She rolled her eyes. "Ugh."
He grinned at her as he turned her away from the empty trophy room and led her toward the doors. They slipped back into the hall as Max reappeared. "I think we should have taken her into The Barrens and left her there." Max candidly informed her as he stopped before them.
"That would have been fitting," Jack agreed.
"This might not be any better," she told them.
"It is for her," Max muttered. "Are you going back to your rooms?"
"Yes."
"I'll take you."
Jack released her shoulders when she gave him a subtle pinch in the back. Max held his arm out to her, a gallant smile on his face as for the first time she saw genuine joy in his eyes again. Aria slipped her arm through his and smiled back at him.
These past few days she'd welcomed his presence in the stable with her, and the fact he knew when she felt like talking and when she didn't. She enjoyed the friendship that had become easy between them again.
She hesitated outside the rooms she once shared with Braith. Max tried to hold her back, but she pushed open the door. She gasped as she took in the destruction of the room. Releasing Max's arm, she stepped carefully over broken bits of furniture, paintings, books, and clothing as she made her way to the room that was once hers.
"The king must have been in a foul mood after Braith left," Max said from the doorway.
"That's not necessary, Max; I know it was Braith who did this."
The room was a mess, but there, in the center of the bed, was a nightgown she had worn. It was laid neatly out, set on the mattress, untouched by the violence surrounding it. Tears burned her eyes, and her throat hurt; she ached over the suffering she sensed here.
She turned back to Max, needing to escape from the reminder of the things that transpired here, and the events which led Braith to a breaking point. Leaving him again, without telling him, would have been the biggest mistake she ever could have made.
Max held his arm out to her again; she gratefully slid hers through it and grasped the lean, corded muscles standing out against the fabric of his shirt.
"Do you feel better now that she is going to die?" Aria inquired.
He didn't pretend not to know who the she was. "I'd thought I would, but I don't. I feel better now that this is over, and we now live in a world none of us ever dreamed possible. I thought revenge was the answer to it all, and I know she has to die, but no, it doesn't make me feel better. Her death is a necessary means to the end of a brutal regime. It's going to be better now, Aria, for all of us."
She smiled at him as she leaned against his side. "It is," she agreed.
And it would be good for all of them. She found that, for now, the idea was more than enough. Her future had always been uncertain; she supposed it didn't make a difference it still was.
"I'm sorry, Aria."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Max."
"There is. I didn't believe you, I didn't believe in him, and it nearly cost me everything. I was angry, I was foolish, and I was stubbornly holding onto boyish dreams." She stared at him in surprise as color heated her cheeks. "I should have known to trust your instincts. You were right."
"I always am," she teased.
"Yeah well, I wouldn't go that far."
Aria laughed as she bumped his hip playfully. "You went through a lot more than I did Max; you had every right to be angry and disbelieving. I probably would have been too if I was treated as poorly as you. I didn't experience what you did, either time."
"Are you still having nightmares?"
Aria couldn't meet his gaze as she focused on the rug beneath her. She hated the images plaguing her at night and her lingering fear of the dark, but she couldn't shake them. She supposed it would get better with time, but she was still ashamed of the enduring impact she'd allowed the king and Caleb to have on her.
"Yes." She didn't like to admit her weakness, but she wasn't going to lie to Max about it. Out of everyone, he was the person who understood the most.
"It will get better."
She nodded as she squeezed his arm and stopped before the apartment Braith had claimed for them. "I know it will."
His gaze focused on the door behind her as he released her arm. "Braith is a good man, Aria, a better man than I thought he was, but even good men can be driven to do horrific things when they are pushed to it. I know you're aware of this, but please don't forget it."
She hesitated, her hand on the door handle as she turned toward him. "I don't plan to leave anymore, Max."
"Good. You deserve a happy ending too."
"There are times when a happy ending just isn't possible."
"Be optimistic, Aria; look at everything else that has happened."
He squeezed her arm briefly before she turned and slipped into the rooms. The tray of food was still there, heaped with fruits and bread. She wasn't sure how safe the cheese and meats were any more, but as her stomach rumbled, she was surprised to realize her appetite had returned.
Chapter Seventeen
Over the next three weeks, mourning weighed her down like a wet blanket threatening to suffocate her within its cloying folds. She spent most of her time in the stables. All the animals that could be saved were tended to, but she still sought out the comfort the building and animals offered her.
Some moments were tougher than others. At times, she could barely breathe through the sorrow constricting her chest. In those moments, it took all she had to gather the strength to breathe again and not lose herself to the tears and misery.
Gradually, over the days, though the grief didn't lessen, she became more accustomed to it. She was better able to deal with it as she accepted she would never see her father again. Never hear his laugh, or bask in his smile, or receive his crushing hugs that always made her feel cherished.
Slowly, she began to accept her life would have a constant hole in it, but it was a hole that one day wouldn't cripple her as it did in those first couple of weeks.
In the stables, she found peace and solace with the animals and her friends. She fed the horses, cleaned them, and sat with them. Xavier remained her constant shadow, but she was surprised to realize she didn't mind. She grew to enjoy his company. For the first few days they didn't speak at all, and then Max became tired of the quiet and began to strike up conversations with him.
There was so much Xavier knew, so much history he was eager to share with them. In those moments, when he was regaling them with stories of pyramids, vast seas, boats, sweeping buildings, flying airplanes, and distant green lands filled with people, she found an escape from her sadness.
Aria found herself enraptured by his stories and the beautiful tribal tattoos marking his dark skin. Sometimes, she and Max would sit in the middle of the aisle as Xavier told them everything he knew. It all sounded a little frightening and overwhelming, but amazing. She was glad Braith had chosen Xavier to be her guard, and she suspected a big part of that reason was Xavier's tales.
"What was it like here before the war?" Max asked.
Max didn't look up from the saddle he was polishing, but Aria paused in the middle of brushing a large bay stud. They'd never asked what it had been like around here. She hadn't wanted to know, and she'd assumed the same of Max, but apparently, she'd been wrong.
Xavier was thoughtful as his hands folded into the sleeves of his robe. "Peaceful. Braith's father had chosen this area because it was serene and secluded. He was able to build the palace away from the prying eyes of the higher populated human areas, and the location offered us great security. There were some outlying vampire establishments throughout the world, but some of them came here when it became clear there would be a war, and the ones who didn't…"
"Were destroyed," Aria whispered.
Xavier nodded. "It was a relatively good life here once."
"It will be again." Max lifted the saddle and tossed it onto a sawhorse. "Where is here? You've told us all these stories of far-off lands and countries,
of kings and wars and mythologies, but you've never really told us about this land. This place. What was it called?"
"Pennsylvania. It was once called Pennsylvania, and it was at one time a part of the United States."
"Pennsylvania," Aria found she liked the strange word as she sounded it out. She'd read about the United States in a couple of books, but she'd never heard of Pennsylvania. "Tell us about it," she encouraged. "All of it."
Xavier smiled at her as he settled onto a bale of hay and started to regale them. Aria put the brush down as she found herself drawn forward. She sank onto the bale beside him as Max pulled down another saddle and began to polish it.
It never failed to amaze her how Xavier remembered all the things he did, and how astute he was at pointing out details she never would have noticed otherwise. She became so engrossed in his words that she didn't see the sun setting until Max pointed it out.
"We should head back, I'm starving," Max said.
Aria rose from the bale and wiped the hay from her pants. She followed them out of the stable, pleased by the number of changes already being rendered. Most of the smoke and fire damaged buildings had been torn down and removed, and there were already new homes and structures going up.
There were smiles and friendly waves from the people and vampires surrounding them, and though complete trust and amicability still hadn't been solidified, they were already making a good start on a world Aria had never dreamed of living in.
The massive palace gates, battered beyond repair, had been taken down. Though they would be replaced, they would also be left open as an invitation for everyone to move freely in and out of the palace town.
Most of the blood draining facilities were destroyed during the battle. The remaining ones were emptied of all devices used to bleed and torture humans and reopened as a donation center that seemed to be doing well. Or at least she hadn't heard of any problems with it, and a few people were standing outside waiting to go in as they passed it.
She stayed close to Xavier as they traversed the streets toward the looming palace. The sight of it still caused an uneasy pit to form in her stomach, but she was becoming better accustomed to the building. She was gradually finding her place within it, something she never would have thought possible even a week ago.
Tomorrow she'd stop hiding in the stables, she decided. Tomorrow she'd face what she'd been trying to hide from, a world without her father in it. She had to figure out a way to live again in this world without him. She had to figure out her place here; she couldn't avoid it anymore. She could be helpful; she would be helpful. It was what her father would expect of her, and she wasn't going to let him down.
Xavier and Max followed her up to her rooms. They usually ate dinner with her before retreating to their rooms or going about whatever it was they did at night. William was already waiting for them with a large tray of food when they arrived.
It was one of the few times during the day she had a chance to see her brother. He had taken to burying himself in rebuilding homes, even though he was still on crutches. She understood his desperate need not to think, she had the same feeling after all, but she missed him.
She hugged him before grabbing a plate and heaping it with food. She plopped onto the couch and began to eat with a gusto she hadn't experienced in a while. It felt good, for once she felt almost alive again, and she welcomed the sensation.
"Did you know this was once Pennsylvania?" Max asked.
"What is a Pennsylvania?" William demanded.
Xavier was more than happy to fill him in as Aria went back for seconds. She wondered if Braith would return to eat with them; most nights he and Daniel were here for dinner, but sometimes they didn't make it in time.
After dinner, she retreated to the bedroom with the newest book she'd been reading. She was used to Braith being curled around her before she fell asleep, holding her as she cried, and comforting her through her sorrow.
After she'd stuffed herself to near bursting though, sleep dragged her into its deep depths. Now, as the blankets were pulled back and the bedsprings creaked, she was awakened by the pressure of his weight on the mattress.
"Braith," she whispered.
"Go back to sleep, love."
His arms wrapped around her. She nestled closer to him, pressing her back against his solid chest as her hand stroked the hair on the corded muscles of his arms. She loved those arms, so different from hers, so protective and strong.
Her heart hammered, her mouth was dry as a new type of hunger stirred within her. Aria had shut herself down to him before the war, denied them both because she thought she would be leaving, but after her time in the dungeon, she knew she'd been wrong.
She didn't know what would happen in the future, and she didn't care, it didn't matter. All they were guaranteed was the present, and she was going to start living in it.
She could barely catch her breath as something coiled within her belly and spread leisurely through her limbs. She rolled over, turning to face him. The light coming from the slightly open door of the bathroom was dim, but even so, she could see the brightness of his gray eyes, the firm planes of his magnificent face and square jaw.
She was unmoving as his fingers traced over her cheeks, pressed briefly against her lips before slipping back to brush her hair aside.
"You ate again," he said.
Over the three weeks, since she lost her father, she started to put weight back on. Even the bite marks had faded to dark smudges on her skin thanks to a daily dose of Braith's blood. Though he still stubbornly, and annoyingly, refused to feed on her.
"Yes."
She smiled as she rested her hand on his chest, pressing it flat against the solid wall of him. His flesh was warm and smooth beneath her palm as she slid it slowly down the length of him. His body stiffened, his muscles shifted and flexed subtly beneath her touch.
Her fingers slid unhurriedly back up his chest as she explored him. It fascinated her how different his body was than hers. From the wiry hair brushing against her fingers to the unyielding hardness of his body in areas where hers was supple and giving. He fascinated her in every imaginable way; she couldn't get enough of him as her fingers slid lower.
"Aria…"
She moved closer to him and pressed her breasts against his chest. Her skin prickled; even through her nightgown, she felt the warmth of his skin. She felt a strange urge to cry, but she fought it back. If she started to cry now, he wouldn't allow this to continue.
He would think it was out of grief she was seeking him out, and perhaps a part of it was grief, but mostly it was because she loved him. She wanted to have this experience with him, and for once she craved something for them. Not for anyone else, but just for them.
"I love you, Braith."
"I love you too."
Her lips were trembling as she pressed them briefly against his mouth. His hand enveloped hers. He rested it over the place where his heart would have beat, but even though it remained still, she knew his heart belonged to her.
Then, he released her hand, slipped his hand into her hair, and kissed her with a tenderness that left her limp and desperate for so much more. His tongue slid into her mouth, and the faint hint of spices assailed her as it brushed over the roof her mouth.
He tasted her in long leisurely strokes that left her breathless. There were so many things out there she was scared and uncertain of, but here and now, she had no uncertainty as he held and kissed her with a reverence that awed her.
His mouth was heated against her skin; his hands tender as he slid the nightgown from her. Goosebumps covered her body. Electricity seemed to pulse through her as her nerve endings screamed for more.
She could scarcely think as her mind spun and her entire being became solely focused on him and the pleasure he elicited with each stroke and passionate kiss. She craved more, but she didn't know what she wanted. She only knew she couldn't seem to get close enough to him as her fingers curled into the carved muscles of his b
ack.
Everything else fell away; she forgot about all the horrible events of the past month as every cell in her body became centered upon him. His hands slid over her skin in caressing strokes that left her trembling and weak. She tasted the salt of his sweat as she kissed his neck and jaw and savored in the press of his body against hers.
His hungry gaze slid over her, but unlike before, when she would have felt insecure about her body and her inexperience, she felt only love as fire lit his gaze, and his mouth came back to hers.
"Are you sure?" His voice was hoarse as his hand stilled on her thigh.
Though she sensed the tension in him and his passion for her, she knew he would stop if she asked him to. She knew he would accept her decision, and continue to wait patiently for her. It only made her want him more.
"I've never been more certain of anything in my life," she said.
A low groan escaped him before he reclaimed her mouth and gently pressed her into the mattress. She was trembling and aching, lost in sensation as his hands awakened her to pleasures she'd never known could exist until he touched her.
When she was certain she couldn't take anymore, sure she would scream from the unfamiliar tension curling through her body; he moved over the top of her. There was pain, but he eased it with soft kisses, and whispered words of love, as he waited for her to adjust to the new sensation of joining with him. He held her and stroked her with a reverence that made the pain ease and steadily rekindled her desire for him.
She could almost feel the bond encircling them, tightening around them and linking them together irrevocably. But it was more than the strange bloodlink vampires experienced; it was deeper and stronger. It was a love so pure and true she came to believe it could conquer anything. Even death.
Her body splintered apart as pleasure swamped her and she was swept into a realm of bliss she'd never known possible. His body trembled as he rolled to the side, pulling her against him as he encircled her within the steel band of his arms.
This was it; this was where she had always belonged. There was no past anymore, not for him and not for her. There was only the present, and she cherished every moment of it.
The Captive Series 1-5 Page 72