She was silent as she thought over her next words. She had never kept anything from William, they had always shared everything, always been together, but he had been so angry lately that she was afraid her words might send him over the edge. But she could not lie to him, and she had started this conversation because she needed someone to talk to, and William had always been that person. “Yes.”
He swallowed heavily as he ran a hand through his disordered, shaggy hair. She could tell he was trying to keep hold of his temper, struggling to his fury from her. “Arianna, things happened in there, things I can’t even begin to imagine…”
“Don’t William. Max may want to believe that, but you know better. You know me, you know who I am. Do you really think I don’t know what I felt in there?”
“I believe that you think you do.” Aria’s hands fisted in frustration, her jaw clenched tightly. It seemed that no one wanted to listen to her; no one wanted to understand her feelings. But she supposed that if it were William telling her these things, she wouldn’t want to believe them either. “And no, I have never been in love.”
“Oh.”
He moved away from the wall, striding slowly to her, he threw his arm casually around her shoulders. He grinned down at her, his straight white teeth bright in the moonlight. She couldn’t help but grin back at him. For the first time in their lives he may not understand her, but he would always love her. No matter what. She dropped her head to his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. She listened to the sound of his heart as they stared out at the night. She had been so intent upon the reassuring beat of his heart that it took her a few moments to realize that all of the animals, and insects, had gone quiet.
Aria lifted her head slowly, her heart thumped wildly as she gazed out at the darkness. She searched for the guards amongst the trees, spotting their prone figures amid the darkness. “William,” she whispered.
“I know. Come on.”
He pushed her deeper into the cave, keeping his hand in her back as they made their swiftly through the well familiar terrain. The guards still had not raised the alarm, a low pitched whistle that could easily blend in with the chirruping of the insects, but Aria strained to hear it. It had to be coming soon. “Hurry!” she gasped, a sense of doom descending over her as her breath came faster.
Her hand clenched upon William’s, when they were far enough from the entrance, they broke into a run, their feet flying over the hard rock of the cave. They might already be too late if the vampires were already upon them. With the vampire’s exceptional eyesight in the dark, and their rapid speed, it would be almost impossible for her and William to escape. They took a side tunnel on the right, ducking low as the ceiling became lower. William turned back, grabbed hold of one of the heavy iron gates that had been built into the wall.
“The guards!” she hissed, grabbing hold of his arm before he could close the gate.
“It’s too late for them Aria,” he said softly.
Her eyes widened, horror filled her as the low pitched warning whistle pierced the air. William froze for a moment; the gate was still partly open when they sensed, more than heard, something approaching. William jumped into action, rushing forward to close the gate as quietly as possible. There were many other tunnels leading through here, it could take awhile for the vampires to find the right one, and the gate should withstand an attack for long enough to give them extra time to escape.
They retreated, moving as quickly as they could through the stooped tunnel. Aria’s heart pounded rapidly in her chest, a crushing sense of time running out seized hold of her as something large and heavy slammed into the gate, rattling it within its frame.
Chapter 2
Aria was panting for air as the raced forward. She could barely see William in front of her; they were going on instinct and memory alone, to afraid of what was behind them to grab one of the unlit torches from the walls around them. There was no way to know where their pursuers were, it was too much of a risk to light something right now. William led her around another turn, the ceiling thankfully expanded again.
William paused, turning back to slide another gate shut. They weren’t far from the main room now. He pulled her forward; she stumbled over a loose stone, her ankle rolling out beneath her. A soft cry of pain escaped, but she hurried on, refusing to be hindered by the throbbing pain that raced up her leg.
The tunnel became narrower, William slid another gate home. The fire of the main room became visible as the maneuvered another turn, soft laughter reached them. Aria’s heart hammered, she could barely breathe. She had never felt claustrophobic within the tunnels before, now she felt like a caged rat running aimlessly along. If they got out of this she swore she would never return to these caves. Then again, they could never return to them anyway, they were no longer safe.
They had been discovered.
William and Aria stumbled into the main hall. Everyone became silent as William spun around to slam another gate shut. “They’re here!” Aria breathed.
There were a good hundred people in the room; panic claimed over fifty of them. Screams rang out, children began to cry. Though they had run drills, and practiced for this sort of thing, it had never happened before. Aria was dismayed and horrified to see the chaos that swiftly took over. Her mouth dropped as people began to run about, trying to gather as many of their things as possible. Others kept their heads enough to shut the other three gates that blocked the tunnels from the main room.
She wished that her father or Daniel were here, they would have an easier time at keeping everyone calm, but they had gone to meet with another group of rebels stationed about a mile away in another set of caves. “Everyone! Everyone! You have to calm down!” She raced into the center of the room, holding her hands up as she tried to soothe the fray. No one paid her any attention as they began to push and shove their way toward the only remaining exit. “Wait!” she cried, trying to stop them before they hurt each other. Trying to stop them before they ruined everyone’s chance at escape.
Max grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her free of the crushing bodies. Thrusting her behind him, he used his body to shield her as people pushed and shoved against them. Aria clung to his shirt as he pressed tighter against her, trying to protect her from the jostling and shoving, but he could not protect her from being pinned hard against the wall.
“Everyone calm down!” his voice was louder than normal, but not so loud that it would bounce down the tunnels, and not so loud that it caused the people to hesitate for even a moment. “Damn it!” he hissed, his anger and frustration apparent in the constriction of his muscles, and his fisted hands.