He froze, fury tore through him as Max seized hold of her arm, helping to keep her upright as she stumbled. That was it. “Braith!” Jack hissed as he grabbed hold of his arm.
“Get your hand off of me!”
“They can’t know.”
“They already know Jack.”
He jerked his arm away from his brother, ignoring Gideon, Ashby and Xavier as he waded through the muck and mire. Max released her instantly, he tried to move swiftly to the side but the swamp hindered his movements. “Braith wait.” He didn’t listen to her as he lifted her from the mud with a loud sucking noise. Her feet kicked for a moment before he slid her onto his back. She faltered, and then her knees locked against his sides and her arms wrapped around his neck.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered in his ear.
“They’re humans Aria, they won’t hurt us.” Her displeasure was evident in the stiffness of her body. She didn’t lean against him, didn’t relax as she had on their first trip through the swamps, but he’d be damned if he’d allow her to struggle, and double damned before he allowed Max to be the one to help her. “It will be fine,” he muttered as he kept walking.
Her head dropped against his back, her forehead rested against his neck for a brief moment before she pulled away. He ignored the questioning stares directed at them, Aria kept her head down as he rejoined Jack, Gideon, Ashby and Xavier. Jack and Gideon looked as if their heads were going to explode, Xavier turned silently away. It was Ashby that held his attention though. He had paled considerably; his lips were clamped and nearly bloodless as he studied them.
By mid afternoon most of the humans were starting to waiver, the heat of the day and the exertion to continue onward was wearing them down. Aria had managed to squiggle from his arms over an hour ago but he kept her close to his side, helping to lift her when she became mired by the mud. Her sweaty hair stuck to her skin, her face was florid from her effort, but it was her eyes that bothered him most.
He’d become acutely aware of the fact that there was a distance in them that hadn’t been there just days ago. There was a resignation to them, wariness, and a sense of loss that he didn’t understand. She smiled at him, she held his hand, but he felt a wall in her that had never existed before. He knew better than to believe it was due to her apprehension over the upcoming war. She may be afraid, but she had never allowed it to rule her before.
He was also aware of a difference in his brother. It was not as pronounced as Aria’s, but Jack was colder and a little more distant. Even though they were brothers, Braith knew Jack’s main loyalty lay with the rebellion, a fact that he had already proven by taking Aria away from him once.
A pit began to form in his stomach. No, it couldn’t be possible. When Jack had taken her before, he had been unaware of the fact that Braith had already shared his blood with her, that he had established the connection that would allow him to find Aria wherever she went. Jack was well aware of that fact now, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to think he could try and take her again and get away with it.
But something was up, he was certain of it.
Aria halted so abruptly that he almost snapped at her, almost grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her forward in his irritation. One of them was going to talk to him and it was going to be her if he had anything to say about it.
But she was staring at the world around her, eyes turbulent and her face paler than it had been moments before. He started to speak, but she held up a finger to him, as she used her other hand to wave behind her at the trudging humans. He was impressed, and a little amazed, when as one unit they all stopped.
Her forehead furrowed, her head tilted back as she searched the sky, then the treetops in the distance. “Something’s wrong,” she muttered.
Braith followed the direction that her eyes had taken but he saw nothing to signal that something was amiss. “How do you know?”
“I just do. Something is off. I feel it.”
“Trust her on this Braith…”
“I do.” He cut Jack swiftly off, fighting the urge to smash his fist into his brother’s face. He had no tangible reason to hit his brother, but Jack deserved it for some reason, even if Braith wasn’t sure what the reason was yet.
Aria went to step closer to him; her face scrunched in frustration, aggravation filled her as she stared down at the swamp. She gazed helplessly at Braith and then at the people behind them. Her eyes snapped to the tree line as a bird took flight about two hundred yards away.
“Braith.”
He lifted her up, pulling her free of the muck and mire that encased her. She winced at the small sucking sound, but it was far more subtle than any sound she could have made. He held her in front of him for a brief moment, before sliding her around to allow her to grasp hold of him piggyback style. Her heart beat loudly against his back as he made his way forward as silently as he could.
She slid free of his back when he stepped onto solid ground. Xavier, Gideon, Ashby and Jack pressed closer to him as she grasped hold of the limb on a frail looking pine. He almost pulled her back, wary of the decrepit looking tree, but she was already moving up it with grace and agility.
The tree barely moved as she slipped from one branch to another. Near the top she hesitated, her hands rested against two thin branches that swayed almost imperceptibly. He could almost feel her holding her breath as she waited for the branches to stabilize before lifting herself above them. She released them suddenly and though he thought she was going to plunge heedlessly out of the tree, she scrambled far enough down to leap safely down. He kept his feet firmly planted as he caught hold of her.