Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (20 page)

“Ten.”

“Crap,” Ashby muttered.

“I can dismantle them all, don’t
worry.”

Xavier’s dark eyes were intense as he
studied her. “You helped the man that designed these?”

“I had a hand in some of it, but for
the most part he created them.”

“Is this Daniel someone in your
family?”

Aria wasn’t surprised by Xavier’s acute
insight but she still didn’t like it. “Yes, my brother.”

He nodded for a brief moment; his eyes
darted over the cave walls. “That little talent will come in
handy.”

“It will,” Braith agreed. “How far
until the next one?”

“Thirty feet.”

“Lead the way.”

Aria sighed in relief as he remained
resigned to let her do what was necessary.  

CHAPTER 12

It took almost two painstaking hours
but eventually Aria was able to dismantle all of the traps. She was
exhausted and on edge by the time they finally made their way into
another large cavern that was entirely bat free; a fact that Ashby
commented happily upon. The torchlight played over the dark
recesses as Aria made her way around, gathering other torches from
their sconces in the wall.

“This tunnel will lead back into the
main exit.” She took hold of Braith’s hand, running it over the
wall until she found the switch. “This will open the gate when
pressed.”

Xavier and Ashby pressed closer, they
murmured between each other as Ashby held the torch high to inspect
the area she had just shown Braith. Aria left the three of them to
marvel over the intricacies within the caves.

Her throat was dry and her clothes
stuck to her as she made her way to the supply room at the end of
another tunnel. There was another gate here but the key for it hung
beside the door. There was no need to keep humans from taking what
they might require. Grasping the key she lifted the light, frowning
as she realized that the gate was unlocked. They never left the
supply rooms open just in case an animal managed to get this
far.

She grasped hold of the iron bars and
pulled the gate open as she lifted the torch high. A set of wild
and crazed pale blue eyes blazed out at her. A startled gasp
escaped as she took a swift step back. It was a man, of that much
she was certain, but she wasn’t sure exactly what kind of a man it
was anymore. His skin was abnormally pale; he seemed unaccustomed
to light as he blinked rapidly against the flame of the
torch.

Revulsion filled her as his lips
skimmed back to reveal a mouth riddled by missing gaps and rotten
teeth. The torch slipped from her suddenly numbed fingers as the
man leapt from the bags of stored grain. He seemed more animal than
human as he rushed at her. Stunned, it took Aria a moment to
realize that she was in jeopardy, that this person, this thing had
every intention of attacking her.

A startled cry escaped her, she grasped
hold of the gate and heaved it with every ounce of strength she
had. It was too late though. The man slammed into the gate, ripping
it from her grasp as he shoved it back open. Aria swung her fist
up, connecting forcefully with his jaw, snapping his head to the
side as he launched at her. Hands skimmed down her body, grasping
and pulling as he tried to secure his hold on her.

She realized her mistake too late. So
attuned to having to defend her throat, her blood, her life, Aria
had not been prepared for a different sort of hunger. It wasn’t
until the frenzied man ripped her shirt open that she realized she
was in a situation unlike any she’d ever been in before.

Taken aback by the ferocity of the
attack, and his intentions, Aria was momentarily unable to defend
herself. Then his hands were on her, over her, pushing and pulling
at the skin exposed by her torn shirt. Reason returned as
adrenaline doused her terror. She shoved at the man, turning her
face away from the putrid smell of his breath. A scream built in
her chest, surged up her throat, and erupted in a squeak that was
cut off as the man succeeded in pressing his mouth to
hers.

Bile surged up her throat; she almost
vomited as his thick tongue shoved against her compressed lips.
With a fresh surge of strength, she lifted her knee and drove it
into his balls. The man squealed, his grip on her momentarily
relaxed enough that she was able to throw herself to the side,
nearly succeeding in ripping free of his grasp. It was the sharp
right hook she delivered to his cheek that finally knocked his hold
upon her loose. She staggered back, trying to keep her balance as
she spun around and started to run.

She was almost to the end of the tunnel
when his arms encircled her waist. The air rushed out of her as
they fell to the ground in a tumbled heap that knocked the wind
from her and skinned her knees and elbows. He was clawing his way
up her back when the air rushed back into her lungs. Flipping
beneath him, she swung at him again, shattering his
nose.

He squealed, falling back as blood
spurted forth. Aria crab crawled backward, trying to regain her
feet as the man leveled her with a glare that was not only lustful
but also murderous. A roar of fury suddenly reverberated throughout
the massive cavern.

The man’s head snapped up, his eyes
widened. Aria hadn’t been sure there was much reason left to him,
but apparently his survival instinct was still intact as he reeled
backward. She was well aware of just how terrifying Braith could
be, just how deadly and inhuman, and all of that was being honed in
on the man before her. The man leapt up, a wild cry escaping him as
he raced down the tunnel.

Aria scooted away, clinging to her
shredded shirt as she tried uselessly to cover herself up. Braith
raced past her, barely a blur as the loud clang of metal echoed
through the cave. The man had succeeded in retreating into the
storage room and slamming the door shut. “Are you ok?” Ashby
demanded as he fell beside her.

She wasn’t frightened of Ashby, but
when he reached for her, she shied away from him. “I wouldn’t,”
Xavier cautioned.

Ashby looked torn and horrified as his
eyes skimmed over her. “Fine,” she managed to breathe as she clung
to her shirt. “I’m fine, really.”

Aria’s attention was distracted from
Ashby as a loud wrenching sound filled the cave. Xavier stepped
forward as Braith ripped the gate from the walls of the cave. The
gate was solid steel, without bars to prevent rodents from entering
the storage room. The only hole in it had been a slit near the top
to allow some air to flow through the room. Aria didn’t know how
Braith had managed to wrench the heavy door free. The door flew
down the tunnel, causing Xavier to dart out of the way as it
bounced swiftly off the rock walls, nearly taking him out in the
process.

Xavier’s mouth dropped, his gaze darted
wildly to the door now lying at the opening of the tunnel. Aria
knew it weighed a good five hundred pounds and it had taken seven
men to get it in place. Xavier stared at Aria for a moment before
turning to Ashby.

“I told you he could take the king,”
Ashby murmured so faintly that Aria wasn’t even certain she’d heard
him right.

Xavier’s gaze came slowly back to her
as she tried to lurch to her feet. Inhuman squeals echoed from the
storage room as Braith disappeared inside. “Wait no!” she cried,
falling back against the tunnel wall as a wave of dizziness rocked
her.

Ashby grasped her shoulders to steady
her but she shrugged him off as silence suddenly enshrouded the
tunnel. Horror pooled in Aria, her hand fell against the wall
helping to keep her up as Braith emerged from the storage room. She
knew the sudden silence had not been because he was injured, but
relief still filled her.

The man was dead. She didn’t have to
ask, she knew Braith would not leave him alive. She thought she
should be more upset, she wasn’t. What had been in that room had no
longer been a man, there had been no saving him.

Braith was before her suddenly. She did
not shrink from him, did not shy away from his frantic, yet tender
touch. “Are you ok?” he demanded, his voice hoarse and
raw.

“Yes.”

His hands moved steadily lower,
stopping at the tattered remains of her shirt. “Get out of here!”
he snarled at Ashby and Xavier.

They stood for a brief moment before
slipping out of the tunnel. His hands trembled as he tugged the
pieces from her hand and pulled them slowly apart. He was stiff
before her, barely moving as he gazed upon her. While in the palace
she had been forced to wear some of the silliest and most
uncomfortable undergarments she had ever seen in her life. Once
free of the palace she had resumed her habit of wearing an
undershirt, sometimes a slip.

The slip she wore now had also been
torn, but unlike the ruined shirt it was still intact enough to
cover her breasts. It was nearly see through, even in the dim light
of the tunnel, and especially to the acute vision of a vampire but
she wasn’t embarrassed. Her breath froze, her heart hammered as he
remained still as stone before her.

“You’re bleeding.”

The words were grated through his
teeth. And then, before she knew what was happening, he lowered his
head to the scratch marks on her chest. His warm mouth made her
heart lurch and his tongue against her skin caused her entire body
to simmer with pleasure. Her fingers curled into his hair, holding
him close as he licked the cuts on her chest.

He pulled slowly away, embracing her as
he kissed her neck, her ear, and finally her lips. The brush of his
lips against hers made her forget the hideous assault of the
pitiful man. The touch of his lips made everything that was so
arduous and wrong in their lives, worth it.

“They’ll heal faster now,” he whispered
against her mouth.

“What will?” she inquired, still dazed
and adrift in the feelings he aroused in her.

His fingers were subtle, a mere
butterfly caress against her raw flesh. “Your wounds.”

Aria shuddered at the reminder. Braith
could make her forget almost anything but now that she wasn’t
overwhelmed by his touch, the events of the past five minutes
crashed back over her. His fingers wrapped around the back of her
head as he pulled her to him. “Are you sure that you’re ok?” he
asked worriedly. She nodded, unable to form words as her fingers
dug into his back.

“
I’m fine Braith, I swear; a
little shaken, but fine.”

He rocked her soothingly, his cheek
resting against her head as he swayed her back and forth. “Braith.”
A low growl of displeasure escaped Braith as Ashby appeared at the
end of the tunnel. Ashby was undeterred by it though. “They’re here
Braith.”

A regretful sound escaped him.
“Ok.”

“I brought a shirt.” Ashby didn’t come
into the tunnel though; instead he threw it to Braith before
turning away.

Braith grasped hold of her ruined
shirt, his fingers quivered as he slid it from her shoulders. He
tossed it aside and helped her shrug on the new one. Braith slid
the buttons into place; his hands hesitated upon the last one as he
lifted his head to hers.

“You’re beautiful.”

It wasn’t true, but he made her feel
every inch as beautiful as he thought she was. She managed a wan
smile as her fingers encircled his. “I love you.”

It was his time to smile now, it lit
his face like a beacon and made her heart melt. It was magnificent,
his smile, breathtaking even. “I love you too.”

And even though the troops had invaded
the cave, he gave her one last, lingering kiss.

***

“Did you ever, in a million years think
that we would be sitting in one of our cave systems surrounded by
vampires?”

Aria cocked her head as she turned to
look at her brother. The firelight played over his features, harder
and more masculine than hers, but similar all the same. “No,” she
admitted with a low laugh.

“Do you think they’ll eat
us?”

“It’s a possibility,” she
joked.

William chuckled, but she sensed the
tension beneath the laughter. He still wasn’t entirely certain
about this situation, or the vampires and humans surrounding them.
“We’ve come a long way sis.”

“We have,” she agreed. William’s hand
was suddenly holding hers. She looked at him in surprise. They were
closer than most siblings, always had been, but it had been years
since they had held hands. It appeared he was as troubled as she
was. She squeezed his hand with both of hers and relaxed against
his shoulder.

They stood at the edge of the circle
that had been formed around the fire within the center of the cave.
It was still summer above, but down here it was cool and
damp.

She watched as Braith stood with his
head bowed while he conferred with the other faction leaders. The
firelight played off of his hair, highlighting his handsome
features and broad shoulders. He was nodding as Gideon spoke in
quick, hushed whispers that were accentuated by the constant
flutter of his hands. Braith’s arms folded over his chest, he
leaned briefly back on his heels and though she couldn’t see it,
she felt it when his eyes landed on her.