Unbound (The Captive #7)(81)

Blood and death, he wanted it so badly he could taste it. He’d once told Aria he’d go on without her, he would rule and he would make sure her loved ones were safe. He intended to uphold those words to her the best he could, but how long that would be or how well, he had no way of knowing. He could barely think straight right now; he couldn’t think about what years of this emptiness would do to him.

Nor could he entirely process all of the changes he felt in his body now.

He could see. Somehow, while he’d been dead, he’d healed. He had no idea what to make of that, or the increased power he felt flowing through his veins. It felt as if something deep inside of him had been tapped, as if some well of strength had been loosed when the arrow had sliced through his heart, and now it would never be stemmed again.

His gaze slid to Jack at his side as he stood protectively in front of Hannah. He should feel bad for what he’d done to his brother, for what he’d done to Daniel. He felt nothing beyond this yawning desolation and impending insanity.

Brushing back the wet hair and rain streaming down his face, he turned to look at Daniel, Max, and Timber. He had no idea who the girl was, but the three of them kept her between them.

“Aria, is she… how was she when you last saw her?” He nearly had to shout to be heard over the storm.

Did she feel this hollow and this looming insanity? Had she been suffering through this clawing sensation in his chest for almost two weeks? The idea caused fresh fury to swell through him and the four humans came to an abrupt halt. Braith stopped, his head bowing and his shoulders heaving as he tried to maintain control.

“She is… coping,” Daniel replied hesitantly.

More blood spilled from his palms as he heard the doubt in Daniel’s words. Aria was in pain. He’d caused that pain; he’d left her. He’d been dead! And now very much alive again and stronger, but she could be dead. She could have been killed since they’d last seen her. He shook his head to clear it of the disconcerting thoughts filling his head.

Keep it together until you know for sure.

When he’d first woken, he couldn’t remember anything. He’d felt empty; all he’d wanted was Aria, and she wasn’t there. His passing had fractured their link. Now, as he struggled to piece together what had occurred, more and more of the events leading up to his death started to come back to him.

“And the woman who attacked us, where is she?” he demanded.

“We have confirmed that her name is Sabine,” Max said. “And we believe she is your grandmother. Apparently, the first born in your line make it a habit to come back from the dead even if you’re pierced through the heart.” His gaze ran pointedly over Braith’s healed flesh before landing on where his heart would be located in his chest. “Before we left the others, Sabine was planning to make a move against the palace.”

“And Aria is near the palace?”

“Yes, we have been gathering forces and making plans to fight Sabine. Aria will wait for us to return before she carries out our part of the plan.”

Braith’s lips skimmed back. “Aria doesn’t wait.”

“For this, she will. She knows we only have one chance at this woman, and believe me, she is not going to blow it, not after what happened. She’ll have her revenge.”

Then there was a chance she was still alive, that she was okay and this emptiness within him could be eased. It had to be eased. Braith stared at Max as he tried to assimilate everything they were telling him into his chaotic mind. His gaze fell to the woman before Max. She didn’t take a step away from him as she held his gaze.

Max rested his hand on her shoulder. “She won’t tell anyone what she’s learned.”

“I won’t,” the woman said.

Braith turned away from them and broke into a loping run through the trees once more. He had to move, had to get to Aria. The ground slipped and slid beneath his feet as he pushed onward through the driving rain and whipping wind.

“We have to take a break,” Daniel panted from behind him after they’d covered a few more miles.

Braith spun toward them once more, causing them all to take a stumbling step back from him. “Tell me where she is. How do I get there?” he commanded.

“In a barn… about fifteen miles away… near the palace,” Max gasped loudly as he bent over to rest his hands on his knees.

“There are many barns near the palace!” he yelled. “I need more than that.”

“Easy, Braith,” Jack advised. Braith shot him a withering look that caused his brother to raise his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I know you’re eager to get to her. Believe me, I know.” He looked at Hannah, standing by his side and shivering in the rain. “We will make it there, but they’re doing the best they can, and it’s better if we all stay together. If we can’t find the barn, or them again, we’ll be screwed.”

Braith stalked into the forest with Keegan at his heels as on the horizon the night’s black sky gave way to the slate gray color of a stormy dawn. He stared at the changing color as he tried to rein in his emotions. Jack was right, he knew that, but the clawing in his chest increased with every passing minute.

With a curse, he drove his fist into a tree. The bark and wood gave way until his arm burst free on the other side. The broken bones in his knuckles and his sliced-open skin were already repairing themselves when he pulled his hand free. Lifting his hand before him, he couldn’t help the wonder filling him as he examined the already healed flesh and bones. Pink rivulets ran over his skin as the rain washed away the remaining blood. Never before had he healed so quickly; he never would have believed it possible.