Vengeance (The Captive #6)(93)

“We can go to the tavern,” Hannah offered. “There’s barely anyone in there right now.”

“We’ll need to get whoever is in there, out.”

Hannah did a double take at his words. “What is going on?” Jack demanded.

“Did Aria and Braith leave?” William inquired.

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but before he did, a small squeal erupted from William’s left. He had his answer as he turned in time to see a slender figure, dressed entirely in green, rushing at him. Aria plunged into his arms, knocking him back a step with the force of her weight.

He pulled her against his chest. He’d been pushing them all away since he’d woken as a vampire; he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed them until now. Never again, he vowed, no matter what happened, he would keep his loved ones close.

Aria’s blue eyes sparkled with merriment when she tilted her head to look up at him. “You’re here!”

“Did you doubt I’d return?”

“I never know with you; you can be a bit reckless.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle, and you certainly don’t act like a queen running at me like that.”

She didn’t have the grace to look chagrined; she thrust her chin out at him instead. “I’m very queenly when it’s necessary. And if you hadn’t taken off, alone like that, I wouldn’t be so happy to see you again. You’ve just gotten back, and I’m already reminded how much you annoy me.”

Only Aria could figure out a way to blame him. “The feeling is mutual.”

She grinned at him before squeezing him again and stepping away. “I’ve also been staying out of trouble lately, in case you’ve forgotten.”

His laughter died away as he recalled what loomed on the horizon for all of them. Before he could respond, she spun away from him to hug Daniel, Max, and Timber. “I’m so glad you’re all back!”

“So are we,” Daniel said. He hugged her close against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“Aria…”

William’s voice trailed off; his question about where her husband was died on his lips, when he spotted Braith and Xavier beyond her shoulder. Stepping forward, he took hold of Braith’s hand and grasped it. The pulse of power radiating off Braith gave him a small jolt as it radiated up his arm and through his chest.

Shit. A sinking sensation filled his stomach. There was so much power within Braith it vibrated the air around him, and William knew there were deeper reserves of it inside of him, but was it more than what he’d felt coming off of that woman?

He didn’t know the answer to that, but he had a feeling they would find out.

“It’s good to have you back,” Braith said.

“I’m sure you never thought you’d say that,” William retorted.

“No, I didn’t,” he admitted with a laugh.

Braith’s eyes darted to Aria as she walked back toward them, beaming like the cat that had eaten the canary. Braith’s hard features softened when he took hold of her hand. No matter what had occurred between them in the past, William could never deny the man loved his sister, would do anything he could to make her happy and would die for her. Besides, the prickly ass had actually grown on him a little over the almost two years they’d known each other.

His gaze turned to Tempest, standing behind him and looking more nervous now than she had while standing in a burning building. He reminded himself he could never tease his bother-in-law again as he took hold of her hand. Aria’s eyes were questioning as they focused on Tempest again. Braith’s forehead furrowed as he studied her, but when William pulled her against his side, Braith began to smile in an annoying way and gave him a look that clearly stated payback’s a bitch.

William knew he deserved whatever was handed out to him; he just hoped they all lived long enough for Braith and Jack to make his life a living hell. “Tempest, this is my extremely inelegant, queen of a sister, Aria and her husband, the King, Braith. Tempest saved my life, multiple times and in many ways.”

Aria’s eyes shot to him, Braith continued to grin at him. “I’m not sure about that,” Tempest murmured.

“I am,” he insisted.

Tempest went to curtsey but Aria grabbed hold of her shoulders before she could. “There’s no need for that, not if you saved my brother’s life,” she murmured. “We owe you thanks.”

“She could come to regret the choice,” Braith replied. Aria elbowed him in the ribs.

“What happened out there?” Aria inquired, her gaze running over the ragtag assortment of children and villagers riding with some of the soldiers.

“We have to talk,” he said.

“What about the children and other villagers?” Tempest inquired.

“They can go to Tilly’s boarding house; they’ll be taken care of there,” Hannah assured her.

Jack turned toward one of the guards standing beside his horse. They’d all dismounted when Aria had arrived. “Take the new arrivals over to the boarding house,” he commanded. “And make sure they are taken care of.”

Tempest stepped forward to speak with Abbott and Pallas; they all briefly hugged before the troops began to herd them toward the boarding house. William walked with his family and friends down the street toward the tavern. He kept hold of Tempest’s hand as they entered the building and waited until Hannah and Jack politely ushered the few humans inside, playing dice and eating lunch, out of the building. Ashby and Melinda appeared on the stairs; Melinda broke into a smile before hurrying down to hug him.