Refugee (The Captive #3)(48)

“No shit,” he retorted.

She couldn’t help but laugh as their hands began to swing back and forth like they had as children. “You’re not either.”

“Never have been.”

“Then what is it we’re so afraid of?” She was asking because she didn’t know. She knew she was scared of losing Braith, of losing this war, of losing any member of her family, but those were worries she’d always had, or that she’d learned to deal with since meeting Braith. This was something different, it was in the pit of her stomach, it was buried in the back of her mind at all times, festering like an infected lesion.

William was thoughtful before he answered. “The unknown…”

The hesitation in his words made it clear he wasn’t entirely certain about his answer, but the minute she heard it Aria knew he was right. They had struggled with death and loss; starvation and thirst; dirt and homelessness their entire lives, but they had always had some sense of knowing. They’d had their father, Daniel, the other rebels, the caves, the woods, and the knowledge that vampires were the enemy to be fought and destroyed. Now they were on their own, surrounded by what had once been the enemy, in a cave system Aria had grown to hate, and filled with nothing but uncertainty.

“Yes,” she agreed. “The unknown.”

“It’s not the same now.”

“And it never will be again.”

“Do you want it to be?” he asked.

“Sometimes.”

“And other times?”

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” she admitted. “Not one thing.”

“Because of him?”

“Yes, but also because of the hope that the unknown brings us now, because of the promise of something better for everyone. No matter how much we knew before, the outcome was always the same. If we were lucky we would grow older, if we weren’t then we died young.”

“Or became blood slaves.”

“Yes.” She did not shy away from it anymore. “You’re not still angry at him because of that, are you?”

William hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. “No. If it hadn’t happened then we wouldn’t be here.”

“Afraid?”

His smile was small and fleeting. “Afraid, and full of hope,” he responded with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

Aria’s gaze locked on Braith as she recalled their encounter in the hallway of that dilapidated house. She had one more thing to fear, what would become of them? Of her?

She knew Braith planned to leave when this was over, knew that the vampires would not accept her if she stayed. But he couldn’t leave. They had voted him in for a reason, and even if he didn’t see it, or refused to see it, it was obvious to everyone else that he was a born leader. He’d done some things he was not proud of, he’d hurt innocents, and he’d been a monster for a brief time, but at heart he was good, and he would do right by as many people and vampires as he could.

He may not intend to be the leader, but he already was, even if he didn’t see that, she did and so did everyone else in this room.

Their hands stopped swinging as Braith beckoned them forward. William squeezed her hand before releasing her. “How long do you think it will be before you can find your father?” Braith inquired.

“Aria can usually track him within a few days,” William answered.

“I don’t know how far into the forest he has gone though and if there are a bunch of us…”

“There will not be,” Braith inserted briskly.

She was beginning to realize that there was more to his clipped tones than trying to appear distanced from her. Something had aggravated him. “That will make things easier. Even if he’s gone into regions that we’ve never explored, I can find him in a week.”

“Are you certain of this?” he asked.

“Two, tops.”

“Which is it?” Barnaby inquired sharply.

Aria’s gaze darted nervously to him. “I think she’s already answered that question,” Ashby told him. “The longest it will take her is two weeks.”

“So that means it could be almost a month before you return. And if there is a large group of them, even longer,” Calista replied coldly.

“We were raised in these woods, we know them well. A group of us is far easier to move than you think. It will not be a month,” Aria said firmly.

“Even if it is a month Calista, you will survive. It’s not the most ideal situation but we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Braith informed her.

Calista shifted, her dark eyes narrowed for a brief moment before she gave a quick nod. “We can make do and the human knows the caves.” Aria’s head snapped around, a small gasp escaped her. There were only two humans here who knew this cave, and she didn’t want either one of them staying here. Braith shifted slightly and she suddenly understood the tension in him, the terseness of his words. William didn’t know how to track their father as well as she did, he wasn’t a big fan of the trees, and he wouldn’t be as quick as she would. William glanced anxiously at her; she seized hold of his hand again. “He’ll come in handy for getting us out of here if it becomes necessary.”

Aria was finding it difficult to breathe. She could feel Braith’s gaze boring into her, pleading with her to understand, to do this, to not fight over being separated from her brother, again. She tried to be strong but she was terrified of leaving William with a bunch of vampires.