Her heart was in her throat, goose bumps tickled her skin. “Why would you make such a trade?” Braith demanded.
Though she couldn’t see it, she could almost feel the man’s casual shrug. “I have grown tired of them. You know how that is, I’m sure.”
Sorrow stabbed her as she realized Braith knew exactly how that was. She tried not to think of his past, tried not to think of the blood slaves he had gone through when she had escaped the palace, but every once in awhile she would be slapped in the face with a stark reminder. She may have been his first blood slave, but she had not been his last, and he had not treated the others anywhere near as kindly as he had treated her.
Braith’s arm pressed closer to her, he was trying to offer her some sort of comfort, but she found none. Her face was on fire; William was as still as stone before her, his breath seemed to have frozen in his chest.
“I do, and I have not yet grown bored with mine.”
Aria’s breath sucked in, her stomach cramped. No matter how much time she spent amongst them, she would never become accustomed to the cruelty and open brutality of some within the vampire race. She was not naïve enough to think that all humans were good either, after all, the only real abuse she had suffered as a blood slave was at the hands of a human, but it never seemed as overt amongst the humans as it was with the vampires.
She wasn’t a possession though, she never truly had been, and she bristled against being thought of as such. Braith must have sensed something in her pulse or a shift in her demeanor, as right at that moment he pushed her back another step. Defiance surged through her; it took everything she had to appear outwardly tranquil while inside she was seething. She was tempted to pull out the hidden bow on her back but she wasn’t sure who she wanted to shoot more…Braith or the man trying to bargain for her.
“Let me at least get a look at her,” the man prodded.
“I think not.”
His answer was accompanied by a collective inhalation from the crowd. Aria’s annoyance vanished as apprehension surged to the forefront. They were in danger here if Braith didn’t tread the right path, and judging by the crowd’s reaction, he had just made a serious misstep by disobeying the request.
“No?” Though he tried to hide it, Aria detected disbelief in the man’s voice.
“No.”
She cringed. Braith wasn’t used to being ordered about nor was he used to anyone questioning him, except for maybe her, and he certainly didn’t react well to it. He was not versed in diplomacy like her father, Daniel, Jack, and Ashby. Braith was used to giving the order and having that order obeyed. As prince, he’d never had to learn anything different, and he wasn’t willing to tolerate insolence now.
Aria wished she could talk to him, reason with him, but if she opened her mouth and exposed any sort of feeling between them, then they would be in even more peril then they were now, if that was even possible.
“I’m sure you understand that sometimes, when your toys are shiny and new, you tend to like to keep them to yourself,” Ashby interjected smoothly. Aria took no offense to being called a shiny toy. She felt only relief at Ashby’s light tone and thankfully easygoing demeanor.
“She is new then?” the vampire inquired.
“Oh not brand new,” Ashby replied flippantly. “Are any of them anymore? It’s hard to find something that hasn’t been battered and tossed aside now.” His comments were met with snickers and muttered agreements from the crowd. “But she is new to my friend here, and as I’m sure you’re beginning to realize he’s none too bright, and he really hates to share.”
Braith stiffened, irritated by Ashby’s words. Aria held her breath, hoping Braith would keep his composure as the muscles in his arm rippled against her. The man, who had inquired to buy her, pondered Ashby’s words. “No, none of them are untouched anymore.” He made a regretful sound. “Damn shame too. What about yours?”
Ashby jerked the hood back from William. “It’s a boy, and a redhead to boot.”
The hideous vampire chuckled. “Ah, neither of those attributes appeal to me.”
Aria held her breath, praying that William wouldn’t explode, that he would hold his tongue despite his pride and arrogance. Ashby jerked the hood back over his head. “Not my preference either, but I don’t have to look at him to enjoy him.”
There were a few titters from the audience. The tension in the air eased. “Ah well, perhaps if you pass through again...”
“I’m sure my friend will be far more willing to discuss a deal then.”
Some of the crowd began to disperse as it became apparent no blood would be shed today. Ashby and the man exchanged a few more words before they finally said their goodbyes. Braith was so rigid she was frightened he might break his teeth if he didn’t unclench his jaw. The buildings fell away as they slipped free of the confines of the town. The bleak landscape enveloped them, as they were encompassed by The Barrens.
Aria barely had time to take her first easy breath before Braith’s arm wrapped around her waist. He pulled her firmly against him and kissed her with an intensity that left her breathless and limp. His fangs pressed against her bottom lip, nicking it enough to draw a drop of blood. A small groan escaped him as he nibbled lightly before his tongue swept in to claim possession of her mouth. Pulling her hood back, he burrowed his hand into her hair and tenderly cradled her head. She was enveloped by love, aflame with need as she clung to him in a desperate attempt to stay grounded despite the rising desire threatening to engulf her. She forgot about everything that had just transpired in her desperation to get even closer to him, to feel even more of him.
William coughed faintly and then more loudly as neither of them acknowledged his existence. He cleared his throat before grunting his displeasure. Braith was the first to pull away, his lips were still wet as he buried his face in the hollow of her neck and pressed them against her skin. Aria brushed his dark hair back with her fingers, relishing in the softness of it as she sought to ease the tension clinging to him.
“I never should have brought you with me.” Panic tore through her as her hands stilled in his hair. “It was selfish.” He shook his head, his fangs pressed briefly against her oversensitive, heated skin.
“There were no other options,” she assured him when he pulled away.
His moment of weakness had vanished and she found herself faced with the inflexible, seasoned vampire she knew so well. A vampire she could sense trying to distance himself from her, trying to formulate a new plan. Aria’s defiance surged to the forefront, she braced herself for the battle she knew was about to ensue.
“I should have left you at the tree house.”
She snorted. “Like I would have stayed.”
“Arianna.” It was a low growl of warning, one she was sure would have sent many a man and vampire running, but it only served to infuriate her further.
“You’re not going to figure out some way to keep me out of this Braith. I’ve been fighting my whole life for this war, this chance at freedom, and I’ve made it this far…”
“You’re seventeen!” he snapped.
Her eyes narrowed as she slammed her fists on her hips. “That’s old enough for you!”
Ashby and William inhaled sharply as they took a big step away. Aria didn’t blame them, Braith was wound taut as a bowstring about ready to snap. He loomed over her, bending low so that his face was just inches above hers. “If I decide that you are to stay somewhere safe, then you will stay there.”
Aria wanted to scream in frustration, she wanted to punch him in the gut or kick him in the shins. Instead, she simply glared back at him as she tilted her chin defiantly. “Like hell. You just try it Braith and see what happens.”
“What? What will you do?”
“If you try to abandon me somewhere, I will not stay there. I’ll find some other way to help in this cause, something else to do. I will not be pushed aside.”
Their noses were almost touching now. “Don’t threaten me
Aria.”
“Don’t threaten me, Braith!”
He cursed vehemently as he spun away from her. Aria jumped in surprise, wincing as he smashed a fist into the side of an abandoned brick building. The wall shook, for a moment she was terrified it was going to tumble down on him as dust cascaded around him. He stood, his hands fisted, his shoulders heaving as he tried to regain control of himself. Ashby and William were staring at her as if she had sprouted two heads, she stared insolently back at them, refusing to back down no matter how infuriated Braith became with her. He wouldn’t hurt her, she was certain of it, those two may be intimidated by him, may even have something to fear from him, but she didn’t.
Not unless he really did try to leave her somewhere.
“There is nowhere safe Braith. There never has been, not for me, not for William,” she continued more reasonably. He was frightened for her, and that made him volatile, she understood that, but she wasn’t willing to be shut out of this fight. He turned slowly back toward her. Frustration filled her, she wished she could see his eyes, she hated those glasses. “We’re human Braith, we were born into the rebellion; this is our life, it always has been. We’ll be ok, I’ll be fine. We knew when this started that it wasn’t going to be easy. Braith…”
He was back before her; she’d hardly seen him move before he was standing there. She didn’t think she would ever get used to how fast and powerful he was. It was as thrilling as it was frightening. He bent over her but this time it wasn’t in anger, he was going to kiss her again. Her toes curled and her lips tingled with anticipation.
“We should get going,” Ashby interjected loudly. Aria blinked, startled out of the reverie that had enveloped her. Braith’s hands tensed on her shoulders, she could feel his frustration, his aggravation as he turned slowly toward Ashby. Ashby gulped but forced a smile. It was nowhere near as cocky as normal though. “Don’t you think?”
Braith squeezed her shoulders before slipping her hood back into place. Disappointment filled her. She never thought she’d miss her captivity in the palace, but she found herself missing the time when they had spent hours together, uninterrupted as they shut out the rest of the world. No matter what happened, she was certain this wasn’t going to end well for them. She needed as much time as she could get with him before that time came, but it wasn’t going to happen now.
“Stay covered,” he whispered. She nodded as she slid her hand into his.
CHAPTER 2
“What is a chev…ro…let?”
“Excuse me?” Braith inquired in response to Aria’s halting question.
Braith turned away from Ashby, his attention brought back to the twins as they studied something that he couldn’t see. It was a little disconcerting how similar the scowls on their faces were. Aria turned to him, her gaze inquisitive while William simply continued to look aggravated. She had slipped the hood from her head again, as had William. Their dark auburn hair, dampened by sweat, gleamed in the bright light of the wastelands. It was an annoyingly bright homing beacon in this washed out land of little color. Frustration filled him as he stalked back to them; it was bad enough she didn’t listen to him, but neither did her damn brother.
“That.” Aria thrust her hand out to point at something hidden by a dilapidated building. What was left of the roof was sagging; the walls were leaning toward whatever Aria was pointing at. He stepped around the corner of the building, focusing upon the rusted out hunk of metal housed in what he now recognized as a garage. Years of bad weather and bright sun had stripped the vehicle of any semblance of its former glory except for the back end. The roof of the garage had held up over the ass end, and though it was rusted and falling apart, it was not in as bad of condition as the rest of the car. “What is that?”
“A Chevrolet,” Braith informed her.
She blinked in surprise; her blue eyes were bright even though she squinted from the bright sun. “What?”
“It was an automobile.”
“A what?” the twins asked simultaneously.
Ashby stopped whistling as he walked over to join them, he was grinning as he leaned back on his heels and folded his arms over his chest. Braith would like to punch him, not just for that smug look, but also for all the interference he’d been running between him and Aria for the past two weeks. He tried to tell himself that Ashby was simply missing Melinda and that was why he kept interfering, but Braith was growing tired of it all.
“An automobile,” Braith explained. “At one time humans used them to get around.”
Aria frowned at him; she looked completely confused as she glanced back at the hulking bucket of rust. “Why didn’t they just walk?”
In her world he could understand that question, but a hundred years ago… Well, it had simply been different. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “They were fun though. I had one of these, and a Mustang.”
“So, I had a mustang once too,” William informed him.
Ashby guffawed loudly and even Braith nearly burst out laughing. He managed to keep it contained as both Aria and William shot Ashby disgruntled looks. “A Mustang was a different kind of automobile.”
Aria’s attention returned to the car, her head tilted to the side as she studied it inquisitively. “It doesn’t look like it would get far, walking would be a lot quicker.”
Ashby spun away and walked briskly to the corner of the building. Aria and William couldn’t see him anymore but Braith clearly could. Ashby’s shoulders shook with laughter as he covered his mouth in order to stifle the noise. “It didn’t always look like this,” Braith assured her.
“What did it look like?” William wondered.
“It was pretty, and it was fast. Very fast.”
“Faster than a real mustang?” William inquired.
Ashby was laughing harder now and Braith wanted to throttle him. “Yes,” Braith answered.
They both looked even more confused. Aria shook her head; her hair tumbled around her shoulders and down her back. For a moment he was captivated by the dark red color that flashed with strands of brilliant gold in the bright sun. “Weird,” she muttered.
He didn’t know how to explain to her that it hadn’t been weird at the time. That he had, in fact, actually enjoyed his cars. “Why did they stop making them?” William asked.
Ashby had stopped laughing, he had turned back to them but there was no merriment left on his face. “There was no one to make them after the war was over. They required upkeep and without someone to do that…” Braith shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair. “After a time they became obsolete. Vampires don’t need them to get around so no one particularly cared when they were gone.”
Ashby had moved back to them, he was brave enough to lean against the building as he crossed one leg over the other. “Those first humans, the ones immediately after the war, must have had a tough time,” Aria mused.
Braith had never thought about the humans after the war, never thought about how they had adjusted to their new, and far more brutal, lives. But he had also been newly blinded at the time, (by the jackass leaning against the garage that Braith hoped would crumple under his weight), and trying to adjust to his own difficulties. Turning his thoughts from the past, he grasped hold of her hood and tugged it back into place. She smiled at him; her eyes sparkled as he tucked her hair away and caressed her cheek.
“I’m sure they did,” he agreed.
“Was it really so different?” she asked.
“It was.” She peered up at him as his hands lingered on the hood of her cloak.
William took a step closer, curiosity evident in his eyes that were the same bright shade of blue as his sister’s. “Why did it change so much?” William wondered.
Braith shrugged. “Technology was never a real necessity for us. I spent seven hundred years of my life without it. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed some of it, but I didn’t mind seeing most of it go. My father and a lot of the others felt the same way. They didn’t overtly try to get rid of most
things, but they didn’t try to maintain them either.”
“What else was there besides automobiles?”
“There were trains and planes, computers and TV’s; there was the internet and game stations, cell phones…”
“I never did like those things,” Ashby muttered.
Braith silently agreed, they had been irritating as hell. “There were so many new things developing every day that at times it became impossible to keep up. We didn’t get rid of it all. Indoor plumbing stayed, as did electricity, but that’s mostly around the palace now. The outer areas didn’t, and still don’t, have the resources to sustain the upkeep for it.
“The golden chain,” Aria’s nose scrunched, resentment burned in her eyes at the reminder. “It’s also part of that technology. It recognizes fingerprints, and only responds to the prints of the one that owns it. That’s why only the owner can remove it from their slave. There is also a device in it that allows a slave to be tracked if they escape while wearing the chain.”
“It should be done away with,” Aria said fiercely.
He didn’t argue with her, he’d never thought about it in the same way she did until he’d met her. Hell, she was the only person he’d ever put the chain on, and she still bore the faded marks on her wrist from that debacle. If they were successful he’d have a bonfire using the chains as fuel. “It will be,” he promised. The way she smiled up at him would have made him promise her the moon too if she asked. “It will go the way of the automobile and guns.”
“Guns?” William inquired.
“They were weapons,” Ashby answered.
“And these weapons would kill you?”
“Not necessarily. They fired metal bullets, but we know you’re ingenious little critters.” Ashby informed William as he nudged his shoulder. “It was only a matter of time before you designed some type of wooden bullet. The king seized all guns and had all manufacturing plants razed. You’re deadly with those bows and arrows, but they aren’t nearly as fast as a bullet was.”