It was her disappearance that drove him into action; he rushed through the woods, following her as she dove and ran through the trees with the agility of a squirrel. He had never seen anyone move like she did, so effortlessly. She was heading deeper into the forest, drawing him farther away from the area she had been walking toward when he found her. She was trying to lead him away from her family and friends.
She raced down another limb; he watched in dismay and amazement as she leapt out of the tree, except there wasn't another tree limb to catch this time. She folded in on herself, curling her arms around her legs as she spun through the air. He had no idea what she had in mind until she hit the ground.
Landing smoothly on her feet, she bounced swiftly up. She darted through the woods in a zigzagging pattern, easily avoiding any obstacle in her way. It was amazing to see her sleek agility and her profound knowledge of the world around her.
Though he was fascinated by it, and felt there were still many things she could do, many secrets and abilities she’d hidden, he was tired of being avoided. She was heading toward another large tree; if she got into it, they would continue to play this game of cat and mouse.
He poured on the speed, rushing after her, unwilling to let this continue. She had just thrown her arms around the tree branch when he caught her. She didn't cry out, didn't scream as she planted her legs against the trunk and shoved off it with all her might.
He stumbled slightly backward as she lurched sharply against him with the full force of her small weight. He kept hold of the collar of her shirt though, clinging to her as she tried to dart forward, tried to pull free of his grasp.
She was far more stubborn, wild, and determined to escape than he had thought she would be. He knew she was a spitfire, but she was a lot more volatile than he recalled. She flung herself forward; the thin material of her clothing tore within his hold.
She staggered, just as surprised as him to be momentarily free of his grasp. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he caught her. She cried out in surprise as they tumbled to the ground.
Though he didn't care about her, he shifted his weight so as not to crush her beneath him when they rolled over the ground. She was frantic now, squirming against him, her terror evident as she tried to escape his ironclad grasp.
He was surprised by the brief guilt that tugged at him. He wanted her to pay for her deceit, but he hadn't meant to terrify her to this extreme. She tried to stagger to her feet, but he kept hold of her waist, pulling her back underneath him as he flipped her over.
Her eyes were wild as she thrashed against him, her hair a straggling mess around her flushed face. She panted beneath him; her fright palpable as she tried to writhe out of his hold.
He seized her hair, his hand wrapped into the thick, wet mess. She pushed at his chest, shoving against him as a whimper escaped her. Braith didn't know what he was thinking, what he was doing, but instead of burying his teeth in her neck and draining her dry as he imagined doing for the past couple of months, his lips descended on her mouth.
Her hands flattened against his chest; she went still as stone beneath him. He pressed tighter against her, requiring some response, needing something from her, anything.
Needing to break her in some small way, just as she had broken him.
Then, her hands curled into his shirt; her fingers dug into his skin. A small gasp escaped her as her supple lips parted beneath his. She clung to him as her body melted against his. He invaded her, savoring the taste and feel of her as he melded against her.
He forgot everything, all her deception, all his hatred and suffering as he held her. It was hard to remember anything when she was so right in his arms. He had never felt anything as superb as she was, and as long as he held her, he didn't care what happened to them.
It wasn't until he tasted the saltiness of her tears on his lips that he realized she was crying. It wasn't until he pulled away to wipe the tears from her silken cheeks that Braith realized he cared for her far more than he’d been willing to admit to himself. It wasn't until she rested her forehead against his chest and sobbed that he realized they were both doomed.
Aria watched silently as the prince threw another log on the fire. She folded her hands before her, clasping them between her legs. Her eyes felt heavy and raw from crying. Her chest was still sore from the force of the sobs that had racked her. Despite the heat of the day, she was freezing and numb with the shock and horror still clinging to her.
When he turned away from her, the muscles in his broad back flexed as he grabbed another log and tossed it on the fire.
Aria glanced around the small house he’d brought her to. She didn't know why she was here, how he had known about it, but it was a quaint little cottage. He crouched on the floor as he studied her before rising to make his way to her.
"You have to dry off; you're shivering,” he said.
She didn't tell him she wasn't shivering because she was still wet and chilled from the river. They both knew it wasn’t the river but what just happened between them that was shaking her.
"Arianna, are you okay?”
She managed a small nod before rising to her feet and moving toward the crackling fire. Sitting before it, she held her numb hands over the flames. He settled on the arm of the sofa behind her and drew his long legs up onto the cushions while he watched her. She pulled her hair before her to dry it out and untangle it as she worked through the thick, wet mess.
She didn't know what to say to him or what to do. She didn't know what he wanted from her. She started to shake again; she struggled to suppress her tears as she recalled the incredible intensity of his kiss. For one minute, she’d felt whole and alive once more.
For one fantastic moment, all the grief of the past few months vanished beneath his touch and the fervor of his mouth on hers. She’d been trying to forget how amazing he could make her feel; she remembered it in an instant. And she was certain she would never forget again.
"When did Jericho tell you about Gwendolyn?" he asked.
Her fingers froze in her hair. When she turned toward him, she admired the play of light over his striking features. "Gwendolyn?" she asked, baffled by his question, and the name.
"The woman I am supposed to marry."
"Oh."
Her fingers slipped from her hair as the numbness returned in full force. She had forgotten that awful betrayal. She couldn't breathe through the pain constricting her chest and the knife stabbing deep into her heart. If Aria thought she had any chance of succeeding, she might punch him, but she’d already managed to hit him once, in the palace, and she didn't think she would get the chance again.
"I didn't know that was her name,” she said.
His head tilted to the side. He had slipped the dark glasses off to reveal the full beauty of his steel gray eyes and the bright blue band encircling his irises. The faint hint of scars marred the skin around his striking eyes. Scars that served as a reminder that no matter how remarkable those eyes were, they were flawed and unseeing. It was so rare when those glasses weren't in place and he relaxed his guard enough to remove them.
"When, Arianna?" he asked.
She turned sharply away, unable to look at him anymore. It hurt too much. "The morning he came to get me."
"Why did he tell you?"
She spun back to him; her hands fisted as she fought the urge to hit him. "What difference does that make?" she spat.
He stared silently back at her. "I want to know; that's the difference."
"And I want peace, but we don't always get what we want."
He leaned forward as he glared at her. "I had forgotten how obstinate you are."
She glowered back at him while she struggled against the tears threatening to flow. "Then perhaps you should let me go."
His full mouth curved into a wry smile as he shook his head. "That is not going to happen, Arianna. Answer my question."
She shook her head, baffled as to why she was here. Did he just like to tort
ure her by making her rehash the agony she had lived with ever since she learned of his fiancée?
Staring at the fire, she watched as it snapped and crackled and shot out sparks. She didn't want to tell him why Jack told her about his fiancée; she didn't want him to know how much she’d cared about him then. He had enough power and control over her without giving him more.
But she couldn't care about him like that anymore, she reminded herself. She was dumb and innocent back then. She would never be either of those things again—not when it came to him. It didn't matter if he knew why Jack told her, the prince had no hold over her anymore.
"Because I didn't want to leave," she finally admitted. Surprise filled his eyes as astonishment rippled through him. "I was foolish enough to think I would like to stay, with you, no matter what the consequences of that action might be. Jack simply informed me I was an idiot."
"Arianna—"
She launched to her feet, unable to sit still and listen to him anymore. A clawing, desperate urge to be free and escape this whole awful situation grew within her. She stepped away from the fire and stopped before the window to stare at the forest.
They were far from the caves, in an area she didn't know as it was close to civilization. It was an area of the woods she didn't travel to; it wasn't safe here. Her fingers pressed against the glass as longing filled her.
The sun was out now, her family and friends would be worried about her. They would be looking for her. She had to get back to them; she had to get away from him.
"You planned to stay within the palace?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered. She pressed her forehead briefly to the glass as she inhaled the fresh air seeping through the edges of the pane. "It's the past; it can't be changed. It's over."
She didn't hear him move, but that wasn’t a surprise. Detecting his approach was rare. His hands fell onto her shoulders; he held her briefly before deliberately turning her away from the window.
When she refused to look at him, he clasped her chin and lifted it so she had to meet his relentless gaze.
"I should have told you about her, but I didn't know,” he said. “I didn't expect—"
"Expect what?" she inquired when he broke off.
He shook his head and bent to place a kiss on her mouth. "Why were you going to stay?" he inquired, his hands smoothly clasping her face.
She tried to pull away from him, but he held her firmly. He moved closer to her, his chest brushing against hers. His body was a little cooler than hers; the force of his presence was overwhelming. She could barely breathe through the combination of excitement and trepidation pounding through her.
She couldn't let herself get carried away here; she couldn't allow herself to hope this might end differently than it had before. Things could never change between them; they were from entirely different worlds. They were completely different species even.
"What difference does it make?" she asked.
He moved closer until his lips were just centimeters from hers. He was the most irresistible man she'd ever met, even as she tried to fight it, she could feel her body reacting to his.
"Because I need to know why you were going to stay, Arianna."
"It makes no difference, prince."
"Braith."
"What?"
"I told you once before to call me Braith, not prince."
Aria sighed as she lowered her eyes. Yes, he had told her that before, but ever since she fled the palace, she’d started to refer to him as the prince again. It helped her to distance herself from him; something she had to do to survive the heartbreak that nearly destroyed her. He may want her to stop calling him prince now, but she wasn't sure she could. Doing so would mean allowing him back into her heart.
She didn't think she could survive it a second time.
"Arianna, tell me why you were going to stay."
"No!" her voice was sharper than she expected. She was ashamed to hear the torment in it. "No! You don't always get what you want. Why can't you let this be? Just leave me be! Why did you come here? Why did you hunt me down after all this time? How did you even find me? I was just beginning to move on, and you had to show up and destroy it all again! Destroy me again."
She tried to straighten her shoulders and raise her chin, but her lower lip trembled. It didn't help that sadness filled his features, and a look of loss shimmered in his startling eyes.
She almost screamed in frustration.
It was all so unfair. She had been trying to move on as she attempted to regain some semblance of the life she had before he entered it. But he had shown up again and sharply reminded her the only life she truly wanted, but could never have, was a life with him.
"Arianna..."
Struggling not to cry again, she tore her gaze away from him.
"Please, Braith." She hoped the use of his name would earn her some reprieve. It didn't.
He kissed her forehead, her nose. Aria shuddered, trying hard not to melt against him, fighting not to give in to her desires. But when his lips brushed against hers, she leaned into him. Felt herself seeking the soothing caress of his mouth and hands. She hated herself for her weakness, but there was something about him that she couldn't resist.
His fingers entangled in her hair; he pulled her closer to him as his tongue stroked her lips. Aria was unable to put up any fight against his potent kisses and demanding hands. It was when his hands rubbed over the healing bite on her neck that she finally came back to herself a little.
She tried to pull away from him, but his hand enclosed on her shoulder. Ever so gently, he pulled her tattered shirt down a little, revealing the mark on her. A shiver ran through her as he traced his fingers over it.
Memories of that night, of him feeding on her and nourishing his body with hers, flooded her. He’d enthralled her as he drained her body of its blood and used her life force to nurture his own. She’d never wanted the moment to end, but that was before she knew everything, witnessed the raid on the caves, and learned he was promised to another.
Another he probably loved.
Aria pulled her collar away from him and covered the bite. There would be no repeat of that night now. She couldn't allow herself to be lost like that again, no matter how badly she craved him.
"I loved you," she whispered.
"Excuse me?" he asked in surprise.
"I was going to stay in the palace because I loved you. I told Jack to leave me there because I didn't care what would happen, what would become of me, as long as I was with you. I loved you so much; I thought nothing of my safety, my own life, when it came to you."
"Arianna—"
"Then Jack told me the truth." She continued as if he’d never spoken because if she didn't get this all out now, she never would. If she didn't get it all out, then she would lose herself to him again, and it would destroy her this time. "And then my love didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. I didn't even matter. I was so hurt, so mad, so lost and confused and scared. I know you never promised me anything; I know there could never be anything between us, not in the end, but I would never have allowed it to go that far if I’d known the truth. If I had known you loved someone else and were going to marry her, I never would have allowed that night to happen. Never. You almost destroyed me with your lies and deceit. I will not allow it to happen again!"
He stood immobile for a moment, and then he took her chin and held it loosely between his thumb and index finger. She glared at him; she felt sullen and disagreeable, as she folded her arms over her chest.
It was childish, she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to be completely mature at this point. The past two months had been nothing but confusing, frightening, and so unbelievably grueling that she believed she deserved some childish behavior right now.
And now he had reappeared and thrown a giant wrench into all the hard work she’d put into piecing herself back together again.
"I didn't know, Arianna."
"I don't care!"
she retorted.
He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. "I knew you loved me that night, you told me so, but what I didn't fully understand was how I had come to feel about you."
She struggled to fight against the hope and yearning twisting through her. No matter what he said, this could never be. He would have to leave, and she would have to go back to the woods and the caves.
"Don't," she whispered.
"If I had known what was going to happen, Arianna, I would have told you about my fiancée. I would have left you alone; I would have done anything other than what I did that night. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. What I feel for you, it's not something I ever expected. I never thought it could happen to me. If I had been stronger, I would have resisted the offer of your gift until you knew the truth, but that night was a complete surprise to me also."
Her mouth parted in distress. "Braith–"
"I don't love my fiancée, Arianna. In fact, I dislike her intensely. It's an arranged marriage; her family is very powerful. It's not something either of us asked for."
Aria pondered his words. "That doesn't change anything, Braith," she whispered. "You will still go back, and you will marry her, and I will... Well, I suppose I will be recaptured, killed, or perhaps one day I will marry Max or some other rebel. Though it's unlikely, I’ll live long enough for that to happen."
His eyebrows drew together as he moved closer to her, pushing her against the window. Aria was taken aback by his blistering anger.
"To Max?" he snarled.
Aria frowned at him, she was trying not be intimidated by him, but she was utterly baffled by his sudden change.
"Yes, I guess, maybe... Oh, I don't know," she breathed. "I have no intention of bringing children into this awful world but he's a good man, he's safe, and he cares for me. Perhaps he even loves me. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"
The Captive Series 1-5 Page 22