He would lead after the war, he wouldn’t turn away from it anymore; she knew that now. She may still have to leave him, but she wouldn’t do it behind his back, not again.
She wished that there was a way for her to escape, to get free of here before she became a liability. She paced restlessly around the cell, she’d spent three days here, she knew every square inch of it, but still she searched for something she might have missed.
After an hour of searching through the darkness she came up with nothing, like she always did. Frustration filled her as her hands fisted. When they removed her from here, two guards would take her to be scrubbed clean before taking her to the king. Though the guards didn’t watch as she was cleaned, there were two vampire women that stayed with her while the servants cleaned her. From the washroom, she was taken straight to the king.
It wasn’t a lot to work with, there weren’t many opportunities to escape, but if she bided her time, played meek, maybe they would present an opportunity for her to break free. The meek and helpless act hadn’t worked on Braith, but she had a feeling his father thought a lot less of her than Braith did, and that would be the king’s downfall.
Braith would come for her, but she’d give him a hand in helping to free her, she was certain of that. First chance she had, she was going to fight for her freedom.
Her forehead fell against the cool wall. For a moment, when she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the outside, almost smell the woods, and almost taste fresh air within her lungs. She could almost feel him. The gentle caress of his fingers against her face, the strength of his body when it enveloped her, the sweet taste of his blood when it filled her were all right there, almost within her grasp. She trembled with the need for him that enveloped her.
She just hoped she’d get the chance to see him again, to feel and kiss him again. That they both weren’t killed before it happened.
Chapter 7
Braith held the torch that Jack handed him as he waited for his brother to ignite it. They were gathered on the hill, thousands of men and women, vampire and human, working together for the same cause. He’d never thought that he’d see the day, let alone that he would be the one leading the charge to defeat the king, but life was never what he expected it to be and all the surprises were what made the pain all the better. As long as he got Aria back.
“Will Melinda know we’re coming?” he asked Ashby.
“I’m sure the flames will tip her off,” Ashby muttered.
“Let’s hope so.”
The heat from the torch licked against his skin and warmed the side of his face. With a flick of his wrist he tossed it into the stack of wood they had gathered at the top of the hill. They were nearly to the edge of town when the scent of smoke began to fill the air and the first shout went up. His vision improved a little the closer they moved toward the palace. He lit another torch and tossed it into a stack of crates next to the bar, the only building that still showed signs of life at this late hour. Jack and Gideon lit two more torches and tossed them into the hay piled near a store. Fire licked up the buildings, sparks shot high into the sky as more screams and shouts of warning filled the air.
People blinked against the sleep clinging to them as they emerged from their houses. The glow of the fire lit their glossy eyed and slack jawed features as they gazed around them. Others scurried frantically around the street as they tried to get their bearings in the pandemonium. He saw some of his father’s soldiers amongst the growing fire, but they were too flustered by the flames and trying to put them out, to worry about what or who had started them. Braith turned away from the town and slid back into the cool serenity of the woods.
He rejoined David, Frank and the remaining humans. Saul, Calista, and Barnaby were already leading the first wave of humans and vampires to the main gate. David, Frank, Jack, and Ashby would lead the second group to the palace gates shortly. It would take a lot of force to get the gates open, but Braith was hoping they could take them down swiftly from within, once he found Aria. If they could get to the king quickly many lives would be saved. The king’s soldiers would fall apart if their leader was brought down. Their numbers weren’t as strong as his father’s but they had the element of surprise and determination on their side.
He clasped hands with Jack and patted him briefly on the back as he wished him luck. David embraced his sons; the three of them huddled together, talking in subdued tones as they hugged each other again. David had wanted to go inside after Aria, be he had agreed it was best for him to lead the rebel humans that were still a little uncertain about the truce with the vampires. Though all he wanted was to be inside that palace, Braith waited while they said their goodbyes. Aria would kill him if she knew he had rushed this moment when it could be their last together.
When they were ready, Daniel and William followed him as they split off from the others, and headed into the lower lying woodland with the soldiers in tow. He’d chosen vampires from the outer towns for this mission; they knew the woods better, and were far more adept at moving through them quietly, than the occupants of The Barrens. Keegan plodded soundlessly at his side, he’d tried to get the wolf to stay in the woods, with his newfound life, but his old companion stuck to him like a tenacious burr.
William and Daniel stayed at his side, as silent and fleet as their sister as they moved through the woods. But then, if Xavier’s suspicions were right, they would be. They had also all been raised in the woods, Braith reminded himself as he slid down the side of a small hill. They were at home in the forest, comfortable and assured in their environment; at one with it. He’d yet to see either of them exhibit quite the same abilities as their sister, but then again not many people wanted to run and jump through trees like Aria did. He also hadn’t spent anywhere near the same amount of time with her brothers as he had with her.
The closer they got to the palace, the more acute his vision became. His skin tingled with excitement, with need; they were getting closer to her. Though he could see better, it still wasn’t his strongest sense. Closing his eyes, he tuned his other senses into the world around him. All the smells and scents that drifted over him were familiar. He sensed nothing around him other than the normal creatures that stirred in the night.
He heard the river moments before the fresh scent of water washed over him. The muted croak of frogs filled the air, a small splash alerted him to the fact that the fish were jumping after the bugs. He slid down another hill, but this one was the river embankment. Holding up a hand, he waited as the soldiers gathered around him. He listened to the sounds of the night before continuing onward.