Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (5 page)

After a few moments of taking deep
breaths, she was finally able to gain enough control to realize she
was not going to toss the meager contents of her stomach all over
the floor. William looked like he was about to cry, his hand on her
back had begun to shake, and she had never seen a look of such
abject terror on his face. Not even when their mother had been
killed. Then, they’d had no time to react, and had been too shocked
and horrified to show any real emotion. Now he’d had plenty of time
to sit here and agonize about what had happened, and what might
become of her.

“I’m fine William, really.” She
squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him with her strength, but it
seemed weak even to her. “Just a little disoriented. But that’s
better than the alternative.”

She’d hoped to elicit a chuckle from
him, he only stared stone faced back at her. “The
blood…”

“He’s given it to me before when I was
wounded. It won’t hurt me.”

His gaze darted behind her again as he
leaned closer. “But won’t it, you know...”

Aria frowned at him. She started to
shake her head but realized the motion would only bring on another
bout of nausea. She forced herself to remain still as she swallowed
heavily. “No. I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure how that all
works.”

“You’ve never discussed it?”

She lifted her hand slowly; trembling
as she wiped a strand of hair back from her face. “Not that
part.”

“Huh, I had assumed that you had.”
William sat back on his heels; his eyes inquisitive as he studied
her.

“William?” she asked
worriedly.

“He really does love you.”

Aria started in surprise. “Did you
think he didn’t?”

He shrugged; his fingers tapping
against the floor alerted Aria to the fact that it was not solid
wood beneath her, but worn carpet. The carpet was beneath her too,
but she couldn’t feel it as her fingers were somewhat numb at the
moment. It was an unsettling feeling not to have the full sensation
of touch. She hoped the numbness went away soon. “I don’t know what
to think,” William admitted. “I’d like to believe it, but it’s all
really strange Aria.”

She wasn’t going to argue with that.
“But seeing him today, the way he was with you, I don’t doubt it
anymore. All I can do is wonder why?” Aria glared at him, but she
couldn’t hold up the pretense of being mad at him as he finally
managed a smile for her. “You had me worried kid.”

“You’re all of an hour older than
me.”

“But it was a glorious hour of
solitude,” he quipped.

“Jerk.”

“Brat.”

She awkwardly embraced him with her
injured arms. “Where is Braith?”

William exhaled noisily as he pulled
back. “They had to...” His gaze traveled to her wrapped arms. “Go
outside.”

Aria nodded slowly, sorrow and regret
twisted her insides. “This is difficult for them.”

“It’s difficult for all of
us.”

She tilted her head, her heart picked
up as her body instinctively began to react. “Help me
up.”

“Aria…”

“He’s coming William, I can’t be
sitting down.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do, please William.”

He was about to argue further but
decided against it as he slid his arms under her and gently lifted
her up. He was steadying her when Braith appeared in the doorway. A
muscle twitched in his cheek, his shoulders were rigid, but those
hated glasses were in place so she was unable to see his eyes,
unable to get a read on what he was really thinking, what he
intended.

“It’s ok William,” she told him,
sensing that her brother was hesitant to leave them alone as Braith
seemed unstable.

William stood uncertainly before
nodding slowly and leaving them. Braith’s broad shoulders almost
filled the entire doorframe as he watched her in silence. Aria
swallowed nervously, shifting slightly as she tried to gather what
little strength she had left.

“You’re not sending me away Braith.”
The silence was killing her. Braith was not the strong, silent
type. When he was angry or when he was upset or frustrated, he
didn’t hide it, especially not with her. “You’re not going to stash
me somewhere either,” she blurted when he remained frustratingly
mute.

“No, I’m not.” His voice was hoarse,
grating.

“But you said before that you should
have left me behind.”

“I was wrong.” She didn’t know what to
say. “You nearly died.”

“I’m fine.”

“If I hadn’t been there…” He broke off
as he shook his head. Her heart ached for the anguish she felt
twisting through him. “I won’t send you away Aria. I won’t leave
you somewhere I think might be safe because there is nowhere safe
for you, and I can’t take the chance of something happening to you
while I’m not there to possibly save you. This never should have
happened.”

“This isn’t your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” She was thrown off by his
words. “You shouldn’t be in danger.”

“I’ve always been in
danger.”

“But I want more for you!” he exploded.
Aria was startled by the devastation behind his words. He was in
front of her in an instant, his hands grasped hold of her arms as
he smoothly turned them over. She stared down at the makeshift
bandages, disturbed by the amount of blood that coated the rags.
Her blood. Her life. “Don’t you understand that? I want you to be
safe; I want you to know peace for once in your life. I don’t want
you to know fear and death anymore. And I’ve thrust you into even
more jeopardy; I’ve brought this upon us. These lands, they aren’t
good Aria.”

She swallowed heavily, her hands
flipped within his as she grasped hold of him. The feeling in her
fingers was slowly returning. “One day Braith, when all of this is
over, we’ll know peace.”

His head was bent as he studied their
hands. She knew he was thinking what she couldn’t say, what she
didn’t even want to consider. If they made it to the end, if they
won, if they were even still together.

“Let’s get these off and see how your
arms look.”

“I can have William do it.”

His head came slowly up to hers as his
nostrils flared. “I can take care of you Aria.”

What had happened to her had rattled
him even more than she’d realized. He was off balance, edgy, and
uncertain in a way that she’d never seen before. “I know that
Braith.” And she did know that, but he was unpredictable right now
and her blood was a torment she wanted to spare him
from.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that
she could practically hear his teeth grinding together as his
fingers nimbly undid the knots William had tied. The rags fell
away, sliding from her skin to slither silently to the floor. At
first Aria couldn’t look at what had nearly killed her, but his
stillness and the slight tensing of his shoulders, told her that
she would have to.

She braced herself as her gaze slid
slowly to the arms he held so delicately within his large hands.
The gashes were vivid against her pale skin but not as deep as they
had been. The ones on her left arm ran from elbow to wrist while
the ones on her right arm were below her elbow but just as wicked
looking. She was shaken as she stared at them, lost in the
realization that she had nearly died, that these marks represented
what could have been her end.

Though she wasn’t bleeding anymore,
there was still some dried blood on her skin. Her hand trembled as
she pulled the glasses from his face; she needed to see his eyes.
The small white scars around his eyes weren’t as visible; his face
had paled considerably from the restraint he was exerting over
himself. At first he wouldn’t look at her, at first his gaze
remained focused upon her brutalized arms. Then, ever so slowly his
eyes slid to hers. Her breath froze in her lungs; her heart
fluttered like a trapped bird as it beat against her
ribcage.

The beautiful gray eyes with the bright
blue band she had come to love were gone. They were as bright as
rubies now, gleaming at her from the depths of his striking face.
He was hungry, he was savage, and right now all he yearned for was
her. She would give her blood to him willingly, but he wouldn’t
take it, she knew that. Not now, not after today. But it was
unnecessary torture for him to be here when William was perfectly
capable of re-bandaging her arms. “Braith…”

And then he was on her, over her,
nearly inside of her as his mouth seized hold of hers with a
tenderness she had not expected given his mood right then. His
hands were on her face, stroking her cheeks as his tongue flickered
against her lips. She felt the press of his elongated fangs as she
opened her mouth to let him in. A low moan of pleasure escaped her
as he invaded all of her senses. All she could feel was him, all
she could smell was him. He was inside her soul, so much a part of
her. She could barely breathe as his hands slid away from her face.
His arms wrapped around her waist as he lifted her, pressing her
back against a wall. His body was hard against hers, impassioned
beneath her hands.

Her legs instinctively wrapped around
his waist, pulling him closer against her as he groaned low in his
throat and nipped at her lip. Her mind and body spun out of
control. She was in over her head, but she found she didn’t care as
she gave herself over to the emotions running wildly through
her.

She squirmed against him, aching and
unfulfilled as her body longed for more. She couldn’t breathe, and
she didn’t care as his tongue slid into her mouth, becoming more
fervent and demanding as he caressed her. Aria moaned in delight,
her still somewhat numb fingers curled into his back. She wanted to
cry, she wanted to scream with joy, she simply wanted to never have
the moment end, to forget the world around them and just be with
each other. Buttons slid free as he pushed her shirt aside to press
his hand against her breast. Pleasure swept through her with the
consuming intensity of a wildfire. She didn’t care where they were
or what was happening around them, not anymore.

“Braith.” At first, she was so lost in
him, so swept up in the surging needs of her body that Ashby’s
voice barely penetrated her mind. “Braith.” Loss, acute and
profound, filled her as Braith’s hands stilled on her and he pulled
a little away. She stared breathlessly up at him. Joy and love
filled her as she saw the beautiful gray of his eyes once more. He
stared at her with a mix of awe and love that caused her legs to
quiver around him. “Braith.”

His eyes flashed briefly red again, his
hand slid free as he moved her into a position that protected her
from Ashby’s gaze. Aria felt her face heat at the thought of what
Ashby may have seen as she quickly re-buttoned her shirt. “So help
me Ashby if you don’t leave us be for five minutes…”

“There’s someone coming.”

In a split second everything about him
changed. Gone was the laziness of his posture along with the small
half smile that had curled his mouth. Before her now was the man
that would one day rule if they succeeded. He lowered her slowly
and turned away. “Who is it?” he inquired as he replaced his
glasses.

Ashby shook his head appearing
disconcerted as he glanced between the two of them. “I don’t know.
A figure just appeared over the horizon. I’m not sure if there are
others with it.”

Braith glanced back at her, for a
moment she thought he was going to order her to stay, but then he
held his hand out to her. Relief filled her as she slid her fingers
between his and he led her from the room. Aria was able to get a
good look at her surroundings as they stepped into the hall. The
room she’d been in had no windows in it, and it appeared that none
of the other rooms up here did either.

Braith led her down a rickety set of
stairs that seemed to drop from a hole in the floor. She stopped at
the bottom, staring up as she examined the darkened area above her.
It took her a moment to realize that it was an attic, she hadn’t
seen one in years.

His hand squeezed hers as he led her
down another set of stairs to the first floor. Unlike the attic,
this area was covered in dust and sand. It coated what remained of
the furniture and was piled against the back wall. William turned
from the doorway as they crossed the room.

“It’s alone, as far as I can tell,”
William informed them.

Braith squeezed Aria’s hand before
releasing her. “She has to have her arms wrapped back
up.”

William stared at him for a long
moment, his eyebrows furrowed questioningly before he nodded.
William glanced at her arms, shaking his head as he pulled the
remains of her ruined cloak from the bag on the floor. “Leave it to
you sis to nearly get killed by one vamp and make out with
another.” Braith shot him a lethal glare as Aria felt her face
flare red again. She remained silent though as William tore pieces
of cloth with his teeth and hands. “We should find something to
clean it with.”

“It won’t get infected,” Ashby assured
him as he moved slowly past them.

“And how do you know that?” William
demanded.