Refugee (The Captive #3)(68)
“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.
She drew her knees against her chest and hugged them. Shadows from the tree limbs played over the ground, the crickets chirruped and the frogs called to each other. What were usually soothing sounds, now offered her nothing.
She saw the figures emerging from the cave before they stepped into the moonlight. Having spent her entire life with them she’d know Daniels’s assured gate and William’s slight swagger anywhere. She also recognized the sadness that rounded both their shoulders in much the same way. They sat on each side of her and leaned against the tree.
“They really admire him,” Daniel said after a period of silence.
“They do,” she agreed.
“Jack spoke with us,” William told her.
“I figured he would.”
William’s hand wrapped around hers, he squeezed it briefly before releasing her. “I understand where Jack is coming from. The vampire race, even if we are finally all united, is far different from ours, but you’re a strong person Aria, they may accept you.”
“Do you honestly believe that?”
He started to respond and then shook his head. She knew he wanted to make her feel better, wanted to give her flowery promises, maybe even wanted to believe them himself, but he wouldn’t lie to her. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“I was on board with this. I thought it was better if you were separated anyway.” Daniel squeezed her shoulder as she glared at him. “You’re seventeen years old Aria, you’ve never been a child, but you’re young and he’s… Well he’s far more advanced than you, he’s a vampire and your worlds are so completely different that I saw only grief in your future. I thought it would be best if you returned to a more normal life, with people your own age and your own kind. I thought it would be best for the two of you.”