Unbound (The Captive #7)(35)
“I will get them and bring them to the waterfall in an hour,” the man replied.
“We can bring you there,” a young woman at the front offered.
“Thank you,” Aria replied and the man left the room.
“What if something happens before the week is over? If this woman attacks the palace or the nearby towns?” a man at the back of the room asked.
“There is nothing we can do about that,” Aria replied. “The palace will be able to fend off any attackers for a time, and I’m sure the towns closest to it have either been evacuated or informed of the risk to them.”
“If this woman has more vampires on her side, how will we ever be able to defeat them?” the woman before her inquired.
Don’t look at her neck. Don’t look at her neck.
“The vampires may be stronger than humans,” Aria said as her fingers dug into her palms. “But we rebels survived in these woods for a century. We are lethal, fast, and best of all, we know these woods better than they do. She, and many of the vampires following her, underestimate humans, and we’re going to show them how wrong they are to do so.”
An excited murmur ran through the crowd. “Damn right we will,” the woman beside her said.
Despite her every intention not to look, Aria’s gaze fell to the woman’s neck. Thump. Thump. Thump. Every beat of the woman’s heart pulsed within her vein.
She had to get out of this place, soon.
“We will gather many others,” another man said, “and be ready to go within a week. The peace will be protected.”
“Thank you,” Aria said.
They all came forward, taking hold of her hands as they spoke to her. She couldn’t move as each one of them squeezed her outstretched hands. If she moved, she’d break, but she couldn’t turn them away right now.
Every single one of them would fight. She knew they were doing it to give themselves and their children better lives. However, they were also doing it because she and William would be leading them into battle, and because they had loved her father.
It was nearly an hour before the last one filed out the door, leaving her unmoving at the edge of the room as she worked to calm herself.
“Are you okay?” William inquired.
“I need a minute before we go to meet with the vampires,” she replied.
He walked over to lead Mary and John from the room. She hadn’t wanted the two of them to come with them to the other safe houses, but Mary had insisted she be the one to lead them and introduce them to the rebels at each one.
Four safe houses down, one more to go. Then she would find Sabine and learn everything she could about her.
The sound of someone entering the room caused her to turn toward the doorway. William gave her a questioning look from the doorway, but didn’t say a word.
“I’m ready,” she told him and pushed her braid over her shoulder.
She shifted her bow on her back and followed him into one of the narrow hallways to the door at the end. Tempest stood by the doorway with Mary and John. Tempest dropped her hand away from her mouth when they approached. Aria’s gaze fell to Tempest’s fingers; she’d bitten one of her nails low enough to draw blood.
William took hold of Tempest’s hand and wiped away the blood beading there. “Everything will be okay,” he said.
“I know,” Tempest replied. “Habit.”
Aria turned away when Mary opened the door. She drew her cloak tighter around her before striding forward to climb the stairs that ascended a good twenty feet to the earth above. The other three safe houses had all been hidden beneath a different entrance.
The first one they’d visited had been in the floor of an old home. The door had been intricately carved to blend in seamlessly with the wood around it. The second was behind a boulder in the forest floor. The third had been in an old, abandoned church on the outskirts of a rebel town. This one though, had been the most carefully hidden, and she couldn’t help but think of how much Daniel would appreciate it as she stopped at the top of the stairs and looked out the tiny peephole to the forest beyond.
Her gaze scanned over the woods, and she scented the air as a pair of squirrels raced through the tree across the way. She checked the other small peepholes surrounding her before pushing the button to release the lock keeping the door secured. The door swung open and she stepped from the center of the hollowed out tree.
Turning, she stared up at the towering maple. The tree’s thick branches showed no signs of rot as they stretched high into the sky. Carving a hole into its foundation, in order to hide the entrance to the safe house, might eventually kill the tree, but then again, it might be strong enough to withstand the injury. So far, she was surviving having had a piece of her carved away, just like this tree.
Aria rubbed at her cheeks while she inspected the woods around her. Even with knowing where some of the air vents were located for the safe house, they were so cleverly hidden within the forest, she could barely detect them amongst the trees and forest floor.
The sun filtered through the empty branches surrounding her to dance across the fallen leaves and dead branches littering the forest floor. February had given way to March a few days ago and already signs of spring were becoming evident. The sun was in the sky longer, the animals were more active, the snow that had lined most of the forest floor had melted.
She turned toward where she’d left Braith and the others. For a second, an image of Braith shimmered within the trees before her. His gray eyes surveyed her, and a smile curved the edges of his full lips as he extended a hand to her.