"Don't get all bristly." She sought to calm him by caressing him. "You must be hungry."
"I'm fine."
"You're stubborn."
"As are you."
She grinned as she tilted her head back to look at him. "Yes, but it's been a while, I'll be fine if you feed on me, Braith."
He dropped his head to hers. "I know, I just..."
Her fingers were against his lips, and then her mouth replaced her fingers. "There is no, "I just," not now. I crave the connection as much as you crave my blood. I want to feel you inside me."
He shuddered at her choice of words, and when his arms constricted around her, a low groan escaped him. He would never get over how swiftly she could unravel his composure.
"I would love to satisfy you in every way, but with everyone in this house, especially my father—"
"I understand," he grated through clenched teeth. "Not here, not on this cot, and not with your family surrounding us. Not for you, Arianna. I want better for you; it will be better."
When he opened his eyes to look at her, he was surprised to find her watching him with a look of absolute love that nearly shattered him. She unwrapped her arms from his waist and deliberately pulled the hair back from her neck. The marks from his other feedings were still visible on her porcelain skin. Tugging her shirt down, he revealed the nearly invisible mark from the first time he'd fed from her. His fingers brushed over it as she pressed against him; her breasts were firm against his chest.
"Do you remember this?" he asked tensely.
"How could I forget?"
"I almost killed you that night."
"Braith—"
"Yet you continue to give yourself to me."
"I love you."
"Is it so simple then?"
"Yes. This is not an easy life."
It wasn't, but he hadn't once wished he was back in that hideous palace with its vast supply of blood and every imaginable luxury. He would wade through a thousand swamps before he ever let her go again.
"And I wouldn't change a thing," he whispered against her cheek.
"Why?"
"Because I love you."
"Is it so simple then?"
He smiled at her. "Yes."
"Good."
She silently guided his head to her neck. His fingers slid up her shirt to rest against the slender curve of her back. A faint whimper escaped her, and goose bumps broke out across her skin. He bypassed the marks on her neck to rest his lips against the first bite he’d placed on her the first time he marked her as his.
She moaned when he bit into her, reopening the wounds that bound them irrevocably to each other. Aria slumped against him as the rest of the world faded away.
Chapter Fifteen
Aria looked up from the shirt she’d been sewing when Jack stepped into the room. She hated sewing; she'd stabbed herself numerous times already, but she needed the shirt. When she jabbed herself again, she swore and stuck her wounded finger in her mouth.
Jack quirked an eyebrow at her. "You're not very good at that."
"I know," she mumbled. He rocked back on his heels as he folded his hands behind him. She frowned as she dropped the shirt. "What's wrong?"
"I need to speak with you."
"Okay."
"Not here. Take a walk with me?"
She wasn't sure why he would want to take a walk, there was no one around. "Uh, yeah, sure."
Placing the shirt on the table, she climbed to her feet and followed him out of the house. Braith had gone with Gideon, Xavier, her father, and Daniel to meet with the rebels her father had gathered to fight, look over the supplies they'd accrued, and do some hunting.
Aria had opted to stay behind. She was tired, and perhaps it would be a chance for Braith to bond with her family. He hadn't liked her decision to remain in the beginning but relented when Jack and Ashby agreed to stay behind.
Ashby stood by the woods when they emerged from the house. Remorse radiated from his eyes as he fell into step beside them. She glanced between the two of them, suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable.
Why hadn't she grabbed her bow? She shook off the crazy thought. This was Jack and Ashby; they wouldn't hurt her.
"What's going on?" Neither of them answered her, and Aria became aware of her pulse pounding in her ears. "Jack?"
"Just going for a walk, Aria, we have to talk."
"About what?" He didn't answer her. She stopped abruptly; she refused to take one more step until she received some answers. "About what?" she demanded.
"The lake is ahead; we’ll go there to speak, okay?" Jack asked.
Aria bristled at his placating tone. She almost turned around and walked away as she was suddenly sure she didn't want to hear what they had to say. She couldn't run away though.
"Fine," she relented.
Aria fell back as Jack led the way to a pristine lake. She stood for a moment, taking in the water as it spread out in a glimmering array of sunshine and blue. Something inside her chest eased; Aria took a deep breath to inhale the fresh scent of the crisp water. Forgetting all about Jack and Ashby, she stepped closer to the water. She itched to dive in, swim out as far as she could, and simply be.
The clearing of Jack's throat reminded her that wasn’t going to happen.
Sighing impatiently, Aria turned to him. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Jack and Ashby exchanged a look, but it was Jack who spoke. "Braith."
Aria folded her arms across her chest as she studied them. Ashby’s eyes darted continuously away as if he were ashamed. A hollow pit formed in her stomach. She could barely breathe anymore. No, she definitely was not going to like this.
"Perhaps you should talk to him then," she suggested.
"I've tried, and so have Ashby and Gideon. He needs to lead, Aria."
Coldness seeped into her bones and stole through her soul. "He does," she agreed.
Jack shifted nervously. "You know I love you, Aria, and think of you as a sister."
"Say it, Jack."
"You have to let him go."
She felt as if he'd punched her in the gut. She’d suspected those words were coming, but they still knocked the air from her. Unable to stay upright, she rested her hand on a tree and leaned against it.
"Aria..."
She held up a hand to stall him. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts and hold back her tears. She'd suspected all along, no she'd known, that this was a distinct possibility. That in the end, she would have to give Braith up and leave him, again. She just wasn't ready to hear it confirmed by someone else.
Ashby, looking to soothe her, reached for her shoulder. Unable to take his pity, she pushed his hand away.
"Braith feels he can take you, disappear, and never look back when this is over. He thinks he can leave Gideon, Ashby, or even me in charge. We know he can't, and I think you know it too."
Aria lifted her head. She blinked away the tears burning her eyes to focus on him.
"Our family line is the strongest, it always has been,” Jack continued. “Our bloodline has been traced back to the first vampire; it’s the only line that can claim such a feat and prove it's true. It wasn't often our line wasn't ruling, and as you've witnessed, even the most powerful vampires on our side have turned to Braith to lead them."
Aria stared silently at the lake as she ran her fingers over the rough bark beneath her hand. She needed these things to connect her to the earth as she felt utterly disconnected right now.
"Since the moment he was born, it was expected Braith would rise to power if our father died. He's been groomed for such an endeavor, trained for it; he is the only one who can control the chaos that will follow the dethroning of our father. Even those within the palace, the non-aristocrats will support him, because that's what they’ve expected to one day do for the past nine hundred years. Nine hundred years, Aria, is how long it has been accepted Braith would eventually rule.
"Even with me being of the same line, t
hey won't follow me in the same way, and to be honest, I won’t be able to control them the way Braith will. It's not for me; it never has been. They will look to destroy me in a way they will not look to destroy Braith. Nor will they follow Ashby. He's not a part of our line, and even if he marries Melinda, they will not accept him, and Melinda isn't strong enough to rule. Gideon is Braith's other option. But Gideon has been gone from the palace for a hundred years, and he has no tie to our line. He's not even a part of the second most powerful family; he is simply older than the other aristocrats and is only fifty years younger than Braith."
They spoke of fifty years as if it were nothing; to her, it was a lifetime.
"Xavier? Saul?" she managed to choke out. "Calista or Barnaby?"
"Xavier is a record keeper; he prefers to loiter in the shadows. Most see Saul as weak due to his defect, and the others are mere children. The oldest is Barnaby, and he's barely three hundred. They can't take control."
"The second most powerful—"
"Is my mother's line," Jack interrupted her. "My father had all of them destroyed to ensure they would no longer be a threat. He also decimated the third, fourth, and sixth lines. He eradicated anyone he deemed a possible threat to his control."
"The fifth line?"
"Gideon."
The lump in her throat threatened to choke her.
"Ashby is part of the seventh line, as is his cousin who remained in the palace. He has stepped into what should have been Ashby's role, assuming power as my father's second in command," Jack said.
Showing some emotion other than pity for the first time, Ashby scowled. "My cousin is a coward," he muttered.
"I'm sure Braith understands all this," she whispered.
"He does understand it," Jack confirmed. "But to him, you are all that matters. He's stubborn, Aria; he thinks the vampire lines will accept one of us in place of him, as will the people, but he's wrong."
She didn't realize she was crying until a drop landed on her hand. She wiped the tears hastily away and cursed herself for crying in front of them.
"We can't convince him to let you go, and we can't convince him to try changing you. Our people might accept you then as it's a rare feat for a human to survive the change. They may not embrace you with open arms after, but they won't deny you either, and the ones who did would be few. He is unwilling to realize these facts, but you need to," Jack insisted.
A sob escaped her. She shoved her fist into her mouth to stifle her cries as something inside her broke.
"It's for the greater good, Aria. Think of the people, your people, who will be freed. The future generations who will never know the fear and oppression you have experienced. They will not know starvation, filth, and enslavement as you have known it; as Max has known it."
Max. Oh, Max. His time as a blood slave destroyed him. It took a proud, vibrant man and turned him into someone filled with hate and bitterness. It broke him, as it had broken so many others before they were mercifully destroyed. Then there were the rebels who never made it to blood slave status and were drained of their blood and killed. She recalled the boy she was captured with; he’d been so young and vulnerable when selected for death.
"Oh." Her legs gave out, and she slid limply to the forest floor. "Oh."
"He believes he can make everything all right in the end. It's not possible, Aria."
Jack's tone became softer; she heard the ragged pain in it, but it was nothing compared to the anguish savaging her soul.
"We need for you to agree to leave him when this war is over."
She knew it was the right thing to do and the best thing for everyone involved, even if it destroyed her and Braith. But even so, hope blazed hotly through her when she realized something.
"But that's not possible!" she blurted. "His blood is in me, so Braith can track me anywhere. Ashby said I'm his bloodlink and we can't live without each other."
"You have started the bond, but it's not complete, is it?" Jack asked her.
"No, but—"
"As long as you don't allow it to be completely forged, there is a chance the bloodlink will not destroy either of you if you separate. As for his blood in your system, we're hoping if you don't accept it again, his blood will thin out and eventually leave your system."
"I was gone from the palace for over a month, and he still found me."
Jack and Ashby exchanged a look before Jack spoke. "We think that if another vampire's blood is added to your system, most likely mine, it may dilute his enough so he won't be able to track you for long, if at all."
She recoiled, and nausea surged up her throat at the mere thought. She was shaking her head no when Jack bent and grabbed her shoulders. "Aria—"
"He'll die without me," she groaned.
Aria didn't add she would die without him. She was dying now, and though she would continue to move through her days, she would never fully live again without Braith.
"Maybe not, if the bond isn't completely forged."
A guttural noise escaped her. "He went berserk when I left him last time."
"We’re hoping that having so many lives in his hands will help keep him in control. He didn't have that responsibility before. No matter how upset and furious he is, we're hoping the good in him will win out in the end."
"That's a lot of hoping."
"It's all we have, and one day, you will die. Your death may sever whatever bond remains between you at the time and free him."
It would free her also, she realized as she bent over and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "He will be blind again."
"He will, but he was blind for a hundred years before you, and it never slowed him down. The world was dark to him, but it was not a weakness for him. Ashby, Melinda, Gideon, and many others will be there to protect him."
She almost laughed at the mention of Ashby, the one who blinded him to begin with, but there was no humor in her. It was all too awful to be funny.
"I know this is a lot to ask of you, Aria, I know you are young and in love, but—"
"Stop," she whispered.
Ashby clasped her hands as he knelt before her. She almost jerked away from him, but the tears in his bright green eyes held her immobile. He was crying and not for himself, but for her.
"Jack doesn't understand what you're going through, but I understand. I couldn't let Melinda go if someone asked me to. She is everything to me. No matter what they did to me after the war, it didn't matter as long as she was safe. I am unbelievably sorry, I cannot..." his words broke off as tears slid down his cheeks. "I cannot imagine, and I do not want to imagine your pain or Braith’s when this happens. It's not fair to put this on you, I know, but you’re all we have."
His tears were her undoing. She wept as she fell against him, but she found no solace in his arms. There would never be any comfort again. She was unable to regain control as Ashby rocked her and his tears mingled with hers. Jack stood away from them with his shoulders set stiffly and his jaw locked as he stared into the dense forest.
Gradually, her sobs subsided because there was no water left inside her to shed. Ashby continued to hold her, but he didn't pretend anything he offered would do her any good.
Braith's sense of rightness would prevail if she left, she was sure of it. He may become irrational and explosive when she left, but she had faith his goodness would win out in the end.
"There's more, Aria." She could barely lift her head to look at Jack, never mind hear more of what he had to say. "He can't know about this. You have to act normal around him."
Horror filled her. "You mean we're not leaving now?"
"No. He'll tear these woods apart looking for you rather than lead the fight against our father. You can't leave until the war is over and he's been established as leader. He must realize he has a duty to thousands rather than himself and you."
"My family?" she whispered.
"Your father will be informed of our intentions when the time is right; he will not be able to leave though
."
So, she would never see him again either. She'd thought she didn't have any more tears left. She was wrong as agony clenched at her.
"Daniel will also have to remain as your father's second in command and most likely successor, but I think William will go with you."
She nodded in agreement. Yes, William would come with her, even if she told him to stay and enjoy the life he was fighting for.
"And I think he should. I will also be going with you."
Aria blinked at Jack in surprise. "You can't leave Braith."
"I can't leave you either, not unprotected."
"William—"
"You will need more than just William. Braith is going to look for you, and we will have to get far from him as fast as we can. I'm asking this of you, and I will follow it through with you."
"And return after I'm dead?"
Jack shook his head. "I will never return. Even if time and distance ease his suffering and rage, Braith will still kill me if I return."
Aria bit her lip; her head bowed beneath the despair crushing her. She couldn't find the right words, not anymore. Ashby rubbed her hair in an awkward attempt to soothe her further.
"I know it's going to be difficult, but you have to act normal around him,” Jack said. “If he suspects anything, he'll take you, and he'll never look back."
"I don't know how I'm going to do that," she replied.
"I know it’s a lot to ask of you; I understand that I can't fathom what you are going through, what you will have to endure, but you are one of the strongest people I know, human or vampire, and I know you can do it. I have absolute faith in you."
She was glad someone did because she sure didn't. Not about this. How on earth was she going to act normal around Braith? How was she going to hide her misery and pretend everything was fine when her body already ached with loss? How was she going to look him in the eye while knowing she was going to break his heart by leaving him again?
He would never forgive her. Even if it were for the best, and for the good of so many, he would never get over her abandonment of him again. He would hate her. That realization was even worse than knowing that their time together was coming to an end.
The Captive Series 1-5 Page 52