Unbound (The Captive #7)(15)
“Someone has to lead them away from Braith and the others from Badwin and Chippman who are still out there depending on us to get them to safety. If they’re discovered, they will be slaughtered.”
Hannah released a choked noise as her eyes darted toward Jack. Tempest stepped closer to William and gripped his arm. Many of Hannah’s friends and family were with those waiting for them to return. The children Tempest had rescued from the orphanage, along with some other residents, and her best friend, Pallas, were also with them.
“We can’t leave them out there alone,” Aria continued. Her gaze ran over those gathered within before landing on Melinda and Ashby. They had faired pretty well during the battle and were well known and liked within the palace. “After I go out to lure Sabine’s followers away, Ashby and Melinda can return for the survivors and lead them safely back to the palace.”
“I will go out and lure the vampires who attacked us away,” Jack said.
“You made it here, but you’re limping badly. Hannah isn’t going to stay here without you, and neither of you will be able to traverse the forest with the speed it will require. These are my woods—”
“I know these woods well too,” he interrupted.
“Yes, but not as well as I do, and you know it.”
“And if he wakes up while you’re gone?” Jack demanded.
“If anyone will understand why this has to be done, it is Braith.”
“What if you get killed and he wakes up? You think Atticus was vicious, do you know what Braith will do if he wakes up to discover you dead? How do you think he’ll handle that?”
“He will do what he must,” she replied. “He is not your father.”
Jack and William exchanged a troubled look. “I’ll go,” William said. “I’m not as badly injured as everyone else, and I know these woods as well as you. You will stay here, Aria.”
How entirely tempting that sounded. She could curl up in Braith’s arms and simply wait. If he did wake, they could be together again. She would be here to kiss him, to hug him, to laugh and cry as he finally hugged her back and cradled her to his chest. If he didn’t wake, then someone would have to take mercy on her and put her down.
A lump clogged her throat, and she turned away from them before they could see the tears burning her eyes again. She had to stay strong. She was a queen, and so many lives depended on her. She couldn’t stay here and wait. She had to lead her people.
Right now, protecting the many who needed it and destroying Sabine were all she had to drive her onward. That and the possibility Braith would survive this and come back to her.
“They will not expect us to part,” she whispered as she gazed at Braith’s unmoving form. “They will believe he’s with me, if I lead them away.” She turned back to William and gestured down the front of her shirt. “His blood is all over me. It is inside of me. It will be our scents they trail from these caves. He is as much an intricate piece of me as I am of him. You can’t say the same.”
She recognized the stubborn set of his jaw. “Then I will come with you.”
Tempest’s hand trembled on his arm, but she didn’t protest his words. Aria glanced between the two of them. “I’d prefer you stay,” she replied.
“Since when have I cared what you prefer?” he retorted.
“What about what Tempest prefers?” she countered, knowing it was the one thing she could use to deter him from this decision.
Some of the fight went out of him as he took hold of Tempest’s hand. Aria didn’t blame him for staying behind; Tempest’s life depended on his now. He had to protect what they shared between them.
Turning back, Aria knelt before Braith and cupped his chin in her hand. She couldn’t stop the tears flowing down her face as she leaned forward to kiss him again before resting her lips against his ear. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe. Please, come back to me. I love you.”
Closing her eyes, she rose and stepped away from him again. She never thought she would be separated from him again in her lifetime. Now she didn’t know if she would ever see him again at all. The bleak possibility shredded her heart. Her fingers bit into her palms, drawing blood as her nails tore into her skin.
She had to get moving. Those vampires would be swarming up there, lost in the woods, likely to stumble over the caves any minute now, but her feet wouldn’t move. Turn away. Do it. Now or he’ll die!
With a cry, she wrenched her gaze away from Braith and spun on her toes. “Take care of him, Jack,” she choked out. “Make sure he stays safe.”
She couldn’t look at anyone in the room again as she made her way forward. “I am co… ming with ya,” Xavier said, the words garbled and difficult to understand when he moved to block her.
Despite the blood covering him from head to toe, his face was resolute. Xavier had become more than her bodyguard over time; he was also her friend.
“No. You’re barely standing and you’ll leave a trail of blood behind you as you go. You won’t be able to make it and I can’t lose you,” she told him.
“Yer not goin’ a…lone.”
“She’s not,” William said and stepped forward when Daniel tried to rise to his feet.
Daniel slumped against a rock but straightened himself and rose. He swayed for a second until Xavier’s hand shot out to steady him. Xavier helped to guide Daniel down when his legs gave out on him and he slumped to the ground.