“They knew this wasn’t going to be an easy undertaking,” Gideon stated. “That there would be sacrifices when we left. This will be one of those sacrifices. It’s painfully obvious that we cannot move them all through here, this hasn’t been their environment in a hundred years, and some have never experienced it.”
“These caves will be safe?” Braith inquired.
Aria forced herself not to shudder at the thought of the darkness, the confining space, the chill that came with the underground hollows she had grown to hate after nearly being trapped in a separate system with William and Max. “All the cave systems have iron gates, some sort of alarm, and traps in them,” William explained. “Though there is no way to know if they have been discovered since we left.”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Ashby said.
Braith was silent as he pondered the situation. “Neither do I. Gideon and William go back to round them up, try to get them to be a little quieter if it’s possible. Don’t engage with my father’s troops, but if it becomes necessary make sure there are no survivors. Xavier, Ashby, Aria and I will go to the caves and make sure they are safe.”
Aria remained silent, she didn’t want to go to the caves, didn’t want to step foot in them but she had no choice. “Go,” Braith commanded. Gideon nodded and slipped silently into the woods with William. “Get us there quickly Aria.”
She swallowed heavily and nodded firmly. “Follow me.”
***
Braith followed silently behind Aria as she led them with an ease that was fascinating. She was quiet, far more so than Xavier as she moved like a wraith through the trees. She covered the distance to the caves in less than ten minutes. Standing at the edge of the woods he studied the cliff face twenty feet away that appeared entirely impenetrable to him.
“That’s them,” she stated.
“Where?” Xavier inquired in disbelief.
Her jaw clenched, there was a darkening of her eyes that only he would have recognized as fear. The last time she’d been in the caves, he had taken her from them. Just when he thought she was going to balk against telling them exactly where the caves were, she slipped silently from the woods.
They followed her, fanning out around her as she knelt before the rock wall. Her head tilted as she examined a cropping of bushes against the rock wall with an intensity that was a little unnerving given the fact it was simply a group of ferns and wild scrub. Then her small hands slid forward and parted the brush to reveal a sliver in the rock wall that was nearly indiscernible even without the brush covering it.
“No one has been here in months.”
“How do you know?” Xavier asked her.
Her smile was fleeting. “I know.”
Ashby looked about ready to protest but Xavier simply nodded. “Lead the way then.”
“I’ll lead the way,” Braith told her. Xavier quirked an eyebrow at him, his head tilted to the side.
“I know the system Braith. Its fine, I’m certain no one has been here, at least not through this entrance, and the only other one is two miles from here.”
“But there could still be someone in there,” he asserted, pressing closer to her.
She shook her head as her eyes darted to the opening and then back to him. “It’s unlikely. The other opening is in a meadow at the top of a hill. If it’s even spotted, it appears to be more of a foxhole than an entrance to anything significant underground. There’s no one in there Braith.”
“Except bats,” Ashby muttered not looking at all pleased by the notion.
“I’m still going before you.” She opened her mouth to protest further but he cut her swiftly off. “You can guide me through Aria. Tell me which way to go.”
“Ok,” she agreed; her voice a little tighter than normal.
Her fingers brushed over his, before they wrapped around his index finger for a brief moment. His heart swelled with love. To hell with Xavier, it was too late anyway. He pulled her into him, cradling her as his fingers splayed across the back of her neck, savoring in the silken feel of her hair, and the suppleness of her body. Bending low, he pressed his lips to her ear. “Will you be ok in there?”
She nodded, her head turned toward his, her mouth brushed enticingly against his as she spoke. “Yes.”
“We can find…” he started before she cut him off.
“I’ll be fine.”
Her hand flattened against him, a small exhalation escaped her as she closed her eyes and pressed closer to him. Time seemed to slow as she lifted her face to him, and her lips parted beneath his. He didn’t care who was there with them, forgot about the reason that had driven them here as he lost himself to the soft pressure of her lips, the sweet taste of her mouth, and the quickening of her heartbeat.
For one long moment the only thing that existed was her, and then reality returned. It took everything he had to pull away. He pressed his lips to her forehead as he held her for a lingering moment. “I’ll lead the way,” he whispered.
She relented with a nod before she reluctantly released him. She didn’t meet Xavier’s gaze, but Braith did. Xavier’s eyes were hooded with a gleam in them that Braith couldn’t quite place. The wheels in Xavier’s mind were turning, but it was impossible to decipher what it was the powerful vamp was thinking as he examined the two of them. It would only cause friction among the factions, but he would kill Xavier if he made one move toward Aria.
Taking hold of her hand, he turned sideways in order to fit through the small crevice in the face of the rock wall. For a moment he wasn’t sure he would fit as he pushed himself further along. “It’s cramped for the first hundred feet or so, but it opens up in a little bit.” Aria seemed to have read his mind.