Sometimes Melinda wondered if Atticus had known about her relationship with Ashby and spared his life for her. Before reading his journals, she would have stated without a doubt Atticus had no heart, had been born a monster and would always be one. Now she wondered if there had still been a small sliver of the man he’d once been within him, and he’d taken pity on her and allowed Ashby to live.
She may not have been his daughter, Atticus had known that, but perhaps that’s why he may have shown some kindness to her when he wouldn’t have done so for his own children. He hadn’t been forced to create her in order to keep up appearances as he had with her siblings.
She would never know the answer to the question, but she would never deny that a part of her had come to believe it to be true. Maybe she only hoped there had still been kindness in him, still been a piece of the man who had at one time existed in this world, before it had all been torn away from him. Melinda shivered and rubbed her hands over her arms.
Ashby swung his cloak off, but she waved it away when he went to drape it around her shoulders. “You’re shivering,” he whispered.
“I was thinking,” she replied.
“About Braith.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered him anyway. “Braith and other things.”
She couldn’t resist stepping closer to him. She’d never known it was possible to love someone as much as she loved him. Every day it grew stronger. The idea of losing him—
It was not one she would entertain.
“What other things?” he inquired as he returned his cloak to his shoulders and clasped her elbow.
“Do you ever think maybe Atticus knew about our relationship, and that’s why he sent you away instead of adding you to his trophy room.”
Ashby’s handsome features hardened at the mention of Atticus, and his green eyes swung back to her. “Yes,” he admitted.
“Do you believe it to be true?”
“I don’t know.” He pushed aside a branch for her so she could duck under it. “We will never truly know what he thought. His mind was rotten from years of a driving thirst for vengeance. Perhaps there was still some of the man he once was in there, but there wasn’t much of him.”
Melinda stopped when she came face to face with a massive boulder more than twenty feet tall and fifty feet wide. She frowned at it before beginning to make her way around the rock. “That’s what I think too, but I like to believe he did have some kindness left in him.”
Ashby drew back on her elbow, turning her to face him. Brushing back a strand of her hair, he bent to kiss her. Melinda had just relaxed against him when he pulled away and cupped her face. “Then I will believe it with you.”
She smiled at him and rested her cheek against his chest. With everything that had been going on, Jack’s wedding to Hannah, William’s return with news of this rising threat, their rushed evacuation of Chippman, and now this attack, she hadn’t had a chance to tell him about the baby. She hadn’t wanted to take anything away from Jack and Hannah’s day, and had planned to wait until they were back at the palace before revealing it to him, but now she knew there may be no returning to the palace.
Her brother was dead. Her heart clenched at the reminder, and fresh tears burned her eyes. She’d never been close to Braith after Jack had returned her to the palace. He was far older than she was, distant and reserved. He’d always been polite to her, but he’d been polite to everyone without ever getting close to them. Then, Ashby had accidentally blinded him in the rebellion of the aristocrats against Atticus. Afterwards, she’d stayed further away from Braith out of guilt over her relationship with Ashby and fear of their affair being discovered.
Since Braith had discovered Aria and broken out of the role Atticus had relegated him to, they had grown closer. She’d come to consider him her friend as well as her brother, and now he was gone. Aria was gone now too, not only to lead their new enemy away, but she would be lost to them if Braith didn’t come back from death—a feat she would have believed impossible before Aria had stated that she believed the vampire threatening them to be Sabine. Now Melinda held out hope that Aria was right. She’d come to love Aria as a friend and sister; she would mourn her loss the same as the loss of Braith.
After the events of today, she knew they had no idea what awaited them in their future, and there would never be a perfect time to tell Ashby, at least not anytime soon.
Ashby went to turn away from her, but she took hold of his hand and drew him back. “What is it?” he inquired.
“I’m pregnant.”
He couldn’t have looked more shocked if she’d told him she’d grown a tail. His mouth parted, and his eyes held hers for a minute before falling to her still-flat stomach. His mouth closed, then opened again; his hand extended toward her stomach before dropping away. She clasped hold of his hand and pressed it against her belly.
“Are you sure?” he croaked out.
“Yes. I know this wasn’t planned—”
She never got a chance to finish before he lifted her into the air. Melinda bit back a laugh as he spun her around. They couldn’t draw attention to themselves, but the radiant smile on his face and the glow in his eyes made her almost scream with joy. He crushed her against his chest, his hands smoothing back her hair as he rained kisses across her face. She giggled as she hugged him close.
“How long have you known?” he inquired when he set her on the ground and clasped her cheeks.
“I’ve suspected for a couple of weeks now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.
“I was waiting until after the wedding, until we were home, but now we may never make it home.”
The growl rumbling through his chest surprised her. His good-natured ease, roguish charm, quirky smile, and whistling habit were some of the things she loved best about him, but he was not a willing fighter.
“We will make it home,” he grated. “We will grow to see our child play in the gardens with his many cousins over the years to come.”
The joyful image of such a thing filled her mind; she could practically hear the laughter of all the children, but as the image rose, it died away. There may never be cousins if something were to happen to Jack too.
“It could be a girl,” she murmured instead of expressing her depressing thoughts.
“And I will spend many years fending off all the men sure to be chasing her around if she’s half as beautiful as her mother.”
Melinda wrapped her arms around his back. Her fingers dug into his flesh as she held him against her and simply allowed herself one second of serenity in a world that had become filled within nothing but grief.
“We must go,” she whispered and turned her face into his neck to kiss him.
He took hold of her hand as they turned to finish making their way around the boulder. Stepping out from the back of the rock, Melinda gasped and took a startled step back when they came face to face with half a dozen bows and arrows pointed directly at them.
CHAPTER 10
William
“William.” He turned to find Tempest standing in the doorway of the storage room established within the cave. She looked so small, so fragile with the dark circles under her eyes and her silvery hair falling around her shoulders. He drank in the sight of her slender body with its enticing curves.
Releasing the clothes he’d been gathering, he covered the ten feet separating them in an instant. Her hands fell on his shoulders when he lifted her up, clasped hold of her hair, and pulled her head back to claim her mouth with his. Her lips burned into his, heating the chill permeating his body since Aria, in her grief and despair, had collapsed into the snow to claw at herself like an animal trying to free itself from a trap.
Shoving the image out of his mind, he carried Tempest over to the wall and rested her against it as he released her mouth. He lowered his head and sank his fangs into her throat. Her sweet blood surged into his mouth, strengthening him as it flowed through his system. He growle
d low in his throat when he felt the scrape of her fangs over his flesh before they sank into him.
He was being too rough with her, but he couldn’t get close enough to her right now. All reason vanished as the bond between them swelled and grew further. He could stay in here with her for the rest of their lives and be fine with it.
But he couldn’t, and no matter how badly he desired her now, no matter how badly he needed her, he could not lose himself to her. He forced his fangs to retract and rested his head in the hollow of her throat. Her familiar and much-loved wintry scent assailed him.
He understood what Aria was going through. If someone took Tempest from him, he would tear the world apart, but he had to keep his twin from getting herself killed, and he had to keep Tempest protected.
“I lost control. I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely against her throat.
“Don’t be,” she whispered as she threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled his head back to look at him. “I need you too, badly, but there are things we have to do first, and your sister…” Her voice trailed off. Her doe brown eyes darted away before settling on the clothes he’d been holding. “I think getting her cleaned up will help. I came to ask if there is water somewhere in these caves?”
William reluctantly released his hold on her and stepped away. “I’ll get it if you’ll take the clothes out to Aria.”
Tempest walked over to retrieve the clothes he’d dropped. This store room had some provisions in it, but there was no human food remaining here, and there were no medical supplies or bandages. Thankfully, most of Aria’s injuries would heal soon enough. As he turned to leave the room, he kissed Tempest again.
Taking one of the torches he’d lit, he didn’t look back as he left her behind. He snaked through the tunnels before arriving at a locked gate; he dug out the key and slipped through to the other side. After they’d made it to the center cavern, they’d discovered two of the locked gates no longer had keys, which limited their options for fleeing if they had to, but they wouldn’t be leaving here tonight anyway. They had to rest and get cleaned up before they could continue on.
He hoped in the morning Aria would agree to return to where they’d left the others, but he wouldn’t bet on it. His sister was as stubborn as he was, and she was determined to seek her revenge. He understood what drove her now. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d been driven by his need to kill Kane. Tempest had helped to ease that driving thirst for vengeance in him, but Aria had no one to temper her, not anymore.
A chill ran down his spine as he recalled the night in Hannah’s tavern when Aria had revealed Atticus’s journals to him. Had it really only been days ago? He could never forget Aria’s words to him, or the lifelessness within her when she’d spoken… “So if he is taken from me, I need you to understand why I may have to be destroyed too. To really understand, William, and not just say you do.”
He’d wanted to blow her off at the time, to convince her nothing would happen to Braith, but he’d been unable to. Aria expected him to be able to destroy her if it became necessary. He would do it before he ever allowed her to become as malevolent and warped as Atticus had become, but he would also do everything he could to save her before he ever considered the possibility of ending her life.
The trickling sound of water drew him to the spot in the caves where water from a stream above flowed down the rocks. He placed the torch beside the ice flow forming on the floor and over the wall of the cave before grabbing the pitcher sitting on a rock shelf beside the water. He filled it and made his way back to the main cavern.
Entering the cave, he found Aria sitting on one of the rocks, her head bowed and her shoulders hunched up around her ears. Over the years, he’d seen his sister boney from lack of food, withdrawn after being separated from Braith, and devastated by the loss of their father, but he’d never seen her look so small or broken before. Her torment made him feel more helpless than he’d ever felt in his life.
Tempest lifted her head from where she sat beside Aria, her hand resting on Aria’s shoulder. It surprised him that Aria allowed Tempest to touch her right now, but he had a feeling she had little real acknowledgement of the world surrounding her anymore.
He walked across the room toward them and Tempest turned to pull a rag from a pile sitting beside the rock. “I’ll take care of her,” she said and took the pitcher from William’s hands. “Can we build a fire in here or will the smell of it travel?”
“It will travel,” he replied and walked away to inspect the gates they’d closed off upon entering. They’d lost their pursuers in the forest, but he couldn’t let his guard down even a little right now.
“I can do it,” Aria said to Tempest.
“Let me help,” Tempest said, and though he’d expected her to protest, Aria didn’t speak. “I couldn’t gather all of the clothing, can you do it, William?” Tempest asked him.
He nodded and turned to leave. He froze when he heard the crunch of a footstep from within one of the tunnels. Aria was up and beside him in an instant, her bow raised and an arrow nocked as she took aim at whoever hid within the shadows beyond the closed gate.
“Who’s there?” Aria demanded.
Silence met her question.
***
Melinda
“I’m sorry milady,” one of the king’s guard apologized and hastily lowered his bow.
Melinda’s shoulders slumped in relief, but Ashby continued to scowl at all of the men and women who had pointed their weapons at them. Behind the king’s guard, the residents of Chippman and the refugee survivors of Badwin were huddled close together. Their eyes were filled with alarm as they surveyed her and Ashby.
“Where is the king?” one of the king’s men inquired.
“We were ambushed by the same group of people who devastated Badwin.” Cries of alarm met her statement, and frightened murmurs raced through the crowd. “My brothers are working to try to keep everyone protected.” Not entirely a lie. “We’ve been sent back to see you safely onto the palace, but we must move quickly.”
“Is Hannah okay?” An older-looking vampire shoved his way to the front of the crowd to demand. Melinda recognized him as Hannah’s uncle Abe.
Many of the residents of Chippman had some kind of genetic defect. Abe hadn’t stopped aging until he was sixty-two. He was spry and healthy, and wouldn’t age another day, but he looked older than most of the vampires surrounding him. Beside him stood his son, Lucas, and Hannah’s best friend, Ellen. Their faces were filled with worry as they stared anxiously at her. Tempest’s best friend, Pallas, and a few of the children she’d fled Badwin with also pushed their way to the front to stare at her.
“Hannah is fine. Everyone is fine,” she assured them, or at least most of them had been fine the last time Melinda had seen them. “Now, we have to go.”
They would be able to move faster now that the sun was down and the vampires from Chippman who were unable to stand its rays, like Lucas, could travel without the hindrance of the covered carriages built for them.
“Leave the carriages behind,” Ashby said when some of the vampires started to ready the horses for them. “We will be returning to the palace tonight.”
“What if we don’t?” one of the vampires demanded anxiously.
Ashby’s gaze didn’t waver as he met and held the man’s. “We have no choice but to reach it tonight.”
Uneasy murmurs went through the crowd. “Then we will reach it tonight,” Lucas declared. “Easy enough if we move out now. Let’s go everyone.”
Melinda took a minute to gather herself as she watched them all saddle their horses. They were doing as she and Ashby had instructed. Now they had to get them all to safety. Ashby claimed a horse from one of the king’s men and lifted her into the saddle.
“I can get up on my own,” she said.
“Nope,” he said as he swung onto the saddle to settle himself behind her. “Get used to being pampered and not lifting a finger. I intend to spoil you.”
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“More than you already do?”
His smile was strained; his normally lively eyes didn’t dance, but she still saw the joy in his gaze as he stared at her belly then her. “Far more.”
She settled back against him when he nudged the horse in the side and they took off at a brisk trot through the woods. They weren’t as familiar with this area of the forest as Aria and her brothers were, but Melinda had been through here enough to know at least three ways back to the palace.
“We can’t take the main road,” she said.
“No, we can’t,” Ashby agreed as he steered them toward a rocky ledge and two side roads.
One side road ran parallel to the main road, about three miles away from it, but still too close to the main for her liking. The other was a convoluted pathway that meandered through the woods, over a mountain and down into a valley. It was a little known road and rarely traveled, but it would add hours onto their trip, and if they were cornered in the valley, there would be no escape.
“We’re going to have to stay in the woods,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed and rested her hands on top of the lean muscles of his forearms. “Let’s hope we don’t get lost.”
“I’m like a compass. I always know the way,” he replied.
“I feel like your compass might have us going in circles.”
“Then it’s a good thing I have you to help guide the way.”
“I hope so.”
He led the horse down a steep embankment and into a gully; she didn’t think it was the same gully from earlier today—had that really only been today? It felt as if days had passed since they’d first been attacked. Looking out at the landscape before them, her stomach turned at the reminder of her brother’s death.
CHAPTER 11