The worst thing he ever could have imagined happening to Aria was Caleb getting his hands on her. It made him sick to think of what his father and brother would do to her, made him feel like heedlessly rushing into the palace to get her back. She didn’t deserve such a hideous fate.
“We can split up through the streets,” Daniel stated. The drawing wasn’t Daniel’s best, but then he hadn’t exactly had the time to put the detail into it that he normally would have. The other group they had planned to send into the town to survey it, had become more of a rescue team when they stumbled across Daniel and William trying to escape the king’s soldiers.
Daniel’s fingers trembled as he pointed to the two main roads that split through the town. His left eye was nearly swollen shut, and his cheek bore a nasty bruise that Jack suspected shaded a broken or at least a fractured, bone. William was pale beside him, his face nearly as bruised. His lip had been split open, and dark stitches had been required to repair it. Max had fared slightly better than the brothers, but his focus had been on staying with Aria, instead of trying to fight through the soldiers that had been with Caleb. If it hadn’t been for Daniel’s sensibility, Jack was certain that William wouldn’t have returned at all.
“The town won’t divide us as much as we had thought. The roads are big enough for us to move through in large groups that won’t be easily taken down by the people, and whatever vampires remain there. Though, I suspect that after today the king will increase his forces within the town.”
“Or he’ll pull them all behind the palace walls and into the palace town in order to strengthen his forces there,” David murmured. “We know he cares little for human life, it is the palace he’ll look to protect the most.”
“David’s right.” Braith’s voice was strained but he didn’t lift his head to look at them as he remained focused on the ground. “The king may even send some troops into the woods to search for me, but from here on out the full force of his might will be concentrated within the walls surrounding the palace.”
“How will he know you’re here?” David inquired. “Just because Aria was discovered it doesn’t mean he knows that you’re here, that any of us are here.”
Braith’s jaw grated back and forth, his hands clenched on his biceps. “He may suspect that there is a militia within these woods, but he will know that I am here because he will smell my blood in her.”
Jack was motionless as he awaited David’s reaction to Braith’s blunt statement. David blinked once, twice, and then his mouth parted. “I see.”
Daniel’s fingers tapped on the drawing as his focus turned to Braith. “I also believe the town should be razed as we move through it.”
Jack did a double take at Daniel’s words. Braith’s head slowly turned toward him; even behind the thick glasses Jack could see the burning ruby coals of his eyes. A chill crept down his back, he wasn’t entirely certain it was even Braith standing over there anymore, or if it was something far more hazardous and feral.
“There are humans in that town,” Braith reminded him.
Or perhaps Jack was wrong; his interest was piqued as he studied his brother. He was showing signs of concern and reasoning beyond Aria again. Was it possible that Braith was actually going to keep it together? Was it possible that Aria and Braith could be separated? He felt no hope at the realization. If Aria survived this, the worst thing Jack would ever do in his lengthy life was take her away from Braith again. They had all done things they didn’t want to do though, and they would all do far more before this war was over.
Daniel was paler than normal, but his eyes were unwavering. “That town is a death trap. If the king doesn’t pull all of his soldiers from the town, and they somehow get the chance to come up behind us, there will be nowhere for us to retreat to if it becomes necessary. There are far too many homes and places for them to hide and wait for us. It should be burned as we move through so they can’t be given the chance to set a trap for us.”
Jack was taken aback by the ferocity behind Daniel’s words. Gideon quirked an eyebrow as he nodded approvingly. Xavier’s head cocked a little, a small smile played across his lips as he studied Daniel, William, and David with that same strange look he’d been studying Aria with ever since he’d met her. Jack found it bizarre, even for Xavier.
Daniel’s gaze darted to his father. David was just as pale as his son, his lips were pressed firmly together as he stared at the hastily scrawled plans. “There are innocent casualties in every war and it needs to be done,” David confirmed.
“They aren’t that innocent,” William growled. He tugged at his hair as he strolled around the table and continued on toward the edge of the woods. “Burn it then. Burn it all, and I’ll make sure we burn that bitch with it.”
“William,” David’s tone of voice was low and warning. “This is not for revenge, no matter how badly we want it to be, that is not what we are about. We will limit the amount of innocent blood that is shed.”
William shot him a dark look; his busted lip curled in a sneer, but for once he held his tongue. David stared at Braith for some sort of confirmation, but when none was forthcoming, Jack responded. “We will.”
David didn’t look overly relieved but he didn’t press the issue. Jack anxiously watched Braith as he approached the table and plans. The other aristocrats stood behind him as they awaited his decision. Jack knew they sensed something off in Braith, but for now they seemed to be willing to trust his judgment. Jack didn’t know what would happen if Braith refused to see reason and put them all in peril, didn’t know what would happen if Braith turned on them to vent his wrath.
“If we set the town on fire it will also provide an effective distraction for you to slip into the tunnel you spoke of,” Daniel continued.
“We’ll take what weapons we can from the town, and level it as we go,” Braith declared as he settled his glowing eyes on William. “I will have the girl that recognized Aria though, she is mine.”
William’s jaw clenched and unclenched, a muscle jumped furiously in his cheek. Please stay quiet, Jack pleaded silently. It wasn’t William that spoke though. “If you mean the girl that grabbed Aria, she’s not in the town anymore,” Max informed him.
Braith’s nostrils flared. “She grabbed Arianna?”