“I would like to retire also.” Xavier rose to his feet, his fingers rested briefly on the table as he surveyed the room. “I am aware of the baffling vampire bond referred to as a bloodlink. I assume that is what Ashby will speak of as I am well aware of his relationship with Braith’s sister, and not the one he married.”
Apprehension flashed briefly across Aria’s face, but she remained immobile at Braith’s side. She didn’t trust Xavier, not yet. Braith wasn’t even certain he completely trusted him yet. “How do you know about that?” Ashby demanded, his carefree demeanor vanishing at the mention of Melinda.
Xavier moved away from the table. “My job in the palace was to pay attention, to record the histories, to take note of things and see the things that no one else saw. I’m not blind Ashby, the two of you tried to hide it and you succeeded with most.” His gaze was pointed on Braith. “But not me.”
Ashby looked wary. His eyes were hooded as he studied Xavier with annoyance and distrust. “Ease up Ashby, I never told anyone that you were having an affair with the youngest daughter while still married to the oldest.”
“Watch what you say Xavier,” Ashby’s tone was low, deadly.
Xavier didn’t look the least bit phased by Ashby. Braith pulled Aria back a step as Xavier stopped beside her. “But a human.” He shook his head, something flickered in his eyes as he studied her. “That is unheard of.” Aria’s eyes narrowed, her chin tilted defiantly. Xavier smiled at her in amusement. “Quite a conundrum.”
“I’m not Ashby. War or no war, followers or no followers, I will kill you if you touch her. Remember that Xavier, I am a real threat to you.”
“I am well aware of that fact Braith. I have no ill intentions toward her.”
Braith was not appeased by the words. He pulled Aria further back as Xavier stepped closer to her. “Don’t,” he snarled thrusting himself in between them.
Xavier held his hands up as he took a step back. “Easy Braith, I said that I would not hurt her, and I meant it. I’ve seen what you are capable of when it comes to her, and I have a feeling that cave was only the tip of the iceberg. We need her if we are to win this war.”
“And after?”
“After will be up to you, and her. Now, where are those blankets, I’m exhausted.”
Aria pressed closer to Braith’s side, he stood for a moment, trembling with suppressed anger and uncertainty. Xavier had always been a little odd, or at least he had always seemed that way as he stood in the shadows calmly watching everything. He suspected Xavier knew more than he was letting on as he stared curiously at Aria, but exactly what his secrets were, Braith couldn’t even begin to guess at.
“Uh, this way,” Daniel awkwardly interrupted.
He stepped back as Xavier moved past him to the stairwell. “Are these things going to hold me?” Xavier pondered as he eyed the stairs.
“Yes.”
Daniel led them upstairs, handed out blankets and hugged his sister goodnight. Braith wasn’t pleased to see that the room really did hold just a tiny cot shoved against the wall. He wasn’t even certain Aria would fit on it as he spread the blanket out.
“Xavier is strange.”
Braith sat on the edge of the cot and pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his chest. “He is,” Braith agreed, lightly rubbing her back.
“He’s baffling but I don’t think he would harm me. I think he’s just as confused by me as I am by him.”
He was glad she thought so, but Braith wasn’t convinced that Xavier wouldn’t do something. Xavier had never been power hungry before, but there was no way to know what was going on inside of his head, or any of the others they had aligned with.
“I’m glad you’re not scared of him.”
He felt her smile against his neck. “I’m not scared of anyone,” she said laughingly.
He would have laughed too if it wasn’t so true. For someone so frighteningly mortal, she was strangely unafraid of anyone or anything. It was terrifying. “I know.”
“Don’t get all bristly.” She sought to calm him as she caressed him. “You must be hungry.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“As are you.”
She was grinning as she tilted her head back to look at him. “Yes, but it’s been awhile, I’ll be fine Braith.”
He dropped his head to hers. “I know, I just…”
Her fingers were against his lips, and then her mouth replaced her fingers. “There is no, “I just”, not now. I crave the connection Braith, just as much as you crave my blood. I want to feel you inside me.” He shuddered at her choice of words, his arms constricted around her. A low groan escaped him. He would never get over how swiftly and easily she could unravel his composure. “I would love to satisfy you in every way, but with everyone in this house, especially my father…”
“I understand,” he grated through clenched teeth. “Not here, not on this cot, and not with your family surrounding us. Not for you Arianna. I want better for you, it will be better.”
When he opened his eyes to look at her, he was surprised to find her watching him with a look of absolute love that nearly shattered him. She unwrapped her arms from his waist and ever so slowly pulled the hair back from her neck. Marks from his other feeding were still visible upon her porcelain skin. He pulled her shirt slowly down to reveal the nearly invisible marks from the first time he’d fed from her. His fingers brushed over it as she pressed against him, her breasts firm against his chest.
“Do you remember this?” His voice was tense.
“How could I forget?”
“I almost killed you that night.”
“Braith…”
“Yet you continue to give yourself to me.”
“I love you.”
“Is it so simple then?”
“Yes. This is not an easy life.”
It wasn’t, but he hadn’t once wished that he was back in that hideous palace with its vast supply of blood and every imaginable luxury. He would wade through a thousand swamps before he ever let her go again. “And I wouldn’t change a thing,” he whispered against her cheek.
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
“Is it so simple then?”
He smiled back at her. “Yes.”
“Good.”
She silently guided his head to her neck. His fingers slid up the back of her shirt to press flat against the slender curve of her back. A faint whimper escaped her, goose bumps broke out across her skin. He bypassed the marks on her neck to rest his lips gently against the first bite he had placed upon her; the first time he had marked her as his.
She moaned when he bit into her, reopening the wounds that had bound them irrevocably to each other. She slumped against him as the rest of the world faded away.
CHAPTER 15
Aria looked up from the shirt she had been sewing as Jack stepped into the room. She hated sewing, she’d stabbed herself numerous times already, but she needed the shirt. She swore as she jabbed herself again and stuck her wounded finger in her mouth.
Jack quirked an eyebrow at her. “You’re not very good at that.”
“I know,” she mumbled. He rocked slowly back on his heels as he folded his hands behind him. She frowned as she dropped the shirt down. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to speak with you.”
“Ok.”
“Not here. Take a walk with me?”
She wasn’t sure why he would want to take a walk, there was no one around. “Uh yeah, sure.”
Placing the shirt on top of the table, she climbed to her feet and followed him as he led the way out of the house. Braith had gone with Gideon, Xavier, her father, and Daniel to meet with the rebels her father had gathered to fight, to look over the supplies they’d accrued, and to do some hunting. Aria had opted to stay behind, she was tired, and she thought that perhaps it would be a chance for Braith to bond with her family.
He hadn’t liked it in the beginning, but Jack and Ashby had agreed to stay behind.
Ashby was standing by the woods when they emerged from the house. Remorse radiated from his eyes as he fell into step beside them. She glanced between the two of them, suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable. Why hadn’t she grabbed her bow? She shook off the crazy thought. This was Jack and Ashby, they wouldn’t hurt her.
“What’s going on?” Neither of them answered her. Aria became aware of the pounding of her pulse in her ears. “Jack?” She was ashamed of the tremor in her voice.
“Just going for a walk Aria, we have to talk.”
“About what?” He didn’t answer her. She stopped abruptly, refusing to take one more step until she received some answers. “About what?” she demanded.
“The lake is just ahead, ok?”
Aria bristled at his placating tone. She almost refused to move further, almost turned around and walked away. She was certain she didn’t want to hear what they had to say. She knew she couldn’t run away though. “Fine,” she relented.
Aria fell back as Jack led the way to a pristine lake. She stood for a moment, taking in the scene before her as it spread out in a glimmering array of sunshine and blue. Something inside of her chest eased, she took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of the crisp water. Forgetting all about Jack and Ashby, she took a step closer to the water. She itched to dive into it, to swim out as far as she could and simply be.
The clearing of Jack’s throat alerted her to the fact that was not going to happen. Sighing impatiently, Aria turned to him. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
Jack and Ashby exchanged a look, but it was Jack that spoke. “Braith.”
Aria folded her arms over her chest as she studied them both. Ashby could barely meet her gaze; his eyes darted continuously away from her as if he were ashamed. There was a hollow pit in her stomach; it felt as if a rock had settled in there. She could barely breathe anymore. No, she definitely was not going to like this. “Perhaps you should talk to him then.”
“I’ve tried, and so have Ashby, and Gideon. He needs to lead Aria.”
Her heart hammered, coldness was seeping into her bones, stealing into her soul. “He does,” she agreed.
Jack shifted nervously. “You know I love you Aria, I think of you like a sister.”
“Just say it Jack.”
“You have to let him go.” She felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. She had braced herself for those words, had even suspected they were coming, but they still knocked the air from her. She was unable to stay upright as she rested her hand on a tree and leaned against it. “Aria…”
She held up a hand to stall him. She needed a moment, just one moment to gather her thoughts and hold back her tears. She’d suspected all along, no she’d known, that this was a distinct possibility. That in the end, she would have to give him up, that she would have to leave him, again. She just wasn’t ready to hear it confirmed by someone else.
Ashby, looking to soothe her reached for her shoulder. She pushed his hand away, unable to take his pity at the moment. “Braith feels that when this is over he can simply walk away. That he can take you, disappear, and never look back. He thinks that he can leave Gideon, Ashby, or even I in charge. We know that he can’t, and I think you know it too.”
Aria lifted her head. She had to blink away the tears burning her eyes to focus upon him. “Our family line is the strongest, it always has been. Our bloodline has been traced back to the first vampire, it is the only line that can claim such a feat, and actually prove that it’s true. It wasn’t often that our line wasn’t ruling, and as you’ve witnessed, even the most powerful vampires on our side have turned to Braith as a leader.”
She stared silently at the lake, felt the rough bark of the tree beneath her hand. She needed these things to connect her, to join her to the earth. She felt completely disconnected right now, disjointed and broken. “Since the moment he was born it was expected that Braith would rise to power if our father died. He’s been groomed for such an endeavor, trained for it; he is the one that can control the chaos that will follow the dethroning of our father. Even those within the palace, the non-aristocrats will follow him, because that’s what they expected to do for the past nine hundred years. Nine hundred years Aria, that is how long it has been accepted that Braith would eventually rule.
“They won’t follow me in the same way, and to be honest I can’t control them the way that Braith will be able to. It’s not in me, it never has been. They will look to destroy me in a way that they will not look to destroy Braith. Nor will they follow Ashby. He’s not a part of our line and even if he marries Melinda, they will not accept him, and Melinda isn’t strong enough to rule. Gideon is Braith’s other option. But Gideon has been gone for a hundred years, and he has no tie to our line. He’s not even a part of the second most powerful family, he is simply older than the rest of us, only a mere fifty years younger than Braith.”
They spoke of fifty years as if it were nothing; to her it was a lifetime. “Xavier? Saul?” she managed to choke out. “Calista or Barnaby?”
“Xavier is a record keeper; he prefers to loiter in the shadows. Most see Saul as weak due to his defect, and the others are mere children. The oldest is Barnaby and he’s barely three hundred. They can’t take control.”
“The second most powerful…”
“My mother’s line,” Jack said flatly. “My father had all of them destroyed in order to ensure they would no longer be a threat. He also decimated the third, fourth, and sixth in line. He eradicated any one he deemed a possible threat.”
“The fifth?”
“Gideon.” The lump in her throat was threatening to choke her. “Ashby is part of the seventh, as is his cousin who has remained in the palace. He has stepped into what should have been Ashby’s role, assuming power as my father’s second in command.”
Ashby scowled, showing some emotion other than pity for the first time. “Coward,” he muttered.
“I’m sure Braith understands this,” she whispered.
“He does understand it,” Jack confirmed. “But to him, you are the only thing that matters. He’s stubborn Aria, he thinks that the vampire lines will accept one of us in place of him, as will the people, but he’s wrong.”
She didn’t realize she was crying until a drop landed upon her hand. She wiped the tears hastily away, hating herself for crying in front of them. “We can’t convince him to let you go, and we can’t convince him to try and change you. Our people might accept you then; it’s a rare feat for a human to survive the change. They may not embrace you with open arms after, but they won’t deny you either, and the ones that did would be few.
“He is unwilling to realize these facts, but you need to.” A sob escaped her. She shoved her fist into her mouth, trying to stifle her cries as something inside of her began to break. “It’s for the greater good Aria. Think of the people, your people that will be freed. The future generations that will never know the fear and oppression that you have known. Think of the fact that they will not know starvation, filth, and enslavement as you have known it; as Max has known it.”
Max, oh Max. His time as a blood slave had destroyed him. It had taken a proud, vibrant man and turned him into someone filled with hate and bitterness. It had broken him, as it had broken so many others before they were mercifully destroyed. Then there were the ones that never made it to blood slave status. She recalled the boy she’d been captured with, so young and vulnerable. He’d been selected for death.
“Oh.” Her legs gave out; she slid limply to the forest floor. “Oh.”
“He believes that he can make everything alright in the end. It’s not possible Aria.” Jack’s tone had become softer, she could hear the ragged pain in it, but it was nothing compared to the anguish savaging her soul. “We need for you to agree to leave him when this war is over.”
She knew it was the right thing to do, she knew it was the best thing for
everyone involved, even if it destroyed her and Braith. But even so, hope flared hotly through her as she realized something. “But that’s not possible!” she blurted. “He can track me anywhere, his blood is in me; we are bound in that way. Ashby said I’m his bloodlink, that we can’t live without each other.”
“You have started the bond, but it’s not complete, is it?”
“No, but…”
“As long as you don’t allow it to be completely forged there is a chance that the bloodlink will not destroy either of you. As for his blood in your system, we’re hoping that if you don’t accept it again his blood will thin out and eventually leave your system.”
“I was gone from the palace for over a month and he still found me.”
Jack and Ashby exchanged a look. “We think that if another vampire’s blood is added to your system, most likely mine, it may dilute his enough so that he won’t be able to track you for long, if at all.”
She recoiled; revulsion filled her, nausea surged up her throat at the mere thought. She was shaking her head no when Jack bent and grabbed hold of her shoulders. “Aria…”
“He’ll die without me,” she groaned. She didn’t add she would die without him, she was dying now, and though she would continue to move through her days, she knew she would never live again, not without him.
“Maybe not, if the bond isn’t completely forged.”
The noise that escaped her was guttural. “He went berserk when I left him last time.”
“We hope that having so many lives in his hands will help to keep him in control. He didn’t have that responsibility before. No matter how upset and furious he is, we’re hoping that the good in him will win out because of that.”
“That’s a lot of hoping.”
“It’s all we have, and one day, you will die Aria. Your death may sever whatever bond remains between you at the time, freeing him.”
Freeing her also, she realized as she bent over, her arms wrapping around her stomach. “He will be blind again.”
“He will, but he was blind for a hundred years before you, it never slowed him down. The world was dark to him, but it was not a weakness for him. Ashby, Melinda, Gideon, and many others will be there to protect him.”