Aria felt a sharp tug; she was pulled back a few inches. She turned, about to vent her frustration when she realized that Braith was right behind her. She was brought up against his hard chest as he jerked her back another step. His jaw was locked tight, his shoulders squared. He slowly turned his attention to Max. Aria could feel the anger that welled through him, but she did not understand the intensity of it. He wrapped his hand tightly around her leash, drawing her closer to him, forcing her against his body as he wrapped the golden cord around his hand.
Aria glanced longingly back at Max, but she knew she had made a mistake. Braith was infuriated; his knuckles were white as he clung to her chain. Though no one around them seemed to have noticed her encounter with Max, even the woman that owned Max had been distracted by some jewelry, it was obvious that Braith had not. “Braith…”
“Your highness,” he growled.
Aria’s eyes widened, hurt bloomed rapidly through her chest. She wanted to explain, wanted to tell him something, anything that would make that look leave his face. That would make the fury simmering through him abate a little. But she didn’t think he was in the mood to listen to her, and she didn’t know how to even start explaining anything amongst this crowd. She wasn’t even sure what she had to explain to him, or why he was so obviously irate with her. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
Aria stared helplessly up at him. The woman appeared at his side again, drawing his attention away from Aria. They spoke briefly, but Aria didn’t hear a word they said. Despite her best efforts not to, her gaze slid slowly back to Max. Her heart leapt, tears of hopelessness swam in her eyes. In his gaze she could see the awful despair of their situation, the awful realization that they were trapped. And yet, she could also see a burgeoning rage firing within his gaze as his attention turned slowly back to Braith. True hatred simmered within Max’s bright blue eyes.
Terror spurted through her, for the first time she was completely afraid of this whole mess. She had tried to convince herself that it would all work out in the end; that somehow they would escape. For the first time she realized that they probably never would. They would be stuck here, they would die here, and there was nothing that either of them could do to stop it.
A hand wrapped around her arm, she knew instantly that it was Braith’s as her skin came alive, and her entire body reacted to his touch. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as the hated woman slipped past her. Aria wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she and Braith had made plans to meet up later. Aria knew what Braith was, what he needed, and he was not asking her for anything. She should be grateful for that; she was surprised to realize she wasn’t.
She hated the sense of hurt and betrayal that curled through her. Hated everything about this awful place, and horrendous day. She had never wanted the simplicity of her woods and caves more than she did at that moment. She lifted her gaze slowly to Braith, but he was no longer looking at her, in fact he looked as if he wanted to completely forget about her existence as he released her arm and moved swiftly through the parting crowd. Aria had to struggle to keep up with him as he strode purposely forward, nearly dragging her behind him.
She looked back at Max, struggling against the tears that burned in her eyes. He was watching her intently, his face dark with anger.
***
Aria was nearly breathless by the time Braith hauled her into his apartment. He radiated anger, but somehow managed to quietly shut the door. “Braith…”
“Your highness,” he grated.
Aria recoiled, her eyes widened, she felt as if she had just been slapped. She could understand why she was supposed to call him that in public, but they were alone now and there was no one near to question them. “What?” she managed to sputter out.
“I told you to call me your highness.”
Aria gaped after him as he released her leash and strode across the room. She was well aware of the fact that he had not removed the golden chain from her wrist. She stared at the long thin strand, wondering if it would ever come off again. She feared that it might not, and as long as it was upon her she would never be able to break free of this awful place. He’d told her that the chain was linked to him, that he could find it anywhere, and that he was the only one that could ever remove it from her. She wanted to believe that it wasn’t true.
All she wanted was to get free, she knew now that she had been completely wrong, he was just as cold and cruel as everyone else around here. She folded her free hand over top of the golden chain, wanting to rip the offending thing from her skin. She’d heard rumors, stories that if a slave tried to pull the chain free, it would slice through their skin, tearing into the flesh. Their blood would run freely, staining the gold. It was the reason the leash was known as the blood chain.
And at the moment, Aria didn’t care.
Panic and terror drove her as she dug at it, trying to rip it free. She did not notice her flesh shredding, did not feel the pain, or notice the blood spilling freely down her fingers and wrist. She just wanted free, she just wanted out of this thing, and she wanted her life back. She just wanted to not be someone’s captive, someone’s thing to use and order about as they saw fit.
Braith’s hands seized her. A strangled cry escaped her, she tried to rip her hands free of his grasp, but he clung to her. She jerked wildly at her arms, anger and frustration boiling through her. Freedom, all she wanted was freedom. “Let go of me!”
“Stop it!” he snarled, pulling her toward him. “You’re hurting yourself Arianna.”
“You’re hurting me!” she cried back, trying to escape his hold. “I’d rather be dead then be trapped like this! Why didn’t you just let me die!? Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with!?”
He pulled her hand away from the leash, thrusting it down by his side he pinned it there. “Enough!” he barked. “You would prefer to die than be separated from your lover?”
Her eyes widened, shock froze her as she gaped at him. “How dare you!” she gasped. He released her hand, tossing it away in disgust as he took a step back. “You know nothing of me! Nothing of my life! Nothing of who I am! You sit in this palace, where you have had everything handed to you, and you judge those that refuse to be battered down and broken beneath your rules, your poor treatment, and your death! You have no right to judge me!”
His dark eyebrows lifted sharply, his jaw clenched and unclenched tightly. “There is not much of you to judge.”