least not publicly, and I have no idea what went on behind closed doors. He did take you from her, but no one blamed him for not wanting his son to go soft by staying with his mother. They all understood that. So when he did turn on her, when he did accuse her of unfaithfulness no one questioned it, everyone believed him.”
Aria was beginning to shake; she could feel it all the way down to the tips of her toes. She knew little of what the world had been like before the war. She’d heard stories of a world where humans ruled, there were libraries and schools, and homes and buildings that reached the sky. She had thought that most of it was a myth, stories filtered through the generations to entertain children, and to give people something to fight for. But listening to Jack, she had a feeling that there was so much more that she didn’t know, and that she would never see.
No one seemed to know what had really started the war that left the human population decimated, starving, and just barely clinging to survival but she was beginning to realize that it was something that she had never even begun to fathom. Braith’s fingers stroked over her hand, trying to soothe her, but she didn’t think she would ever be soothed again.
“For hundreds of years he bided his time, until he felt that the situation was becoming one that he could control, manipulate, and use to his advantage.”
“And then he exiled her,” Braith said softly.
“Yes.”
“And then he had her killed in order to light the spark that started the war.”
“Her family wanted revenge; they blamed the humans who had been set up to take the fall for her murder. Father was able to take control of the situation, manipulating everyone to his way. He may have exiled her under the pretenses of faithlessness, but it was still his wife, and it was still his daughter that had been so ruthlessly slaughtered.”
Arai gasped softly, her gaze turned slowly toward Melinda. The beautiful woman was standing proudly, her chin raised defiantly. She showed no sign that the fact her father had expected her to be killed in the raid hurt her, but Aria knew it did. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how much she despised the father that had helped create her, Aria knew that it still hurt her. The small flicker in her dove colored eyes revealed this.
“They allowed him to seize the power and rule that father had always wanted,” Braith said softly.
“And once he took it there was no stopping him,” Melinda murmured.
Aria shuddered, the night was warm, but she was suddenly freezing cold. Her bones were numb; she was barely able to stand anymore. She could feel the shock radiating from Braith; feel the dawning realization at the depths of his father’s treachery. “How long have you known this?” he inquired softly.
Jack shifted; he looked slightly uncomfortable by the amount of anger radiating from Braith. “For certain, about sixty years. It took me awhile to gather all the pieces of the story, and to actually believe it. I hate the man, there’s never been any love between us, but even I didn’t want to believe that he would have our mother killed for his own desires.”
Braith closed his eyes for a moment. Aria ached for him, she ached to soothe and comfort him, but this was not the time, and it was not the place. Later, when they were alone, she would try and take some of his hurt from him, but she wasn’t certain that even she could help ease this treachery and loss.
“Your family is even more screwed up than ours,” William said softly.
Jack cocked an eyebrow at him; a sad smile curved his mouth. “And you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Caleb or Natasha yet.”
William nodded slowly; his gaze wandered to Aria. “What did you get yourself into now sis?”
A
ria managed a wan smile; William was trying to sound light, but even his normal jovial tone fell short in this horrendous mess. She wanted to go to William, to hug him and the rest of her family. However, Braith wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. “Braith.” She gently stroked his hard arm, looking to comfort him, looking to get him to relax slightly. It did not seem to be working.
“You know everything now Braith, you know what was done, and you know what we believe. The question now is; what are you going to do?” Jack asked quietly.
Braith looked slowly toward her; his beautiful eyes were aglow in the dim room. The green in them was bright, sharp in contrast to the hard grey. There was something in his gaze, something so wounded and yet so strong that she felt her insides melt. His eyes caressed her face, stroking lovingly over her, but the steel rod of strength, of determination within his eyes left her cold with dread. “Braith,” she breathed.
“I’m going to keep you safe.”
She managed a small nod. “I know you will. I have absolute faith in that Braith.”
His eyes flickered slightly, she saw the brief moment of fear and doubt that flickered through his eyes. “No matter what, Arianna, I am going to keep you safe.”
She swallowed heavily; her heart was lumbering painfully in her chest. “It’s a brutal war to wage,” she whispered. A war that he had not experienced in a hundred years; a war that she had only lived through the horrendous consequences of.
“It is. The results of the last war need to be set right though.”
“People will follow you Braith,” Jack encouraged.
Aria shot him a dark, withering look. She knew what Braith intended, knew that she could not stop him, but Jack did not need to make him feel as if he had to do it, because he didn’t. She would stand by him no matter what he decided, no matter what he wanted to do. Even if he decided he wanted to run from here; that he wanted to grab hold of her and never look back. That may not be her choice, but she would support it because she supported him. It would not be her that witnessed the worst of the coming violence, it would not be her that went against her own family; she would not force him into that position.
“Will they Jack?” Braith inquired dryly.
Jack swallowed heavily as Braith leveled him with a fierce stare. “Yes. I think you may be as strong as father now.” Jack looked slowly toward her. Braith stiffened; he stepped slightly in front of her. “Maybe even stronger. Many will look to you for leadership, especially the vampires on the outskirts, especially the ones starving under father’s regime.”
“And the people will follow the human,” Braith said coldly. Aria shivered at his harsh, brutal tone. “Isn’t that right Jack?”
He nodded, swallowing heavily. “They will.”
“Why do I feel as if I have been manipulated into this?” he grated.
“As if anyone could have expected you to fall in love with your blood slave,” Melinda retorted.
“I am not a blood slave!” Arianna snapped.
“Maybe not anymore, but you were. It’s how all of this started after all.”
Aria glared at her. “No one saw that coming,” Jack agreed, trying to placate everyone with his soft tone.
“I don’t think they will follow a vampire who fell for their blood slave,” Braith said softly, squeezing Aria’s hand reassuringly when he said the words blood slave. “In fact, I imagine most of them will be disgusted by it.”
“That is one thing we will have to keep secret,” Jack agreed. Anger and hurt bloomed through Aria’s chest but she tilted her chin defiantly. She would have to stay strong, she would have to accept that fact if they were going to succeed. And for any chance of happiness they would have to succeed. “For now it will have to look as if you have formed an alliance with the humans and as if you are going to bring the peace and security to the vampire race that father promised but was unable to provide. The humans will follow as long as they are assured safety and security, which we will give them. When this is all over…”
“When this is all over, the two of us will be going somewhere safe. When this is all over, we will be left alone,” Braith interrupted sharply.
Jack was hesitant; Aria could barely look at her family. They were staring at her with a mixture of confusion and fear that made her ache for them. “They’ll follow you Braith,” Melinda whispered.
His hand tightened on Aria, he kept her slightly behind him still, unwilling to expose her to anything he might consider a threat. “And they’ll follow Jack after, and the humans will continue to follow one of them.” Braith waved a hand lazily at her father and brothers.
“Yes, fine. We can work it all out later on,” Jack assured him quickly. Ashby looked about to protest, but Melinda rested a hand on his arm and shook her head subtly. Aria understood that look, understood what it meant. Braith might want to believe that they would be free if they somehow managed to succeed, but they all understood what Braith was trying desperately to deny. The two of them would never be free. “First things first though.”
“Father has to come out of power, and Caleb needs to be neutralized,” Braith said softly.
Aria squeezed his arm; she really wanted to go to her family. He glanced down at her, the hard lines of his face smoothing out as he smiled at her. She smiled back before slipping swiftly past him toward her family. She was timid; frightened of the reaction she would get from them. It was William that stepped forward first, hugging her tightly against him. She sighed contentedly, embracing her twin tightly as Daniel and her father came forward.
Relief and love filled her. It was a long, savage road they all had ahead of them, but they could do this together. With the love of her family, with the love of Braith, she could get through anything.
She knew that the coming war was inevitable. Her gaze drifted slowly back to Braith. She could not resist him. Releasing her family, she rejoined him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she buried her head in his chest. The coming war was inevitable; she would be giving up everything to help wage it, including Braith. She was acutely aware of the fact that when all of this was over, there would be little left for them. It was him that had to rule, they all saw that already, even if he didn’t. And as a human, she would have no place by his side.
But she couldn’t think about that now, there was a war to fight first.
Erica Stevens, Renegade
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