Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (10 page)

Need help up?

She glanced over at Kei and raised her eyebrows.

You didn’t answer him quickly enough. I told him where
we were.

Kei started to climb up the bank and then turned and
offered her his hand. Limping and gritting her teeth, she managed to make it
up. At the top Prince reached down, grabbing her other hand and pulling her all
the way up.

You hurt your ankle again.

It will heal.

She sputtered a bit when he slipped his arm around
her, forcing her to lean on him and take weight off her ankle.

He frowned down at her but didn’t comment.

Kei led the way and she pressed her lips together in
annoyance to see, though he wasn’t really limping, he was walking stiffly. He
might not have any broken bones, but he was certainly at least badly bruised
from the fall.

She felt pangs across her whole body as well. However,
the burning in her ankle distracted her from them for the most part.

Prince shifted, slipping his arm around her more,
taking more of her weight. Resigned to being coddled, she didn’t complain. She
would have done the same for him.

She fell, so quickly she didn’t even have time to
scream. The drop was much shorter this time, but she hit so hard her breath
whooshed out of her. Everything abruptly disappeared.

Chapter 10:

Wake Up

Wake up. Wake up. Please, wake up. Wake up…

The words filtered into the calm darkness surrounding
her. Wake up? Had she fallen asleep? She didn’t remember…

Opening her eyes, it was startling to see a fortress
before her. Her fortress, the one she’d built in her mind. Rebuilt actually. After
the Dragos Damon had torn down the first one. Over the long summer months
Prince had stayed true to his word and helped her rebuild her defenses.

It was an impressive sight now, and even she was
amazed at how large and daunting it had turned out. She frowned at the dark
rolling sky and bleak barren landscape around it. How would she ever change that?
If only she could find some happiness, if the people she loved would stop
dying…

Arowyn!

She twisted around quickly.
Garen?
Blinking at
him in surprise, she shook her head in confusion.
What are you doing here?
He hadn’t been in her mind since the time she’d needed to show him what Bo
looked like.

Please, forgive me for coming uninvited.
He bowed slightly, but not before she caught the
worried look on his young, handsome face.

He looked older than the last time, or perhaps she
just wasn’t remembering right? One day she’d have to ask him how old he really was.
At first she’d thought near her age, but she doubted that now. Getting to know
him, she’d realized he spoke like someone much older. He knew too much.

You need to wake up,
he said quietly, walking toward her.

I don’t understand.
Again with the waking up. She turned her head to the side, listening.
As if from very far away, she could still hear someone repeating the words over
and over.
Do you hear that?

His brows drew together and he frowned.
Hear what?

She shook her head and looked away.
Nothing.

Please, wake up. We need you. We need our alpha.
Everyone is worried. Prince is…
He
paused a moment.
He’s falling apart.

Alpha? Prince was falling apart? Her mouth opened in
surprise as she turned back to face him. She didn’t understand. Words finally
made it to her mouth.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.

His face was so full of sadness it tore through her
heart.

Why didn’t he come?
Garen looked away. She knew he understood she spoke of Prince.
Garen?

He is…too distraught. He won’t let you go, he won’t
stop calling you. Wake up, wake up now.

Before she could answer he faded away.

Garen, wait!

He was gone.

She looked back up at her fortress and then the
darkness surrounding it.

Wake up. Wake up!

That voice continued to repeat itself. Was it really
Prince?

Closing her eyes once more she concentrated on it,
trying to grab ahold of it and pull herself closer.

Pain flared in the darkness as consciousness returned.
Perhaps waking up wasn’t such a great idea. The darkness didn’t have this pain.

Wake up. Wake up…

The litany continued, pulling her forcefully into
wakefulness. A groan whispered from her lips and she squeezed her eyes more
tightly together. Her head hurt so much she thought she might be sick.

The faint sound of a sharply inhaled breath caught her
attention. What happened? Her senses returned suddenly. She smelled wet wolf
and smoke. Something heavy covered her, keeping her warm despite her soaked
clothes. The sound of the storm was loud, but muffled. Closer to her she heard
the crackle of a fire and murmured voices. Her head was pillowed on something that
shifted beneath her.

Opening her eyes, she saw an arm and blinked rapidly,
trying to focus beyond it.

Her vision finally began to clear and she tilted her
head to stare up at Prince’s worried face. Heat warmed her cheeks as she
realized her head rested in his lap. Very gently, his fingers brushed along her
cheek over and over again. Her brows drew together as she noticed the arm next
to her face led to a hand pressing against the side of her forehead.

Aro’s awake!

Garen’s voice startled her and she winced as pain
ripped through her head again.

"How do you feel?" Prince moved his hand
from her cheek to stroke her hair, his touch feather light, yet…shaking?

"My head hurts," she whispered. "What
happened?"

Someone took her hand and she turned her head to see
Kei kneeling beside her. "You fell."

"I fell?" She didn’t remember falling.

"Actually, I fell," Prince said gravely. "You
went down with me and hit your head on a rock."

That made more sense at least. She raised her free
hand, her fingers gliding up Prince’s arm to rest over his hand.

"You hit hard," Kei said quietly.

She tried to pull Prince’s hand away.

"No, Aro. You are still bleeding. I need to keep
pressure on it."

"Is it bad?"

"You’ll have a new scar next to your other one."

Closing her eyes, she let out a resigned breath. "Wonderful."
Just what she needed, more scars.

"The cut is higher," Kei said quickly. "Your
hair will still cover it."

"Once the bleeding slows we’ll clean you up and
take care of it."

She blinked as her vision blurred again. "Are you
hurt?"

Prince smiled slightly. Was it just her imagination
his lips quivered before the smile quickly faded? "Just a few bruises.
Nothing to worry about."

Her eyes closed on their own. She was so tired. Her
head pounded and nausea twisted her stomach.

"No sleeping," Prince said quickly. He
pulled his hand back from her head and she gasped at the blood soaked cloth. "It
is slowing. Sit up, slowly."

Kei helped her and she gritted her teeth against the
urge to vomit. Spots danced in front of her eyes.

Prince placed the cloth back on her head. "Hold this."
He got up and moved through the cave, gathering items from one of the packs. She
watched him quietly as the room spun around her.

Bo brought over their small pot filled with water. "How
you doing, pup?"

She forced a small smile. "I’ll be fine."

"Good girl."

Kei took the pot and another cloth, motioning for her
to lower her hand. Bo took the bloody piece and Kei started cleaning her
forehead. Closing her eyes, she held her hands fisted in her lap and
concentrated on taking small, even breaths.

By the time he finished Prince returned with a small
bowl full of a purple paste. She almost smiled, remembering how he’d made it to
treat their cuts when they’d washed up on the beach.

"We should get her cleaned up, before you put that
on," Kei said.

Prince paused and then nodded. They all regarded her
thoughtfully for a moment.

She took in her soaked and mud covered clothes. "Help
me up," she said to Kei, holding out her hands. He did, and she managed to
stand without throwing up. Little breaths. "It’d be easier to wash up in
the rain."

Kei paused and looked at Prince, after a moment he
nodded. His arm around her, Kei slowly walked her to the cave entrance. The
ground seemed to tilt and move beneath her and she leaned against him,
clenching his arm tightly. Leaning against the stone mouth of the cave, she
stood patiently while he undid and then removed her boots, followed by her socks.
The stone felt wet and cool beneath her bare feet.

"How’s your ankle?"

She blinked down at him in surprise as he carefully
felt around the area.

"It’s not swollen."

Now that he mentioned it, there was a dull ache, but
it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the first time. "It hardly hurts at all."

Her eyebrows went up as he stood again and regarded
her warily. A small, rough laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "Boys."
She pulled her arms out of her shirt. "Help me get it over my head?"

Kei nodded and did as instructed. He let her hold his
arm as she shucked off her pants, leaving her just in her underclothes.
Shivering in the cool, stormy air, she looked down at the pile of muddy
clothes.

"I’ll clean them later."

"Thanks. Help me outside?" Warmth spread
across her cheeks. "I’m feeling a bit dizzy."

He was at her side again in an instant. She latched
onto his arm and he led her out into the pouring rain. It didn’t take long to
clean off the remaining mud. Kei struggled to hold her at arm’s length and
still keep her upright. Though he helped swish the mud off her arms and legs he
didn’t touch anywhere else. She checked that the ties on the wide band of cloth
across her chest remained secure. The last thing she need was it falling off.
Once finished, Kei quickly guided her back into the cave.

Prince met them just inside and tucked a large fur
around her. Bo had set up a pile of furs by the fire and gestured to them as
they approached.

"Where did they come from?"

"They were here. We might as well use them. They
seem fairly clean."

Kei settled her down and draped another of the furs
around her shoulders. The heat of the fire began to warm her immediately. She
hoped her underclothes dried quickly.

Prince knelt in front of her. His eyes searched hers
for a long moment.

"What are you doing?"

A frown crossed his lips and then he shook his head. "How
is your vision?"

"Fine?"

He nodded and then pushed some wet hair away from her
face. Some fell back over her wound and he scowled at it. She watched in
amazement as he got up and moved to sit behind her. Fingers slowly worked
through her hair, getting the worst of the tangles out. It felt…strange.
Strange and good.

She kept her eyes on the fire’s dancing flames, hoping
everyone thought the heat rising up her neck and across her face came from it.

A smile played across her lips as he carefully pulled
back her hair and started to braid it. She found it difficult not to make a
comment, yet somehow managed. Could he hear her heart thumping away in her
chest?

He finished all too soon and returned to kneel before
her again. It didn’t take long to apply the purple paste. She watched his face
as he did, resisting the urge to reach out and touch those lips so firmly
pressed together in concentration.

His eyes met hers and his shaky smile appeared for a
moment before he turned away. "We need to get cleaned up as well. If you
want to…" He made a turnaround motion with a finger.

Carefully, she shifted herself back from the fire and
turned to face the wall. Garen padded over and flopped down in front of her.

I will keep you company.

She smiled.
Thank you.
It would be some time
before the men were cleaned up and their clothes dried by the fire. She
wouldn’t be turning around for a while. Too much skin tended to make her blush
like a stupid girl. So did Prince, for that matter.

She only hesitated for a moment before asking,
What’s
wrong with Prince?

Garen shifted slightly and then looked over her
shoulder. It took him a while to reply
. He feels responsible for your
injury. Despite us all telling him it was merely an accident. He said, since
the beginning he had promised himself to take care of you, yet has done a poor
job of it.

That’s not true at all
. She let out a soft sigh and resisted looking behind
her. The sounds of the men stripping and cleaning up by the cave mouth were
enough to deter her.
He has strange ideas sometimes. I really don’t
understand him.

Garen turned his gaze back to her.
He couldn’t wake
you. There was so much blood. Kei nearly went into a fury. We were all worried.

I’m sorry.
She
worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
Is he angry with me?

You truly do not understand, Aro. It is rare for Elves
to show such emotion. Particularly an Elven Prince.

Despite the throbbing pain, she could only shake her
head slightly. The motion made her wince. She didn’t understand. With Prince,
it seemed like she never did. One moment it seemed she meant more to him than
just a friend, the next she was just an irritation. Constantly, he both lifted
her heart and dashed it to pieces.

He cared about her, she knew that. But was it only the
caring for a child? Had he yet noticed she wasn’t a little girl? If only he would
let her know how he truly felt about her. She would have to wait and hope. She
didn’t have the strength or confidence to ask him. Unfortunately she knew time
wasn’t on her side.