Broken Promise (The Broken Ones Book 3) (25 page)

After getting sick a few times she
eventually crawled into bed to curl up into a tight, shaking ball of misery.

Roan eventually joined her, and what
felt like days later, got up grumbling how he couldn't sleep. She didn't fight
him when he returned with drug-laced wine. The rainbows, as always, were a
welcome relief.

∞ ∞ ∞

Don't touch me.

The words went nowhere. The rainbows
continued to fade away as she fought to gain control of her body. She couldn't
move, couldn't speak, couldn't even open her eyes.

Once she could move, she was going to
give Roan a good thrashing. Apparently the kiss had changed his feelings toward
her. Fingers caressed her cheek, brushed hair from her forehead.

A gentle slap on her cheek startled her.

Quiet sounds teased her ears, but she
couldn't make out the words. When waking up, she hated the riath, how helpless
it left her.

Finally she managed to force her eyes to
flutter open.

It wasn't Roan who sat on the bed beside
her.

"Well, finally!"

She blinked, trying to focus on the man
staring down at her. Well dressed, his hair looked like tarnished gold in the
faint lamplight. Her vision wavered. Pointed ears.

Unable to even turn her head, her eyes
darted from side to side as she strained her ears. Where was Roan?

"You've been a difficult woman to
find," the Elf continued merrily. His fingers slid down her cheek again.
"After all I've heard, finding you in your lover's bed is quite unexpected."

He regained her attention with that.
What? Oh…rot.

"I suppose I shouldn't be
surprised. You are human." Taking hold of her chin, he moved her face from
side to side. "Pretty enough. A few more years and I can see you being
quite lovely. And those eyes…" His gray ones bored into hers. "Like a
Fey."

He chuckled, the naturalness of it
startling her. Unlike the other Elves she'd met, his face didn't have the
coldness she'd become accustomed to. His grin brought life and emotion to his
face.

The panic growing within her faltered as
too many questions bobbed about in her foggy mind.

"You're so very quiet, and I've
come all this way. Where is your love, little one?"

Her lips parted slightly, but no words
came out. Where had the stupid pirate gone off to?

When he frowned, the direness of her
situation came over her again. Her heart and breathing sped up. Letting more of
her power out, she hoped it would quicken her ability to regain control over
her body. He could kill her now, and she wouldn't be able to fight, to protect
herself. She wouldn't even be able to scream.

His fingers toyed with a lock of hair at
the side of her face. "You're frightened. Do you think I've come to kill
you?" He let her hair slip from his fingers and moved his hand to gently
cover her mouth. "Will I steal away your breath, so he thinks you passed
in your sleep? Or perhaps I'll make a ghastly mess?" His hand slid down to
trace a line across her throat.

Eyes widening, her breath hitched. Her
fingers twitched. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes and she squeezed them
shut. Move! If only she could move…

"Are you well amused?"

Roan! Her eyes snapped open. Blinking to
once more clear her vision, she finally saw him standing by the now frozen Elf,
his sword resting against the stranger's neck.

"I am not," he continued, his
deep voice even more husky in its anger.

"We were just having a little talk.
No harm done."

Roan glanced at her and frowned. He didn't
move his sword. "You've woken her from riath dreams. She can't move, never
mind speak."

The stranger turned his attention back
to her. She was surprised to find he didn't seem very concerned about the sword
at his throat as he grinned playfully at her. "Here I thought I'd finally
managed to terrify someone into silence."

Roan lowered his sword and pulled the
Elf up by the scruff of his coat, getting a yelp in response. "Get out. I
told you I'd contact you when you could speak with her."

The Elf huffed as Roan pushed him toward
the door. "But it took me so long to find her!"

"You've other things to do. Go do
them."

"Fine, fine. Until later, my
lovely!"

Aro blinked again as they both left the
room. Struggling to sort out what just happened, she stared up at the bed
canopy. Apparently the Elf hadn't come to kill her, but if not, why did he want
to speak with her? Her calming heart did a little flutter. Perhaps Prince sent
him.

Recalling how he thought she was Roan's
lover, her heart dropped down into her stomach. Considering he'd found her in
Roan's bed, she couldn't blame him for coming to such a conclusion. Why hadn't
Roan corrected him?

Rotting Elves.

By the time Roan returned she'd gotten a
little control over her movement. When he surprisingly sat beside her on the
bed, she was able to turn her head to look at him.

"Did he frighten you?"

"I…no. Of course not," she
said too quickly. Looking away, her brows drew together and she struggled for
words. "I couldn't... I don't…"

Gentle fingers turned her face back
toward him. His cold eyes searched her face, and he simply nodded. "I
apologize. He should never have been able to get in here."

"Who is he? How did he?"

"That, was Baelan. He came to see
me yesterday. My men saw this, so when he told them he'd come to see me again,
they believed him and let him by."

"What does he want?"

"He was sent to find Lord Vesrin
and bring him back to Norlea."

"Where?"

His dark brows drew down as he frowned.
"Did Shael tell you nothing at all? Norlea, the capital city of Rivenward."

"No, he didn't speak much of himself
or his home."

Roan actually snorted as he shook his
head.

"Why did he want to talk to
me?"

"He was also sent to see you."

Her mouth opened and then closed. Prince
had actually sent someone. Had the dream been real?

She sucked in a quick breath. "You did
tell him. When you saw him out, you corrected him. About…us."

"What about us?"

Her voice rose. "He found me in
your bed! He thinks we're lovers!"

"Ah." He shrugged. "Many
people do, Arowyn. I see no harm in it."

"No harm…" She could hardly
breathe. "But Prince…"

Standing, he looked unconcerned.
"He will return later today. You can clear up this misunderstanding then,
if you wish."

"Wither me," she muttered as
he walked away.

∞ ∞ ∞

Walking out from the bathroom, she took
the seat before Roan's desk. She'd stayed in bed until the worst effects of the
drug wore off, which thankfully had been sooner than the last time. Whether
because he'd given her less or because she'd released more power she didn't
know, or care. Being helpless would drive her insane.

Roan looked up, gave her a cold, level
stare, and went back to eating.

Her lips twisted into a smile. She'd
dressed in her own clothes, a white shirt and black leather pants. Her throwing
knives she'd left tucked under extra underclothes in her pack.

Picking at the food on the tray, she
left him to his silence for a while before starting with her questions.

"How long did I sleep for?"

"About a day." When she
frowned, trying to figure that out, he continued, "You lasted almost 'til
morning before you'd take the riath. This is breakfast."

No wonder that tortuous night had seemed
like forever. She debated apologizing for keeping him awake but discarded the
idea. Having her sleep with him was his choice, not hers. For a moment, she
watched him eat, wondering why he acted the way he did. She didn't hate him,
though didn't particularly like him either, he'd given her little reason to.
Though she still didn't trust him, this cold man currently held her life in his
hands. The worrisome part was he didn't seem to care overly much for her
either.

"The dress could use a
cleaning."

He glanced up at her, surprise showing
on his face for a brief moment. "I will see it is sent out."

"Make sure it's sent to a proper
laundress. I'd hate to see it ruined." His eyebrows rose. "For a
dress, it's pretty," she admitted grudgingly.

She was fairly certain his lips curved
up into a slight smile.

"I will do so, then."

They ate in silence while she tried to
decide what to ask about the other Elf.

"It's the new year, by the
way."

Pausing mid-chew, her brows drew together.
Had so much time passed? She'd spoken to the boys while she dressed, and they
hadn't mentioned it. "Time goes by so quickly."

"So it does."

"What can you tell me about
Baelan?"

Her sudden question made him pause.
"What do you want to know?"

"He seemed…different from other
Elves I've met."

"He is at that."

"Do you trust him?"

"No." He sat back, giving her
his full attention. "But there are very few people I do trust. You should
be safe enough with him. That he was the one sent is certainly unusual."

"Why?"

"He is…" Roan searched for the
proper words. "Rebellious. His parents are of the high court, yet he is
not."

"But he should be?"

Roan shrugged. "Most likely. The
Elven ranking system is different than humans. Did Prince tell you of it?"
When she shook her head, he grunted his annoyance and continued. "Rank is
not by birth, but by power or merit. Elves begin their trials quite young; the
first sets determine their strengths. There are many different kinds of magic,"
he explained. "Some have a greater affinity for certain types. Trials
continue for quite some time, and during this time an Elf will work at tasks that
need to be done for the country to run. From harvest to cleaning, you do what
task you are given.

"The court system is fairly
straight forward. There are the low court and the high, with the royals above
them all. Baelan, from what I heard some time ago, refused to take the trials that
would place him in court. There were various reasons as to why."

Aro liked this Elf already. If she had
the ability to avoid court, she would have chosen to as well. "I'm
guessing this isn't done often?"

"No, it's not. Certainly not by the
son of high court Elves. Even so, he grew up with such as peers. He is well
known and likely has many connections, including your prince."

Prince hadn't mentioned anyone from his
past, so she didn't know if they'd been childhood friends or not. She was
rather starting to become annoyed with Prince for how little he'd told her
about his past.

"He's strong, Arowyn. In what types
of magic, I don't know. If your guarded mind is something you have control of, then
I would suggest you keep it well shielded in his presence."

She held back a laugh. So he'd noticed.
Remaining silent, she didn't confirm or deny his comment.

"I see you've finished eating. Find
something to do. He won't return until later and I've work to do."

Obviously dismissed, she used her time
to catch up on her stretches and began some easy exercises. After cleaning up
close to noon, she read until lunch and again afterward while she waited. Men
came and went, and both they and Roan mostly ignored her.

Glancing up when Roan rose, she watched
him silently leave the room and close the door behind him. Letting out a huff
of disgust, she shook her head.

"And he lectures me on being
disrespectful." Pushing aside her annoyance, she returned to her book.

Something tickled her head and she
automatically smacked the spot. Spider?

A shiver ran down her spine. Setting the
book on the table, she looked around. The tickle came again, but it wasn't on
her head. It was inside.

Concentrating on the shields and walls
guarding her mind, she made them as strong as possible. Whoever it was, they
were attempting to be discreet. Not Damon, then. He tore his way in no matter
what the consequences. Another Dragos? From what she'd heard, there were few of
them, so not likely. Since Fey couldn't mind speak, and Were didn't condone
breaking into others minds, that left an Elf. Not a big surprise.

Had Vesrin or his men found her?

The intruder returned, not a tickle this
time, but the feeling of fingers crawling across her brain, searching for
entrance. Shifting uncomfortably, she pressed a hand to her forehead until the
feeling went away. The light brush passed over and then another tickle.