Unbound (The Captive #7)(38)
Daniel followed his friend into the forest. It had been over a year since it had been necessary for him to remain hidden within the woods, but his instinctive ways fell easily back over him as he searched for any hint of a change in the woods around them. They moved so noiselessly that the birds roosting above them never took flight.
Until ahead, and no more than fifty feet away, a dozen or more sparrows shot into the air like they’d been shot out of a cannon. Before he heard the crack of a branch, Daniel knew they were no longer alone.
CHAPTER 15
Aria
Aria froze, her foot stopped in midair when the sparrows burst into the air. Her hand tightened on her bow as she studied the woods around them. William grabbed her forearm and tried to pull her back.
“It’s her,” Aria hissed as she resisted his impatient tugging on her arm.
“If it is, we’re not ready for her,” he hissed back at her. “Aria, we can’t face her now.”
She surveyed the trees above her. “I can get closer.”
“It’s daytime and there are no leaves to hide you. We must go.”
“William, I can get closer.” She turned to face her brother. Behind him, Tempest, Mary, and John stood near the edge of the thicket they were working their way around. They’d arrived at the final safe house last night and were only a hundred yards away from it. They had left it a little bit ago to inspect the area.
“Take them back to the safe house,” Aria told him and slipped her cloak from her shoulders. She couldn’t have the material hindering her movements or flapping and drawing attention to her. “I will meet you there.”
“No. I forbid it.”
“Yeah, that’s going to work for you,” she muttered and pulled her glasses off. She felt exposed without them, but she couldn’t take the risk of them falling off. She kept her head averted from Mary and John so they couldn’t see her eyes as she handed the cloak and glasses to him. “I won’t do anything reckless.”
“And the sky is green,” he bit out from between his teeth.
She lifted her head so her gaze bore into his. “I plan to kill her not the other way around. I won’t do anything reckless.”
Before he could argue with her further, she tugged her arm free and leapt up to snag hold of a branch above her head. She threw her legs around it and pulled herself around so she sat on the branch. She rested her fingers on the rigid bark before rising to her feet and leaping for the next branch above her.
She worked her way through the tree until she was hidden within the middle of the limbs. The borrowed pants and shirt she wore were a plain brown hue and made of flax. They were the clothes of those who lived within the woods, the clothes she still felt most comfortable in. They weren’t the same color as the trees, but she’d be able to blend in with her environment well enough to go unnoticed. She pulled the hood on the shirt over her hair and tucked away any loose strands.
When she was certain there was nothing that could give her away, she rubbed her hands together and ran across the limb before leaping for the next branch. Wind whipped at her hair and tugged at her clothing as for a minute she actually felt like she flew. She landed on the next limb, nimbly running across the branch as she raced through the trees.
She didn’t look back as she moved so swiftly and with such a buoyant step, the branches didn’t even bow beneath her weight. Nearing the area where the birds had been scared from their perches, she moved more cautiously through the trees as she examined the forest floor.
The whisper of words caused her to flatten herself against the trunk of an oak as she strained to hear more. A branch snapped from below. She bit her bottom lip as excitement and adrenaline coursed through her. She searched over the woods, waiting for whoever was out there to move into view, and then a dozen or so vampires emerged beneath her.
They didn’t wear the white cloaks she’d seen on them before, but deep brown cloaks that caused them to blend in better with their environment. Clever girl, Aria thought as she studied each of the vampires. Sabine kept her troops in whatever clothes best suited their environment. With the snow gone and no leaves on the trees, the brown was perfect for this time of year.
Watching them, Aria knew they were not part of the king’s guard. They would be wearing the wolf patch if they were, and they were not simply nomadic vampires either. They were too alert for that and moving with trained precision.
She doubted any of them would think to look into the trees, but she didn’t dare move as she watched more and more emerge below. They moved quietly, but they were still louder than any rebel would ever be. They broke branches as they walked, stepped on the smaller pines, and crushed the saplings fighting for survival on the forest floor. Leaves and pine needles were kicked up by their passing, making it entirely possible to track their every movement by scent as well as sight.
Watching them made her cringe. No rebel would have done such a thing. The world would look as untouched after their passing as it had beforehand.
She steadily counted each vampire as they moved past. She was up to over two hundred when the woman she believed to be Sabine rode into view on the back of a large bay.
For a second, Aria thought the branch she stood on had broken as the world lurched out from under her. Then she realized that she remained standing against the tree, but she’d wrapped her arms around it in an attempt to keep herself anchored. Her fingers dug into the bark as she imagined tearing into the woman’s throat, feasting on her blood, and pummeling her body until she was nothing more than broken bones and battered flesh.