CHAPTER 11
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, stunned breathless by the striking color as it flowed gracefully to the floor. There were only two things she didn’t like about the dress; it’s low cut revealed far too much of her cleavage than she liked, and the strings that were even now cutting off her breath as they pulled tight about her ribs. Ribs still tender from her beating.
“Is it too tight?” Maggie asked softly.
“Just a little,” she admitted.
“I can loosen it, but it has to be tight so that it will stay up. This is the dress that the prince chose, but maybe you could be allowed to wear another if he knew that it was painful for you.”
Aria swallowed heavily, closing her eyes as she shook her head. She had to stay with this dress; no one could think that Braith was taking any kind of sympathy with her. If this was the dress he had chosen, than she would wear it. There were probably already questions about them; she could not allow any more to be raised.
“No, it will be fine and the prince will not allow me to change it if this is the one he chose.”
“I’m sure he might, he probably wasn’t thinking when he picked it. Men do not understand strings and their tightness after all.”
“It will be fine,” Aria murmured. Maggie sighed in aggravation but returned to pulling the strings tight again. Aria closed her eyes, trying 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 than out of any real sense of curiosity.
Maggie shrugged absently, but she looked slightly troubled. “Not normally, and not when it is such a big celebration.”
“What are they celebrating?” Aria inquired. She had not seen Braith again after he had sent her to his room, but Maggie had appeared shortly after. She had explained that Braith had sent her, and that Aria was to get dressed so that she could attend the party tonight.
“The youngest prince’s return.”
“Return, return from where?” Aria asked in surprise. She hadn’t even known that he was not here, Braith had never mentioned it.
“No one knows, but he has been gone for six years.”
“Odd,” Aria whispered, mulling over Maggie’s words.
“Yes, it’s been speculated and whispered about for years,” Maggie said eagerly. “Some say that he left to fight the war on the western front, and others say that he left for the love of a woman that his father did not approve of. Of course, no one wanted to believe that one.”
“Why not?” Aria asked softly.
Maggie was silent for a moment; her gaze darted swiftly around before she bent closer to Aria. “The young prince is very handsome. No one wanted to think of him with another woman. They all hoped that they would snag him.”
“Oh,” Aria said dully. “I see.” But she didn’t see, she didn’t see how anyone could be more handsome than Braith, and she also didn’t want to think about the women running around here trying to snag a prince for themselves. Especially when it could never be her.
Aria closed her eyes as her ribs began to scream in protest. She was so intent upon trying to ignore the pain that she did not hear the prince arrive until she heard his growled command. “Leave us.”
Aria’s eyes flew open, her heart leapt wildly as she caught sight of him standing in the doorway. He was striking, magnificent, and he seemed very angry and tense right now. Aria stood slowly as Maggie glanced wildly between them. Maggie didn’t seem to want to leave Aria by herself, but when Braith barked at her to leave again she scurried swiftly from the room.
A slight shaking began to work its way through Aria, she had never seen Braith look like this. There was a strange cross between anger and fear clinging to him that left her breathless. “What is wrong?” she whispered.
“If I am going to keep you safe, then I am going to need to know more about you. Do you understand me Arianna? There can be no secrets.”
Her eyes widened, her gaze darted behind him. She could see very little of the rooms beyond him as his shoulders seemed to encompass the entire doorframe. “I don’t understand Braith, what is this about? What happened?”
“My youngest brother has returned.”
“I heard,” she said softly. He moved slowly forward, his hard body taut, his jaw clenched fiercely. “Is he ok? Is everything alright? He is safe isn’t he?” she gushed out, uncertain as to what was going on.
“He’s fine, Arianna, but he has come back in search of someone.”
Aria’s eyes widened, her heart sputtered, jumped, and leapt wildly within her ribcage. She could only assume who it was that he had come back for, and she imagined that 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 vampire’s she had encountered had been killed.
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you?”
Aria shook her head, trying hard not to seem panicked, but she knew she was failing. 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 horror as the man behind Braith moved slowly forward. She didn’t understand though, her mind would 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 consuming 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 greatly afraid she was falling in love with, and the other one a man she had once trusted with her life. She was certain that he had come here to end it. She was trying to breathe, but the dress and her panic was 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 just knew that she wasn’t wearing her leash, so there was an unbelievably small sliver of a chance that she could escape if she just stayed free of them.
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 hard to kill. But she had to try at least, she wasn’t going down without a fight; she simply wanted to stay alive for a few minutes more.
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, that they hadn’t gone another way, until she heard a reassuring grunt of pain behind her.
She grabbed hold of the library door, slamming it shut behind her as she leapt forward. Out of the corner of her, she caught a rushing blur coming at her. Aria ducked low, darting to the side as the blur dove at her. A small gasp 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, for she knew his touch anywhere, but his brother the traitor. 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 growl 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 doorknob, she worked swiftly 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 a foot open when a hand slammed hard against it, banging it shut with a resounding crash that echoed throughout the room, but did little to drown out the shattering of her heart. She tugged uselessly on the handle for a few moments more, feeling like a fool, feeling like a helpless idiot as frustration, despair, and anger filled her.
She wanted to scream for help, but there would be no one to come to her aid. No one to save her, she was trapped, and she was 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 damn royal family. And 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, they knew that, and there were far more other people’s lives at stake, than just hers. She was willing to accept that fact. She just wished it hadn’t come to this. The sense 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 liked the man, had trusted him, and brought him into his confidence. And the entire time Jack, no Jericho, had been planning to betray him. She was shaking, her body trembling with the anger radiating through her.
A hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against a hard body she recognized instantly as Braith’s. She remained stiff, wooden within his grasp. She did not 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 did want to, which she wasn’t quite sure he would. He turned her away from the door, spinning her to face Jack.
Maggie was right he was handsome, though she didn’t think him as handsome as Braith. He was as tall as Braith, with a slightly leaner, more whipcord build. His hair, lightened by his time in the sun, was not as dark as Braith’s but had lighter streaks of brown and gold highlighting it. His eyes were steel grey, piercing, and severe as his gaze locked on hers. She glared fiercely back at him, anger curling through her as she tilted her chin defiantly.
“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 and kick him in the shin. But pissing him off right now would do her little good. “Is she who you’re looking for?” he demanded harshly.
Aria remained unmoving in his grasp, her hands fisted tight as she stared hard at Jack/Jericho, her new greatest enemy. His eyes remained on her, narrowed slightly as he took her in. “One of you answer me!” Braith snarled, shaking her slightly within his grasp.
“Put me down!” she snapped. His grip simply tightened on her. Anger and frustration boiled through her, everything inside of her seemed 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 behind Jack, and on the gardens.
Seeming to realize that she was not going to bend, Braith placed her slowly down but did not release her. He kept his arm latched around her waist. “My family will not come for me,” Aria said softly. “No matter what happens, what is done to me, they will not come for me. They can’t.”
Braith hissed softly, his fingers clutched on her stomach. He pulled her tighter against him, pressing his body flat against hers. Jack’s eyes widened slightly as he surveyed her and Braith. “Damn it Arianna! You should have told me!” Braith growled.
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. And no matter what, she would not forsake those moments for anything, not even to avoid this. He could not protect her from this; he could not stop his family from hurting her, not once his brother revealed who she truly was. She did not even pretend to kid herself that he could, it would be impossible.
Aria closed her eyes, fighting the hot wash of tears in her eyes. “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 gently. She was trembling, shaking within his grasp, uncertain as to what he was saying. He released her slowly, pushing her behind him, pinning her against the door. “I can’t let you tell them.”
Jack’s eyes widened, shock radiated from him as his gaze darted wildly over them again. “What are you saying?” he inquired softly.
“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 lightly on Braith’s back, too stunned to move for a moment. Slowly, hesitatingly, she peered around his back to look at Jack. “Braith…”
“You may be mature now, but I can still take you,” Braith growled.
Aria gasped softly, Jack’s mouth parted slightly 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.
“She can’t stay here Braith,” Jack said softly.
“You’re not giving her to them!” he snarled, taking a small step forward.
Aria jerked on his shirt, trying to pull him back. His body quivered in rage, his muscles fairly vibrated with it. She did not want to die, she did not want to be handed over to be tortured and used against her family, but she also did not want to watch two brothers fight because of her. She did not want to see Braith hurt because of her.
“I never intended to,” Jack told him.
Both Aria and Braith started at his soft words. “Excuse me?” Braith grated.
Jack rocked back on his heels. “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 hard. “To bring you home.”
Aria’s mouth dropped, her fingers dug tighter into Braith’s clothes as she trembled against him, stunned and thrilled at 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 wanted it so badly that she could nearly taste it, nearly feel it.
And then she felt Braith as he turned slightly toward her. She felt the heat of his gaze behind his glasses, the shock that held him as she tilted her head back. She knew she could not 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 tighter to him, unable to let go, unable to stop the fierce surge of terror that shot through her.
What was wrong with her? She should be embracing this, should be halfway out the door with Jack right now, not standing here feeling rattled, confused, and a surprisingly fierce ache in the region of her heart. Her head dropped against his chest, she could hardly breathe through the shocking pain swamping her. She barely knew him, yet the idea of parting from him was almost unbearable. He remained unmoving for a moment before his hand entwined slowly in her hair and he cradled her gently against him.
“Yes,” Braith said softly. “Apparently we do have a lot to discuss.”