Then, to his utter amazement she was kissing him, softly, tenderly, and with a love that humbled him. She’d seen the worst of him, she’d seen him do something atrocious and she still loved him. A groan escaped him as he drew her closer. He buried his face in the hollow of her shoulder as his love for her swelled and grew within him. He rocked her as the wonderfully sweet scent of her blood washed over him and soothed his mind and body in a way that only she could.
Her hands were in his hair as she maneuvered his mouth against her neck. He didn’t know how but she knew that he needed something else, that he needed reassurance from her that he wasn’t a monster. His lips skimmed back, his fangs lengthened as they fairly vibrated with anticipation. She jerked slightly as his teeth penetrated her supple skin but then she relaxed and melded against him. Her blood filled him, replacing the foul taste of the guard’s blood on his tongue.
The taste of her was enough to help wash away his transgression. He released his bite and licked the remaining drops of blood from her neck. “Arianna,” he groaned. She pressed her cheek against his, her lips just barely brushing against his skin. “So sweet…”
The sounds of approaching feet silenced his following words. He kissed her cheek far too briefly before rising swiftly, and lifting her smoothly up with him. Her eyes were questioning but she threw back her shoulders and thrust out her chin as she picked up her bow and turned to face the oncoming vampires. If things were different, she would have made a magnificent queen, a wonderful leader and champion for her people. He was proud to have her at his side and always would be.
Jack rounded the corner first, skidding to a halt as he spotted the two of them. Then his gaze locked on the ruined body of the guard, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped. “What did you do Braith?”
“What needed to be done.”
Jack gaped at him, he turned slowly to Aria who stared unwaveringly back at him as she took a step closer to Braith’s side. She didn’t fully understand what had just transpired, the true nature of the transgression he had just committed, but she looked about ready to shoot an arrow straight into his brother’s heart if it became necessary. Her fingers twitched on her bow as Gideon, Ashby, and Xavier appeared.
“Help me get this out of the way.” His voice was detached, he felt a small recoil from Aria when he referred to the dead guard as a ‘this’, but he had to keep himself disconnected from this mess.
Jack eyed him from head to toe and then back again. Gideon’s eyebrows were in his hair as he looked back and forth between Braith and the dead guard. Interestingly, Xavier was watching Aria. His eyes were latched on the fresh bite marks on her neck and the single drop of blood that quivered on her skin. Braith brushed it away, fighting against a rising wave of anger as he glared at Xavier in warning. Xavier didn’t back down from Braith as he continued to assess her from top to bottom.
One of these days, preferably today, Braith was going to find out exactly what it was that Xavier was trying to figure out about her, or what it was that he thought he already knew.
“Give me a hand Jack,” he commanded gruffly.
Jack looked discomforted as he grasped hold of the guard’s arms. He didn’t offer any protest as he helped Braith carry him into the woods. “Are you ok?” Jack inquired.
“Fine,” he replied brusquely.
“Braith this isn’t good, this isn’t the way things are done. You know that, it’s a sign of loss of control.”
Braith dropped the feet. “I am fine Jack.”
Jack’s gaze darted toward the path they had left behind. “Aria…”
“You’ll leave her out of this.”
Jack swallowed heavily. “What did she see?”
“All of it.”
Braith didn’t wait to hear what else his brother had to say, he turned and made his way back to the others. Aria stood with her shoulders back as she warily watched Xavier, Ashby and Gideon. Braith stepped between them. She looked up at him, seeming not to focus on him for a moment before a small smile curved her full lips.
“Let your father know it’s safe.”
She nodded before taking off down the path, the bow bouncing against her back as she ran.
CHAPTER 18
Aria stood in the shadows, a lump in her throat as she slipped deeper into the hollows of the cave. Braith spoke with a commanding, self assured tone to the group that would soon become an army. The cave was unnervingly silent considering the amount of bodies it now housed as they listened raptly to him. He laid out his plans, speaking of his new government with such passion that it brought tears to her eyes.
Gideon had said that the king had a way of making people believe him, Braith seemed to have inherited that charismatic ability too as he roused the crowd, garnering cheers from them as well as devoted agreement for the cause. He encouraged and excited his army in preparation for the coming war.
She refused to look at Jack. She could feel his eyes from across the cave as she slid further into the tunnel behind her. She was proud of Braith, so proud in fact that she could barely breathe through the emotion rippling through her. That same pride was at war with the feeling of being trapped that she constantly felt now.
She turned away, needing some time to herself. She moved slowly through the dark cave, navigating the turns with ease. She started to run faster and faster, pounding through the dark tunnels as she was consumed with the need to be free.
Her lungs were burning and her legs were tired but she continued to run toward the promise of fresh air. She burst free, nearly falling to the ground as she inhaled heaping gulps of air. She made it to a tree, collapsing against its trunk as she slid silently to the ground.