Aria's gaze flew over the crowd; she spotted Saul and Frank, but where were her father and Daniel? Where were Max and Xavier?
Her heart was hammering as her throat went dry. There was something clawing at her insides, something hideous and frightening; something that made it difficult to breathe as Jack tossed aside another crumpled body. Jack froze; his hand stilled in midair as a look of despair crossed his and Braith's faces. Aria shook off William's weak grasp as she took another small step forward. She couldn't see what they were looking at, there were still too many people moving in and out of her line of sight.
Aria's hand moved slowly to her mouth, she couldn't breathe as the room lurched sickeningly. William leaned heavily on a spear for support as he stepped beside her. Daniel burst free of the crowd in the hall, Max and Xavier were close on his heels as he shoved past some of the restrained guards. A scream lodged in Aria's throat; her paralysis broke as she bolted forward. William lurched awkwardly after her, trying and failing to grasp hold of her as she sprinted toward Braith and Jack.
Braith's head shot up as she heedlessly charged through the crowd. Braith jumped over the bodies scattered around him, rushing to meet her as she raced at them. His arms encircled her waist and he lifted her high. The cry that she had been unable to release before finally ripped from her throat.
"Daddy!" she screamed as her heart shattered and tears of anguish burst free.
Her arms stretched out as she reached for the body Daniel had fallen beside. Braith's hand wrapped around her head, he pushed her face into the hollow of his neck as he clutched her. He refused to let her look again as she sobbed against him. It was too late, he was trying to protect her, but she'd already seen enough to know that her father was gone.
- CHAPTER 15 -
Braith had originally taken Aria to Melinda's apartments to get her away from the turmoil and her father's body. However, after the first day of mute silence scattered with intermittent weeping, she made her way out of the palace while he was preoccupied with trying to sort things out. He found her in the stables with Max, tending to the wounded animals with stalwart care. The two of them seemed content away from the confusion of people and vampires, and he didn't have the heart to protest.
He simply couldn't dislike Max, not anymore, and had actually come to respect him. The boy had gone through things Braith would never understand, he'd been damaged and tormented by them, but somewhere along the way he'd stopped being a boy and grown into a man. A man that had protected his back, and unflinchingly followed him into the palace while knowing that he would never have the one person he coveted most.
Max noticed him first in the doorway of the stable and nudged Aria to get her attention. "I know," she murmured as she snipped off the thread she'd used on a wounded lamb. "I'm not going back in there Braith, you can't make me."
He couldn't help but smile as she glanced at him over her shoulder. Dark circles shadowed her haunted, reddened eyes. He was well aware of the fact that she hadn't slept last night, and that she probably wouldn't sleep tonight, but her chin jutted in determination and her gaze was defiant as it met his. She was damaged, she was partially broken, but that radiant spirit still flickered beneath the sorrow.
"Have I ever been able to make you do anything?"
Max chuckled as he lifted the lamb, nodded to Braith, and wandered down the aisle of the only stable that had survived the fires. It had taken most of the day to finally extinguish the fires within the palace walls, and there were still a few houses burning in the outer town. There was a crew working on putting them out with water from the river, but hopefully they would have them out by nightfall.
Aria wiped the blood from her hands with a dirty rag. "I suppose not," she admitted with a tremulous smile.
"How long have you been out here?"
"A couple hours."
"You should have told me," he admonished.
"You were busy."
"I'm never too busy to make sure you're safe. There are still some out there who were loyal to my father, we haven't caught them all yet, and it's no secret what you mean to me anymore."
Her eyes flickered, for a moment tears sprang forth but she rapidly blinked them back. "Max has been with me, and I have my bow."
The slender curve of her neck drew his eyes as she glanced toward the barn doors. He winced at the myriad of bite marks and bruises from his brother and father, stark reminders of the brutality she'd endured and had yet to talk about. There was an air of desolation around her that he didn't know how to ease.
"At least have a vampire with you; I can't lose you again Aria." He knew her freedom was essential but she had to stay alive. Something flickered in her eyes as she turned back to him, she looked about to say something more but simply nodded. "Xavier has stepped aside as leader of his people."
Her eyebrows drew together over her nose. "Why would he do that?"
"Xavier has always preferred his books and histories more so than his role as an aristocrat. He was never afforded the opportunity to step aside before, but now he has a chance to set his own destiny. He has chosen to stay on as an advisor, and to sit in on important issues that involve the people he represented when it's necessary, but he doesn't want to be involved in the daily running of the government, not anymore. We have all agreed to accept his decision. He said he would stay with you if that's ok?"
"Why would he want to stay with me when he has just gained the freedom he desired?"
Now was not the time to give her the real answer to that question, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her either. "He's curious about how the rebellion worked. He won't push you, won't ask you anything, but if you're willing to talk with him, he is more than willing to listen."
"I see," she murmured. "That's fine."
"Aria…"
She held up a hand to forestall his words. "I don't mind if Xavier stays, really. I would just like to be out here, away from…" Her words trailed off, her gaze darted toward the palace. Her father was one of the few that hadn't been buried yet. He'd been placed in the second hall on the main floor so that each of his followers would have a chance to say goodbye. Barnaby, whose body had also been recovered, was lying in the room beside David's. His father, Caleb, and Natasha hadn't been awarded the same luxury and had already been buried in unmarked graves away from the palace. "I just have to be outside for a bit."
"I understand."
Her attention was diverted as Max returned with a small piglet that was squealing in his arms and bleeding from a gash in his leg. "I have to get back to the animals."
He thought she was simply going to turn away from him, that she was going to shut him out. After a moment's hesitation though she hurried over, wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He felt the wetness of her tears, but when she pulled away she had already stopped shedding them. He brushed the hair back from her face as he kissed her softly and released her into the care of Xavier and Max.
Braith hated that he couldn't be with her when she retreated to the stables for the following two days, but there was so much to repair, and order to be re-established. Barnaby's followers were confused and scrambling. Calista and Gideon had taken over trying to organize them while Adam, Barnaby's second, was slowly trying to assume command.
Xavier reported back to him every night, but it wasn't the same. He longed to be with her during the day, but he knew now that he couldn't always have everything he wanted. Not anymore. He refused to leave her at night though, no matter what necessity might arise to draw his attention from her, he wouldn't leave her side. He'd placed Jack and Gideon in charge of any crisis that arose at night.
For two nights he held her as she lay awake. She remained mute as she stared unseeingly into the darkness, sometimes shedding noiseless tears that broke his heart. In all his years he'd never felt more helpless, not even when Caleb had taken her from him. At least then there had been a plan, there had been a mission, there had been someone to destroy. There was nothing now; there
was no one he could protect her from, no way for him to ease her deep heartache.
He didn't know how to handle grief, he couldn't beat it, he couldn't break it, and he certainly couldn't kill it. All he could do was lay helplessly beside her and hold her as she suffered through the nights. It didn't help that she wouldn't talk about it, the mere mention of her father made her flinch; her face would become stony and impassive every time his father or Caleb was brought up.
Finally, last night, something had changed. Long after every one had retreated to sleep, she'd risen from his bed, grabbed a robe and noiselessly padded away. His own exhaustion clung to him as he followed behind her, uncertain of where she was going until she arrived on the first floor. He'd held back, hovering in the doorway as she'd wandered to her father's side. She stood beside the casket that hid the injury he'd sustained to his shoulder, and the spear hole through the heart that had ultimately been his downfall. Braith was infinitely glad the wounds were hidden as she sat on the stool next to her father, placed her head upon his chest and began to weep more openly than she had for the past three days.
Though he'd yearned to go to her, to hold her, to pull her away, he'd remained unmoving. He sensed instinctively that she was simply seeking a way to heal, a way to say goodbye on her own, and that he didn't belong here. He'd retreated from the doorway, leaving her within as he settled onto the cold marble floor outside the room and waited for her to come back to him. She didn't reemerge until the first rays of daylight broke over the horizon.
He'd carried her back to bed, where she'd fallen into a fitful sleep for a few hours; it was far more than the mere minutes at a time that had been claiming her for the past three nights.
Now, on the fourth day, they were burying David. A man, that even he mourned the death of, and not just because of Aria. David been a good man, he'd created an amazing woman; he'd loved his children, and had accomplished so much in his short, mortal lifetime. They'd butted heads over Aria, but it had been because of their mutual love for her, and in the end David had revealed everything he knew. Though none of what David had told them offered any certainty to the questions that Xavier had presented.
Braith kept his arm around her waist, he wasn't holding her up but he felt it was only a matter of time before he might actually have to. Her brothers stood beside her, as stalwart as she'd been over the past few days. They'd gone almost woodenly about their days as they helped to oversee the repairs to the worst of the destruction that had been wrought, and the reformation of the new government.
Aria's skin was unnaturally pale against the black enshrouding her. He kept the umbrella over her head, sheltering her from the steady rain as she pressed closer to his side. Her hair fell forward to shelter her delicate features as she kept her head bowed. Depression had already taken its toll on her. Her collarbone, the bones in her chest, and the back of her hands stood out more. She hadn't eaten much over the past few days, but Xavier and Max made sure that she was given breakfast and lunch, and he made sure that she at least put some food in her stomach at dinner time. He was concerned about her, but beneath the choking sorrow he knew that she was there, still strong vibrant and very much determined to live.
At least he hoped she was.
The funeral was not like the other human funerals he'd witnessed over the years, or even like the more elaborate vampire funerals he'd attended. There was no preacher; instead the people that felt like speaking each took a turn. He'd lost count of the humans that had stepped forward to speak of David, then Jack, and finally Daniel had assumed the spot at the head of the gravesite. Though they wouldn't actually be buried next to one another, Aria had asked for her mother's name to be added to the tombstone, and Braith had been more than willing to comply.
Though there were a few times that Daniel's voice broke, he didn't cry, and he appeared every bit as strong as the leader he'd just become as he spoke of his father. Beside Aria, William's fingers twitched, the two of them briefly clasped hands before breaking contact. A single tear slid down her face as Daniel said a final goodbye and stepped away.
Aria's delicate fingers twirled around the single red rose she held. She stepped forward, momentarily exposed to the rain as she tossed the flower onto the coffin. She was shaking as she stepped back beside him. He ached for her, so much so that he felt her suffering almost as acutely as if it were his own.
He turned her away and walked with her amongst the crush of humans and vampires as they moved away from the woods and back toward the palace. He'd offered to bury their father in the royal cemetery but they'd refused, stating that he would be happier in the woods, and Braith knew they were right.
Once inside the palace he led her toward the stairs. Gideon's brown hair was still damp from the rain as hurried to catch up with them. "Later Gideon," Braith informed him briskly.
Gideon looked as if he was going to argue, but he closed his mouth as he met Aria's haunted gaze. "As soon as you are able it is essential we speak."
"I'll be down again in a few hours."
Gideon nodded and bowed his head as he stepped away. Braith felt the eyes on his back as he led her up the stairs and to the new rooms that he'd claimed for them until his old suite could be restored. He didn't even know yet if Aria would be willing to stay in the palace, but he wasn't going to push her on the subject of their future now. They'd speak of it when she was ready.
Once inside the room, he slipped the damp black cloak from her shoulders and tossed it aside. Her arms were chilled and the small blue veins that ran through her pale skin were clearly visible. The marks that his brother and father had inflicted upon her were dark and vivid. His jaw clenched, he wished those marks would fade far quicker than they were. She stood, unmoving before him as his hands briefly traced over her bare shoulders.
"You have to start eating more Aria."
Her eyes were dark and remote as she studied him. "I will," she promised flatly.
He knew that though she said the words she would do no more than pick at the food he'd ordered brought up for her. "A bath will help you warm up."
"Yes."
She stiffly moved with him to the bathroom. He unzipped the back of her simple black dress and slid it away from her as warm water filled the tub. Though she was bared to him, he felt nothing sexual as he helped to ease her into the water. All he aspired to do was comfort her, to protect her, to ease this for her somehow, and he still didn't know the extent of the torture his father and brother had exerted over her. Her body was still covered with faded bruises and bite marks that marred her fair skin.
He unhurriedly dipped a cloth into the water and ran it over her shoulders and down her back. She didn't shy away from his touch, she wasn't embarrassed by it like she had been when she'd first come to the palace. She drew her knees up against her chest, not to hide her nudity, but in a gesture of comfort as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She rested her cheek on her knee as she watched him. Unshed tears shimmered in her eyes as he rubbed the cloth over her lower back in small, soothing circles.
"Aria…"
"It's ok, I'll be ok. I just hurt."
"I know you do."
"Please don't worry about me. I'll get through this. I just need time. But time seems so long now, so… empty? Maybe not empty, but wrong somehow, and I don't know how to explain it. There's this hole inside me and all I want is for it to be filled again, but that's impossible, and I have to learn to live with it because there are no other options. I have to figure out a way to patch the hole enough so that I can breathe again, without feeling as if the air is suffocating me."
His hand stilled on her back, it was the most she'd said to him in the past four days. "Tell me what to do to make it better."
She frowned, her hand slipped from her legs to entwine with his. "There is nothing you can do other than being here," she murmured. "Time will help I suppose. I've heard it heals all wounds, but I don't think this one will ever completely heal. How could it?" Tears slipped down her face, he wiped
them away with the pad of his thumb. "You being here makes it better, you being with me makes it better. Together. We won Braith and that is more than I'd dared to let myself hope for."
"We did." And she'd been so immersed in her melancholy that she didn't know she'd become a hero of sorts. Daniel had stepped forward to claim his father's place, and William and Max had become his seconds in command, but Aria was the one everyone talked about, the one they whispered about in awe. The human that had helped take down the king, the ex-blood slave that the new king cherished. Even the vampires admired her, even more so than they had before.
Her eyes closed as he washed her back, kneading her skin as he sought to ease the knots in her muscles. "I knew there was a good chance we would lose someone, I prepared myself for it. I know that we're lucky even more weren't lost, and lucky to be alive and free."
"But you still miss him."
"Yes." Her misery was palpable in that one word. "I never got to say goodbye." More tears slid down her cheeks, he didn't brush these ones away; they were hers to shed. "I never had the chance to tell him I loved him again."
"He knew."
Her eyes appeared even brighter with the tears shimmering in them and the shadows outlining them. "I know that, but before we separated in the past we always said our goodbyes and exchanged our love. Caleb robbed me of that."
His hand stilled on her back, every muscle in his body froze. If his brother hadn't already been dead, in that moment he gladly would have killed him a thousand times over. He waited, unable to tear his eyes from hers as she finally spoke of his family. "I'm mad at myself for going into that town, but I'd do it again. That's the person my father raised, it's who I am."