“And you have been caught, then what?” Xavier demanded, finishing what Max had been unwilling to say.
Aria took a minute to gather herself before speaking again. “The three of you have this wrong. I’m not suggesting this. I’m not asking for permission. I’m telling you I intend to get closer to her.”
Silence met her statement. Xavier opened his mouth then closed it again.
“William will want to go with you,” Daniel finally said.
“No, I’m going alone. I can get closer to her by myself, and William has Tempest. He has to protect her. I won’t risk something happening to either one of them. They can never know what this is like.” Her hand rested over her heart. “I won’t do that to them.”
“That’s why you want to go now,” Max deduced. “Because William’s not here to stop you or go with you.”
“Yes,” she admitted.
“I will come with you,” Xavier said.
“You’re fast, but I’m faster and quieter when it comes to these woods.”
“It doesn’t matter. I am coming with you. You don’t know where she is.”
“Believe me, the trail she left will be impossible to miss,” Aria replied. Max and Daniel nodded their agreement.
“We’re coming with you,” Daniel said. He held his hand up when she opened her mouth to protest. “Extra eyes are never a bad thing.”
“And if you take off without us, we’ll just follow the trail too,” Max said and smiled at her when she frowned at him. “It will simply take us longer, and put us more at risk by not traveling together, but we can follow her as easily as you can.”
“Fine,” she relented, “but someone has to tell William and the others where we’ve gone. They’ll send out search parties if they’re not informed, and someone could get killed because of it. The humans follow you, Daniel. You’re their representative on The Council and they look to you for guidance as much as they look to me. I think you should stay.”
His arms folded over his chest, but whereas she and William were hotheaded and impulsive, Daniel was practical. He couldn’t deny the truth of her words. “What do I tell them?” he inquired.
“The truth,” she replied and shifted her bow and quiver on her back. “I’ll only be two days. If I don’t find her, or I’m unable to get close to her, I’ll return. That will still give you enough time to return to Jack and let him know what is going on. If I’m not back, you or William have to return for him no matter what.”
Daniel took a deep breath and dropped his arms to his sides. He stepped forward to hug her before stopping himself. Aria braced herself for the discomfort she knew would come from touching another and stepped forward to kiss his cheek. “I love you, and tell William that for me too.”
“He’s going to be irate.”
“Yeah, well, he’s pissed me off a time or two before himself.”
Daniel smiled before stepping away. “Good luck and be safe.” His gaze went to Xavier who bowed his head to him and turned away.
“We always are,” Max replied.
Aria didn’t look back as they slipped into the trees.
CHAPTER 19
Daniel
“Are you kidding me! What were you thinking to let her go and do something so foolish!” William exploded.
Accustomed to his brother’s temper, Daniel simply ignored him as he walked over to the door of the barn and peered out at the woods surrounding them before closing the door.
“Damn it, Daniel, she’ll get herself killed!”
“No, she won’t,” he replied calmly, something that only irritated William further as his eyes flashed red.
“You have no idea what the bloodlink bond is like, or what she is going through—”
“And neither do you,” Daniel interjected. His gaze flicked to Tempest who remained unmoving beside Timber near the entrance of the safe house. “You think you know how you would react, what it would feel like to lose Tempest, but you don’t, not really. Aria is doing everything she can to make sure you never know. It’s why she went without telling you.”
“I’m going after her.”
“No, you’re not.”
The look on William’s face caused Daniel to roll his eyes at the nearly identical expressions of defiance the twins had. He loved his younger siblings, he’d lay down his life for either one of them, but half the time, he’d also love to choke them.
“Are you going to stop me?” William demanded.
“You’re not going to take Tempest into those woods, and you’re not going to leave her behind,” Daniel replied.
With a volatile curse, William spun away from him and stalked over to the closed barn door. Tempest’s eyes filled with worry as she watched him. Daniel gave a subtle shake of his head at her when she looked like she would go after him, and she remained where she was.
William swung back toward them. “Max and Xavier are with her?”
“They are,” Daniel said.
“When she gets back, I’m going to kill her.”
“I’m sure she felt the same way when you took off after Kane.”