Vengeance (The Captive #6)(9)

She knew he was right, but it killed her not to be able to help in some small way. “He’ll figure it out,” Braith said.

“I hope so. What did Gideon have to say?” she asked as a way to distract herself.

Braith didn’t miss the hitch in her voice and hugged her closer. “Only an update, everything is fine.”

Aria stepped back as Braith opened the door to the tavern for her. She’d expected everyone else to be in bed, but Ashby, Melinda, Jack, Hannah, Daniel and Max were gathered around one of the tables with drinks near them. Jack and Daniel glanced up at them and then sat up straighter in their chairs.

“I thought you’d gone to sleep,” Jack said.

Braith grabbed hold of a chair to move it over to the table. “Not yet.”

He gestured for her to sit. She settled comfortably onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She inhaled his earthy, masculine scent, savoring the aroma she knew so well. The strength and love she felt from her husband still wasn’t enough to melt the ice encasing her.

A piece of her heart had left and gone out into the world. She didn’t know if that piece would ever return to her. Even if he accomplished what he’d set out to do, and came back alive, she still didn’t know if the brother she’d always known would come back to her, or if he would still be as lost as he seemed now.

They sat at the table, drinking and talking until the sun came up. She didn’t tell them William had left. This was Jack and Hannah’s wedding day, or at least it had been, and she refused to put any kind of a damper on it. Braith carried her upstairs when everyone else began to retreat to bed, but there would be no sleep for her, not tonight.

She lay next to him until he fell asleep before rising to her feet and pacing restlessly over to the window. The sun had come up hours ago, but the tavern below remained tranquil. She glared out at the day, her eyes focused on the distant mountains, but no matter how hard she tried, she didn’t see her brother out there.

“Aria.”

She turned to find Braith with his head propped up on his hand, watching her. The blankets had fallen away to reveal the sculpted muscles of his carved abs and broad chest. Despite her anxiety, her gaze raked over him hungrily. When he held the blankets open to her, she slid into bed with him again, allowing herself to be lost to only him for the next couple of hours.

The scent of cooking meat and the sounds of laughter wafted up from below when she woke later. She’d somehow managed to fall asleep for what must have been a couple of hours, judging by the fading sunlight filtering through the curtains. She stretched a hand behind her for Braith; it rested against his thigh as he rolled over to envelop her in a hug.

“We should show them your father’s documents tonight,” she said. They’d both decided to keep what she’d discovered in the old king’s hidden room to themselves until after the wedding.

“We will,” he murmured as he nuzzled her ear.

She laughed and slid from his arms before he kept her in bed for the rest of the night. She showered and dressed quickly. When she reemerged from the bathroom, he was sitting up in the bed, his black hair tussled, and his eyes focused on the wooden box sitting on his lap. She knew the story of his father’s life, and what had driven him to become a ruthless murderer, lay within that box.

It had taken Braith months to accept that his father hadn’t always been the monster he’d believed him to be. Now it was time to let his siblings know too. She didn’t know how Melinda and Jack would react, or what they would think about the revelations, but it would be wrong not to show them what they’d learned.

Braith lifted his head; a smile curved his mouth when he spotted her in the doorway. A sparkle lit his gray eyes and the blue band encircling his irises. The scars surrounding his eyes had faded until they were barely visible in the dim light. “It was smart of you to get dressed,”

She laughed as she tossed her towel into the hamper. “That’s why I did it.”

The fact she had clothes on wasn’t quite the mental deterrent she’d hoped it would be when he placed the box aside, threw back the blanket, and rose to his six-foot-five height. Aside from Timber, he was the largest man she’d ever seen, and he was hers. A thrill of possession and pleasure slid through her as he stalked toward her. When he bent and placed a kiss on her forehead, she had to fight the urge to grab hold of his arms and keep him there.

The water turned on as she made her way over to the window again. The moon glimmered across the snow, causing it to sparkle as if it had thousands of crystals spread across the surface. She knew William wouldn’t have returned, he wasn’t going to anytime soon, but she kept hoping she’d see him ride up on the horizon. Her gaze lifted to the craggy peaks of the mountains in the distance. She hadn’t had to ask him; she knew that’s where he was heading.

When Braith came out of the bathroom, he gathered the box from the bed and tucked it under his arm. She followed him from the room and down to the crowded tavern floor below. Melinda and Ashby were already at one of the tables, their blond heads bent close together as they talked. Melinda ran her fingers over the back of Ashby’s hand as she laughed. Beyond them, she spotted Timber, Daniel, and Max playing a game of dice. Xavier stood to the side, watching the game. Not surprisingly, Jack and Hannah were nowhere around.

Ashby’s sandy blond eyebrows drew together when Braith placed the box on the table. “What do you have there?” he inquired.