CHAPTER 9
Braith froze in mid step, his foot hung in the air as his head turned slowly to the side. He tuned out the normal sounds of the forest, filtering through the noise as he strained to hear what had caught his attention. He was certain that it had been a scream, certain that it had been Aria’s scream. His foot dropped upon the forest floor, crackling the leaves and sticks beneath his boot. The men with him stopped walking, turning back to him.
“What is it?” Caleb demanded.
Braith shook his head. His brother had not heard the scream, neither had the others. He didn’t know if it was because they weren’t as attuned to Aria as he was, or if it was the fact that his hearing was more acute due to his blindness. At his side, Keegan bristled, turning to survey the area of the forest Braith was certain that scream had come from. “It’s nothing,” he replied.
Though it was far more than nothing. That scream had been echoing and terrified. And it had come from the one person that he cared about. “I have to go.”
“Wait what!?” Caleb stammered.
Panic was beginning to seize hold of him, clawing at his chest, tearing through his insides. He had to get away from his brother, and he had to find her. He had seen her in the tree with that boy if he had done anything to hurt her Braith was going to rip out his throat. He moved swiftly through the trees, blurring as he raced across the forest. Though he could not see his surroundings, he could sense the obstacles in his way as he swiftly dodged them. Keegan was unable to keep up with him, but Braith sensed when the wolf broke off, going deeper into the woods.
The others tried to keep up with him, but he was faster and stronger than them, and he lost them easily amongst the forest. He jumped on top of a boulder, racing up the side of it before reaching the top and leaping off. Trees began to blur into focus, wavering on the outskirts of his vision. He could smell her blood, taste it in his mouth again. He was getting closer to her.
Hunger spurted through him, his veins burned with the almost intense need to feed that engulfed him. He had not fed since he had left her here a week ago, he had returned briefly to the palace, but no one appealed to him anymore, not even the willing humans he had fed from before. In fact, he was surprised to realize that the mere thought of feeding from anyone else repulsed and sickened him. It was her blood he wanted, her blood he needed, and until he could feed from her again, no one else would do.
And then Caleb had insisted upon going on one of the searches, had insisted upon going into the forest with one of the hunting parties. Braith had known that he’d have to go with him, he couldn’t take any chances that Caleb might accidently find her, that he might stumble across her. The thought was horrifying to him. He’d come with Caleb to make sure that such a thing didn’t happen, and it nearly had earlier, and might still happen if Caleb was somehow able to track him.
He skidded on a patch of leaves as he came to an abrupt halt outside of a narrow crevice between the rocks. He would have missed it if he hadn’t been tracking her scent. He slipped into the hole, barely fitting in between the boulders surrounding it. His eyes adjusted swiftly to the blackness, picking up the small bits of light within the enshrouding dark. Her sweet scent became stronger; her terror was nearly palpable within the confines of the cave.
Braith moved swiftly through the winding, tight turns, keeping his senses attuned to other presence’s as he wound through the cave. He needed to get to her, but he had to proceed with caution. He had just placed himself right into the heart of the lion’s den, he was certain of that. He was surrounded by rocks, walls, and his enemies. He was completely silent as he slipped through the narrow tunnels, keeping himself highly attuned to his surroundings. He felt like a rat trapped within a maze as he stalked her scent. He couldn’t believe that they lived down here. That Arianna lived down here.
She hated to be confined, hated being trapped anywhere. She was everything that the woods were, open, wild, and free. It was confounding to him that she could be beneath the earth within these stale confines.
Her scent was enveloping him as he turned another corner. Voices began to reach him, drifting softly through the tunnel. He stopped, his head tilting to the side as he picked up three separate sets of male voices. One of them was Jack, but the other two he didn’t recognize. He crept closer, straining to hear the words.
“What the hell happened?” one of the strange voices demanded.
“I don’t know,” Jack responded. “But we have to get her out of here. We have to get moving, now.”
Braith bristled, he assumed the her was Arianna as her scent was exceptionally strong here, and his vision was nearly perfect again. He lingered within the shadows. “Be careful with her Jack! Watch her head!” the other strange voice snapped out. “Damn it, give her to me.”
“I’ve got her Max.”
“Give me her!” Max snapped back.
“Just give her to him Jack; you’re going to need to keep your hands free if they come in here.”
Braith’s eyes widened, and then narrowed sharply. It was bad enough that his brother was touching her, but he sure as hell did not want that boy holding her. There was a soft rustling, and then Arianna made a soft, disgruntled sound. “Put me down!” she ordered. “Max, put me down!”
“Aria…”
“Let go of me! Let go of me!” her voice was nearly hysterical, it trembled and shook with the fear choking it. “I want out of here!”
“Aria…”
There was the sound of scuffling and then she gasped loudly. “Stop, please.” Her voice was a low moan of pain and anguish. And it was more than he could take; he was going to kill someone.
He stepped around the corner, his eyes narrowing and his hands fisting as he took in the sight before him. Jack was standing toward the back of the small opening, his face hard, and his jaw clenched tight. Arianna was struggling against the boy holding her, Max, as she tried to tug her hand free of his restraining grasp.
“Stop Max, let her go.” The other boy stepped forward, reaching out for Arianna as her struggles to break free became more frantic. “Aria, you have to calm down. Please.”
“Let me go!” she snapped. Tears streaked down her face as her breathing came in rapid pants. Braith had only ever seen her like this once before, and it had been when she’d thought that Max’s life was in danger. Then, she had been terrified for her friend. Now the terror was for herself; something that he had thought impossible until this moment.
“Let her go.”
Their heads snapped toward him, their mouths dropped in surprise. “Braith,” Jack whispered in shock and horror.
A small cry escaped Arianna; she was finally able to tug her hand free of Max’s relaxed grip. She ran at him, flinging herself into his arms. He lifted her, cradling her against his chest as she clung to him, burying herself against him. He wrapped his hand around the back of her head, threading his fingers through her silken hair. She pressed tighter against him, her tears wetting his shirt as she shook within his grasp.
“Shh Arianna, shh,” he soothed gently. “What happened? Did they hurt you?”
“Braith what the hell are you doing here?” Jack demanded.
He bowed his head briefly to hers, pressing his mouth against her soft hair as he eagerly inhaled her sweet scent. She was the best thing that he had ever felt, the best thing he had ever held. Jack moved away from the wall, the shock of Braith’s appearance was swiftly wearing off of the other two. He did not miss the stake that appeared within Max’s grasp. Jack grabbed hold of Max’s arm, holding him back as his sharp eyes narrowed upon Braith.
“You know what I’m doing here,” he said to his brother, adjusting his grasp on Arianna in order to keep his body in between her, and the growing hostility of the men across from him. He grasped hold of her face, gently pulling her out of his chest. Her eyes still swam with tears, but she was no longer openly sobbing and she seemed to have regained some control of herself. “Are you ok?”
She managed a nod, her bright eyes questioning as she studied him. “It’s not safe for you here,” she whispered.
“I know.” He looked back at the others, his eyes resting upon the redhead who was gaping at the two of them in shock. His gaze turned slowly toward Arianna before coming back to Braith. Max looked like he was about to snap, fury radiated from every inch of him as he glared furiously at the two of them. “Did they hurt you?” he growled. He didn’t care if they were her friends and family, he was spoiling for a good fight.
“You shouldn’t be here, you need to leave,” she whispered fervently, her hands clutching at him as her eyes became frantic. “Braith…”
“It’s ok Arianna,” he said softly. “I’ll be fine.”
“She’s right Braith, you need to leave,” Jack insisted. “Where is Caleb?”
“Elsewhere.”
“Braith…”
“He doesn’t know where I am,” he interrupted sharply.
“But he could find you, and by doing so, find the others.”
“He could also find you.” Jack became silent, his eyes hooded as his gaze turned slowly toward Arianna. She was still shaking, but her tremors were less fierce now. “Did they hurt you?” he demanded. He would hate to do it, but he would kill Jack if he had harmed her in anyway.
She shook her head, biting on her lip as her gaze darted wildly around the cave. Terror shimmered in her eyes, her fingers clenched tighter upon him. “I don’t like it in here; I don’t want to be here.”
Of course she hated it in here. He had known that she would. “I’ll take you out then.”
“No,” Jack inserted sharply as the other two men took a swift step forward. “She needs to stay with us, and she needs to be somewhere safe. It is not safe above ground right now.”
“I’ll be safe in the trees,” she told him.
“No Aria, absolutely not. We have to meet up with your father.”
Arianna was shaking her head; her tremors were growing stronger again. “No, no, no. I am not going deeper; you can’t keep forcing me to!”
Braith ran his hands over her hair, trying to soothe her, but failing as she continued to shake like a leaf against him. “He forced you down here?” Braith snarled.
“Braith…”
“Back off Jack or I’ll rip your damn throat out if you take one more step toward her, if you touch her one more time!”
“No,” Arianna said softly. “You can’t fight, not here, not now. Please.”
Braith’s hands tightened on her shoulders, he was trying to keep her behind him, but she kept insisting on trying to get in front of him. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Max snarled.
“Don’t push me!” Braith hissed at him, fighting the rising tides of anger surging through him. They had forced her down here, forced her into this place that was obviously terrifying her. Jack pulled Max back a step, but the other man remained immobile as he watched them intently.
“Don’t push you!” Max snapped back, fighting against Jack’s restraining hand. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you!”
“You could try, but you will not succeed.”
Rage flashed across Max’s face. Jack pushed him back as he tried to lunge forward. Max struggled against him, but Jack was successful in keeping the smaller man pinned against the cave wall. “Stop it!” Arianna commanded loudly. “Stop!”
Her shaking was growing stronger by the moment, but he could also sense her anger growing beneath her terror. Max’s gaze raked scathingly over her, glaring at her from head to toe. Braith bristled beside her, pulling her further back from the infuriated boy. He didn’t trust Max. He knew that Max would kill him in a heartbeat, but he was beginning to fear that he might also hurt Arianna in his rage and hatred.
The other boy stepped forward, shooting Max a dark look as he placed himself in between them. “I’ll go up with her.”
“No William,” Arianna said softly, shaking back her dark hair. Braith took note of the striking similarities between Arianna and this boy. They had the same eyes, the same hair color, and the same lean build. He remembered Arianna telling him about her twin, remembered Jack talking about the similar hair color; it was more than obvious that this was him. “It’s safer for you to stay here.”
“I’m not letting you go up there alone.” His sapphire eyes were intense as they turned toward Braith. He studied him for a long moment, his gaze not trusting, but not hate filled either. Not like Max’s.
“I won’t be alone,” she said softly.
“Aria…”
“I’ll be ok William, really.”
William remained hesitant. “No Aria that is not going to happen.”
“I can keep her safe, I can’t promise that for you,” Braith told him.
William nodded. “That’s fine.”
“No,” Jack said forcefully. “I can’t risk the two of you being captured, especially with Daniel gone. That is too much leverage over your father should something go wrong.”
“I will keep her safe,” Braith growled. “And you don’t have an option here Jack; I’m taking her out of here no matter what you want.”
Arianna’s fingers curled tighter in his shirt, she pressed closer against him, her forehead resting briefly upon his chest. “You’re being foolish Braith. I know you don’t want to see her upset, but would rather see her dead? Damn Braith, be logical about this, she is safest down here!” Jack protested.
“I am being logical about this, and I am telling you what is going to happen. I will keep her safe. When you return above ground, you know where we’ll be.”
“You can’t take her to mother’s house. Caleb will go there.”
“I’m not taking her to the house.”
Jack was silent for a moment, and then realization finally filled his gaze. His mouth parted slightly, his fingers twitched at his sides. For a moment, his grip on Max eased. “You know what that means Braith.”
“I do. Find us when you are able to.” He turned his attention back to William. “You stay here. She will be fine, but I can’t protect you both.”
“No.” William was shaking his head forcefully. “Absolutely not. She may trust you, but I can’t.”
“You have to,” Jack said softly. “You can’t go with them William.”
“You can’t seriously be considering letting them leave here! Of letting this monster take her back!” Max exploded his face florid with rage. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Go,” Jack said softly.
“No way!” William was coming at them, his jaw locked in determination. Jack grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back.
“He isn’t going to leave here without her,” Jack’s gaze was steady, yet sad as he stared at the two of them. “He isn’t going to be separated from her again, and he’ll kill you if you try to stop him. You cannot go William. This has to happen,” Jack said forcefully.
“We should kill him!” Max snarled.
Jack was pulling a struggling William back, pushing him toward Max as he fought to keep them away. “That will not be possible,” Jack muttered, his frustration growing.
“I knew it, you are a traitorous bastard. You are on their side, not ours. You’re giving her to him!”
“No Max,” Arianna said softly, her fingers digging into Braith’s shirt and skin. “I gave myself to him, long ago.”
Max went limp, his mouth dropped as his eyes bugged out of his head. “Aria,” William breathed.
She bowed her head for a moment before lifting it to gaze at her brother and friend again. “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want to believe it but I tried to tell you.” She broke off a single tear slipping down her cheek as she swallowed heavily. “Neither of us wanted this, but it’s happened, and I can’t… I can’t let him go.”
Braith cradled her cheek for a moment, seeking to give her comfort in this tumultuous situation. “We must go,” he said softly.
“Wait.” Arianna broke away from him. Braith tried to catch hold of her, but she had already moved swiftly out of his reach. Jack caught hold of her, grasping her arms, holding her back as she tried to shove past him. She glared fiercely at Jack as she struggled to get free of his grasp. Braith reclaimed her, taking her gently from Jack’s grasp. “I want to say goodbye to my brother!” she protested angrily.
Braith glanced at her brother, he was afraid that William would not let her go. However, Jack had been right about one thing, Braith hated to see Arianna unhappy, and she would be miserable if he did not allow her to do this. He nodded briskly at Jack, who stepped aside to let William come swiftly forward. The siblings embraced tightly well Max glowered silently at them both.