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.

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.

"Put me down!" she snapped. His grip simply tightened on her. Irritation and frustration simmered within her, moving rapidly toward a boiling point as everything inside of her threatened to explode at once. She wanted to scream, wanted to kick and claw and go wild, but she did none of those things, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her broken. She folded her arms over her chest as she focused her gaze stubbornly beyond Jack, and on the gardens.

Seeming to realize that she wasn't going to bend, Braith placed her unhurriedly down but didn't release her. He kept his arm latched around her waist. "My family will not come for me," Aria declared firmly. "No matter what happens, no matter what is done to me, they will not come for me. They can't."

His fingers clutched on her stomach as he pulled her closer against him, pressing her back flat against him. Astonishment filtered over Jack's face as he surveyed her and Braith. "Damn it Arianna! You should have told me!" Braith roared, causing her to flinch in response.

She shuddered, wishing she could take solace in his arms, like she had before, but she knew there was no solace to be found this time. Telling him wouldn't have changed any of this; it only would have denied her the few moments of happiness she had found with him. No matter what, she would not trade those moments for anything, not even to avoid this. He couldn't protect her from this; he couldn't stop his family from torturing her, not once his brother revealed who she truly was. She didn't even pretend to kid herself that he could, it would be impossible.

Aria closed her eyes, fighting the hot wash of tears. "I can't let you turn her in Jericho." Aria's eyes flew open in shock, Braith's hand brushed briefly across her stomach, stroking her soothingly. She was trembling within his grasp, uncertain about what he was saying. Uncertain she had heard him right. He released her, pushing her behind him, pinning her against the door. "I can't let you tell them."

Amazement radiated from Jack as his gaze darted wildly between them. "What are you saying?" he demanded.

"I am saying that you will not be leaving this room until we figure something out, but it will not involve you taking her, and it will not involve you telling them who she is."

Aria rested her fingers on Braith's back, too taken aback to move for a moment. Slowly, she peered around his back to look at Jack. "Braith..."

"You may be mature now, but I can still take you," Braith warned.

Aria gaped in astonishment, Jack's mouth dropped as his dark eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Braith," she breathed. Her fingers curled into the shirt he wore, she was awed by the fact that he was willing to protect her. He was going against his own kind, going against his family, for her.

"She can't stay here Braith," Jack retorted. "You know that."

"You're not giving her to them!" He took a threatening step toward his brother.

Aria jerked on his shirt, trying to pull him back. His body quivered with rage, his muscles vibrated with it. She didn't want to die, didn't want to be handed over to be tortured and used against her family, but she also wasn't going to watch two brothers fight because of her. If Braith was injured she would never forgive herself.

"I never planned to," Jack told him.

Both Aria and Braith started at his words. "Excuse me?" Braith grated.

Jack rocked back on his heels as he studied the two of them. "Apparently we have a lot to discuss, but you can rest assured that I am not here to turn Aria over to our father."

"Then what are you here for?" Aria whispered.

Jack turned to her, his eyes remorseless. "To bring you home."

Aria's fingers dug into Braith's shirt as she trembled against him, she was thrilled by Jack's words. Home! To be home in her forest, with her friends, and her family! To be free, running wild, back in the world that she knew and loved so much, to be amongst the animals and trees, to breathe fresh air and not have to be leashed in order to do so. It was all so wonderful, and she craved it so badly that she could nearly taste it.

Then Braith turned toward her. She felt the heat of his gaze behind his glasses, the alarm that filled him as she tilted her head back. She knew she couldn't keep the hope from her gaze, but there was a new sense of longing swirling rapidly within her. She would have her freedom, but she would not have him. She clung to him, unable to let go, unable to stop the surge of anguish that shot through her.

What was wrong with her? She should be embracing this; she should be halfway out the door with Jack right now, not standing here feeling confused and heartbroken. Her head dropped against his chest, she could scarcely breathe through the jolt of loss that swamped her. She barely knew him but there was so much between them, so much that would keep them apart, yet the idea of separating from him was almost unbearable. He remained unmoving for a moment before his hand slid into her hair and he cradled her against him.

"Yes," Braith agreed. "Apparently we do have a lot to discuss."