Unbound (The Captive #7)(49)
She’d later learned Atticus had built the fountain because of Genny.
How fitting now.
“I know you do.”
She tilted her head back as Braith settled onto the bench beside her. This close, she could clearly see the beautiful blue of the band encircling his iris. Black stubble lined his square jaw as his eyes held hers. The heat of his body warmed hers, the love in his gaze making her sigh as she leaned against him.
“I love you,” she whispered.
His fingers slid over her hair, lifting it up and letting it fall back down. “And I you, more than you could ever know.”
“Oh, I know.”
Releasing her hair, his fingers stroked over her cheek, turning her head toward him. Behind his back, hundreds of red roses climbed the trellises and spilled over the walkways of the garden. She didn’t recall there being so many roses before, but now they were everywhere she looked. Their heady fragrance tickled her nostrils, but his scent enveloped her when he leaned down to kiss her. Her hands encircled his forearms as something tugged at the back of her mind.
She couldn’t let him go. She could never let him go. If she did…
What? What would happen? She should know the answer to that, but she didn’t, and right now she didn’t care. Not when his tongue was moving over her lips in that demanding way. She opened her mouth to his heady invasion, her toes curling and a moan escaping her when she felt his fangs against her lips.
Need the connection.
Her fangs lengthened, and she bit down on his lip, but no blood filled her mouth. Pulling away, she gazed up at him as he cradled her cheeks within his hands. “Why can’t I taste you?” she asked.
Sadness filled his eyes as he bent to rest his forehead against hers. For a minute, she simply savored their closeness before his hands lessened their grip on her face. “You know why,” he whispered.
Over his shoulder, the roses drooped. The edges of their petals wrinkled as the vibrant red color darkened in hue. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as the once vibrant red roses became the color of midnight. Blood pooled in their centers before sliding down to drip off of their black petals. The pristine, white rocks of the garden pathway turned crimson with the blood spilling over them.
“Don’t make me leave here,” she pleaded.
“You can’t stay here, Aria. You have to go back.”
Her hands flew up to cover his on her face. She tried to press them closer again, but they were fading away as his appearance wavered before her. “Braith,” she choked out.
“I’m always with you,” he said, and she felt the feathery caress of his ghost lips against her forehead. “Always a piece of you, and I will come back for you, not even death will keep us apart.”
Tears dripped off her chin as he shimmered before her and vanished.
***
Aria
Stars twinkled against the midnight backdrop of the sky as Aria lay on her back, staring up at them. She propped her hands behind her head while she tried not to recall the dream that had woken her over an hour ago. She cursed herself again for falling asleep, but exhaustion had drawn her under.
Not even death will keep us apart.
How desperately she wished those words were true, but the emptiness inside her made believing in anything nearly impossible right now. She watched as the stars changed position in the sky and tried not to think of the many times she and Braith had lain out beneath the stars together. It was impossible not to recall those nights, his kisses, the scrape of his fangs against her skin, his body moving over hers…
Aria rolled over and shoved herself into a seated position. She shook her head to clear it of the memories. Recalling happier times did not make things better; they made it far worse. Lifting her head, her gaze fell on the trees. From within their dark depths, Braith stood staring at her, watching her in that fascinated way he had so often since she’d met him.
For a second, she swore her deadened heart gave a lumbering beat once more. She rose to her knees and almost leapt to her feet to run to him. Then the image faded away, as it had in her dream. She was left with nothing but the shadows of the trees and her encroaching insanity.
Her fingers dug into the earth, tearing away pine needles and leaves as dirt embedded beneath her fingernails and the world became filled with a reddish haze. Her fangs lengthened when bloodlust surged to life within her.
He could still be coming back for me.
Don’t think it. Don’t get your hopes up. You won’t survive the loss of those hopes.
That little inner voice was right and she immediately shut down any belief of Braith’s return.
Xavier lifted his head from where he sat against the trunk of an oak when she took a ragged breath, then another. She hadn’t required air in some time, yet she kept trying to draw it into her lungs now as her gaze remained riveted on where she thought she’d seen Braith standing.
Xavier rose and walked over to kneel beside her; he rested his hand on her back. She wanted to shy away from his touch, but she found herself unable to move enough to do so.
“Easy,” he soothed.
She took another rattling breath before closing her eyes and carefully reining in all of her unstable emotions. Lifting her glasses, she rubbed at her swollen and gritty eyes.
“I’m okay,” she whispered when she had herself back under control.
“If you’re not, that’s okay too,” he said.