"How?" Caleb asked.
"I saved the life of a child that happened to be a cousin of the group that leads the rebel faction. The child's parents started to trust me, accepted me, but it was still another year before the father took me to meet his cousin. I was blindfolded for this journey, and it was in the middle of the woods, but I met the man who leads the rebels. His name is David, I don't know his last name, most rebels have forsaken them, but I would recognize him if I saw him again."
"And you know where he lives?" Caleb inquired eagerly, the bloodlust evident in his voice.
"No. No one outside of family knows where David lives."
"Then what good is any of this?" Caleb hissed. "A man named David leads these imbeciles. Six years and that's all you came up with?"
"Enough!" their father snapped. "Let your brother continue."
"As I was saying," Jericho grated through clenched teeth; his annoyance at being cut off and degraded was more than apparent. At one time Jericho would have laughed off Caleb's impatience and attitude; he did not do so now. "I met David, and though I don't know where he lives, I do know his family. They may keep their living quarters a secret, but they all work together, especially David and his oldest son. I only knew the eldest son, his second in command in the beginning, but three years ago David's younger son became more involved, as did his daughter. Though they try to keep the girl out of most of the fighting, she is well trained, and a very skilled hunter. She often went on the food gathering trips, and would aid in planning and executing the raids as she knows the forest better than anyone."
Braith felt a knot beginning to form in his stomach as uneasiness curdled through him. Arianna had been hunting for food when she was captured, she had admitted as much. She'd said that Max was captured because of her, that he could have run, but had instead sacrificed himself in the hope that he would be able to free her from captivity. There were only two reasons a man would do that, either for love of the woman, or love of his leader. He'd assumed that Max had aspired to save her because they were friends, and he did love her, and because he was good friends with her brother.
He realized now that he may have been wrong, that Max may have come after her because he knew who she was, and who her father was. Because he realized what a threat it was to their cause if one of the children of their leader was caught, discovered, and held by the enemy.
What kind of a mess had he gotten himself into with her?
"Ok, so the girl is a heathen and aspires to be a man."
"Shut up Caleb," Jericho grated. Braith felt Caleb's disbelief ripple through him. He supposed he would have felt the same, if he wasn't already completely terrified of what else Jericho might reveal. "The heathen is also in our possession right now, or at least she was. There was a raid on an outer encampment a few weeks ago, blood slaves were taken. At first there were only rumors about exactly who had been captured, but one child claimed that a girl had saved him. A girl that very much resembled David's daughter. No one knew anything for certain though, until last week."
Oh hell, Braith thought with an inward groan. Arianna had spoken of a child, had talked of going back to rescue him. His hand constricted on his cane as he fought the urge to flee back to his room and demand answers from her. Answers he was scared of receiving right now. "And what happened last week?" Braith wanted to know.
"David's daughter didn't return as scheduled, and neither did one of his higher ranking lieutenants. It was confirmed that the girl had been taken. It has not been confirmed if she is alive as a blood slave, or not. That's why I risked blowing my cover to come back here now."
"What good is any of this information?" Caleb inquired, but the irritation was gone from his voice.
"Humans tend to be very attached to their children, so if David's daughter is alive, and being kept as a blood slave then we can use her as a weapon against him. He won't like the thought of his child being treated in such a way, he will try to get her back, and he will be reckless. If she is dead, then we will have to dig up a blood slave that looks like her and try to use that girl against him. Either way, we have strong leverage over the rebels right now," Jericho explained.
"I want all of the blood slaves from the past few weeks brought forth tonight for the banquet, Jericho will inspect them all," their father commanded.
Sensing Braith's growing concern, Keegan had risen and was now pacing anxiously around his feet. "Perhaps it is your blood slave Braith," Caleb taunted.
"Perhaps," he managed to agree.
"You have taken a blood slave?" Jericho's astonishment was evident in his voice.
"Yes, Braith has finally sunken to the levels of depravity that the rest of us have enjoyed all these years. He did well for a blind man; she's a pretty little thing, if you like redheads. Which, I do."
Braith was close to ripping the head off of his cane as he anxiously waited for Jericho's response. If David's child was a redhead, they would all know shortly, and they would all be racing up to his apartment to get at Arianna. They would use her and torture her before they killed her. He didn't know how he was going to stop them but he knew that he was damn sure going to try.
Jericho released a mellifluous laugh. "No, fortunately for Braith's newest addition, David's daughter is not a redhead."
Relief coiled through him, but the tension in his chest still didn't ease. Something felt off about all of this, something wasn't quite right. He itched to return to Arianna and question her, but he had a feeling that no matter how much had passed between them lately, she still wouldn't tell him about her family, especially if this David fellow really was her father. He couldn't blame her for that; her family was probably far closer than his, humans tended to cling to their loved ones.
If David was her father though, then why would Jericho lie about her hair color? Maybe he did not consider her dark tresses red, but Braith doubted that. Maybe he had never actually seen the girl, but why would he lie about it? What did he have to gain by coming here and lying about any of this? Unless, Jericho had simply wanted to escape the woods and this was his excuse to return to the luxurious lifestyle he had left behind.
That didn't seem right either, but he couldn't quite figure out this puzzle, not yet anyway. He just knew that he had to get back to Arianna, and he had to keep her away from Jericho. She could not go to that banquet tonight. "Well, if she is not a redhead, then I will be leaving my blood slave behind tonight. I'd prefer to mingle amongst the crowd, alone."
"Already tired of your treat?" Caleb goaded. "Funny, but it didn't seem that way when I stumbled upon you earlier."
"A change is always good," Braith replied dully.
"So be it," their father interjected. "I still require Jericho to see the girl, just in case."
"Of course," Braith murmured in consent, struggling to remain calm. "Whenever you wish to stop by Jericho. I will join the rest of you later."
Braith strode swiftly from the room, Keegan following at his side. It took everything he had not to break into a run and race back to Arianna.
- CHAPTER 13 -
Aria stood silently as Maggie slipped the beautiful dress over her head and began to tighten the strings that ran up the back of it. Aria stared down at the shimmering green material, awed by the striking color as it flowed gracefully to the floor. There were only two things she didn't like about the dress; its low cut revealed far too much of her cleavage than she was comfortable with, and the strings, that even now were cutting off her breath as they pressed against her still tender ribs.
"Is it too tight?" Maggie asked.
"Just a little," she admitted.
"I can loosen it, but it has to be snug so that it will stay up. The prince chose this dress, but maybe you could be allowed to wear another if he knew that it was hurting you."
Aria swallowed heavily, she closed her eyes as she shook her head. She had to stay with this dress; no one could think that Braith was offering any kind of sympathy to her. If this was the dress he had chosen,
then she would wear it. There were probably already questions about them; she couldn't allow any more to be raised.
"No, it will be fine, and the prince won't allow me to change if this was his pick."
"I'm sure he might, he probably wasn't thinking when he picked it. Men do not understand strings after all."
"It will be fine," Aria murmured. Maggie sighed in aggravation but returned to pulling the strings again. Aria clenched her teeth and strained to keep her face impassive as Maggie tried to be as gentle as she could. "Do blood slaves often attend the banquets?" Aria asked, more to distract herself from the pain than out of any real sense of curiosity.
Maggie shrugged absently, but she looked a little troubled. "Not normally, and not when it is such a big celebration."
"What are they celebrating?" Aria inquired. She hadn't seen Braith since he'd sent her to his room, but Maggie had appeared shortly after.
"The youngest princes return."
"Return, return from where?" Aria asked in surprise. She hadn't even known that he wasn't here, Braith had never mentioned it.
"No one knows, but he's been gone for six years."
"Odd," Aria whispered, mulling over Maggie's words.
"It's been speculated and whispered about for years." Maggie's voice was eager; she obviously enjoyed sharing the gossip. "Some say that he left to aid the soldiers fighting against the rebellion, and others say that he left for the love of a woman that his father didn't approve of. Of course, no one liked that theory."
"Why not?"
Maggie was silent for a moment; her gaze darted around before she bent closer to Aria. "The young prince is very handsome. No one liked the idea of him with another woman. They all hoped that they would snag him."
"Oh," Aria said dully. "I see." However, she didn't see, she didn't see how anyone could be more handsome than Braith, and she also didn't care to think about the women running around here trying to snag a prince for themselves. Especially when she knew it could never be her doing the snagging.
Aria closed her eyes as her ribs began to scream in protest. She was so focused upon trying to ignore the throbbing of her ribs that she didn't hear Braith arrive until she heard his growled command. "Leave us."
Aria's eyes flew open; her heart leapt wildly as she spotted him standing in the doorway. He was magnificent, but he seemed unreasonably irritated and tense right now. Aria stood as Maggie glanced wildly between them. She seemed hesitant to leave Aria by herself, but when Braith barked at her again she scurried from the room.
A small tremor began to work its way through Aria, she had never seen Braith look like this. Not even after she had slapped him. The strange mix of anger and apprehension clinging to him left her breathless. "What is wrong?" she whispered.
"If I am going to keep you safe, then I must know more about you. Do you understand me Arianna? There can be no secrets."
Her gaze darted nervously behind him. She could see very little of the rooms beyond as his shoulders seemed to take up the entire doorframe. "I don't understand Braith, what is this about? What happened?"
"My youngest brother has returned."
"I heard." He stalked unhurriedly forward, his body taut, and his jaw clenched. "Is he ok? Is everything alright?" she gushed out, uncertain as to what was going on, uncertain why the return of his brother would cause such a strange reaction in him. She would be thrilled to see William and Daniel again, not looking as if she would like to rip the head off of something. Perhaps the youngest brother was as revolting as the middle one.
"He's fine, Arianna, but he has come back in search of someone."
Aria's heart sputtered for a beat before leaping wildly within her ribcage as a cold chill crept down her spine. She could only assume who it was that he had come back for, and she imagined it was her that he was probably looking for. But how was that possible? How would he know who she was? Until her capture, and Braith, the only vampires she'd encountered had been killed.
"I don't understand."
"Don't you?"
Aria shook her head, trying hard not to seem frightened, but she knew she was failing miserably. No matter how much she fought it, she could feel the horror showing on her face. Then, a flicker of movement behind his back caught her attention. Her eyes widened, terror coursed through her as adrenaline slammed into her veins. She could only gape in silent dismay as the man behind Braith strode toward them. She didn't understand though, her mind could not comprehend what her eyes were seeing. It was impossible. What she was seeing was completely impossible!
She took another step back; the overwhelming urge to flee was beginning to consume her. She didn't know what to say, or what to do. She was trapped, cornered within these rooms with two vampires, one of which she was troubled she might be falling in love with. The other was a man that she had once trusted with her life but who had most likely come here to end it. She was trying to breathe, but the dress and her panic were making the simple task exceptionally difficult right now.
And then, she gave into her instinctual urges. Braith's loud curse followed her as she darted through the door of his bedroom, flew over top of his bed, and raced for the door to the library. She didn't look back, didn't hesitate in her heedless rush forward. She didn't even stop to think about where she could possibly be going.
She fled through the library. She didn't kid herself into thinking she could truly escape, part of the reason they had lost the war was because the vampires were exceedingly fast, exceptionally strong, and so damn tough to kill. But she had to try at least, she wasn't going down without a fight; she simply meant to stay alive for a few minutes more. She wished she had the stake to defend herself with, but it was tucked under the mattress and probably wouldn't do her much good anyway. At least it would have been something though.
She threw things behind her as she ran, tossing a chair here, an end table there, in an attempt to knock them off of their pursuit. She wasn't even entirely sure they were still behind her until she heard a reassuring grunt of pain behind her as a piece of furniture made contact with one of her intended targets.
She grabbed hold of the library door, slamming it shut behind her as she leapt forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a rushing blur coming at her. Aria ducked low, darting to the side as the blur dove at her. A small yelp escaped her as a hand skimmed over her back, but she dove forward, just barely managing to escape its seeking grasp. It was not Braith that had leapt at her, she knew his touch anywhere, but rather his brother, the traitor.
Her ribs screamed in protest, but they didn't slow her down as fear for her life outweighed the agony. She scrambled back to her feet, lifting the annoying hindrance of her dress as she leapt onto one of the sofas, jumping over the back of it in an easy, graceful motion.
There was a frustrated shout behind her, but she ignored it as she bounded forward. The door was right there, just feet away from her. For the first time since the chase had started, true hope bloomed in her chest, excitement pounded through her. She had managed to avoid two mature vampires in an enclosed space, surely she could get free. Surely she would escape this never ending nightmare.
Her fingers scrambled over the door, she worked hastily through the locks that had been thrown. Locks that were rarely ever in place, as she had learned earlier when Caleb had walked in on them. Locks, she realized that Braith's brother had put into place. The door was almost open a foot when a hand slammed against it, banging it shut with a resounding crash that echoed throughout the room. She tugged uselessly on the handle for a few moments more, feeling like a fool as despair filled her.
She almost screamed for help, but there would be no one to come to her aid. No one to save her, she was trapped, and she'd been discovered. There was no escaping that fact. Not with Jack here now. Except his name wasn't Jack, was it? No, it was Jericho, and he was not one of her allies, but a member of the royal family. He had come here to root her out, hand her over, and use her as a weapon against her own family.
r /> Well the joke was on him then wasn't it? Because no matter what they did to her, her family would not come here. It would be a suicide mission and they knew it. There were far more other people's lives at stake, than just hers. She was willing to accept the fact that there would be no rescue mission. She just wished it hadn't come to this. The sting of betrayal was sharp, she had always liked Jack, she had trusted him, enjoyed spending time with him, had learned from him, and in return had taught him a few tricks of her own. Her father had also liked and trusted the man, had even brought him into his confidence. And the entire time Jack, no Jericho, had been planning to betray him. She was shaking, her body trembled with the bitterness radiating through her.
A hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her against an inflexible body she recognized instantly as Braith's. She remained wooden within his grasp. She didn't try to kid herself, they had grown close, she believed he might even care for her, but his loyalty would always be to his family, and his kind. He could not protect her from this, even if he chose to, which she wasn't sure he would. She was his enemy after all, and she had kept her true identity from him. He turned her away from the door, spinning her to face Jack.
Maggie was right Jack was handsome, though she didn't think him as handsome as Braith. He was as tall as Braith, with a slightly leaner, more whipcord type build. His hair, lightened by his time in the sun, was not as dark as Braith's but had streaks of brown and gold highlighting. His eyes were steel gray, piercing, and severe as his gaze locked on hers. She glared ferociously back at him, resentment curling through her. She'd stab him right now if she had the stake, and she wouldn't even think twice about it.
"I take it you two know each other," Braith grated, his voice low in her ear. She clamped her jaw shut, resisting the urge to swing her hanging feet back to kick him in the shin. Pissing him off right now would do her little good though. "Is she who you're looking for?" he demanded harshly.
Aria remained unmoving in his grasp, her hands fisted as she stared fiercely at Jack/Jericho, her new greatest enemy. His eyes remained on her, narrowed as he took her in. "One of you answer me!" Braith snarled, shaking her a little within his grasp.