“He was a good and loyal man, a dear friend. He will be missed greatly by many, including myself,” Xavier interrupted Aria and rested his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. “I cared for him deeply, but I will be okay, Aria.”
Aria bowed her head and took a minute to compose herself before squeezing Xavier’s hand. Keeping Aria against his side, Braith turned to face the town as water was released onto the flames eating away at the buildings. Keegan brushed against his side, and Braith ran his hand over the wolf’s head. Keegan whimpered when he pressed against Aria’s legs, sensing her sadness.
“We’ll be fine. Go on, return home,” she whispered to Keegan as she ran her fingers over his thick fur.
The wolf licked her hand before trotting away between two of the houses not yet on fire. His green eyes flashed in the light of the flames when he looked back at them for a minute. When Keegan turned away and vanished into the woods once more, Braith knew his old friend had said good-bye for the final time.
***
Braith
Throughout the endless night and into the next day, they worked tirelessly to put out the flames, gather the injured, settle those who had been displaced, destroy those who had attacked them, and calm the nerves of the numerous survivors.
The sun had set on the next day when Braith was finally able to lift Aria into his arms and carry her to their rooms. He turned on the water in the large tub before carefully removing her bloody, ruined clothes. The gashes on her arms had healed and the wound in her shoulder was mostly healed, but the skin around it was still red and puckered. She remained unmoving while he worked, her head bowed as tears slid down her cheeks.
She shivered when he bent to kiss her back. He undid her braid, allowing her glossy auburn hair to spill around her shoulders. Carefully, he lifted her into his arms and climbed into the tub with her. He settled into the water, clutching her against his chest when she curled into a ball against him and finally gave herself over to the sobs she’d been holding back.
He didn’t try to quiet her, but only held her as she shook against him and her tears wet his chest. He’d give anything to take her sorrow from her, but though there were so many things that could be taken from someone, the worst of them never could be. Grief had to be endured.
CHAPTER 40
Aria
Six months later
William paced anxiously from one side of the room to the other, running his hands through his hair as he muttered to himself. Aria bit on her inner lip to keep from laughing at his nervous movements. “You’re going to wear yourself out,” she told him.
“What is taking so long?” he demanded.
“You know how women are when it comes to getting ready,” Jack replied, and Aria shot him a look.
Jack met her glare with an innocent smile as he adjusted the lapels on his black coat. His hair was brushed back from his face, emphasizing his handsome features. Beside him, Braith wasn’t bothering to hide his amusement over her brother’s frantic behavior. He grinned as he stood with his arms folded over his chest. Like Jack, his hair had been brushed back from his face to emphasis his gorgeous features. Her heart melted when his eyes met hers and he winked at her.
Stepping away from the wall, Braith strode across the room to her. He drew her into his arms as William started cursing. She melted against his chest, inhaling his crisp, masculine scent. Her fingers dug into his back as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift for a minute.
The past six months had been difficult to get through. It had taken them months to sort through the mess Sabine had created, to find any humans and vampires who had survived her imprisonment, and to check on all of the existing border towns. Some of the towns had managed to escape her wrath, others hadn’t been so lucky.
They’d discovered the humans Aria had seen with Sabine in the forest had been locked in the basement of one of the homes within the town. They’d been able to get them out before the building had been consumed by the fire. Some of the people had been too far gone to save, but the others had all been set free. The vampires Sabine had imprisoned, starved, and turned into monsters incapable of being saved, had all been hunted and destroyed.
They had increased the amount of the king’s guard in every town and recruited more humans and vampires to join the guard. She and Braith were determined to make sure that what had occurred with Sabine would never happen again.