CHAPTER 16
Aria tried to take a step toward her father, but Braith held her tight. The muscles in his ridged arms clamped against her, the hard muscles of his body rippled beneath his clothes. She had not missed the fact that Braith had turned her, putting her in a more secure position, using his body to defend hers.
But there was no need for him to protect her. This was her father, her family. And as she watched William and Daniel slipped into the room behind Jack and her father. “It’s ok Braith,” she whispered.
“Wait,” he hissed; his voice low and commanding. She frowned at him, but did not fight against his hold. He was thrown off balance right now; he needed her with him in order to keep himself steady. Otherwise he might hurt someone in this room, someone she cared about, someone he cared about.
“You told him everything?” Jack asked softly.
Melinda nodded; she stepped closer to Ashby as she eyed Aria’s family wearily. Melinda didn’t trust her own kind, and it was more than apparent she didn’t trust humans either. Especially rebel humans. “Can I untie him now?” she inquired of Braith, her voice wavering slightly. He remained unmoving, his eyes dark and intense. “We can’t take you down Braith; all of us combined probably couldn’t take you down.”
“He knows that, and that’s not what he’s worried about. That’s never what he’s worried about anymore,” Jack said softly.
“Then what!?” Melinda demanded, her composure beginning to unravel. She was frustrated, angry that Ashby was still being restrained. “What Braith, what do you want!?”
Jack’s gaze came slowly to Aria, she frowned fiercely back at him. “He can protect himself, but if one of us, just one gets by him…”
“You don’t have to fear my family Braith, they won’t hurt me,” Aria said softly, reassuringly. She ran her hands up and down his arms, looking to soothe him. “And you don’t have to fear yours.”
“Don’t I?”
She shook her head, standing on tiptoe she pulled him down to her to make sure that he could hear her, but no one else could. “If they wanted to hurt you they would have done so by now. They may have kept things from you, but even you admit you were in the wrong place at the wrong time when you were blinded. None of them meant for you to be hurt, in fact they’ve been trying to protect you for a long time. Anyone of them could have killed you in that palace if they had really wanted to. Jack could have hurt me in the forest, rather than giving me back to you.”
“I’m not risking your life,” he growled.
“You won’t be,” she promised. “Just let her untie Ashby, Braith. I couldn’t stand to see you like that either. They haven’t earned your trust Braith, not yet, but you haven’t earned theirs either.”
His jaw clenched, a muscle jumped in his cheek. For a brief moment his arms tightened on her, and then, ever so slowly, his grip relaxed. “Untie him,” he ordered briskly. “But I will kill you both if you come anywhere near her.”
Melinda stared at Aria for a long moment, her eyes wide with surprise and thanks. Then she turned swiftly to Ashby, her fingers flew deftly over the knots. Aria refused to look at her family; she could feel their shocked, horrified gazes; she didn’t have to see them. Ashby’s hands came forward; he rubbed his wrists together as Melinda untied his ankles.
As the last of the ropes fell away, they embraced tightly, clinging to one another. Aria’s heart went out to them, her hands clenched tighter on Braith. She needed him so much, needed his embrace and touch and security. She wanted to run from here with him, and her family, but she had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen for a very long time, if ever. There was something changing inside of Braith, something evolving and growing within him that frightened her. She wanted to cling to him, to never let him go. She wanted to stay grounded with him forever, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not if whatever was going on inside of him was any indication.
She’d been well aware of the fact that he’d had no solid plan for them when they’d fled those caves. He had a plan now, or at least he had some idea of what he intended to do. The only problem was that his plan was going to terrify her, and it was going to leave her out, of that much she was certain.
“Aria?”
She turned slowly toward her family, trying hard to keep her tears, and fear, at bay. Her father was watching them intently, his head turned slightly to the side as he inspected her. He was normally clean shaven, but he had a couple days worth of growth shadowing his strong jaw. His hair was dark auburn like hers, and William’s, but recently it had started to become streaked with strands of white that also shadowed his beard. His eyes were a bright, piercing green that had never failed to pin her to the spot and make her squirm. Time had etched lines around his eyes and mouth, but he was still a handsome man. Especially when he smiled, which wasn’t very often, and certainly wasn’t now.
She wanted to go to him, to all of them, but Braith’s tension was too high. “I’m ok dad, really.”
She offered him a tremulous smile that did nothing to soothe the tension humming through him. His gaze traveled slowly to Braith. Hatred simmered in his gaze, but there was also confusion and disbelief. “This is the prince?” he inquired.
Aria rested her hand on Braith’s chest, trying to soothe the anger she felt rapidly building in him. She knew it was not going to be easy, but her family would have to learn to trust him as they had learned to trust Jack. And Braith was going to have to learn to trust someone besides her.
“One of them,” Braith replied in a low growl. “The youngest one is standing in front of you.”
Her father’s eyes darted briefly to Jack, but he didn’t acknowledge Braith’s words. “You’re the one that claimed my daughter as a blood slave; you’re the one that took her this time also.”
“Yes.”
Fury flashed across her father’s face. William and Daniel’s eyes widened, but they did not radiate the hatred her father did. “You held her, you tortured her…”
“I have told you many times that I was not tortured in there!” Aria interrupted sharply.
“I saw the bite marks!” her father snapped.
Aria blinked in surprise. Her hands tightened on Braith’s arms, not to comfort him this time, but because she needed his strength. “Everything I gave, I gave willingly,” she said softly, truthfully.
“Like hell!”
It was not her father that exploded with those two words, but Max. Aria hadn’t realized he was just outside the doorway behind her father, Daniel, and William. He shoved his way forward now, pushing roughly past them as he shouldered his way into the room. Aria’s eyes widened in surprise, she had never seen him look so wild, so crazed, and so completely out of control. His blue eyes were wild in his head, his hair in disarray. Braith stiffened, pushing her back as Max charged at them.
Jack leapt forward, snagging hold of Max’s arm as Braith released a snarl that caused even her heart to leap in terror. Max swung on Jack, catching him hard beneath his chin and knocking him back a small step. Jack was far stronger than Max, but he had not expected the punch as he was knocked off balance by it. Not only had he not expected the first punch, but he sure as hell hadn’t expected the one two combination that Max laid on him next.
Daniel and William were lunging at Max, but he had already shaken off Jack and was charging back at them. “You’re lying!” he accused, his shoulders stiff as he barreled toward them. “He’s twisted you! You’re lying!”
Daniel, William, and Jack continued after him, but they were never going to stop him in time. Neither was Ashby as he pulled Melinda swiftly out of the way before lunging forward to make a failed grab at Max. Braith released her, pushing her behind him as he used his body to block her from Max’s attack. Terror hammered through Aria, this could not happen, she could not allow this to happen. Max was out of his mind; he had been tortured and used as a blood slave, he had been twisted and wounded in ways that she could never begin to imagine. Max did not understand her love for Braith because he was convinced that Braith had done the same things to her.
“Wait! Stop!” she gasped in horror.
Braith tried to push her farther back but she ducked, dodging his arm as he tried to snag hold of her. She thrust herself forward, throwing herself in between Max and Braith. Unfortunately she hadn’t seen what it was that Max wielded in his hand until it was too late. His arm was already flung forward, the metal blade whipped through the air even as she rose to her full height.
Braith’s hand shot out in front of her. The blade slammed into his palm, driving through flesh and bone before bursting out the other side. Aria stared at it in horror. It was only a mere inch from the center of her forehead, exactly where Braith’s heart was behind her. Though the metal blade would not have killed Braith, it would have wounded him and knocked him back enough for Max to get to him, for Max to try and use the wooden stake he now wielded.
Aria’s heart lumbered painfully in her chest. She stared at the awful weapon, the one that would have killed her; the one that was still embedded in Braith’s hand. It had to hurt, but he showed no sign of that as he reached around her, grabbed hold of the blade and ripped it swiftly out. It sliced through; the scrape of metal on bone was loud in the room that had become deathly silent.
Blood trailed down Braith’s hand, plopping loudly onto the wooden floor. Aria swallowed heavily, terrified at what was to come, terrified of what Braith’s reaction would be. She could feel the fury radiating from him; feel the deadly tension that vibrated from him. He was so wound up that she didn’t think she’d be able to stop him from killing Max. No one moved, no one even breathed.
Even Max, horrified by the fact that he had nearly killed her, seemed to have regained some control over himself. Braith, not surprisingly, was the first to react. He fisted his hand, twisting it before him. Aria was horrified by the blood that spilled freely from the large wound. She reached for him, but he seized hold of her hand, his touch surprisingly gentle for the pain he had to be suffering.
“Braith.”
Aria could hear the nervous tension and worry in Jack’s voice. She understood it completely, though she could not see Braith’s face, she could feel the murderous intent thrumming through him. Max took a small step back; Aria knew that what he was seeing had to be terrifying. Though he was large, temperamental, and fierce, Braith had always been relatively gentle and kind with her. She knew that was not who he was though. It was who he was with her, but with others, and to others, he could be cruel, brutal, and lethal.
It was the lethal part that she was most frightened of right now.
Aria turned, she needed to see him, needed to know what he was thinking. His eyes were fierce on Max, a violent shade of red that caused Aria’s knees to tremble. His fangs had extended, but they did not drop over his bottom lip. Instead, they were clamped behind his full mouth. His jaw was clenched tight, a muscle jumped high in his cheek.
He was terrifying, and deadly. “Braith, please,” she whispered tremulously. His eyes flickered to her, but there was no softening in his features. “He didn’t know what he was doing.”
“He could have killed you,” Braith grated.
“I wasn’t going for her,” Max retorted.
“Max, shut up!” Jack snarled.
“Well I wasn’t.”
Jack lunged forward; he seized hold of Max’s arm, ripping him swiftly back. “You are an idiot.”
“Let go of me!” Max snapped. “I’m going to kill him!”
Jack was struggling to get Max under control, Braith was a tightly wound bowstring behind her. Aria’s head was spinning, the confusion in the room was mind numbing. Her father was grasping for Max, terror and anger etched into the lines of his face. “That’s enough Maxwell!” her father commanded sharply.
But even her father, a man that had helped to raise Max, a man that Max highly respected and listened too, could not pierce the fury that surrounded him. He continued to struggle, his face florid with anger; a vein throbbed in his forehead. “He’s corrupted her! He’s made her a traitor, a disgrace to her own people, and he needs to die for his perversity!”
Aria recoiled from his words, feeling as if she had been slapped, feeling as if she was the one that had been stabbed. Pain sliced deeply through her. For the first time she realized that Max would never forgive her for this. She had lost him forever. “You bitch!”
Aria gasped, but it was not Max’s words that caused her reaction, but the sudden explosion of motion from behind her. She barely saw Braith, and she most certainly did not hear him, as he sped across the room. Jack didn’t have time to react, her father had one hand on Max’s arm, but he was not strong enough to stop Braith from ripping Max swiftly away. Jack lunged gracefully forward, but it was too late. Braith was already spinning Max away from the others; he slammed Max against the wall with enough force that the entire room shook and the wall splintered.
Melinda gasped; her hand flew to her mouth. Ashby swept swiftly past her as Braith pulled back and slammed Max against the wall again. Ashby and Jack grasped hold of Braith’s shoulders, but Aria knew they were nothing more than annoying gnats against him. “I don’t care what the hell was done to you!” Braith roared his face twisted in a mask of fury the likes of which Aria had never seen before. “You hurt her, you talk to her, you so much as look at her again and I’ll rip your freaking throat out! You’ll be dead before you even knew what happened, do you understand me you little shit!?”
His hand tightened on Max’s throat, he lifted him off the ground and smashed him against the wall again. Aria was afraid the building was going to collapse as it rocked on the stilt foundations. Max’s eyes bulged, his fingers clawed at Braith’s hand as his feet began to kick against the wall. “Braith!” Jack hissed, pulling uselessly at Braith’s arm. “Let go! Damn it Braith, let go!”
Aria’s stunned stupor vanished. If she didn’t do something, Braith was going to kill Max now. “Arianna!” Melinda cried as Aria ran toward Braith.
“Stop! Don’t Braith! Please let him go!” She shoved her way past Ashby. Grabbing hold of Braith’s arm, the one pinning Max to the wall, she gave a hard tug on it. It was like trying to bend iron; he hardly even noticed that she was there. “Braith!” she hissed.
Bracing her legs on the wall, she pulled hard on his rock hard arm. “He’s my friend!” she cried in frustration and terror. “Stop it, don’t hurt him!”
Braith released Max so suddenly that Aria accidently shoved herself off the wall. She flew backward, losing her grasp on his arm as she tumbled backward. Braith spun suddenly, his arms swooping around her, catching her before she could hit the floor. Max dropped like a weight, hitting the ground with a loud thump.
Aria gazed up at Braith in stunned disbelief. He had been so quick, so fast in catching her, and so gentle as he cradled her with a tenderness that robbed her of her breath. The red faded from his eyes, his fangs swiftly retreated as he looked lovingly upon her. He ignored the rest of them as he turned away, striding with her across the room. The vampire girl was watching them in surprise, but there was a keen interest in her gaze that slightly unnerved Aria.
She peeped around Braith’s massive shoulder. Jack and Ashby were helping Max to his feet, he was rubbing his throat; the imprint of Braith’s hand was clearly visible upon it. “I would stay quiet if you want to live!” Jack hissed at him when Max opened his mouth to say something more. “She won’t be able to stop him again.”
Aria ducked back away, she looked up at Braith. She had never been afraid of him, hell she had even slapped him once, but she was truly terrified for anyone that he felt was a threat to her. For the first time she realized the true depth of his desire to protect her. He had let Max go this time, but he would not do it again. Melinda studied them, her eyes wide, her gaze disbelieving as she turned slowly toward Braith, and then Ashby.
Aria saw the silent communication that passed between them, the intensity of their stares, and their worry. “Put me down Braith,” she said softly.
He slipped her easily from his arms, balancing her lightly upon her feet. “Are you ok?” he inquired softly, pushing her hair gently back from her face as he studied her intently.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she assured him hastily. She grasped hold of his wounded hand, pulling it before her. He kept it fisted, but at her gentle prodding he slowly unfolded it. She gaped at him in wonder, her mouth dropping as she fumbled rapidly with his hand. Blood still marred his skin, but there was no wound there. Not anymore. She stared in awe, unable to believe that what she was seeing was real. It was there, she knew a wound had been there but there wasn’t even one scratch upon his flesh anymore. His hand curled around hers, he pulled her close for a brisk, firm kiss on her forehead.
“It’s ok Arianna, I hardly felt a thing.”
She gazed up at him, her mouth parted, stunned by the rate in which the wound had vanished. She knew that vampires were able to heal rapidly, but this was something not only stunning and amazing, but also slightly unnerving. She couldn’t stop the shiver of fear that ran down her spine. “Braith?”
He kissed her again, his fingers lingering on the back of her neck. “I’m good.”
She squeezed his hand tightly, wishing that they could go somewhere, wishing that they could be alone for just a few moments to recoup. Unfortunately, that was not possible right now. He turned away from her, and though he did not try and block her from everyone again, he kept his hand on the wall by her head, and his other hand lightly on her waist. She was well aware of the fact that he had kept himself in a better position to stop her if she tried to jump forward again.
She wanted to chafe against the invisible restraints he had placed on her, wanted to chafe against his protective urges (she could take care of herself after all), but she knew that it would only irritate him more. Braith had to think that he was in control right now, even if he wasn’t. Max was still in the grip of Ashby and Jack, but he wasn’t trying to fight them anymore. He was simply staring at her and Braith as if they had just sprouted two heads, jumped on a table, and started dancing a jig while singing at the top of their lungs. Aria understood his reaction, if it had been anyone else from their camp, she would have felt the same way. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was her, and she knew that what she felt for Braith was real, it was genuine, and it was so good and pure that it made them both stronger and better.
“It appears that we have a lot to discuss.”
Aria looked across the room, trying hard to keep up the appearance of strength and courage, but her father was staring at her in a way that made her feel like a child all over again. She wanted to go to him, she wanted to hug him, she wanted to be his little girl for just one more minute, but she knew she could never be his little girl again. She wanted to apologize, wanted to tell her father that she had never wanted any of this, but she couldn’t. It was true that the last thing she had wanted was to fall in love with a vampire, but she wouldn’t change any of it. Not one damn thing about what had happened between her and Braith.
“Yes,” she agreed softly.