William coughed faintly and then more loudly as neither of them acknowledged his existence. He cleared his throat before grunting his displeasure. Braith was the first to pull away, his lips were still wet as he buried his face in the hollow of her neck and pressed them against her skin. Aria brushed his dark hair back with her fingers, relishing in the softness of it as she sought to ease the tension clinging to him.
“I never should have brought you with me.” Panic tore through her as her hands stilled in his hair. “It was selfish.” He shook his head, his fangs pressed briefly against her oversensitive, heated skin.
“There were no other options,” she assured him when he pulled away.
His moment of weakness had vanished and she found herself faced with the inflexible, seasoned vampire she knew so well. A vampire she could sense trying to distance himself from her, trying to formulate a new plan. Aria’s defiance surged to the forefront, she braced herself for the battle she knew was about to ensue.
“I should have left you at the tree house.”
She snorted. “Like I would have stayed.”
“Arianna.” It was a low growl of warning, one she was sure would have sent many a man and vampire running, but it only served to infuriate her further.
“You’re not going to figure out some way to keep me out of this Braith. I’ve been fighting my whole life for this war, this chance at freedom, and I’ve made it this far…”
“You’re seventeen!” he snapped.
Her eyes narrowed as she slammed her fists on her hips. “That’s old enough for you!”
Ashby and William inhaled sharply as they took a big step away. Aria didn’t blame them, Braith was wound taut as a bowstring about ready to snap. He loomed over her, bending low so that his face was just inches above hers. “If I decide that you are to stay somewhere safe, then you will stay there.”
Aria wanted to scream in frustration, she wanted to punch him in the gut or kick him in the shins. Instead, she simply glared back at him as she tilted her chin defiantly. “Like hell. You just try it Braith and see what happens.”
“What? What will you do?”
“If you try to abandon me somewhere, I will not stay there. I’ll find some other way to help in this cause, something else to do. I will not be pushed aside.”
Their noses were almost touching now. “Don’t threaten me Aria.”
“Don’t threaten me, Braith!”
He cursed vehemently as he spun away from her. Aria jumped in surprise, wincing as he smashed a fist into the side of an abandoned brick building. The wall shook, for a moment she was terrified it was going to tumble down on him as dust cascaded around him. He stood, his hands fisted, his shoulders heaving as he tried to regain control of himself. Ashby and William were staring at her as if she had sprouted two heads, she stared insolently back at them, refusing to back down no matter how infuriated Braith became with her. He wouldn’t hurt her, she was certain of it, those two may be intimidated by him, may even have something to fear from him, but she didn’t.
Not unless he really did try to leave her somewhere.
“There is nowhere safe Braith. There never has been, not for me, not for William,” she continued more reasonably. He was frightened for her, and that made him volatile, she understood that, but she wasn’t willing to be shut out of this fight. He turned slowly back toward her. Frustration filled her, she wished she could see his eyes, she hated those glasses. “We’re human Braith, we were born into the rebellion; this is our life, it always has been. We’ll be ok, I’ll be fine. We knew when this started that it wasn’t going to be easy. Braith…”
He was back before her; she’d hardly seen him move before he was standing there. She didn’t think she would ever get used to how fast and powerful he was. It was as thrilling as it was frightening. He bent over her but this time it wasn’t in anger, he was going to kiss her again. Her toes curled and her lips tingled with anticipation.
“We should get going,” Ashby interjected loudly. Aria blinked, startled out of the reverie that had enveloped her. Braith’s hands tensed on her shoulders, she could feel his frustration, his aggravation as he turned slowly toward Ashby. Ashby gulped but forced a smile. It was nowhere near as cocky as normal though. “Don’t you think?”
Braith squeezed her shoulders before slipping her hood back into place. Disappointment filled her. She never thought she’d miss her captivity in the palace, but she found herself missing the time when they had spent hours together, uninterrupted as they shut out the rest of the world. No matter what happened, she was certain this wasn’t going to end well for them. She needed as much time as she could get with him before that time came, but it wasn’t going to happen now.
“Stay covered,” he whispered. She nodded as she slid her hand into his.
CHAPTER 2
“What is a chev…ro…let?”
“Excuse me?” Braith inquired in response to Aria’s halting question.
Braith turned away from Ashby, his attention brought back to the twins as they studied something that he couldn’t see. It was a little disconcerting how similar the scowls on their faces were. Aria turned to him, her gaze inquisitive while William simply continued to look aggravated. She had slipped the hood from her head again, as had William. Their dark auburn hair, dampened by sweat, gleamed in the bright light of the wastelands. It was an annoyingly bright homing beacon in this washed out land of little color. Frustration filled him as he stalked back to them; it was bad enough she didn’t listen to him, but neither did her damn brother.