Aria wiped the sweat from her brow, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the smell that wafted from her. “I miss the woods.”
She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, hadn’t meant to reveal her melancholy to him, but they popped out before she could stop them. Braith’s hand stilled in her hair, his body was still as stone. “I know. I’ll get you back to them.”
She grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed as she forced a smile. “I know.”
He brushed his finger over her cheek, trailing it down her throat, pausing briefly upon the marks on her neck. She felt his rising thirst, but he swiftly buried it. “You won’t ever have to leave them again when this is over.”
She frowned as she pressed his hand more firmly against her face. “But you’ll need to be in the palace in order to rule.”
“I don’t plan on ruling anything Aria.”
Shock shimmered through her, her fingers convulsed on his. She didn’t understand what he was saying. Of course he was going to rule, who else would do it? The people would follow him, he was the next in line; it was obvious that it had to be him. “But you have to.”
He shook his head, opened his mouth to respond but a shout interrupted his words. Aria wanted to pull him back, wanted to demand that he explain his statement to her but he was already releasing her, already moving out of the small room they had been standing in. There was a large group of men outside the door, most of them were vampires, but a good amount of them were also humans armed with bows and stakes. Sadly, stakes would be a last resort, if a vampire was that close it was more than likely the human would not survive the encounter.
There were other women with them, but she didn’t think any of them were human, and in all honesty she wasn’t entirely certain if they were there to fight, to keep the men entertained, or to try and get their hooks into Braith. She was acutely aware of the fact that they watched his every move with interest. They wore make-up, had their hair styled, and smiled flirtatiously at him whenever he was near. Many of them believed her to be the meal that the prince had brought along with him for the journey, even if her father was the rebel leader, she was of little consequence to them. Vampire or not, they were making her mad enough to take them down.
She refused to look at any of them as she followed Braith to the door of the house they had taken shelter in. She needed a thicker skin if she was going to have to deal with these people for the rest of her life or eternity? Either way it was going to be a long time, because no matter what Braith thought, she knew he was the one that was going to lead them out of this mess. He would be the one to end all of the brutality and oppression they’d experienced for the past hundred years.
He was the only one that could.
It was almost impossible to discern one thing from another in the shifting sand and wind. She didn’t see what had caused the shout, what had drawn the attention of the group surrounding her. Idle talk and gossip broke off; the laughter faded away, what had apparently been some sort of titillating social event to them finally became something serious.
Then through the shifting sand and blinding light, she saw movement. Braith stepped outside of the building, the wind rippled across his hair, blowing it around his face and causing it to stand on end. Sand trickled over him, coating his clothing and broad shoulders.
He seemed oblivious to the hideous weather conditions surrounding him as he studied the horizon. Figures slipped through the sand, moving as swiftly as wraiths through the hostile environment they knew so well. Braith made his way back toward the house, he didn’t say anything as he gently grabbed Aria’s arm. He pulled her back into the small side room, gesturing for Ashby and William to follow them.
Pushing the door closed with his foot, he turned to her. “I need you to stay here.” He held up a hand, forestalling her protest. “I can’t have you out there Aria; there’s enough to worry about without having to worry about you too.”
“But your vision…”
“I’ll be close enough to you so that it won’t be affected drastically. I’ll be fine, but you have got to stay here.” Her eyebrows drew together; she folded her arms firmly over her chest. She was a fighter, she belonged out there, and she sure as hell didn’t want him out there alone. “Don’t fight me on this, please.”
It was the please that was her undoing, the please that melted the fight from her. The vulnerability that radiated from him for that brief moment was almost more than she could stand. Swallowing her pride and her need to be part of the fight, she managed a small nod. Relief filled him; his hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he pulled her against him and kissed her forehead for a fervent moment. She hugged him, savoring the moment.
“Come back to me,” she whispered.
“Always.” He kissed her again and reluctantly released her. “Stay with her,” he ordered Ashby.
Ashby nodded, William glanced between them but his unasked question was answered when Braith handed him an extra quiver of arrows and gestured for him to follow him from the room. Aria fought the urge to go after them, to race out the door and follow them across the desert. She was shaking with the impulse, struggling not to succumb to the urge. She could be of help, she knew it, but she also knew she would be a huge distraction for Braith. Her hands fisted in frustration as a feeling of helplessness flooded her.
Ashby watched her with a wary expression that alerted her to the fact he was well aware of what she was thinking. “You know he’ll kill me if I end up having to tie you up,” he warned her.