Unbound (The Captive #7)(44)

“I will not move again,” Xavier vowed.

Aria rested her forehead in her hands as she rubbed at her temples. “Xavier, please, get some rest. If only for an hour or two, it would make me feel a lot better.”

He stood for a minute, seemingly torn between staying to protect her and obeying her request. In the end, he bowed his head and turned to open the door behind him.

“Go with him,” Aria said to Daniel, who frowned at her. “Watch over him. He’s coiled tighter than a spring and needs someone calming around.”

Daniel rose to his feet. William watched as his older brother strode out the door behind Xavier. He remained casual in appearance, but William could hear the increased beat of his heart as he closed the door behind them. Aria slumped in her chair.

“I couldn’t take one more second of his pacing and blaming himself,” she murmured. “Daniel will keep him distracted for a bit.”

“You know they’re attracted to each other?” Max inquired of her.

“I’m not blind.”

“I didn’t know you were aware of Daniel’s interest in, ah… men as well as women.” Max turned as red as an apple as he said this to her.

“I wasn’t for a long time, but I’ve noticed the two of them watching each other for a while now,” she replied. “

“You sacrificed your brother for some peace and quiet,” Max said with a snort. “I like the way you think.”

The corner of Aria’s mouth quirked. It was the closest she’d come to a smile in a week. “I don’t think either one of them will consider it a sacrifice.”

William glanced over at Max who smirked at him as he placed his folded hands behind his head. Tempest lifted her head to look at the door they’d left through. “Xavier is so much bigger. I hope he doesn’t break him,” she murmured.

William and Max both roared with laughter until tears streamed down Max’s face and even Aria gave a small chuckle.





CHAPTER 18


Aria

Aria checked to make sure her glasses were safely in place and inched open the door to the room she’d been given by the rebels the next morning. Beside the door, Xavier settled the chair he’d been leaning against the wall on the ground. He and Daniel had come back in after she’d retreated to the room again, but she didn’t know if her attempt at drawing them closer together had worked or not, until she smelled Daniel on him. Not in him, they had not shared blood, but they had gotten close to each other.

Good. Her heart was shattered around her, but she would do everything she could to make sure those she loved found happiness in this world. Found someone to help them move on and thrive after she was gone.

William rose from his chair with Tempest cradled against his chest. He went to set her down on the chair, but Aria pushed the door to her room open and gestured for him to enter. Requiring some time alone with his bloodlink, William didn’t argue with her, but strode forward to stop beside her. She ducked her head and stepped out of the way when he went to touch her shoulder.

Her skin felt more sensitive today than it ever had. Every time she moved, her normally lightweight clothes scraped against her flesh.

Insanity looms, she realized grimly.

William stared down at her, but she couldn’t meet his gaze.

Six more days. Hold it together for six more days.

She could do that. Somehow. At the end of those six days, if she needed more time to ensure that Sabine’s head rolled from her shoulders, she would hold it together for that time too.

She waited until William closed the door before moving further into the room and toward the door leading out. Opening it, she walked down the hall to the stairs at the end. She needed to feel fresh air on her face, and she needed to feed.

She checked the peepholes before turning the heavy metal latch and pushing the door open. Cool air caressed her cheeks when she stepped into the barn with Xavier close on her heels. Though there were no animals within anymore, the familiar scents of straw, hay, and horse tickled her nose. For a moment, she recalled what her life had been like in those simple, early days before she’d been captured and taken to the palace.

She’d loved the forest, her family, her friends, and the animals she’d cared for. It hadn’t been an easy life. There had been many nights she’d fallen asleep cold and hungry, many nights she’d prayed not to be discovered or doubted she would live to see the next day, but it had been her life. Then it had all been thrown into a whirlwind never to be the same again.

She’d never trade one day of her life with Braith, even if this was the way their love ended, but she had let her guard down. She’d been unprepared for the bad she’d always been prepared for as a human.

In her days as a rebel, she’d accepted that she would most likely have a short life and meet a brutal end at the hands of a vampire. With Braith, she’d had an eternity of love and laughter laid out before her like a never-ending road. Now the road smashed into a brick wall, and she found herself lying awake every night, once again feeling cold and hungry, but this cold and hunger was unlike anything she’d ever experienced as a human.

Footsteps sounded behind her as Daniel made his way up from below. Over the years, she’d seen her brother with women, but then she’d also seen him sitting close to men. She’d never really thought much about it. Daniel had always been more private about his love life than most of the other men and women in the forest. However, Daniel had always been more private and introverted than most anyone she knew.