“Do you still have nightmares?” she inquired after a few minutes.
Though they had only briefly discussed it before, he knew she was talking about his time as a blood slave. “Yes, do you?”
“Yes.” She stuck a piece of bread in her mouth and chewed on it. “Almost every night.” Her fingers went to the scar on her face and traced over it.
“How did you get that?” he asked.
Her hand fell away, and her gaze focused on the opposite wall. “My captor sometimes thought it was more fun to cut me open to drink my blood. It’s not the only one I have.”
Max clamped his teeth together, barely containing his need to slam his fist into the cave wall. He took a steadying breath. She was a fighter, but she wouldn’t handle seeing that kind of unprovoked violence from him, not after what she’d experienced.
“I see,” he said when he could trust himself to speak again. He knew he couldn’t show her pity; she would turn away from him if he did.
She continued to stare ahead, her fingers fiddling with the bread in her hand. “I survived at least, many didn’t.”
“Very true,” he replied, though he knew a part of him had died in Katrina’s hands.
Feeling more in control of himself again, he brushed a strand of her hair from her cheek. She flinched away when he traced over her scar. “Don’t pull away from me,” he said and rested his hand against her cheek. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I’m not afraid of being hurt,” she retorted. “The scar reminds me to never be weak again, and I don’t like anyone touching it.”
“What happened to you doesn’t mean you were weak.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“No.”
For a second, she turned into his palm before looking away once more. “Then what does it mean?”
“That sometimes shit happens, and there is nothing you can do about it. That doesn’t mean you’re weak. It simply means you’re alive.”
She placed the loaf of bread on the ground and pulled at the edges of her sleeves, though they already covered her scars. Moving away from the wall, she turned to face him as she knelt before him. He watched in fascination as she took hold of his hand before she slowly worked the sleeve of his shirt up.
Normally, he pulled away from people, ashamed for them to see the burns and bite marks encircling his wrists and rising up his forearms, but he allowed her to explore them. She also tried to keep most of her scars hidden, but she had to bare the one on her face for the world to see, and he wanted to give this baring of himself to her.
He welcomed her delicate, chilled fingers running over his skin. He saw only understanding in her eyes as she uncovered more of his scars. She knew how he’d acquired every one of those marks and the degradation that had come with each one of them.
She drew her bottom lip into her mouth as she continued to stroke him with fascination. It had been years since he’d allowed anyone to look at him so openly, to touch him in such a way. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed and craved it until her skin warmed his.
His gaze fell to her tempting mouth. He’d give anything to be able to taste her. Her hands stilled on him and he lifted his eyes to hers.
“Did your captor do other things to you?” she asked. “Besides the feeding and the torture?”
He knew she spoke of the sexual abuse, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask the question. “Yes.”
Her head bowed, her black hair falling forward to shield her face. Tears brimmed in her eyes and one slid down her cheek. “Mine too,” she whispered.
He smothered the burning rage that burst through his chest. “Is he still alive?” Max grated through his teeth. Because if he was, Max was going to make it a point to remedy that.
“No. He was killed during the war. What of yours?”
“She’s also dead.”
“Good.”
Leaning forward, he encircled his hand around the back of her head and drew her toward him. She flinched then melted against him when he placed the lightest of kisses to her lips before sitting back. She sighed when he pulled her against him and settled her within his lap. Like a kitten, she nestled against his chest.
He’d never felt needed before, but he felt it now. She needed him, and he needed her. She understood what few in this world could, understood him and what he lived with every day, just as he understood her. Turning his head into her hair, he inhaled the scent of the rain clinging to her skin.
“No one will ever hurt you again,” he murmured.
She tipped her head back, her cerulean eyes searching his before she leaned up and tentatively kissed his lips again. Forcing himself to go slowly, he threaded his fingers through her damp hair, holding her against him as he brushed his tongue over her lips. She stiffened for a second before relaxing in his hold and opening her mouth to his.
Her fingers clenched in his shirt while he tasted her. His heart raced in his chest as his hands gripped her tighter. She was so small and she was his; in that instant, he knew it was true. He would do everything he could to keep her safe because she belonged with him.
She broke the kiss off, her breath coming in small pants as she rested her forehead against the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t… I don’t… I’m broken.”
“No,” he said and kissed her forehead. “You’re not broken.”
“How can you know that?” she whispered.
“Because I have felt broken before too, but not now.”
“And how do you feel now?”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Whole.”
Her gaze traveled over his face before falling to his mouth again. “Whole,” she murmured and lifted her fingers to run them over his lips. “What if I can never feel that way again?”
“You can.”
She pulled her fingers away from his lips and rested them against her own. Max could still feel the heat of her against his mouth. He wanted nothing more than to replace her fingers with his lips, but he didn’t make a move toward her again. She’d let him know when she was ready for that.
“Whole,” she said again and nestled against his chest once more. “Have you ever told anyone about what you went through in there?”
“No, have you?”
“No,” she said and touched the scar on her face once more.
Max rested his hand over hers. “The vampire who bought me was named Katrina,” he said as he leaned against the rocks and stared at the wall across from him.
Memories he’d worked so hard to bury surged to the forefront of his mind as he recalled those early days in Katrina’s hold, when he’d still been certain he would be able to break free. Then the later days, when he’d been certain he would die. He’d pleaded for death many times, but his request was never granted. Instead, Jack had arrived one day and released him from his prison. He’d been set free, yet there were times he still felt imprisoned by his memories and the nightmares.
For the first time, he set all of those memories free and told someone what he’d endured at Katrina’s brutal hands. He didn’t hold any of it back; there was no reason to, Maeve understood. When he finished, her hand spread out to slip between the buttons of his wet shirt. His breath sucked in when she placed her palm flat against his chest, over where his heart beat faster for her.
“The vampire who bought me was named Byron,” she whispered, and he listened as she revealed the torture and torment she had withstood.
He drew her closer, holding her against him in an attempt to shelter her from the memories, but there was no sheltering her from what she’d suffered. “I wanted to hate them all for what happened to me,” she said at the end.
“So did I,” he admitted. “But humans had a hand in it too. Some of our own kind turned their backs on us long ago and allowed the vampires to become what they were.”
“I know, but in the beginning, I hated everyone.”
“Me too.”
She lifted her head from his chest. Her
hand rested against his cheek as she rose up to kiss him once more.
CHAPTER 35
Braith
“Where are they?” Aria murmured while she paced from one end of the barn to the other.
“They’ll be back soon,” Braith said as he followed her restless movements. He’d finally gotten her to get some sleep, easing the shadows under her eyes, and she was already putting weight back on again from drinking his blood, but she was still on edge.
She spun and stalked back toward the other side with Keegan trotting beside her. Xavier stood with William and Tempest near the barn door, watching her. Aria stopped pacing and spun toward the door as a new scent floated on the air.
“They’re back,” William said and opened the door.
On the other side stood Daniel, Timber, Max, and Maeve. Their hair hung in straggles about their faces, their clothes were wrinkled and wet, but they were unharmed as they hurried into the barn and Max closed the door. Braith lifted an eyebrow when Max slid his hand into Maeve’s, drawing her closer against him. Aria’s head cocked to the side, and he realized she had no idea who the girl was.
Taking a few steps toward them, Aria held her hand out to the tiny woman standing by Max’s side. Braith studied the scar on Maeve’s face and the proud set of her shoulders. She was willful, but there was also a vulnerable air about her. His gaze slid to Max as he recognized the same air about him.
She was a blood slave, Braith realized as Maeve took hold of Aria’s hand. The sleeve of her shirt had been pinned, allowing no skin to be exposed. It was something Max had done often enough since he’d been taken from the palace.
“I’m Aria,” she said and shook the woman’s hand.
“Maeve.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maeve,” she said before stepping forward to hug Max. “I’m glad you’re back.”
He patted her back before she turned away from him to embrace Daniel. “I was worried about you,” she said.
“We ran into some company in the woods, had to take shelter until we were sure they’d moved on,” Daniel told her.
“Did you make it to all of the safe houses?”
“We did. There are more fighters than we expected, close to three thousand, maybe more.”
“Good.” Braith walked forward to slide his arm around Aria’s waist and draw her against his side. “When will they be arriving?”
“They should all be here by nightfall,” Daniel answered and pulled his cloak off.
“That will be a good time to move,” Braith said. “They won’t expect a nighttime attack.”
Daniel sank onto a bale of straw. He dropped his head into his hand and rubbed tiredly at his temples. Aria pulled away from Braith and walked over to sit beside her brother. “Are you okay?” she inquired.
Daniel gave her a wan smile as he lowered his hand. “I’m tired, but okay.”
“You should go rest. We’ll get everything set up,” she told him.
“I think I’m going to take you up on that one, but I’ll be in the back of the barn. I’ve had enough of being underground for a bit.”
Braith watched him as he rose and walked to the shadows at the back of the barn. Aria remained seated on the bale, nervously watching her brother.
“We had better prepare the ones below and all those hiding nearby in the caves,” Braith said, and Aria rose to her feet.
She took hold of his hand and followed him underground once more.
***
William
“It’s so pretty,” Tempest said, drawing William’s gaze away from the glittering blue lake before them and to her.
He couldn’t resist brushing back a strand of her silvery hair from her cheek. “Nowhere near as pretty as you,” he said honestly.
Color crept through her face, and her gaze flitted away as she smiled. “You’re a flatterer.”
“Just calling it like I see it,” he replied and enfolded his hand around her neck to draw her closer. He kissed her forehead and inhaled her wintry scent. “I love you.”
“I love you too. We’re going to get through this.”
“Yes,” he said and kissed her again. Though he knew there was a good possibility not all of them would make it through the coming battle. “We are. Sabine isn’t going to know what hit her when she sees Braith, and she won’t be prepared for the forces we’ve managed to gather.”
Tempest’s gaze went back to the lake and the sun reflecting across its smooth, blue surface. He took hold of her hand, marveling at how small it was as he ran his fingers over the back of it.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Tempest.”
A playful smile curved her mouth as she turned her head to the side. “I certainly hope so. You’re stuck with me.”
“I can’t think of anyone I’d want to be stuck with more.”
“You’re such a romantic.”
He grinned at her as he went down to his knee before her. Her mouth parted as he pulled a simple wooden ring from his pocket. With no jewelry nearby, or any way to get it right now, he’d made the ring from a small branch and etched a Celtic knot onto its surface.
“Will you be my wife?” he asked and held it up before her.
Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she gazed at it in awe. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. William gazed up at her, his heart in his throat as he waited for her to say or do something.
“Yes,” she finally croaked out. “Yes!”
William slid the wooden band onto her finger before launching himself to his feet. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into the air. Pulling her head back, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that left her shaking against him when he broke it off.
Her eyes were dazed when they met his, her lips swollen. Lifting her hand, she wiggled her fingers before her. “It’s beautiful.”
“When this is over, I will get you any ring you desire,” he vowed.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “This is my ring. It’s the only one I want.”
He grinned at her before kissing her again.
***
Aria
Aria gazed over all of the people crowding within the barn. There were easily over a few thousand individuals converging inside and flowing out the doorway beyond. Some men and women would be staying behind to protect and watch over the children who would remain below, but most would be coming with them.
Her fingers fidgeted at her sides as she struggled to appear calm and determined. They were going to war, again. Braith stood proudly by her side, his gaze surveying everyone within and those beyond the doors who wouldn’t fit inside. The feel of his arm against hers electrified her skin as the hard edge of his power caressed her. She didn’t think he was even aware of it seeping out of his pores right now, but the others were as they admiringly surveyed him while remaining a good five feet back.
What would happen if he died again? She didn’t want to find out, but would he come back stronger? Or did he only get one chance to cheat death and the next time would be the last? Aria shuddered at the possibility.
Keegan brushed against her side, his large head rubbing her thigh. She smiled before resting her hand on his head. It had been so long since she’d seen the wolf and she’d missed him. White hairs speckled his muzzle now, but he was still formidable and protective as he circled around the two of them.
Her head tilted back when she felt Braith’s gaze boring into her. “You did something amazing here, Arianna.”
“They’re always prepared to fight,” she replied dismissively.
“It’s more than that. You brought them all together during a time when many in your shoes would have fallen apart.”
She glanced away from him, uncomfortable with the reminder of those dismal days. Their bond had been renewed, but she could still feel the madness dancing at the edges of her mind. She’d never forget what the impending insanity had felt like. If something happened to him again, she would snap in
a way that would make Atticus look like he’d been a completely rational, caring man.
“I couldn’t have done it alone,” she said, uncomfortable with his praise when she’d spent a lot of that time trying not kill anyone who walked by her. “And I didn’t. This never could have been accomplished without the others.”
“No it couldn’t have, but one could ever doubt you are meant to be a queen,” he said.
The hungry look in his eyes caused her toes to curl as heat crept through her body. “You keep looking at me like that, and I’m going to jump you in a completely unqueenly way.”
He laughed as he rested his hand on her shoulder and drew her against him. The heat of his body warmed hers and made her sigh in relief and joy. She still couldn’t believe he really was back from the dead, standing beside her. She kept expecting to wake from a dream, but with every passing second she became increasingly convinced he was with her again.
Across the way, she spotted William and Tempest slipping through the crowd to enter the barn. Tempest had a leaf sticking out of her disheveled hair. William pulled the leaf away and tossed it aside as his gaze scanned the barn. He stopped searching when his eyes fell on her and Braith.
Taking hold of Tempest’s hand, he led her through the crowd toward them, a big grin on his face. Aria couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the joy radiating from him. “What is it?” she asked when they reached them.
“I asked Tempest to marry me and she accepted,” he said proudly.
Aria did a double take. She’d known this was coming, but still she couldn’t quite picture her brother proposing. She released a delighted cry as she threw her arms around him before turning to embrace Tempest. “Welcome to the family!”
Tempest hugged her back. “Thank you,” she said as Aria released her.
Braith clasped William’s hand and shook it before turning to Tempest. “It’s not too late to change your mind and run,” he told her when he took hold of her hand.
William scowled at him, Aria elbowed him, and Tempest laughed. “I have no plans of running,” she said.
Braith released her hand as Jack, Hannah, Daniel, Timber, Max, and Maeve walked over to join them. For a minute, Aria could almost pretend she stood with her family, celebrating William’s good news and simply being happy. Then, she glanced at the growing crowd around her and reality returned. They could celebrate now, but some of them would not survive the night.