《Captured (The Captive #1)》


 Page 1

    Chapter 1


    Blood slave.Advertisement


    The word was enough to send a cold chill of terror down Arianna¡¯s spine. She shuddered, swallowing heavily, and repeatedly, as she tried to wet her suddenly very parched throat. Her lips hurt, they were chapped and cracking. She¡¯d had nothing to drink in hours; the fire that had consumed parts of the forest had burned into her throat. The smell of smoke clung to her; she could taste the ash upon her tongue. She would have given anything for some water, but she was fairly certain that her misery and discomfort would soon be coming to an end anyway.


    The dead did not require water after all.


    Surprisingly the thought of being dead aroused even less fear in her than the alternative did. And that alternative was becoming a blood slave. The thought of being kept, of being trapped and used for the most disgusting means known to man, was enough to make her want to rip out her hair and run screaming in horror.


    She did neither however, simply because she could not move enough to carry out either action. She was trapped, surrounded, penned in by the bodies crammed tightly against her. The raid on the woods had been successful. The homes of many had been ripped apart, destroyed, set ablaze. Their lives had been irrevocably destroyed; they would never see their loved ones again.


    The fortunate ones, the ones that weren¡¯t chosen to be blood slaves, would be bled outright. Their blood would be drained unwillingly, and painfully, from their bodies. A hundred separate needles would pierce their skin before they were finally killed. The blood would be bottled and saved for later use. The unfortunate ones, the blood slaves, would be used over and over and over again before their owner became tired of them and either sold them off, or bled them dry.


    Arianna prayed fervently that she would be bled dry at once. She would rather feel the sting of a thousand needles than be repeatedly used for months, or years. However, she had a feeling that if the vampires found out who she was, they would never allow her such a compassionate death. They would never grant her the merciful death she fervently hoped for.


    She glanced at the people surrounding her. She knew they would all willingly die before they revealed her identity, she also knew that she had been a fool, a complete idiot for allowing herself to be captured in the first place. If these monsters ever found out who she was, they would have strong leverage over the cause, over the rebellion. They would try to use her against the rebels that lived within the woods, hiding, moving, and fighting against the vampires that hunted them relentlessly. The vampires that had taken their world and twisted it into a cruel mockery of what it had once been.


    At least that was what she had been told they¡¯d done.


    She did not remember a world without fear, and hunger, and hiding. She did not recall a world where food had been purchased in stores, and homes had been heated and cooled. She knew a world of woods and concealment and hunting and struggling for her meals. She knew a world that was brutally hot or deathly cold. She knew a world where there had never been a consistent roof over her head. A world where her father was the leader of the rebel movement, her mother was dead, and her two brothers were being relentlessly trained to take over her father¡¯s position one day.


    She had never experienced a life of safety and security, never experienced a life where she wasn¡¯t fighting and running on a daily basis. But she had been told stories of the world before the vampires, and though she was certain that some of the tales had to be off, or wrong, she still thought that world sounded simply wonderful. As a child she had foolishly longed for that world, as an adult she had thrown aside childish dreams in favor of learning how to fight and how to hunt. In favor of learning how to survive.


    In her world, love was not freely given, hugs were not exchanged, and the only praise she had ever received was for her far superior skills with a bow and arrow. However, though love was not freely given, she knew that it was there. Her brothers would want to risk everything to get her back; her father would want to do the same. But her father would also know that it could not be done. Her father could not risk the lives of so many, for one. Even if that one was her. It would kill him to lose her, but he would make the sacrifice, just as he had sacrificed so much in his life.


    No, Arianna had no grand plans of rescue, no dreams that her brother William would charge recklessly in, yelling like a banshee, just as he charged so wildly into everything. She did not have these dreams because her father, and ever sensible Daniel, would never allow William to do so. In fact, they would probably have to tie him up because it would be the only way to keep him away from here.


    It would be the only way to keep him alive.


    A twinge of regret and pain filled her at the thought of her brother, her twin. Her other half. They had always been so close, inseparable since creation. He would not get over this, just as she never would have gotten over his loss, if their roles had been reversed.


    She never should have allowed herself to be captured. But then, she hadn¡¯t had a choice. The child¡­


    Arianna¡¯s gaze slid slowly to Mary Beckins. Mary stood proudly, her shoulders thrust back, her chin jutting out as she stared unblinkingly across the sea of heads before her. If it weren¡¯t for the tears streaking silently down Mary¡¯s dirt and soot smeared cheeks, Arianna would have thought her fearless. But even with those tears she still looked proud, defiant; unbreakable.


    Seeming to sense Arianna¡¯s stare, Mary¡¯s eyes slid slowly toward her. It was Mary¡¯s child, John, Arianna had saved. It was John¡¯s place that she had taken in this cramped hell of nearly certain death and terror. Arianna had forfeited her life for young John¡¯s, and she would do it again if she had the choice. She just wouldn¡¯t have been so reckless about it. She wouldn¡¯t have plunged carelessly in again, and she would have thought out a way to ensure that she and Mary were not ensnared also.


    But, like her twin, she rarely thought out her actions and often charged thoughtlessly forward, heedless of the consequences. But these were by far the direst consequences she had ever faced. They would also be her last. Or so she hoped.


    Mary held her gaze for a long moment, gratitude brimming in her wide, brown eyes. She briefly nodded her thanks, and managed a tremulous smile that Arianna returned.


    The vampire¡¯s did not know who Arianna was, who her father was, and she was certain that no one that knew her would tell them. The people had always respected and admired her father, but today, with her actions, they had also come to admire and respect her too. They would all die before they handed her over, even if handing her over would mean a pardon on their own lives. Even if it meant a chance at freedom for them.


    ¡°Fear not girl.¡±


    She wanted to turn to see who had spoken to her, but she could not move against the crush of bodies pressing against her. She could smell the dirt, the sweat, the terror, and smoke that clung to all of them. Life in the woods did not allow for regular bathing, she was accustomed to the smells of people, but this was far more intense, far harsher than anything she had ever experienced before. She did not know if it was because they were all so confined, when they were used to wandering free, or if it was the certain end of their lives that made it exceptionally acute. Either way, the stench was nearly overwhelming. She wanted to gag from it, to cover her nose and attempt to block it out. She wanted to cry, but she merely stood unmoving and frozen within the paralysis of horror that clung to her.


    Sudden movement drew her attention back to the stage set up before them. A stage for crying out loud. It wasn¡¯t humiliating enough to be packed in like this, but they were also going to be paraded forward, separately examined, and chosen from the specimens presented. Arianna shuddered again, trying hard to keep her composure in this swiftly unraveling world.


    ¡°Be brave Aria, be brave.¡± She swallowed heavily, managing a small nod as the man behind her whispered in her ear again. ¡°Take strength from those around you.¡±


    Aria fought back the hot wash of tears that suddenly flooded her eyes. She straightened her shoulders, refusing to show weakness, refusing to break in front of the monsters now lining up before them. As long as she was chosen for death, she could remain strong through this. She could, she would, be as brave as her father and brothers would be in this situation. She would never give them the satisfaction of seeing her break; she would die with her pride firmly intact.


    There was a slow ripple of movement. Arianna realized that the gate had been opened; they were starting to pull people out. She watched in horror as they removed the first person and led them up the stairs to the stage. She did not recognize the young woman, who was sobbing openly as she was paraded before the line of monsters eagerly eyeing her. Behind the stage, other monsters had gathered on the street that led through the heart of the town. The monsters were crammed in between the two and three story buildings that lined the street.


    The vampires were watching the proceedings with an air of indifference that left Aria fuming. It was bad enough that they had been caught, that they were considered no more than food, but did they have to be treated as if they were worth less than an animal? Her hands fisted at her sides, her jaw clenched tight as she fought to keep control of her volatile temper.


    Aria swallowed as the woman was led to the side. The woman bowed her head; her shoulders shook with the force of the tears that streaked her face. Her clothes were little more than rags. Though Aria knew her own clothes were not much better, neither was her hair, or her appearance. In fact, due to the hunting party she had been on before being captured, she had gone even longer than normal without bathing. The lingering scent of blood, body odor and death clung to her, mixing with the other awful scents encompassing her. She found herself hoping that her dismal appearance and scent would be enough to earn her the much coveted sentence of death.


    A young boy was brought forth next, then a young shirtless man that was well muscled from hunting and working within the forest. The man was not led over to the boy and woman, but escorted over to a vampire. It was a young woman, (or at least she appeared young, there was no way to know her real age) she was tall and thin, with a hawkish face that was both brutal and strangely beautiful. The vampire woman eagerly eyed the young man; the look in her eyes caused Aria¡¯s legs to shake. It was more than apparent what that woman was going to do to him, and she wasn¡¯t going to wait long either as she swiftly led the man off the stage and through the crowd gathered upon the street. The crowd was grinning, leering after them as they disappeared swiftly from view.


    Arianna swallowed heavily, trying to keep her composure, but she wasn¡¯t sure she would make it through this. She understood now that the woman and boy still on the stage were both destined for death, a fact the boy seemed to also realize as he began to weep openly. His sobs were heartbreaking and it took all Arianna had not to cry in response.


    The soft sound of sniffles began to make their way through the rest of the crowd. The majority of people remained strong, but it would only be a matter of time before they were also broken beneath the heel of the monsters that now held their fate. Arianna watched unseeingly as more people were brought forth. The crush of bodies began to ease, if it weren¡¯t for the tight pressure in her chest, she might have actually been able to inhale easily again. Instead, she could barely breathe through the terror threatening to crush her.


    Though most people were slotted for death, it was the ones that were chosen to be blood slaves that were the saddest, and openly wept the loudest. Aria was gasping for breath when someone stepped beside her. A hand slipped into hers, squeezing it tightly.


    She turned slowly toward the person beside her, shock rolling through her as she caught sight of him. ¡°Max,¡± she breathed.


    He managed a wan smile for her, his clear blue eyes sad and resigned, yet still resonating with the strength and confidence she was so used to. Sadness engulfed her; the sight of him here was nearly her undoing. A sob rose up, caught and strangled within her throat. Max and her brother Daniel had been best friends for as long as she could remember. They had always been together; nearly as inseparable as she and William. He had been like another big brother to her, teasing her, taunting her, teaching her things, and protecting her.


    He had also been her first crush as a young girl, before she¡¯d come to understand that there would never be a place for love in her life. She had realized long ago that she would not live long, and she would never have a peaceful life. There was no way that she would ever bring a child into this world of brutality, fear, and humiliation. But for one brief year, when she had still been a young, silly girl, she had entertained thoughts of a home and a family. Max had been the center of most of those fantasies as the man that would help her with that home and children.


    And now he was here, with her. ¡°Max,¡± she whispered again, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. She had not thought that things could get any worse, she had been greatly mistaken. Her own death was fine, she could handle it, but to know that Max might die too, or even worse survive, was more than she could tolerate. Max was always so good to her, always so patient and gentle with her. Though she had given up her fantasies of one day being with him, she still loved him dearly, and deeply. She could not handle this too, not bravely, not stoically. Not anymore.

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    He tilted his head slightly, his eyes surveying her. ¡°Stay strong Aria, stay strong. Think of your brothers, your father. We will get through this.¡±Advertisement


    ¡°How did they catch you?¡± she mumbled miserably.


    He didn¡¯t have to answer her though, she already knew how. Max had been with her on the hunting party, he had been with her when they had approached the human camp. The vampires were already there, raiding the recently assembled camp with ease. Though they had originally rushed to aid the people, it had become quickly apparent that it was going to be a losing battle and they would be of no use. The best hope was to flee, to retreat deeper into the woods, to escape and hide until the vampires retreated with their new captives.


    That was what they had been doing when Aria had spotted young John being captured, she had plunged heedlessly forward without thinking to intervene and save the young, scrawny boy. And because of that, she had cost her father and brothers two of their best soldiers. ¡°Oh Max,¡± she whispered, tears burning hotly in her eyes.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you come alone. Plus, I¡¯ve always been curious about what happens here.¡± He tried to sound light, but she could hear the tight tension in his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t cry for me Aria, they¡¯ll think you¡¯re crying because of them, don¡¯t give them that satisfaction.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll keep you,¡± she moaned, knowing it was true. He was filthy and disheveled, but his handsome features were still clearly visible beneath the layer of dirt covering his face and chest.


    ¡°That will give me a chance to figure out an escape plan.¡±


    Arianna shook her head swiftly. ¡°No Max, they won¡¯t keep me. I have nothing to offer them.¡± It was true; she was skinny, dirty, disheveled, smelly, and unwomanly in every possible way. They would not want her, or at least that was the hope that she clung to. They did not appear to be choosing blood slaves solely on looks though, but some strange method that she did not understand, or even want to. She didn¡¯t want to have any kind of understanding of the monsters that held their fates. ¡°I¡¯d rather be dead anyway,¡± she assured him.


    His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched slightly. ¡°They will want you Aria, and when they take you, you must cling to the knowledge that I will come for you. I will save you. Keep hold of that certainty, it will get you through the awful times ahead of us.¡±


    She swallowed heavily, stunned by the earnestness and emotion that radiated from him. ¡°Max¡­¡±


    ¡°I will come for you Aria. I promise you that.¡±


    She gasped, stunned as he was ripped suddenly away from her. It was only then that she realized that there were just a handful of people left within the fenced area. She almost ran after him, almost chased him and the creature pulling him along, but she only made it one step before she halted abruptly. She could not show so much emotion here, they would only use it against her, or against Max. No, she had to remain in control, had to be as emotionless as she could in here.


    Max was paraded onto the stage and swiftly claimed by a dark haired woman that oozed cruelty and sadism. Aria swallowed heavily, her mind spun as she realized the fate that Max had just been handed. He believed that he would be able to escape, and she knew that he was smart, wily, fast, and strong, but no one had ever escaped from the vampires before. No one had ever returned to the woods, and freedom, after capture. Once a person was taken, they remained a prisoner until they died.


    Max was now at the mercy of this woman, and as long as she possessed him she could do whatever she wanted to him, whenever she wanted, and for as long as she wanted. When she grew bored of him, she would simply kill him, or sell him, and then come back here for another toy. Aria was shaking; her legs trembled with the will it took to keep her upright.


    She did not fight the rough hands that seized hold of her; she was in too much shock, too fearful, and too stunned to even begin to fight right now. Max was going to be used and tortured, and it was all her fault. Why hadn¡¯t she listened to her father when he had told her to use her head, to think before acting? Her foolish recklessness had not only destroyed her life, but the life of one of her dearest and most beloved friends.


    Self hatred curdled rapidly through her. She didn¡¯t even care what happened to her anymore, what they did to her. She was led swiftly through the crowd and brusquely pushed onto the stage. She was paraded before the crowd gathered on the stage, before being led past the vampires packing the streets. It appeared that the vamps on stage had first choice, and the ones on the street received second pick to grab the goods if they so choose. She was drug back past the people on stage as she was pulled roughly around, but no one laid claim to her. She didn¡¯t know if she should feel relieved, or not. She found herself wanting to stay alive for as long as Max was alive. If he was in here because of her, then it was only fair that she should suffer the same tormented fate that he did; it was only fair that she was not granted the merciful death she had been longing for.


    She met Max¡¯s gaze briefly, hating the terror and helplessness in his eyes as she was pulled back toward the street side. This would be the last chance for someone to claim her, and if they didn¡¯t, she was fairly certain that Max would go ballistic in his attempt to get at her. To save her.


    Aria¡¯s heart was hammering painfully in her chest; she could hardly see through the waves of adrenaline and fear crashing through her. She blinked dazedly as she stared out at the street, barely noticing the man that stepped forward. ¡°I will take it.¡±


    It! It! Aria¡¯s mind screamed, she recoiled in horror at the word. She could hardly breathe through the panic constricting her chest. The thing that had claimed her was moving through the crowd, digging into his pocket to retrieve the money he would spend on her. He would not be spending much, as she had been nearly on the chopping block before he claimed her.


    He was an ugly thing, but then they were all ugly, twisted and cruel to her. But this one was exceptionally ugly, with his stooped shoulders, pointed nose, and cruel hazel eyes. He looked warped, evil; wrong. The scent of blood clung to him as he stepped forward and grasped roughly hold of her chin. Aria winced, she tried to jerk away as he turned her head sharply back and forth but he would not release her.


    ¡°She may be fun for a bit, easily broken.¡±


    Aria was nearly gasping, nearly hyperventilating. She was trying hard to remain brave, but she could feel a shattering growing inside of her, a breaking of her soul that was far more painful than anything she had ever experienced before. And she had experienced some very painful things in her life. But this, this was the worst. This man was going to do many many things to her. None of them would be good, and all of them would be designed to savage her body, and her mind.


    She wanted to believe that he would not succeed, but from the leering, perverse look in his eyes, she wasn¡¯t so sure he wouldn¡¯t.


    Money was exchanged; the two vamps holding her released her to the man. She wanted to flee, run screaming down the street, but she would not get far, and she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her snap. She would not give them the satisfaction of recapturing her and taking their pleasure out on her. The vamp began pulling her toward the stairs. She staggered, trying to keep her shaking legs beneath her as he all but drug her across the stage.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The voice boomed across the crowd gathered within the street. It rang with authority, and a note of command that stopped even Aria in her tracks. The vamp holding her froze instantly, his hand loosened upon her arm, but he did not release her. There was a rippling amongst the throng, murmurs filled the air but were swiftly silenced as the crowd began to step aside to reveal a tall man standing in the middle of the street.


    Well, not a man actually, but one of her most hated foes.


    He stood casually, his broad shoulders thrust back. His black hair was tussled; it fell about his hard face in waves that highlighted his dangerous good looks. Dark glasses were settled upon his well defined nose, they completely shaded his eyes. The dark blue shirt he wore clung to his lithe figure, showing a hint of the muscles that ridged his abdomen and chest. His hands were folded before him, resting on the head of a cane with a silver handle that she could not see. At his side sat a grey wolf. The wolf¡¯s eyes were bright, green, and eerily focused upon her as it sat motionlessly.


    Behind the man two other vamps flanked his sides, but Aria hardly paid them any attention as the striking creature began to make his way forward. The tip of the cane clicked softly upon the pavement, the wolf padded silently at his side. The wolf moved before him as they reached the stairs, brushing against his legs before climbing onto the stage.


    The man, however, did not make a move to come onto the stage. The vampire that had claimed her finally broke the heavy, profound silence. His voice quivered slightly as he spoke. ¡°Your highness?¡±


    Aria started in surprise, her mouth parted on a small gasp as she took in the powerful stranger with new eyes. Though not much was known about the vampire stronghold, she had heard a little about the prince. She¡¯d heard rumors of the future leader, of the one that would one day rule all of their fates, if his father was ever killed. She had also heard that he was just as cruel and heartless a bastard as his old man was.


    Aria straightened her shoulders, a wave of defiance washed through her as she clenched her jaw and lifted her chin. She didn¡¯t know what came over her, but her terror swiftly vanished in the face of this man, and now she was angry. Pissed actually, royally pissed by the inhumane and unfair treatment of her fellow man. The wolf brushed against her, startling her slightly, but she was able to keep her surprise hidden as the animal settled at her feet.


    The vamp holding her shivered slightly, his fear became almost palpable. Apparently some of the rumors she had heard about the prince were true, as everyone seemed to be afraid of the creature before her. The prince¡¯s mouth quirked slightly, amusement flitted briefly over his hard features. The thick glasses he wore covered his eyes, but she could feel his attention riveted upon her, feel his keen interest as he watched her.


    ¡°She will come with me.¡±


    A collective gasp escaped the crowd, but it was swiftly covered up, and silenced, by the sharp looks of the two men behind the prince. The auctioneer sputtered slightly, his eyes darted swiftly to Aria, then around the rest of the stage. ¡°Your highness, we have others¡­¡± he broke off, looking frantic as he searched for help that was not forthcoming. ¡°Better looking ones.¡± Arianna bristled, her nose scrunched up as she shot the auctioneer a dark look that he didn¡¯t notice as he was too focused upon the man at the foot of the steps. ¡°Ones that I am sure will be far more to your liking. I will select one if you wish.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the prince responded forcefully. ¡°I want that one. Give the man his money back and give her to me.¡±


    The man holding her released her instantly; he could not get away from her fast enough as he retreated hastily. Aria swallowed heavily, fear trickled back through her. All of these people were terrified of the prince, and he was now laying claim to her. What did that mean? What did he want with her, and why on earth would he choose her when the auctioneer was right, there were far better looking women here?


    Aria turned slowly toward Max. His eyes were wide; his nostrils flared with the force of his rapid breaths. Terror was written all over his face; however it was not terror for himself, but for her. Aria shuddered, her hands clenched hold of her elbows as she held herself tightly. Though she found herself oddly unafraid of the prince before her, she was scared of the reaction everyone else was having to him. He must be a vicious monster if everyone was so afraid to move or speak around him.


    ¡°Come here.¡± She jumped slightly at the sharp command, but she found her feet frozen in place, she could not move toward him. The auctioneer was gaping at her like she was a total moron, but she could not bring herself to move. Finally, having decided that she must be a complete idiot, the auctioneer stepped toward her and reached out to grab hold of her arm. ¡°Do not touch her!¡±


    The auctioneer jumped, stumbling slightly back as the prince¡¯s barked command rang sharply out. The auctioneer had gone completely pale, sweat poured down his face as he gaped at her. It was his reaction that finally snapped some sense into her. She could not stand here all day, the prince would only come for her (he did own her now), and she did not know what he would do if he had to retrieve her. There were other innocents on this stage, and Aria suddenly feared that the prince would hurt them if she continued to disobey him.


    Max took a swift step forward, his mouth parting slightly. She shook her head sharply at him, terrified of what would happen if he did try to stand up for her, did try to defend her. This whole mess was her fault, and she had to accept the consequences, no matter how dire they may be. The wolf moved away from her as she made her way slowly, stiffly down the stairs.

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    The prince followed her movements, stepping back as she stopped before him. She could see herself reflected in the dark lens of his glasses, and she was relieved to find that she did not look terrified. Even though inside she was a trembling mess of confusion and fear. He was large, powerful, overbearing, and despite her intense hatred for him and all of his kind, she could not help but acknowledge the fact that he was also magnificently handsome.Advertisement


    What the hell did he want with her?


    He remained unmoving, his gaze focused upon her for a long while. Then, he turned abruptly away, leaving her stunned and motionless. She didn¡¯t know what to do, what was going on, what was expected of her. Her gaze slid helplessly back toward Max. His jaw was locked tight, his disbelief and shock evident on his face. He turned slowly toward her, his bright blue eyes wounded and fearful.


    ¡®I¡¯ll find you,¡¯ he mouthed silently.


    Arianna wanted to believe him, wanted to trust in his promises, but she did not see how she could possibly escape the powerful monster that owned her now. She shuddered, her fingers digging harder into her elbows. The wolf slipped silently past her, plodding slowly after his master. ¡°This way.¡±


    Aria jumped slightly at the forceful command. The two men that had accompanied the prince came toward her, their hands outstretched. Aria took a small step back, frightened by their massive size and hard eyes. The prince turned slightly back, his dark eyebrows drew sharply together over top of his glasses as his full mouth pinched tight.


    His men seemed to sense his sudden irritation as their hands fell limply back to their sides. Arianna stared at the prince in surprise, startled to realize that he seemed truly irritated at the thought of them touching her. ¡°Move,¡± one of the men commanded softly.


    The prince did not turn back around as he walked swiftly down the street. The wolf, and the three of them, trailed silently behind.


    Chapter 2


    Aria couldn¡¯t stop gaping; she could not get her mouth to close for more than a few seconds at a time. Everything was so amazing, so wonderful, and so strange. She had never seen anything like this, had never imagined it could even exist. And now she was standing smack dab in the middle of it, being openly stared at and whispered about as she was ushered into the large, rambling entry room of the massive palace.


    She¡¯d heard stories of palaces and the exquisite beauty and elaborate designs, but she¡¯d always assumed that they were just that, stories. She had never dreamed that such wonderful, opulent places could exist, let alone that she would actually be walking through one of them. Everything was sparkly and bright, huge and wonderful.


    She glanced at the roof far above her, her mouth parted even more as she took in the wonderful artwork upon the ceiling. She had never seen anything like the beauty of the colors and detail above her. She had never even seen a painting before. She had seen drawings, as Daniel loved to sketch things when he was not busy hunting for food, planning attack strategies, or fighting for his life. He created wonderful things with the charcoal they scavenged from the caves, but they had no color, and they were not as large and spectacular as this. For some strange reason she felt tears burning her eyes at the sight of the magnificent art above her.


    She blinked them rapidly back, dropping her head down as she was hurried across the white, sparkly floor. ¡°Braith!¡± Aria jumped in surprise as the word was barked harshly out. Her head snapped up, her eyes widened as she took in the woman striding purposely toward them. She was dressed lavishly, her golden hair pulled back in a tight braid that highlighted her beautiful features. Aria stopped instantly, unable to move or breathe as she stared in wide eyed disbelief at the stunning woman. A woman that had never known hunger, fear, rags, or dirt. A woman that was staring at her with open disgust and scorn. ¡°What is this?¡± she demanded coldly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a blood slave Natasha,¡± the prince replied dryly.


    The woman blinked in surprise, her gaze raked disdainfully over Aria. Though she wanted to shrink from the woman¡¯s scathing look, she managed to throw her shoulders back, narrow her eyes, and hold the woman¡¯s gaze. The prince, Braith, did not look at Aria but simply stared silently at the woman.


    ¡°I can see that Braith. What are you doing with her?¡±


    He turned slightly toward Aria, his eyebrows drawing sharply together as he took her in. Aria stared defiantly back at him, refusing to back down, refusing to let them see the fear that was coiling through her. ¡°What is normally done with a blood slave Natasha?¡± he inquired, his deep voice rumbling softly out of him. ¡°I thought you would be happy that I decided to finally take one.¡±


    The woman¡¯s light eyebrows shot swiftly up. Aria felt her mouth part slightly again. Was she the first one that he had ever taken? But no, that couldn¡¯t be possible; these creatures loved their blood slaves. They loved to torture and use and abuse people until there was nothing left of them. It was what she had always been told, so it had to be true. Didn¡¯t it?


    ¡°You could have cleaned her up first. The girl is a mess Braith; I cannot believe you brought her into our home like this. I could smell her from a mile away, and she probably has lice.¡±


    Anger shot through Aria, her hands fisted at her sides as she glared at the blond woman. She may not be at her cleanliest, but she most certainly did not have lice. ¡°I will take care of it immediately.¡±


    Aria¡¯s glare turned toward the prince. There it was, that awful it word again. She was most certainly more than an it, but not here, and not now. She was fairly certain she might never be more than it again. ¡°I should hope so,¡± the woman retorted.


    The woman brushed swiftly by them, leaving Aria glaring after her retreating back and fuming over the conversation. It was the soft nudge from the wolf that alerted her to the fact that they were moving once more. She hurried forward, eager to catch up with the prince, suddenly terrified that he would leave her alone in this place. A place that she was not welcome in at all, and did not seem nearly as magnificent now as it had two minutes ago.


    She didn¡¯t stop to think about the fact that the only thing that made her feel safe in this strange world was the creature that now owned her. It was far too disturbing of a thought.


    Arianna¡¯s hand trailed across the ornate, shiny wood of the banister as they moved slowly up a large staircase. She had never seen a staircase like this before as it wound and twisted its way up to the second floor. They had stairs in the caves, where she spent a fair amount of her life, and she had been on raids to abandoned houses, she had even been in a few people¡¯s homes before, but none of those stairs were even remotely like this. These were glorious, overwhelming, and beautiful.


    ¡°Gather some servants.¡± The prince ordered over his shoulder.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    One of the men broke away, heading the other way down the long hallway before disappearing up another set of stairs. Aria stared in awe as they moved slowly forward. She didn¡¯t know if she wanted to stare at the beautiful paintings and pictures lining the wall on her right, or gape at the amazing room beneath her to the left. Though she had just walked through the grand foyer, it was even more stunning from up here. The chandelier was spectacular, the glass radiated with sparkling colors from the thousands of lights within it, and the swirling shades of artwork overhead.


    The open balcony ended abruptly as walls closed in around them once more. Aria swallowed heavily, a crushing sense of impending doom settled over her. She was stuck here, trapped within this world of decadence, greed, brutality, and death. Though Max wanted to rescue her, she did not hold out much hope for that, just as she did not hold out much hope that she would find her own escape.


    Hell, she couldn¡¯t even remember how to get out of this vast place, never mind try to escape from it, and everyone within it.


    For the first time true fear for her life began to take hold. She had been too stunned, too shocked and confused to truly grasp the reality of her situation. It was sinking in now, and it was not good. Her heart raced in her chest, it pounded heavily against her ribs. She swallowed nervously, folding her hands before her as she tried to remain as docile and inconspicuous as possible. They didn¡¯t know who she really was, she reminded herself. She would not be punished because of that at least.


    The one thing she had going for her was that her thin build made her appear weak and helpless, when she was anything but. If she remained docile, then maybe they would let their guard down around her and she would be presented with an opportunity to escape. It was a slim hope, but it was the only one that she had to cling to. What she didn¡¯t want to think about was what would be done to her until that time came.


    The man with the prince stopped before a door, he swung it open, and stepped back to allow the prince entrance. Aria froze, hesitating within the hall, her hands folded before her as she stared into the darkened room. The prince did not turn on a light as he disappeared into the shadows, the wolf trailing behind him.


    The remaining man stared hard at her, his dark eyes burrowing into her as she swallowed heavily and repeatedly. She could not get enough saliva to wet her parched throat. ¡°Go.¡±


    Aria jumped slightly at the man¡¯s command. She wanted to turn and run, wanted to flee swiftly down the hall. It didn¡¯t matter if she didn¡¯t know how to get out of here, she didn¡¯t care anymore. She simply could not just walk into that darkened room and throw herself over to a fate worse than death.


    Aria backed up a step as the man came slowly at her. Panic tore through her, she felt like a cornered animal as she backed into the wall. A scream of terror built within her, her chest constricted tightly as her heart leapt wildly. A large hand came at her; Aria knew instinctively that if it touched her, she would lose complete control of whatever composure she was barely clinging too.


    ¡°I have made it clear I want no one touching her.¡± The dangerous words, growled from the doorway of the dark room, caused the hair on Aria¡¯s neck to stand up. Her gaze traveled slowly toward the prince. He had returned to the open door and was leaning against the frame, but the tension in his body belied his casual posture. ¡°If I have to tell you again, I will kill you.¡±


    Aria¡¯s mouth dropped, her heart flipped wildly, she could feel the hard beat of her pulse fluttering rapidly in her neck. She didn¡¯t know what to make of this whole, awful, bizarre situation. The man¡¯s eyes widened slightly, but it was the only sign of emotion he showed as he stepped swiftly away from her.


    ¡°Come inside.¡±


    Aria glanced wildly around the hall. The prince had told the man not to touch her again, but that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t come after her, and she had a feeling that if the prince had to chase her down the hall it would not end well. She swallowed rapidly, trying to gather her swiftly diminishing courage as she stepped slowly toward the darkened room.


    The prince stepped away, blending within the shadows again, disappearing into the darkness for only a brief moment before light flooded forth. Aria was unable to suppress the gasp of wonder and astonishment that filled her. Without thinking, she moved slowly forward, drawn by the beauty and splendor of the room. She stepped into the lavish room, taking in the artwork, the hand carved furniture, the wonderful color and light that seemed to be reflected everywhere.


    Tears sprang unwillingly to her eyes as she moved slowly forward, looking everywhere at once, and unable to take it all in. Large bay windows faced out on the most beautiful gardens she had ever seen, flowers bloomed and spilled everywhere, flowing forth in a wave of color that was staggering.


    The paintings within the room were all landscapes, beautiful mountains and rivers with animals and sunsets that were so realistic that she almost believed they were real. Beautiful lamps and colorful and clear vases were spread throughout the room. The three sofas within the room looked cozy and inviting.


    Aria took a few more steps forward, unable to close her mouth as she took it all in, trying to absorb as much of the beauty as she could. She was staggered, overwhelmed, enthralled by the splendor surrounding her. For a moment she didn¡¯t know fear, or hunger, or filth. For a moment she knew only beauty and peace, and a sensation so profound that she could hardly breathe through the wonder of it all.


    The soft click of the door drew her attention back to the prince, and the harsh reality of her life now. She may be surrounded by beautiful things, but she was also encircled by the vilest creatures that roamed the earth. And one of the leaders of them was watching her intently, his eyebrows drawn sharply together, and his mouth pinched in a hard, tight line.


    Aria blinked at him in surprise, only then realizing that there were tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them hastily away; she didn¡¯t want him to think that she was crying because she was afraid. It was the last thing that she ever wanted him to think. Straightening her shoulders, she defiantly met his gaze. He turned away from her, looking slowly around the room. His forehead was furrowed in consternation. Aria frowned at him, unable to understand the strange expression on his face, or what had caused it.

 Page 4

    A soft knock on the door drew both of their attention to it. The prince opened it, stepping back as three women slipped silently into the room. Aria bristled, her nostrils flaring as she took in the women. They were all human, and she hated them even more for it.Advertisement


    These were the people that had abandoned their own kind; that had given themselves over to the vampires in exchange for not having to fight, or hide, or fear. These were the people that had turned against their own kind, and that would still rat them out in a heartbeat. Most were amongst the servant¡¯s class of the vampires, but a few had risen to higher and more valuable positions on the deaths that stained their souls. Aria glared at the women, her hands fisting and un-fisting as she fought the urge to punch them. It was one such of these people that had caused her mother¡¯s death. They had infiltrated the camp, garnered trust, and turned them all over. Her mother had been murdered during the resulting raid.


    Aria clenched her jaw, trying hard not to launch at one of these women as they pulled the door closed behind them. ¡°You sent for us milord,¡± the tall blond said softly, her eyes fluttering just a little too much for Aria¡¯s liking at the prince.


    He nodded toward Aria. ¡°I want her cleaned up.¡±


    Aria bristled, her eyes narrowed as she turned her animosity on the prince. She was not a dog for Christ sake; she was perfectly capable of bathing and cleaning herself. She most certainly did not need the help of these ¡°women.¡± The women¡¯s eyes slid toward her, widening slightly as they fully noticed her presence amongst them. The blond eyed her with open disgust, the redhead seemed completely indifferent, but it was the pity in the small brunette¡¯s eyes that truly angered and riled Aria. She did not need anyone¡¯s pity, and she didn¡¯t want it.


    She turned away from them, unable to look at them any longer. They repulsed her even more than she repulsed them. ¡°Of course,¡± the blond purred.


    ¡°I will have clothes sent up for her. You know where the bathroom is.¡±


    Aria started, jumping back and tearing her arm away as someone touched her elbow. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± she snarled, feeling no remorse as the redhead shrank fearfully away from her.


    The three women eyed her wearily, apparently trying to decide if she would be a danger to them, something that might actually be a possibility. ¡°You will allow them to clean you,¡± the prince ordered.


    ¡°I can clean myself!¡± she snapped back.


    The women gasped, shrinking farther away from her as she deliberately, and loudly, defied their leader. A fact that could result in her instant death. She didn¡¯t care though, she was angry, she was frightened, and she was tired of being treated like something worse than an animal. She was completely trapped and at the mercy of the man standing across from her, staring at her as if she were something that he had never seen before. She supposed that he was not used to being defied, and she also supposed that such defiance often resulted in severe consequences, but she didn¡¯t care anymore. Just an hour ago she had been wishing for death, now she found that she might truly be on the verge of it.


    The prince took a step toward her, using his massive size to try and intimidate her. Aria clenched her jaw, she tilted her chin defiantly up as she glared at those thick glasses. She hated the fact that he was wearing them, she wanted to look him in the eyes, wanted to see what they looked like when she told him to screw off. He stepped closer to her, giving her no choice but to retreat if she did not want to be touched by him. And she most certainly did not want him touching her.


    She retreated again as he pushed closer, nearly bending over top of her as he closed in on her. ¡°Stop it!¡± Aria hated herself for crying out in protest, for letting him see just how much he did rattle her, but she could not stop the words as he backed her into a wall.


    His hands slammed into the wall on either side of her head, causing her to jump in surprise. Her heart leapt and lurched wildly as for the first time she truly began to fear this creature. Until now she had not known what to make of him, or what he wanted with her. But one thing she now knew was that he did not take well to being defied, and she was a little afraid that he might just rip her heart out. Something she knew he could do without hesitation, without reservation, and before she could even blink.


    ¡°You will either allow them to do this, or I will do it.¡±


    Aria¡¯s eyes widened; she swallowed heavily at the terrifying thought of what he was saying to her. She had no doubt that he would drag her into the bathroom, strip her, and dump her into a tub of water. Unfortunately she did not respond to him as quickly as he apparently would have liked. He grabbed hold of her arm, practically dragging her from the room. Aria hurried to keep up with him, stumbling behind him as he pulled her rapidly forward.


    He led her through another door; she caught a brief glimpse of books, a desk, and leather chairs before she was pulled into yet another room. This one left her stunned and gaping. There was some strange, rather large round white thing in the middle of the room. It was gleaming, bright in the lights reflecting off of it. There were golden handles and some sort of spigot coming from it.


    He released her abruptly before striding across the room. He spun the handles, causing water to burst free. Aria gasped; her hand flew to her mouth as she stared at the thing in amazed wonder. What kind of wonderful, strange contraption was this?


    The prince turned toward her, confusion marring his brow as he studied her. ¡°Oh,¡± Aria breathed as steam began to rise from the water, alerting her to the miraculous fact that the water was hot. She had never seen this thing before, but she felt that she was going to thoroughly enjoy it as most of her baths were always cold. It was rare to have time to boil water to fill the wooden tub they had hidden within the caves. Most of the time she did not bother because of the time and effort it took, but every once in awhile she would treat herself to a warm bath.


    The prince was studying her, the perplexity on his face more than a little disconcerting. She could not meet his gaze as an unexpected wave of shame washed through her. He was studying her like that because he knew that she had so very little, and knew so very little of the world outside of caves and woods and streams, hunting and death that made up her life. And now, he fully realized this, and pitied her for it.


    Yet, as she looked back at him she did not see pity on his face. Instead, she saw an understanding that left her rattled and unsure. She could not grasp this strange creature in front of her, but it seemed that they were even as he did not seem to understand her either. ¡°Allow them to do this,¡± he said gruffly.


    Aria swallowed heavily, unable to find words for him. She simply nodded mutely before he left the room.


    Chapter 3


    Aria shifted uncomfortably as she tugged at the collar of the sweater she wore. It was the softest material she had ever experienced, it felt wonderful against her skin, but she could not get used to it. Her clothes were always rough, ragged, and nowhere near as warm as this gentle cloth. She tugged at the scooped collar again, unnerved and frightened by how much of her skin it exposed. Even in the summer she wore long sleeves and collars to avoid bug bites, scratches, and other hazards amongst the woods, and within the caves.


    But the sweater was not as bad as the skirt they had put her in. It fell to just above her knees in gentle black waves that swayed and flowed as she walked. She could not get used to the feel of it, or to having her legs exposed like this. She even slept fully clothed, just in case there was a raid; she always needed to be quick on her feet and moving swiftly. Wearing this though, she would not be able to move fast, and would almost surely be caught as the sweater was a bright red homing beacon to her location. They had scrubbed her clean, had even removed the hair from her legs with a razor, but they could not take away the bruises and scratches that marred her skin. She looked ridiculous in the skirt, with her battered lower limbs and knobby knees, but it was the clothes that had been brought to her.


    The women fluttered around her, brushing her hair out as they talked softly. They had not said another word to her, nor had she spoken to them for the past few hours. They exchanged gossip, talked of men they liked, and spoke in whispered reverence of the prince. From all of their excited chatter, Aria learned that the blond fancied herself amongst one of the prince¡¯s favorites and often spent time with him here, in his apartment.


    Aria tried not to think about the discomfort and confusion that revelation caused her. She should be relieved the prince had other women to keep his attention; maybe he would simply just want blood from her, and nothing more. The thought was repulsive enough, but until she could escape, she felt that she might be able to bear it. Aria winced; flinching away as the blond, Lauren, brushed her hair just a little too roughly nearly tearing it out at the roots. Aria glowered at her, but the woman hardly noticed as she continued her assault on Aria¡¯s hair.


    ¡°When was the last time you brushed this mess?¡± Lauren muttered.


    Aria clenched her jaw and her hands, refusing to answer the vapid woman. The brunette, Maggie, gave Aria a sympathetic glance as she finished applying some kind of strange color to Aria¡¯s nails. She stared at them in confusion, not understanding why anyone would want to do that to their nails, but apparently it was popular as all three of the girls had it on. Julia, the redhead, brought forth a pair of shoes that Aria was certain had been designed to kill her. Who walked on such a long and pointy shoe anyway? Whose ankles could take those things?


    Aria remained unmoving as they applied their final touches and stepped back to examine her more closely. Aria¡¯s gaze slid away from them, hating the sight of the bite marks that marred their necks and inner wrists. It was apparent that they willingly, and apparently from the way they were talking, eagerly gave their blood away. She wondered if it was just the prince that they gave it to as they appeared very much at ease in his place, and seemed to know where everything was located, or if they gave it away to any vampire that asked.


    ¡°Why do you think he choose her?¡± Julia inquired, tilting her head to study Aria more intently.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know; she¡¯s most certainly not anything to look at. The prince must have decided that it would be good to have a blood slave available to him whenever he was hungry,¡± Lauren replied. ¡°Though we¡¯re always available.¡±


    Julia giggled, her eyes sparkling brightly as she covered her mouth with her hand. ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    Aria managed to keep her face impassive, she wanted to smack the insipid women, but she forced herself not to react to any of their vindictive words. Though Aria felt that she was no competition for the voluptuous women, it was more than apparent that Lauren felt threatened by her for some reason. Aria was not going to reassure her that she did not have to fear Aria¡¯s competition; she wanted nothing to do with this place.


    ¡°Bony little thing,¡± Lauren muttered.


    Aria rolled her eyes, biting back her sharp retort. Julia knelt before her, thrusting the tortuous shoes onto Aria¡¯s feet. She winced as her foot was twisted and crammed into the awful, painful things. When Julia was done, she grasped hold of Aria¡¯s arms and pulled her to her feet. Aria cringed, hating the uncomfortable things strapped to her. She stood, wobbling and uncertain, and trying hard not to grimace in pain.


    ¡°You will get used to them,¡± Maggie said softly, patting her arm reassuringly. Julia and Lauren rolled their eyes, but decided to keep their snarky comments to themselves this time. ¡°The prince is waiting.¡±


    Aria moved forward, trying to get used to the new shoes, but barely able to move in them as she crept forward at an annoyingly slow pace. There would be no fleeing in these awful contraptions, and she found herself cursing whoever the idiot was that had invented them. Maggie took pity on her and grasped hold of her arm, helping her along. Aria did not jerk away from the girl this time, mainly because she needed the help, but also because no matter how much she did not agree with Maggie¡¯s choices, she found she almost tolerated her.


    She was led back into the main entrance room. The prince was lying on the sofa, his arm tossed over his eyes, and one leg planted firmly on the floor. The wolf lay on the floor before him; the animal lifted its head to watch as they entered the room. The prince must have sensed them, or heard them, as he dropped his arm and sat up. He was still wearing his glasses, but Aria knew instantly when his eyes landed upon her.


    Her heart flipped in her chest, a strange sensation trickled through her as he stared silently at her. ¡°Leave us.¡±


    The three girls nodded briskly before slipping quietly from the room. Aria stood uncertainly, her hands folded before her, frightened by what was going to happen next. They were all alone in this room, and she was at his complete and utter mercy. ¡°Much better,¡± he said softly. Aria swallowed heavily, biting on her bottom lip as she met his gaze again. ¡°Come here.¡± She froze, her eyes widening and her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She did not want to get any closer to him, she was terrified of him, and the strange way that he made her feel so frightened, and yet so nervous and strangely excited. ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

 Page 5

    She didn¡¯t know if she should believe him or not, but she felt that she could. She stood uncertainly for a moment more before attempting to totter forward on the death traps now strapped to her feet. A small cry escaped as her ankle twisted out, her legs buckled beneath her. He was beside her instantly, catching hold of her before she could hit the ground.Advertisement


    Aria¡¯s eyes widened, she stared up at him in shocked wonder as he lifted her slowly. She began to shake, unable to understand this strange creature before her. Vampires were monsters, they destroyed humans, used them and abused them before tossing them away, but this creature was an enigma that she could not even begin to understand. One moment he was overbearing, intimidating, and threatening. The next he was like this, almost kind and gentle as he held her gingerly in his grasp.


    Was this part of his game? Did he want to try and gain her trust before tormenting, torturing, and destroying her? That explanation seemed far more likely than the one that suggested that this creature, one of the leaders of the monsters, might actually be kind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think those shoes are for you.¡±


    Aria blinked at him, her mouth parted slightly as he settled her onto the sofa he had abandoned. ¡°Most definitely not,¡± she agreed.


    Aria watched in stunned disbelief as he knelt before her. Her breath froze in her chest; her heart lumbered heavily in her chest as the prince of the vampires very slowly, and gently, slipped the awful things from her feet. His hands were soft upon her; his touch caused an odd thrill to race up her spine. She found herself wanting to trust him, wanting to like him even.


    And she knew that was a very dangerous thing to do.


    Braith stared up at the young girl before him. Her eyes were wide, unblinking, completely bewildered as she gazed silently at him. His hand lingered on her leg, brushing briefly against her soft skin. The dark bruises, and scratches upon her, were vivid against her pale skin. He didn¡¯t know what had caused the obvious abuse that she had withstood, but he found that he didn¡¯t like it. Not one bit. He didn¡¯t know what it was about this girl, but she fascinated him, intrigued him, and captivated him in a way that no one ever had before.


    She was a pretty enough thing now that the layers of dirt had been removed from her. She smelled better now that the smoke, blood, and stench of body odor had been scrubbed from her. He detected a faint hint of strawberries clinging to her, even though they had washed her in some flowery scent he found didn¡¯t suit her. She was not one to be wreathed in gentle flowers; she appeared anything but delicate as she watched him out of narrowed, weary eyes. He sensed that beneath her docile demeanor there was something far more intense, and far stronger than the way she was trying to appear now. Her powerful scent, fighting to overcome the floral clinging to her, was a great indicator of that fact.


    Her features were soft, delicate even, and as youthful as the innocence she radiated. Her parted mouth was full, her teeth straight and even, and surprisingly white for the lack of hygiene she had displayed upon arrival. Her crystalline blue eyes were wide upon him, full of disbelief, fear, and uncertainty. Yet, they also appeared intrigued and curious as she tilted her head slightly to study him. Her hair, scrubbed free of the dirt coating it, was a glossy dark auburn. It gleamed in the light of the room, the red within it shiny and bright. He wasn¡¯t sure he had ever seen a shade quite like it.


    He didn¡¯t understand what it was about her that intrigued him so. He had seen women far more beautiful than her in his long lifetime. She was too skinny, her collarbones stuck sharply out, the bones in her hands were clearly visible. He preferred his women with more meat on them, but from the look of her upon arrival, it was more than apparent that her life was not one of abundance and pleasure like the women he was used to.


    But from the moment he had seen her, actually seen her, he had been captivated and stricken. There had been nothing spectacular about the stage setup, or the people upon it. In fact, he had not seen a single person on it, until she had been brought forth. He had not even intended to stop at the auction as he had moved by the proceedings. He had no use for blood slaves, there were enough willing people in the world without the need for unwilling ones, but when she had been led forth he had stopped dead in his tracks.


    She had been unremarkable, filthy, disgusting, and bold. Defiance and pride had radiated from her. They were a beacon calling out to him, snagging hold of his attention as nothing in years had. At first he had barely seen her, but the longer he stared at her, the clearer she had become to him.


    He sat back now, tilting his head as he watched her. She studied him with the same intensity with which he studied her, but they studied each other for completely different reasons. She wondered about her fate, what he was going to do with her, and what he wanted from her. He studied her because he could actually see her. It was amazing to him, fantastic and wonderful and slightly disconcerting.


    ¡°Why are you being so nice to me?¡± she asked softly, her forehead furrowing slightly as her gaze ran over him.


    Braith sighed softly, tossing the heels aside before he rose slowly to his feet. Her mouth parted, her head tipped back to stare at him. ¡°What is your name?¡± he inquired.


    She licked her lips nervously, her small hands pulled at the sleeves of the sweater as she fidgeted anxiously. There were small nicks and cuts on her long fingers, calluses marred her tanned hands. ¡°Arianna,¡± she said softly.


    He lifted an eyebrow, quirking his head to study her. ¡°Is that your real name?¡±


    A small smile flitted over the edges of her full mouth, for the first time he saw real humor in her eyes. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He found that he believed her as he settled onto the sofa beside her. ¡°I am Braith.¡±


    She nodded slowly, her eyes weary again. ¡°Yes, I know. What do you want with me Braith?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet Arianna.¡±


    Fear flashed through her eyes, she recoiled slightly before straightening her shoulders, clenching her jaw, and narrowing her eyes on him. ¡°Everything you do to me will be done by force.¡±


    Her defiance should annoy him (she had already defied him more today than anyone ever had in his life), but he found himself slightly amused by it right now. As long as no one was around he found he did not mind her show of courage. ¡°You think so?¡± he asked softly.


    She looked slightly surprised, but it was quickly covered up. ¡°I know so!¡± she retorted sharply.


    He shrugged indifferently. He didn¡¯t know what he wanted with her, what he intended to do with her. He may decide tomorrow that he didn¡¯t want her here at all; he didn¡¯t believe he would, but he was known for his whims of fancy, especially when it came to women. He was captivated by her, and his ability to see her, but he didn¡¯t know what he was going to do with her.


    One thing was for sure, he wasn¡¯t going to force himself on her. He had done a lot of things in his long life, many of them not good, but he had never forced himself on an unwilling woman. There was no need to; there were so many willing ones out there.


    ¡°We shall see,¡± he said simply.


    Her eyes narrowed in fury, her delicate nostrils flared. He didn¡¯t know why he was baiting her, but it was amusing to watch her when she was irritated with him. Her jaw clenched harder, she turned slowly away from him, her hands fisting upon her slender legs.


    ¡°Where are you from Arianna?¡±


    Her chin rose slightly, but though she was still holding the appearance of defiance, he could sense the pain that shimmered through her. ¡°Around,¡± she said simply.


    ¡°You live in the woods?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you a member of the resistance?¡±


    She hesitated, her knuckles turning white with the force of her clenched fists. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, isn¡¯t it? Resistance members are punished for their disobedience by becoming blood slaves, or being bled dry. It¡¯s a way to discourage our fighting, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so,¡± he agreed softly. ¡°You think that is wrong?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± she snapped.


    He sat back as he studied her. The bright blue of her eyes was ablaze with indignation and righteousness as she glared at him. ¡°If your kind would simply just agree to work with us, then there would be no need for punishment.¡±


    ¡°Agree to be your slaves in other ways you mean?¡±


    He shrugged again, without thinking he reached out to take hold of her hand. He heard her breath freeze as he tried to soothe the tight pressure within her fists. Her head tilted slightly to the side, those wide innocent eyes were surprisingly earnest as she watched him. ¡°It is the law of the world that the strongest will prevail.¡±


    ¡°And you are the strongest?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed, her gaze was intense and questioning. Finally, she nodded slowly, biting nervously on her bottom lip as she turned away from him. She shook her head slightly, her head bowed as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her sweater again.


    ¡°You do not agree?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You did succeed in driving us out of our homes, forcing us to run and hide. You do feed off of us, so yes I suppose that makes you stronger. In your own minds at least. It does not give you a right to do what you have done to us though.¡±


    ¡°Most people returned to their homes when the war was over. Most people picked up the lives that they had left behind. It is only The Resistance that has remained hiding and fighting and dying within the woods for the past hundred years.¡±


    She turned slowly back toward him, her defiance melted away as fury blazed forth. ¡°Is that what you believe? That they simply picked their lives back up? That they returned to something good? That they have been thriving since the war ended!? Even within the woods, with no walls and no homes, we have more than the ones that returned to their lives. They are starving, with little clothing and no money. There were no jobs to return to that did not involve being some sort of servant to your kind. That does not involve being beneath you! There was nothing for most of them as your kind took over the better jobs, and forced us into menial roles that would keep us stupid and weak while building your people and your world to ever higher levels.


    ¡°I have heard that there was a time when there were schools, when we were taught things, and educated. They do not exist anymore; they are things of legend, whispered about in awe, as so many other things are. Things that we used to have, and used to enjoy, but will never again know as long as your kind has anything to do with it! There is survival of the fittest, and then there is cruelty. I may be paying the price now for my role in the resistance, but I would not change a thing. I stood up for what I believe in, I have pride in what I believe in, and no matter what you do to me, you cannot take that fact away!¡±


    There was true rage in her voice by the time she was done speaking. Her hand was trembling within his, but she had unknowingly seized hold of his hand with both of hers. The fervor in her voice, the true conviction with which she spoke, was almost enough to make him want to understand her plea, her cause. But he knew the way of the world, and the way of the world was that only the strong survived. He found it unfortunate that her people had been relegated to such roles, but it had been necessary in order to insure that the humans did not attempt to rise up against his kind.


    Vampires had spent far too much time hiding and slinking within the shadows, fearful of the mob mentality of humans. It was where the myth had come from that vampires could not walk about in the day. It was completely wrong, they could move about in the day, they had simply preferred to hunt at night when there were less people around and the people at night were usually easier prey. But as their numbers had grown, so had their desire to be free of the shadows. He had helped his father lead the attack, taking them all into battle and securing the world for their own means. The war had been long and brutal, but in the end they had come out the victors and Braith had every intention of making sure it stayed that way. He was not going back to the shadows, and he was not going to let the inferior humans regulate him to such a role again. No matter how much she believed in her words.


    Although, most humans had little fight in them anymore. They were too weakened, too frightened and beat down to offer much resistance to the vampire rule anymore. Except for a small number of humans that hid within the woods, plotting against them, and causing more death and trouble to his kind than Braith would have liked. A small number that this girl was a part of.


    A kernel of anger curled through him as he studied her. She represented everything that he had been fighting against, everything that he hated so much, and yet he was holding the hands clinging so tightly to him. She seemed to realize her grasp upon him as a look of shame crossed her face moments before she released his hand completely.


    ¡°I see.¡± She did not speak again, but simply turned away, her head bowing down. ¡°I will show you to your room.¡±

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    Her eyes darted rapidly around the room, he sensed her desire to flee, but they both knew that there was nowhere for her to go. ¡°My room?¡± she croaked.Advertisement


    ¡°Unless you would prefer to spend the night in my room.¡±


    Her mouth dropped in horror, her gaze flew wildly back to his. He could hear the frantic beat of her heart pounding crazily in her chest as she made a small sound of terror. ¡°No!¡±


    Braith found himself slightly insulted by her vehement cry. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering why this frail slip of a girl aggravated, intrigued, and caused such a strange reaction within him. She was nothing special; she most certainly was not the kind of woman he preferred, the curvy, graceful, beautiful, and eager kind. No this girl was hard, pointy, skinny, average, and anything but willing as she gazed at him in horror.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so,¡± he told her.


    He rose swiftly, ignoring her as he moved across the room. He only turned back at the doorway of the side apartment. She had risen, but remained unmoving by the sofa, her hands folded before her. He was surprised to realize that with the light filtering in from the windows, her hair was the color of a dark flame burning brightly within the room. The light was soft on her hard angles, making her appear gentler and prettier. He froze as he gazed at her, soaking the sight of her in. She may not be beautiful, but she was the most wonderful thing he had seen in years.


    Chapter 4


    ¡°It¡¯s a shower.¡±


    Arianna jumped in surprise, spinning at the sound of the soft voice. The prince was leaning casually in the doorway of the bathroom. Though his customary glasses were in place, she could feel it as his eyes scanned rapidly over her. She took a small step back, her bare heel coming in contact with the cool bottom of the contraption that he had just labeled a shower.


    He strode slowly toward her, his large body powerful and graceful. Aria tilted her head back, her mouth parting slightly as she gazed at him in silent wonder. She had not seen him since last night, but she had not imagined his size, his aura of power, or his hard masculine beauty. In fact, it seemed even stronger and more overbearing today than it had yesterday.


    He stopped before her, placing his hand against the wall beside her head as he reached around her with the other. Aria jumped in surprise, moving slightly away from the strange contraption as water suddenly splayed forth, wetting the back of her bare legs. She turned, her eyes widening, her mouth dropping as she stared at the water spraying from the nozzle above her. The prince turned the two handles below it, slowly adjusting the flow and heat of the water.


    ¡°Amazing,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°I suppose it is.¡±


    She started slightly as she felt his fingers within her hair, curling it around his finger. She turned toward him, unable to speak as he wrapped it ever more slowly around. She couldn¡¯t move away from him, couldn¡¯t reach up to tug her hair back. She could only stand in silent wonder as he coiled it halfway around his finger before lifting his gaze to her again.


    ¡°You will enjoy it Arianna.¡±


    Her eyes widened, she swallowed heavily as she tried to calm the fierce pounding of her heart. For a moment she had no idea what he was talking about; if it was him she would enjoy, or if it was the shower. And at the moment she wasn¡¯t sure either as she completely forgot that he was her enemy, and that she hated him.


    Then, his finger unraveled from her hair and he took a small step back. ¡°I have sent for Maggie to assist you again.¡±


    Though she was glad that it was Maggie and not Lauren or Julia, she didn¡¯t want someone seeing her naked, or helping her dress again. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°You are my guest, and as such, you will be afforded the luxuries of a guest.¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly as she studied him. ¡°I¡¯m a guest now, am I?¡± she inquired.


    ¡°You are whatever I decide I want you to be,¡± he growled back. Despite the fact that the heat of the water was rapidly warming the room, Aria felt a chill race down her spine. ¡°For however long I want you to be.¡±


    She stared up at him in wide eyed amazement. The thin gown they had placed out for her to sleep in last night was beginning to cling to her body from the steam rapidly filling the room. Her heel connected with the shower again as he leaned ever closer to her. He was near enough that she could see the dark bristles of hair lining his hard jaw. Close enough that his strong, masculine scent engulfed her, nearly overwhelming her with its enticing smell. ¡°Being a guest isn¡¯t really such a bad thing Arianna, now is it?¡± he whispered.


    Her heart leapt, flipping over within her chest as he took a small step back. He was playing with her like a cat with a mouse. She knew that, but to her utter disgrace she was ashamed to realize that she could not help but feel some strange, horrific, form of attraction toward the deadly, vile creature. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the tangled coil of emotions wrapping through her, but she found that she could only stare breathlessly up at him as he continued to lean over her, his hand resting just centimeters from her head.


    The soft clearing of a throat brought both of their gazes to Maggie. She was standing in the doorway, her large brown eyes wide and questioning as she glanced rapidly between the two of them. In her arms she clutched a couple of towels, a few bottles of something that Aria did not recognize, and what appeared to be fresh clothes.


    The prince stared silently at Maggie for a moment before stepping slowly away from Aria. He strode forward, pausing briefly at Maggie¡¯s side to gaze upon the things gathered within her arms. ¡°No heels,¡± he commanded gruffly. ¡°And no perfume.¡±


    Maggie jumped slightly, her gaze darted instantly to the things within her arms. Her forehead furrowed in puzzlement, her dark eyebrows drew tightly together. Aria watched in surprise as her Maggie stared quizzically at the prince, her gaze rapidly searching his face as she shook her head slightly. Aria didn¡¯t understand the woman¡¯s strange reaction to the prince¡¯s words. Perhaps she was the only one that didn¡¯t wear the awful monstrosities that passed as shoes around here. But even as she thought that, she knew she was wrong, Maggie was wearing simple, comfortable looking shoes. Then why the hell did the woman look so confused by his words?


    Maggie shook her head as if to clear it, her forehead cleared. The prince was gone by the time Maggie picked the heels up from the pile and dropped them on the floor. Maggie turned her attention to Aria, who was too tired, stunned, and confused to offer any protest as she was once again scrubbed, cleaned, and dressed in another article of clothing that she never even would have considered wearing before. This time it was a soft green dress that floated about her ankles as she moved. Her feet remained blessedly bare.


    She walked silently behind Maggie as they slipped through the luxurious room she had spent last night in, then the small sitting room before it. And finally back into the main room. The prince was standing before one of the bay windows, looking down at the gardens. He did not look at them, but simply gestured toward the door. Maggie bowed her head, nodded to Aria and slipped swiftly away.


    ¡°I had some food brought up for you.¡±


    Aria had already noticed the heaping mounds of food piled upon the tray in the middle of the room. Her stomach rumbled eagerly, and loudly. She had never seen so many wonderful looking things in her life. She remained frozen for a moment, uncertain of what to do as she gazed upon the cheese, fruits, breads, and meats piled upon the tray. It was enough to feed all of the people within the caves for a day as they had all learned how to eat scarcely, and survive on very little. In fact, Aria couldn¡¯t remember a day when she had not gone to sleep at least a little hungry.


    This might very well be her first.


    ¡°Arianna?¡± She turned toward the prince, blinking rapidly as her stomach continued to rumble loudly. So loudly in fact, that she was embarrassingly certain he could hear it. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyebrows raised over the dark lenses of his glasses. ¡°You are hungry Arianna, you must eat.¡±


    She nodded mutely, but she could not bring herself to step up to that heaping tray, not when so many others would be going hungry today. Not when her family would be going hungry today. For the first time she allowed her thoughts to turn to her family. They would be worried sick about her, half crazed with their loss. Poor William was probably devastated. Her father and Daniel would be moving stoically onward, burying their pain, which would eat them alive inside. Just as it always did. They would bury themselves in plans, and future attacks, and their anger and hatred for the vampires would grow until it consumed them.


    Aria shuddered; she wrapped her arms around herself as she fought against the tears of despair and longing that threatened to spill. She was staring at the prince, but she could not see him through the waves of homesickness that swamped her. And then there was Max, poor Maxwell, trapped somewhere within this town, with some creature that Aria highly doubted was being as nice to him as the prince was being to her.


    She did not want to think about what that monster was doing to strong, caring Max. Yet now that she had opened that can of worms, she could not get it to close again. She was not the most experienced person in the world, but she had lived in the woods, and on the far edges of society long enough to know the base cruelty that could be committed by vampires, and by broken, corrupt people. Her family had always tried to keep her sheltered, but there were some things that one could simply not be kept protected from forever. And Max would be experiencing many of those things over his time with that woman.


    The soft touch on her arm caused her to jump slightly. She blinked the prince into focus, trying hard not to let him see just how lost she felt right now. ¡°I was not thinking last night Arianna; I am not used to having humans around for more than an hour or two. You have to eat, you must be hungry.¡± Her stomach rumbled in eager response to his words. His frown deepened; his concern for her became apparent. ¡°Come.¡±


    He led her to one of the sofas and settled her upon it before turning to the tray. Aria watched in awe as he heaped a plate high with food. She was certain that he had never done this for anyone; she could not understand why he was doing it for her, or why he had even rescued her from the ugly little vampire of yesterday. He turned back to her, handing her the overflowing plate. There were foods on it that she didn¡¯t even recognize.


    She stared at it for a long moment before he handed her some napkins and a fork. She twisted the fork in her hand as she inspected it. She had seen them before, had even used them a few times, but she was not well versed with the practice of it. She much preferred her fingers, but she had a feeling that the use of her fingers would not be overly accepted here.


    He placed a smaller tray over her lap, and then lightly placed her plate on top of it. Aria¡¯s hands were trembling as she moved the fork awkwardly in her hand. She stabbed at some of the fruit before successfully spearing it with the strange utensil. She longed to dive into the heaping plate of goodies, but forced herself to at least try to appear civilized in this grand place.


    The prince placed a glass of some orange colored liquid beside her. ¡°What is that?¡± she inquired, heat coloring her face as she realized she had forgotten to swallow her food first.


    He didn¡¯t acknowledge her breech in manners though, but instead sat on the sofa beside her. ¡°Orange juice, I have heard that it is rather tasty. People seem to like it anyway.¡± Aria studied it for a moment longer, lifted it, sniffed it, and then cautiously took a sip. The liquid was cool, sweet, and refreshing. She downed the rest of the glass in one long swallow. ¡°You approve?¡±


    She smiled tremulously at him as he reached over to refill her glass. She studied him questioningly; she was unable to understand why he was doing this for her, why he was being so kind to a rebel human. She did not ask him though, for she wasn¡¯t entirely certain he would give her a truthful answer, and she didn¡¯t think he would appreciate her mentioning it in the first place. Instead, she decided to simply enjoy the delicious meal she had been handed.


    She dug in with renewed gusto, somewhere along the way she even forgot that he was watching her as she repeatedly helped herself to some more of the delicious concoctions upon the large tray. Her stomach was bloated, but wonderfully full for the first time ever when she finally pushed her plate aside, wiped her mouth on her napkin, and sighed contentedly.


    ¡°Are you full now?¡± he inquired softly.


    Aria ducked her head; heat flooded her face as she realized exactly what she must have looked like in front of him, eating almost half of the copious amounts of food upon the tray. She had just consumed more than she normally would have in three days. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. I must go out for a bit, but if there is anything you need Maggie has been told to get it for you. You need only ring for her. There is also a guard stationed outside your door so do not consider escape.¡±

 Page 7

    Aria¡¯s eyes widened as for the first time she was truly reminded of the fact that she was a prisoner in this place. That she was trapped here, and at his mercy. He had been kind to her so far, but how long could she truly expect that to last? Aria swallowed nervously, her hands folded tightly in her lap as she struggled to keep her face completely impassive. Though she tried to keep her terror hidden from him, she knew that he could sense it.Advertisement


    ¡°I will not be gone long.¡±


    Aria managed a small nod. It was all she could do to make that gesture; she did not trust herself to speak right now. The prince rose slowly, straightening the dark shirt that he wore. She noticed that he was dressed sharply, and sporting the ring that marked him as the prince of the house of Valdhai. That marked him as a member of the house that had been ruling the vampires, and the world, for the past hundred years. A ring that he had not been wearing yesterday. Whatever he had to do today it appeared that it was relatively important, and official.


    The wolf rose beside him, its green eyes bright as it stared at Aria for a full minute before turning its attention back to its master. Aria noticed that the head of the prince¡¯s cane was a bright silver wolf, seconds before his large hand closed around it. He whistled softly for the wolf, who padded eagerly over to him before they both slipped out the door.


    Aria remained sitting long after the sound of the lock slid home.


    The next few days passed in much the same way. Maggie would come in the morning to assist her in dressing but Aria refused her help with the shower now; she had it figured out. Even the razor and shaving part of it. She did not have the zippers or buttons of the dresses down though, and because of that she was grateful for Maggie¡¯s help.


    The prince sat with her at breakfast every morning, and then disappeared for a few hours during the day. During his absence Aria would wander aimlessly around, growing increasingly anxious by her capture. Around noon another heaping tray of food would be sent up, she would eat it alone, and miserable. The prince would return, talk with her for a little bit, sit with her while she ate dinner, and then retire to his room.


    It was the loneliest Aria had ever been, and she had spent many nights, and days, alone in the woods, or within the caves. But on those occasions she had always known that she would return to her friends and family, and their joyful, loving company. Now, she knew she had very little hope of that, and that the rest of her days may very well consist of being trapped within these rooms, eating incessantly, and wandering aimlessly around.


    It would only be a matter of time before she went crazy from it.


    Aria wandered silently into the library again. She studied the walls of books, her gaze running over the thick leather bindings. She often found herself in this room, curious as to what the books contained within their depths, wondering about the stories within them. She moved slowly toward them, trailing her fingers over their covers. The leather was cool, soft and nice beneath her fingertips. She wished she knew what they said.


    Oh, she knew a few words, not many, but enough to be able to decipher plans and most of a message, but even that was not enough to help her with these endless mysteries. She could make out most of the titles, but when she opened the covers she found that almost everything inside blurred into gibberish.


    She slipped one of the books free of the others. It was the one that fascinated her most for some reason, the one she repeatedly returned to. She opened it, flipping slowly through the slightly yellowed pages as she picked out certain words upon them. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing that she could make sense of it.


    Shaking her head, Aria released a soft sigh as she closed the book and slid it morosely back on the shelf. ¡°Something against Ivanhoe?¡±


    Aria jumped, nearly releasing a small shriek as her head snapped up. She had not heard the prince enter the apartment, but there he was, standing in the doorway, his head bowed as he studied her from behind his glasses. Aria swallowed heavily, not sure how he would react to finding her here, and certainly unsure as to what Ivanhoe was.


    ¡°Ivanhoe?¡± she asked softly.


    He remained unmoving for a moment, his eyebrows drawn sharply together. ¡°Yes, Sir Walter Scott¡¯s tale of Ivanhoe. It is quite entertaining, and something I thought you would enjoy as he was a bit of a rebel himself.¡±


    Arianna couldn¡¯t help but smile at the teasing tone in his voice. Though she was lonely, and lost here, she found that his company was oddly comforting. Probably because he was one of the only two people that she had to talk to in this strange, uncertain world. ¡°Oh,¡± Aria glanced back at the novel, glad to finally know what the title of it was. ¡°I see.¡±


    He moved away from the door, coming slowly toward her. Stopping beside her, his arm brushed lightly against hers as he reached for the book that she had just replaced. Aria¡¯s heartbeat picked up slightly, she still did not trust him, still despised his kind, but he had been nothing but nice to her over the past few days. And the longer she was here, the more fascinated with him she became. She hated the feeling, she thought it had something to do with the fact that she was trapped here, but she could not shake it.


    He pulled the book slowly from the shelf, holding it before him. ¡°It was one of my favorites when I was younger. I think you will enjoy it.¡±


    Aria swallowed heavily as she stared at the fascinating book. Her fingers were trembling slightly as she reached out and took it slowly from him, unwilling to admit that she didn¡¯t know how to read. He already thought her unmannered, ill kempt, dirty and possibly a little backwards. She didn¡¯t want him to think that she was stupid too.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I will,¡± she said softly.


    His finger was gentle beneath her chin as he nudged it upward. ¡°Arianna, do you know how to read?¡± Her gaze darted wildly around; she looked everywhere but at him. She could not bring herself to look at him as she tried to figure out how to answer him. ¡°Arianna?¡±


    She recognized the tone that he took when he was getting slightly aggravated with her. It did not happen often, usually only when she did not eat as much as he wanted her too, or when she tried to get out of having Maggie help her. For the most part he was patient, kind even, and she found herself liking him almost as much as she hated him for it. Because she was certain that something bad was going to happen, and that he would turn on her eventually. She was convinced that this strange kindness was just a rouse to earn her trust before destroying her completely.


    ¡°A little,¡± she finally admitted on a whisper.


    He sighed softly; his finger momentarily stroked her chin before he released her. ¡°Well we will have to remedy that. Come.¡±


    Aria stared after his retreating back before he disappeared from sight. Remedy that? What did he mean by that? Arianna followed him from the room, moving slowly back to the sitting room, but he did not settle onto the sofa. Instead, he crossed to the window seat by the bay window and settled upon it. Aria hesitated, uncertain as to what to do or say. She folded her hands before her, rocking slightly back on her feet as she watched him intently.


    His eyebrows rose slowly over his dark glasses, he patted the seat beside him. ¡°I will not bite you Arianna.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, not at all appreciative of his teasing words. She threw her shoulders back, thrust out her chin and walked swiftly toward him. His hand left the seat beside him, sliding away as she settled stiffly next to him. He studied her for a moment more before opening the book and placing it on their laps. Aria looked at the words, her discomfort growing as she stared dumbly at them. The words and letters swam before her on the page, blurring together before snapping back into focus; they still made no sense.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± he said softly.


    She turned slowly toward him, swallowing heavily. The force of his stare burned through her, even though she could not see it. His hand wrapped gently around her wrist, she jumped slightly, his touch searing into her skin. Her breath hitched in her chest, her heart leapt wildly. For a moment she could only stare helplessly at him, confused by the strange sensations and emotions coursing through her. Why was he toying with her like this? Why was he being so kind when they both knew that in the end he would only destroy her?


    Deciding not to fight against it, deciding to go along with his games, she settled back in the seat. Perhaps it was best if he thought she trusted him, that she was not waiting for him to rip her throat out at any moment. His arm slipped briefly around her waist, pulling her gently against his side. His skin was cool to the touch, certainly not as warm as hers, but not freezing either. She found that she fit perfectly against him, and did not mind the touch of his cooler flesh against her; in fact she almost welcomed it. A fact that she felt she should hate herself for, but she simply couldn¡¯t, it felt too right. She was willing to play the game, but this was so very intimate and cozy. It was something she had never experienced before, and it was unnerving, frightening, and exciting all at once.


    She had to forcefully remind herself that he was a monster, that he was toying with her, and that he was taking joy in her discomfort, even if he didn¡¯t appear to be. She tilted her head, her fingers twitching slightly as she studied those dark glasses. Not for the first time she wished he would take them off so that she could see his eyes. But in the week that she had been here, she had never once seen him without those dark shades.


    He settled the book more firmly between them. Arianna found herself forgetting everything else, even his fingers lingering upon her waist, as she drew her legs up beneath her. She was eager to absorb what he seemed to want to teach her, and she had been wondering about the contents of this book for nearly a week now.


    Leaning against his side she followed along as he slowly began to read through the novel, pronouncing each word carefully as he urged her to read along and sound out the words with him. She was surprised by the smile on his face; it was very rare to see such a thing on him. He was always reserved, professional, and perfunctory, but he seemed to be enjoying the book nearly as much as she was. Aria took great pleasure in his smile, and interjecting with the few words she knew. She found herself smiling along with him as he began to teach her to read.


    Chapter 5


    Braith studied Arianna as she sat curled within the window seat. Her long legs were drawn up beneath her; her dark hair aglow in the light filtering through the windows. Though the book was in her lap, she was not looking at it. Instead, her hands were pressed against the glass, her nose nearly touching the pane as she stared intently outside.


    He could see the longing in her face, the desperate driving need to be free radiated from her. It was only then that he realized what these past two weeks must have truly been like for her. She was used to being free, used to running wild and being outdoors. This was probably the most time she had ever spent indoors, probably the most time she had ever spent with a roof over her head and a steady stream of food on her plate.


    Food that was slowly beginning to put weight on her. It was rounding out her pointed edges; her collarbone did not stick out as sharply, her ribs and spine were no longer clearly visible beneath the dresses she wore. Her face had filled out; her cheekbones were not so sharp. She appeared even more youthful now, something he wasn¡¯t entirely sure was a good thing. There was an innocence that clung to her, radiating from the inside out, but when she had been thinner she had appeared more worldly, wiser, and harder. He had found it a little easier to be indifferent to her then; he did not find it so now.


    Especially when she was staring out the window with that eager, longing look on her face. He moved slowly behind her, touching her shoulder lightly. She tensed briefly, but did not jump away from him, did not recoil or stiffen as she had when she¡¯d first arrived here. Her eyes were wide, brilliantly blue as she stared questioningly up at him.


    He found it hard to believe that he had not found her beautiful when she had first arrived. Yes, she had been dirty, bedraggled, defiant, frightened, smelly, and far too thin, but her spirit had still been there. Her splendid inner glow had always resided within her, it had always been present, and it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever encountered. He had just been too shocked by the sight of her to have noticed it. He could not help but see it now, just as he could not help but see her pain and yearning.


    ¡°Would you like to go for a walk in the gardens?¡±


    Hope sprang forth in her eyes, her mouth parted as joy radiated from her. It was such a small thing that he offered her, and yet she reacted as if he had just handed her the world. ¡°Can I?¡± she asked eagerly.


    He nodded, his gaze darting to the brightly colored world beneath the window. It had been so long since he had enjoyed a walk in the gardens himself, he found that he was actually looking forward to it. ¡°Yes, I will take you.¡±


    She jumped to her feet, her full mouth curved into a bright smile that stunned him. She rarely smiled, and it was never such a full blown exquisite one as this. ¡°That would be wonderful.¡±

 Page 8

    He nodded, trying to gather his scattered thoughts as she continued to beam radiantly at him. ¡°Come along then.¡±Advertisement


    Keegan rose to his feet, yawning softly as he roused from his nap. Braith rested his hand upon the wolf¡¯s head, lightly rubbing his fur. Arianna was fairly skipping as she hurried forward. She would not remain so happy for long, of that he was certain; unfortunately it could not be prevented.


    ¡°Arianna, you must wear this.¡±


    Her head tilted to the side, her eyebrows drew questioningly together as he lifted the thin gold rope before her. It hung between them, dangling to the ground in a four foot long pool of gold. She frowned at it, unable to understand what it was that he held before her. ¡°All blood slaves must wear them in public,¡± he explained, hating the words even as he uttered them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what is it?¡±


    He really didn¡¯t want to do this to her, truly didn¡¯t want to bind such a free spirit. But it was the rules and the rules must be obeyed, especially between them. There were already whispers and rumors about the two of them drifting through the palace. Whispers about the first blood slave he had ever kept, whispers about what went on between them, and why he had decided to take her of all people. They were whispers that he did not intend to answer, but he couldn¡¯t allow them to grow even more by letting her out without the chain. He could not allow her to walk freely in public, the whispers would only grow. The speculation would strengthen. Any feeling, any hint of caring between a master and their blood slave was strictly forbidden. Hell, any hint of caring between a vampire and a human was strictly forbidden. If they even slightly suspected that he might be developing feelings for Arianna they would take her from him, and they would kill her.


    That was something that he could not allow to happen. He may not care for her, or have feelings for her, but he also didn¡¯t want to see her destroyed in the brutal way that they would do it. It was not fair to her, and he was unwilling to let the light she brought into his life go. Not yet anyway, not until he knew what it all meant.


    ¡°It¡¯s a leash, to keep you bound to me.¡±


    Her eyebrows drew sharply together; she gave a small, confused shake of her head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, leashes are for¡­¡± Her gaze darted to Keegan; understanding widened her eyes before narrowing them sharply. Even Keegan did not wear a leash. ¡°I see,¡± she grated.


    ¡°If you are to go out in public you must wear this, it is a custom.¡± Her jaw was clenched tight, her chin tilted defiantly as her hands fisted at her sides. Though she radiated anger, beneath it all he could sense her hurt, her feeling of betrayal. Anger washed out of her, frustration burned from her. Slowly, she turned toward the window, her shoulders slumped. He hated the crushing sense of defeat that washed out of her, but it could not be helped. Even if she couldn¡¯t see it now, this was what was best for her. For both of them.


    ¡°Ok,¡± she said softly, her voice hitching slightly as her need to be outside outweighed her pride. ¡°Ok. I will wear it.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t going to remind her that she didn¡¯t have a choice, she looked beaten enough at the moment. She came slowly forward, eyeing the gold chain as if it were a poisonous snake that she wanted no part of. They were meant to be worn around the neck, or the wrist, depending on what the owner preferred, but looking at her now he knew he could not add to her degradation by placing it around her neck. He took hold of her hand, slipping it around her wrist and tightening it gently. He was the only one that could remove it now that he had placed it upon her. He was the one that owned her and controlled her; everyone would know that she belonged to him. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure how he felt about that, he didn¡¯t like owning her. He did, however, like the fact that everyone would know that she belonged to him, that they could not touch her. Ever.


    She lifted her head slowly, swallowing heavily as she met his gaze, her chin tilted higher. She may be humiliated, and at his mercy, but she was not going to allow herself to be beat down. For the first time he admitted to himself that he actually admired this wisp of a human before him. He had never thought much of their race, (they were beneath him after all) never even given them a moment¡¯s thought, except for when it came to food and pleasure. But this girl made him question his opinions of the human race, made him wonder if perhaps they were worth a little more. Or at the very least, maybe she was.


    He held her hand for a moment longer, disliking the feel of the chain against her skin. For a second he almost pulled it off of her, but the consequences of such an action would be dire to them both. ¡°Ok then,¡± he said softly.


    He held the chain lightly in his hand as he grabbed hold of his cane by the door. Arianna followed him out the door, trailing slowly behind as she gazed around the hallway with the same awe she had shown upon first entering the palace. He took her down the backstairs this time, unwilling to take the risk of running into his relatives. Two of his bodyguards trailed behind them, their surprise evident at seeing Arianna emerge again, looking far different than when she had gone in.


    He led her down another hallway before reaching the doors that led out to the gardens. Keegan stopped at the doors before Braith did, brushing briefly against his master¡¯s legs before sitting down. Braith rubbed his head lightly again, thanking his friend for continuing to aid him, even if he did not need it at the moment. A fact that Braith was almost certain the wolf was aware of, just as he was aware of his master¡¯s desire to keep it hidden. ¡°Leave us,¡± he ordered the two men trailing behind them.


    The men stepped back in the hallway as Braith reached forward to push the doors open. Keegan sprang forth, eager to be outside again. Arianna moved slowly through the door, her eyes widening as she gazed over the gardens they had stepped into. Her eyes darted wildly around, her mouth parted slightly as a small gasp of delight escaped her. ¡°It¡¯s even more beautiful down here,¡± she breathed.


    Braith glanced over the gardens. He had once found them mildly attractive, but it had been a long time since those days, and he found that he enjoyed them far more through her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this,¡± she whispered, moving slowly down the colorful rows of flowers, hedges, and statues.


    ¡°You do not have flowers in the woods?¡± he inquired, hoping to draw her into a conversation about her home as she rarely said anything about it, and seemed almost fearful whenever it was mentioned.


    ¡°Oh, of course we have flowers,¡± she replied lightly, her face aglow with the wonder suffusing her. ¡°But nothing like these.¡± Her hands trailed over the yellow roses, she bent low, inhaling deeply. ¡°Beautiful.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re roses.¡±


    ¡°Roses,¡± she repeated, running her fingers lightly over the petals. ¡°I love them.¡±


    He folded his arms over his chest as he watched her move slowly toward the lilacs. She was fascinating, captivating, and utterly unique in this colorful world of flowers, statues, and beauty. She inhaled the lilacs deeply, making a face as she took a swift step back, shook her head and wiped her nose.


    ¡°Lilac¡¯s,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She wrinkled her nose as she moved away from them, apparently not at all pleased by their odor. He named each flower that she stopped at as they moved slowly through the garden. Though she had not liked the lilac, it did not stop her from pausing to sniff every other flower they passed. Most of them passed her inspection, some did not.


    She froze when they reached the center of the gardens, her eyes widening as another gasp of pleasure escaped her. ¡°Oh,¡± she breathed, her hands flying to her mouth in delight. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s wonderful.¡±


    Braith studied the large, ornate fountain. It had been a long time since he had seen it, but he had never fully appreciated the beauty of the delicate sculpture. Water flowed forth, changing colors in the sunlight beating down upon the man and woman staring longingly at each other, but never touching.


    Arianna moved slowly forth, her steps hesitant as she approached the fountain. It was as if she was afraid that it would disappear, that it was not real, but her fingers brushed against the basin. He was not surprised to see the tears blooming in her eyes, he realized now that it happened whenever she was struck with awe by something. It happened every once in awhile when they would be reading together, and the story moved her. He didn¡¯t think she was even aware of the tears most of the time.


    Her eyes widened, a beautiful smile lit her face as she peered into the water of the fountain, a small laugh escaping her as she caught sight of the fish within. It was the first time he had heard her laugh, and he had to admit that it was a beautiful, refreshing sound. One that he found he enjoyed very much.


    She sat on the edge of the fountain, holding her hair back as she watched the fish, her fingers trailing just above the water as she traced their movements. He moved closer to her, placing the edge of the leash on the fountain beside her. He did not think she would try to escape now, but even if she did, she would not be able to get far with the chain on her wrist. The chain was designed for him and him alone, it knew where it belonged and he would always be able to find it. No matter how far she got.


    ¡°They¡¯re beautiful.¡±


    He peered into the clear water, momentarily admiring the brilliant colors of the dozens of fish within before turning his attention back to her. He found her much more interesting to watch. She sat back, smiling brightly at him as she released her hair. It fell about her in dark red waves that glimmered in the light flowing through the fruit trees surrounding them. She rose slowly, walking around the fountain.


    Keegan lifted his head from his paws, his ears perking slightly as he watched her move. She stopped suddenly, tilting her head back and closing her eyes as she absorbed the rays of the sun. To Braith¡¯s utter surprise, and delight, she threw her arms out and began to laugh as she twirled happily around.


    Aria stood uncertainly within the door, hesitant as to whether she should enter the sitting room or not. The prince was within, talking softly with another man, their heads bent close together. She knew that she should probably retreat to her room, stay away until this stranger left, but she was curious about the man, and truth be told, she wanted some company, and the prince was the only company she had.


    Plus, she rather enjoyed his company, or at least it had been fairly pleasant today.


    However, she didn¡¯t feel like now was the right time. She took a step back, intending to retreat into the shadows when Keegan rose to his feet, drawing the men¡¯s attention to her. The prince rose instantly, his hand seized hold of his cane as he turned toward her. The other man remained seated for a moment, shock evident on his features. Then, he rose slowly also.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Arianna said softly, knowing that she should retreat. No matter how well the prince treated her, she was a blood slave, she should know her place. And her place was not to interrupt him when he was in the middle of what had appeared to be a very important conversation. The prince seemed to realize this as his mouth was compressed tight, and his knuckles were turning white on his cane. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean too¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She stammered the apology out, taking a few steps back; needing to retreat before her presence here was questioned. Instinctively, she knew that she had done something wrong, that her safe position within this household had just been shaken. ¡°Wait.¡± It was not the prince that had spoken, but she froze anyway, her heart leaping wildly as the strange vampire studied her intently. She wanted to look to the prince for help, for some sign of reassurance, but she didn¡¯t dare let this stranger think that she may trust, or even like, the prince. No, she knew that now was the time to be docile, weary, and beaten. ¡°Come here,¡± the stranger commanded.


    The prince bristled slightly; he took a step forward, placing his cane before him as he folded his hands upon the handle. Arianna hesitated, frightened by the situation she had placed herself in, but knowing that she could not refuse. Her owner may be a prince, but under blood slave rules she was not allowed to disobey any vampire, unless they asked things of her that only her owner was allowed to take. Such as her blood or her body, and neither of those things were being asked for now.


    Swallowing heavily, she folded her hands before her and began to move slowly forward. Though she was often defiant, confident and fearless with the prince those three things had no place here. She stopped feet away from them, keeping her eyes downcast, knowing not to look this stranger in the eye.


    The stranger approached her, circling her much like she had seen the packs of wild dogs in the woods circle their prey before attacking. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, praying for strength and patience to help her get through this awful, humiliating, experience. She needed to hold her tongue, needed to remain demure if she was to remain safe. She chanced a glance at the prince, but he remained unmoving, leaning back on his heels as he watched the two of them intently. Though he appeared casual, she could see the tension in his shoulders, the tautness of his hard muscles. She didn¡¯t know what was really going on here, but she sensed that it was more than met the eye.

 Page 9

    ¡°Not bad brother, not bad.¡± Aria¡¯s eyes widened, she couldn¡¯t stop her head from snapping up as the stranger stopped before her. His hair was the same dark color as the prince¡¯s, his features similar, though his nose was slightly larger and sharper, and his lips were thinner. His eyes, unhindered by dark shades, were a deep forest green, and surprisingly beautiful. He was shorter than the prince, but his shoulders were broader as he stepped imposingly closer to her. Aria had no choice but to take a step back as he used his height and size to intimidate her. His eyes gleamed with amusement as he stepped closer to her, causing her to retreat another step.Advertisement


    Anger spurted through her, but she swiftly buried it. It did not matter how much she wished to stand up to this imposing, overbearing, pitiless creature, to do so would only cause problems. Especially since, if his looks and words were any indication, he seemed to be a prince in his own right. Aria had heard rumors that there were four brothers, and two sisters. But she had also heard that there were three brothers and no sisters. Or even five brothers and three sisters. The rumors about the royal family had always swirled rapidly, with none of the villages knowing anything for certain, and the rebel outlets knowing even less. Aria supposed that was the way the royal family liked it, where no one knew anything about them for certain, and they could not be completely pinned down.


    She wondered which of the brothers was older, which of them would one day rule the kingdom. But she supposed in her situation it didn¡¯t make much of a difference. She was at the mercy of them both.


    The prince remained silent, his indifference causing a small pain in her chest.


    Had she simply imagined the growing bond between them? Had she simply just wanted to believe that perhaps he may actually be starting to like her, and that was why he had taken her for a walk today, that was why he had been teaching her to read?


    Of course she had, she realized, anger at herself springing forth as she forced her head back down. Of course he cared nothing for her, she was nothing here, she never had been, and she never would be. She had known all along that he was only toying with her, stringing her along, just to make it hurt more in the end, and though he probably was not done with his game she was most certainly done playing it.


    Her fingers clenched, she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, trying hard to keep control of her anger. She was not angry at them, she was not even angry at this whole awful situation, but she was infuriated with herself. She had been a fool to let her guard down, a fool to think she was anything more than a backwoods disposable girl to them. Except, she was more than that.


    Her father was a leader, a ruler in his own right. In her world, she was an outstanding hunter, and a fierce warrior. She did not have Daniel¡¯s knack for making strategies and creating plans, nor did she have William¡¯s charismatic ability to rouse people to battle, but she was quick and she was strong, and she was adept at using many weapons. She was also good with animals; she tended to the ones that they kept within the caves, nursing and healing them when necessary. She was talented at capturing, and breaking the animals they needed to aid them such as horses, bulls, cows, sheep, and goats. Yes, she may be a nothing in this world, but in her world she had many different talents and abilities that were looked upon highly. In her own world, she was something, and she was admired and loved and respected.


    And she missed it fiercely. Heat colored her face; longing sprang forth as she ducked her head from this stranger¡¯s cruel perusal of her. She wanted so badly to be free of this room, wanted so badly to be home, wanted so badly to take back the last five minutes. She wished she had never come out here, wished that she had been able to slip away before either one of them had noticed her. But this was better, she decided. It was much better this way.


    She had been spending the last couple of weeks in a kind of suspended dream. She had been trying to deny reality, but now it was staring her in the face and it was just as hard, and just as cruel as it always had been. She had known food, beauty, and cleanliness here but that was little compared to respect, admiration, and the unconditional love of her family. And she wanted that back so very badly right now.


    ¡°Perhaps, when you are done with her¡­¡±


    ¡°I do not share Caleb, you are well aware of that fact,¡± the prince said forcefully.


    ¡°There is always a first time for everything. She¡¯s only a blood slave after all.¡±


    Aria forced herself to keep her head down, she was afraid that if she looked at either one of them she would start screaming, and she would never stop. She wanted to tell them how awful they were, how wrong and horrendous and cruel their world was. She wanted to scream at them that she did not deserve this, that her people did not deserve this. She wanted to tell them just exactly what she thought of the both of them, but that would only guarantee her death.


    And she wanted her freedom. Desperately. She wanted to show them that she was more than nothing; she wanted to show them that she was something special. And to do that she would have to get free of here, she would have to be the first blood slave to ever escape the bonds of their master. And she could do it somehow, she knew she could.


    ¡°Leave us.¡± Aria glanced up quickly, briefly meeting the shadowed eyes of her prince. Caleb was still inspecting her as if she were a side of beef, his eyes narrowed intently. She hated the leering gleam in his eyes; it reminded her of the creepy little vampire that had first claimed her. ¡°Now!¡±


    She jumped slightly at the barked command. The prince had never raised his voice at her. He had been overbearing and pushy when she had first arrived, but he had never yelled at her. Fresh hurt washed through her, she quickly buried it beneath her growing anger and sense of betrayal. She managed a brief nod before turning on her heel; she had to force herself not to run as she hurried from the room. She did not want them to suspect just how hurt she really felt, or just how infuriated she truly was.


    Chapter 6


    Aria stayed mostly within her room for the next few days, she did not bother the prince, and he did not bother her. Every meal time her trays would be sitting outside of her door. She took them, because not to do so would be foolish. She wanted to escape, she would escape, but in order to do that she would need to be strong. And she needed food to make her strong.


    The only company she had was Maggie, but though the girl was always kind to her they had little to say to each other, and Aria did not trust her. On her third day of imposed solitude the prince came to her door, but she ignored him, pretending to sleep when he opened the door to her room.


    On the fourth day, Lauren arrived.


    Aria was just stepping out of the shower when she spotted the blond within the bathroom, clothes in hand. Aria froze at the sight of her; her hand flew to her throat as she stared in shock at the girl. Their gazes locked for a long moment before Lauren turned and left the room. Aria grabbed hold of the towels Lauren had left behind, drying herself quickly before wrapping the towel around herself.


    She moved wearily to the dressing room in between the bathroom and her bedroom. Lauren¡¯s hand was resting on the back of the chair as she waited impatiently for her, a cruel smile curving her full mouth. Her gaze traveled slowly up and down Aria, her lip curled slightly in disgust. Aria would have been happy if she had never seen this girl again, and it was more than apparent that Lauren felt the same way.


    ¡°Where is Maggie?¡± Aria inquired softly.


    Lauren shrugged absently; she lifted the brush, twisting it within her hand as she eyed Aria cruelly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, the prince has requested my services from now on.¡±


    Aria tilted her chin defiantly up, her hands clenched tightly. This was just one more way for him to humiliate her, and put her in her place. He was punishing her for locking herself within her room, punishing her for hiding from him, but she would take that punishment without complaint. She could take whatever he and Lauren threw at her.


    She did not look at the girl again as she settled into the chair before her. Lauren began to brush out her hair, pulling sharply at it, nearly tugging it from her head. Aria was unable to keep herself from wincing every once in awhile, but she did not utter a sound of complaint. Lauren smoothed her hair out, and then reached forward to grab hold of some of the barrettes upon the table. Aria did not miss the bite marks that marred Lauren¡¯s wrist and inner arm, nor did Lauren miss Aria¡¯s wide eyed, disgusted reaction to them.


    The hateful blond leaned close to her ear. ¡°The prince was exceptionally hungry this morning.¡±


    Aria froze, unable to move or blink as the implication behind those words sank in. No matter what Lauren did to her, and no matter what happened within these rooms, it would do Aria no good to tell the prince about it because Lauren was his mistress, and the one that he fed from. He would not believe anything that came from Aria¡¯s mouth, especially not when it was about the woman that was providing for his needs.


    Aria shuddered in disgust, but she was more ashamed to admit that the realization caused an odd twinge of hurt within her. She should be relieved he had not turned to her; it was the last thing she wanted after all. She was lucky that he had not come after her, that he was not using and abusing her, that he was going to other women. Then why wasn¡¯t she?


    She may not understand her strange reaction to these circumstances, but she was beginning to understand Lauren¡¯s intense dislike of her a lot more. She was threatened by Aria¡¯s presence within these rooms.


    What she didn¡¯t understand was what the hell she was doing here. The prince had someone to sustain and provide for him. What did he want with her, when he had not even once tried to feed from her? Was she simply here for his enjoyment? For him to mentally torment her? She also did not understand, or want to acknowledge the sharp pain of hurt that stabbed through her. She refused to be hurt by the knowledge that the prince was with other women, refused to allow such an awful thing to happen.


    She knew that the vampires were cruel, indifferent, brutal, and bloodthirsty but this was the first she had heard of this sort of thing. But then again, she had always just assumed that a blood slave was drained and tortured physically, but perhaps they were also mentally assaulted until they snapped completely, and had to be killed.


    Aria shuddered at the thought, seconds before a barrette was jabbed roughly into her scalp. Aria shot Lauren a dark look, but her protest and anger died out as she saw the malicious gleam in Lauren¡¯s eyes. A sinking feeling filled her as she realized that it was not only the vampires that were cruel here, but also the humans, her own kind.


    And she was completely at Lauren¡¯s mercy, a fact that was driven home by the sharp stab of the next barrette.


    Aria withstood it all through the next few days; she took the handfuls of hair she lost with silence. She remained quiet through the skin pinching, jerking, pulling, and shoving that it often took for Lauren to get her into clothes that fit perfectly once on, but seemed almost impossible for Lauren to get on her at times. Bruises marred her skin from her chest down, but she was well aware of the fact that Lauren did not touch her face. Though she was in pain, Aria would not give Lauren, or the prince, the satisfaction of seeing her break, of seeing her cry.


    Instead, she kept it all inside, letting her anger fester. She let it build, fueling her rage and fanning her desire to escape this place the first chance she got.


    It wasn¡¯t until she was climbing out of the shower, and Lauren pushed her onto the hard floor, that a startled cry of pain escaped her. Her knees smacked off of the hard floor, her palms stung painfully, her hip was bruised, and she heard the sharp crack of one of her ribs. Aria pushed herself slowly up, gingerly rising to her feet, her hand cradling her wounded ribs.


    She had been trampled by horses before; it had hurt worse than this, but not by much. At least then she had been able to roll through most of the horses hooves. Now she was on a constant collision course with the woman that was torturing her on a daily basis. She did not know how much more she could take before she snapped and pounded the girl into a bloody mess. For though she was beaten, and now also broken, she was certain she could still take the blonde on and just as certain that she would face immediate death afterward for it.


    She was beginning to think that death might be worth it, if it meant getting to extract a little revenge upon Lauren. The only thing holding her back was that she wanted to extract revenge upon all of them, not just the bitch before her. She wanted to show everyone that she was more than just the simple minded blood slave they thought she was.


    Aria cradled her ribs as she defiantly met Lauren¡¯s smug smile. She moved slowly, gingerly into the dressing room, trying not to cry as Lauren pulled the strings of her dress tight. For the first time since she had arrived, she ignored the tray of food outside her door, preferring to curl up in the bed, trying to fight off the agony crushing her chest. It did not help that she could not get the offending dress off, could not work the horrible tight ties free.

 Page 10

    Somehow, she wasn¡¯t quite sure how, she managed to fall asleep for a little bit. It was dark when she woke again to Lauren¡¯s prodding. ¡°Get up you filthy, lazy creature.¡±Advertisement


    Aria bit hard on her bottom lip, drawing blood as she held back her pain. Lauren pulled hard on the strings, finally releasing the tight binds pinching her rib painfully. Aria sagged in relief, gasping in as much air as her wounded ribs would allow. Lauren released her and left the room, leaving Aria to try and figure out how she was going to get the dress over her head, and the nightgown back on.


    It took more strength and energy than she wanted to admit to wiggle her way free of the dress. Tomorrow morning she was going to throw the damn thing out, it was the piece of clothing she hated most now. Even more so than she hated the heels. She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to gather her strength to slip the nightgown over her head. She could just leave it off, Lauren had not bothered to help her out of the silly undergarments she had to wear here, but she could not sleep in such a vulnerable state. It was bad enough having to wear the silly nightgown to sleep when she was used to so much more, but to wear even less would be far worse. She was in constant danger here; she needed to be as clothed as possible if she was going to be at least a little prepared for that danger.


    Drawing in as deep a breath as she could, she knotted the nightgown before her and slowly began to slip her arms in. She winced as pain shot through her battered rib cage. She struggled not to cry out, biting her tongue as agony tore through her side. ¡°Arian¡­¡±


    Aria froze, her hands trapped within the sleeves of the nightgown. She had not heard him coming. In the forest, she could hear a field mouse from a mile away. But here, in this strange and deadly place, when she needed her senses the most they were failing her. Badly. She did not turn to face him; she could not bring herself to do so. Instead, she remained unmoving. For the first time she was grateful for the silly, uncomfortable undergarments that at least shielded some of her nudity from his view.


    She kept her head turned away from him, her breath held, as she waited for him to take his fill of the damage done to her body before he left again. She did not know what had brought him here tonight, not when he¡¯d left her alone for so long, nor did she care. She simply wanted him to absorb whatever he could of her and leave; she had no fight in her tonight.


    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± he asked softly.


    Arianna clenched her jaw as she pulled the nightgown further up her arms, grinding her teeth against the pain. She refused to answer him, refused to let him see that she was at all disturbed by his presence. He was before her suddenly, his hand seizing hold of the nightgown as he tried to pull it away. Aria clung to it, trying to keep herself sheltered from his gaze. However, he was far stronger than her, and in far better shape. In the end, she lost.


    Tilting her chin up, she glared defiantly back at him, refusing to be intimidated by his show of strength and control. ¡°What happened?¡± he demanded gruffly.


    ¡°Like you don¡¯t know,¡± she snapped.


    His eyebrows drew sharply together over his glasses, his mouth compressed in a hard line. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be asking if I knew. What happened?¡±


    Aria refused to back down from him, refused to cower beneath the weight of his heavy stare. ¡°Your bitch happened,¡± she retorted fiercely.


    Shock registered on his face, his mouth parted slightly as she felt his eyes wander slowly over her again. Though it was far more of her body than any man had ever seen before, she did not shrink from his gaze, did not turn away from him or try to shield herself from him. He already thought her far weaker than him; she would not support his theory by being afraid of his weighty stare. She merely straightened her shoulders. ¡°Are you talking about that girl that was here earlier?¡±


    Aria did not appreciate being played with. Especially not right now. Right now she simply wanted to go back to sleep and give her body a chance to heal before it was assaulted again tomorrow. ¡°Yes, that girl,¡± she snarled.


    The prince¡¯s gaze wandered over her body once more. Aria was surprised to realize that he appeared angered by what he was seeing. ¡°Why did she do this?¡±


    Aria shrugged, wincing as she instantly regretted the action. Pain tore through her, she clamped down hard on the small cry that wanted to escape. ¡°Because she can. I am just a blood slave after all.¡±


    His jaw clenched tightly, his hands fisted momentarily. ¡°You may be a blood slave, but you are my blood slave.¡± Aria would not meet his gaze, she kept her hands folded before her as she focused upon the back wall, refusing to look at him or respond to him anymore. ¡°Stand up,¡± he commanded gruffly. Aria¡¯s jaw clenched, but she did not move. ¡°Get up!¡±


    The words were practically snarled at her, but she didn¡¯t move. She had been beat down enough over the past week, she would take whatever small victories she could get right now, and disobeying him was one such victory. She did not think about the fact that she was disobeying the prince, that he could do whatever he wanted to her right now. She just didn¡¯t care anymore.


    He made a soft hissing sound, and then his hands were upon her arms. She was surprised by how gentle his touch was as he lifted her to her feet. Aria¡¯s eyes snapped back to him, her mouth parted in surprise as she gaped at him. He placed her on her feet, his hands rested lightly on her arms as he took a step back. Heat flooded her face, embarrassment suffused her. She couldn¡¯t stop her hands from instinctively fluttering up to try and cover herself, but he pulled them easily aside.


    Aria bit on her lip, fighting back waves of anger and despair as she stood before him, her body almost completely exposed for him to see. Yet, he did not leer at her, did not stare at her as if she were inferior to him and unworthy. His fingers trailed lightly over her ribs, running along the edges of the dark bruise that was clearly obvious against her pale skin. Though she kept her face impassive, she felt her body instinctively flinch away from his touch as it neared her broken rib.


    His jaw clenched as his hand stilled upon her skin, his palm flattened gently upon her. ¡°Your rib is broken.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    His head came slowly up, his shaded eyes were hidden, but she could sense the question behind those dark lenses. She did not answer it, as far as she was concerned he did not need to know how it happened. He already knew who and why and that was enough for her. Instead, she remained immobile, frozen beneath his touch. His hand remained against her, gently cradling the broken bone housed beneath her skin. His touch was far kinder than she had expected from him, he was the one that had allowed this to happen after all.


    ¡°And she did this to you?¡± Aria remained silent, trying to keep the tears in her eyes back. She did not want him to see them, did not want him to know that his gentleness touched her so deeply. Especially when she had decided that he was nothing but evil, that she wanted nothing to do with him, and that he was just tormenting her. ¡°Arianna?¡±


    She turned her head away. ¡°Yes.¡±


    She could feel the tension that seized him, the anger that locked his bones, and yet his hand against her ribs remained surprisingly gentle. He leaned closer to her, his mouth momentarily pressing against her ear. She could feel the brush of his lips against her skin as he spoke. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    A single tear slid free, a shudder tore through her, neither of which she could hide from him. He wiped the tear away before sweeping her into his arms. Aria gasped, expecting pain to explode through her, and yet the way he cradled her did not leave any room for pain. It was so gentle, so sweet that she could only gaze up at him in dazed wonder. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    He did not respond to her simple word, did not look at her again as he left the room. Aria tried to squirm against him, tried to break free, tried to feel some anger again, but she was so beat down, so broken, that she could not find much of a protest. True panic tore through her when he placed her down in the middle of his room. She tried to jerk free, but he grasped lightly hold of her wrist, pulling her gently back.


    ¡°You need to be watched over. Broken ribs can be dangerous.¡± He said simply, as if this was enough of an explanation for everything that was happening now. As if this was enough explanation for everything that she found so confusing and dizzying. It was not, but she did not argue. She simply wanted to sleep again, if she could.


    They stared at each other for a long moment before he released her wrist. He lifted her gently again, placing her down upon the softest, most wonderful thing she had ever experienced. It was only after she sank into the mattress that she realized she was in his bed, and it was only after that realization that she knew she never wanted to leave. Her hands stroked over the thick blanket, the soft sheets. It was a little bit of heaven here on earth.


    Then, the fear kicked in. She was in his bed! She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her side causing an involuntary gasp to escape her. He was at her side instantly, his hands upon her shoulders as he tried to push her back down. She wanted to struggle against him, but there wasn¡¯t much fight left in her at the moment.


    ¡°Rest Arianna, relax, I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± She eyed him wearily, unable to believe him. He sighed softly, shaking his head at her. ¡°You can¡¯t sleep alone tonight, you might puncture a lung. You need to be watched over, and since I much prefer my bed you will be staying in here for the night.¡± Her mouth parted as she gaped at him. He was going to stay in here, with her? She thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest as it hammered wildly. ¡°I can tape your ribs for you¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± she assured him quickly. It would be a little too intimate if he did such a thing; it was bad enough he expected them to sleep beside each other tonight. Plus she preferred not to have her ribs taped, especially before going to sleep.


    He held the nightgown out to her, rolling it up within his grasp. ¡°Put your arms up.¡±


    She frowned at him before lifting her arms slowly up. She struggled to keep her face blank as her body screamed in protest. He studied her for a moment before gently rolling the nightgown over her. She lowered her arms back down, relief filling her as the pain eased slightly. He adjusted it, pulling the material easily down her legs. Heat flooded her face; she ducked her head as his hand brushed against her thigh.


    He quirked an eyebrow at her, but refrained from commenting on her reaction to his touch. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this?¡±


    She tilted her head, staring questioningly at him. ¡°Why would I?¡±


    Frustration hardened his face, his jaw clenched. ¡°You are to tell me whenever someone mistreats you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t like it when the property gets bruised?¡± she retorted angrily.


    She did not know why she was baiting him, didn¡¯t know why she was being so rude when he had been nothing but nice to her tonight, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself. There was something about him, and this whole situation, that caused a volatile and swift reaction from her. Apparently he hadn¡¯t known what Lauren was doing to her, and he had not condoned the girl¡¯s violent actions. He had been rude to her when his brother had been here, but she could not expect him to be nice to her in public, could she? Aria shook her head; she was too tired and too wounded to try and wander through the conundrum that was him.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± he replied coldly.


    She bit her bottom lip as she studied him from beneath her lashes. Her question had truly aggravated him. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± her voice trailed off, she didn¡¯t know what she wanted to say to him.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you?¡± Aria shook her head, but there were no more words within her. Mainly because she was certain that she owed him an apology, and she hated to be wrong, and hated to say she was sorry. Especially to someone that was her enemy, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°Come on, you need to rest.¡±


    She lay stiffly upon the bed, her hands digging into the blanket as he laid it gently over top of her. He did not lie down beside her but stood up, pulled off his coat, and disappeared into the bathroom that she had used upon first arriving. She listened to the water as he washed himself before returning.


    ¡°You will have to eat tomorrow.¡±


    Though it was a command, his voice was nowhere near as gruff as it had been before. She didn¡¯t take offense to the command; in fact she sensed a hint of worry in his tone and demeanor. It warmed her further. Maybe she was far more wounded, and beaten than she had realized she thought dimly. Especially if she was already feeling as if she could trust him again, when she had so firmly decided that it was the last thing she ever wanted to do. ¡°I will.¡±


    She closed her eyes, settling in beneath the thick comforter. She had never been in someone else¡¯s bed before, let alone a man¡¯s, but for some reason this did not feel wrong. The mattress sank beneath his weight, but Aria did not open her eyes again, despite the pain she was already falling asleep.

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    Chapter 7Advertisement


    ¡°Lauren?¡± The small blond rose swiftly to her feet, a bright smile lighting her pretty features.


    ¡°Yes your highness?¡± she asked softly.


    He leaned against the doorway, studying the girl as he fought against the anger surging through him. Other than the few times she had arrived to tend to Arianna, he had seen her only briefly before. He may have fed off of her in the past, he did not recall doing so, but her reaction to Arianna¡¯s presence here led him to believe that he had and that she had thought far more of it than he had realized. ¡°I¡¯d like to know why you think you have the right to lay your hands on my blood slave, for anything other than to help her in the way that I told you to?¡±


    She looked puzzled, confused as she frowned at him, but Braith had not missed the flash of fear that darted swiftly through her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t play with me,¡± he growled, swiftly losing patience with the girl. ¡°I will not hesitate to rip your throat out.¡± Her eyes widened in true fear, her mouth parted slightly. ¡°Now tell me, why did you feel you had the right to hurt her?¡±


    Her mouth opened and closed for a moment, she did not know how to respond to his question. ¡°Your highness, I uh¡­ I uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Have we encountered each other before you were summoned here?¡±


    The color drained from her already pale face, he could see the tears that bloomed in her eyes just as her lower lip began to tremble. Her reaction gave him the answer to his question. He did not feel bad about the fact that the encounter obviously had meant more to her than it had to him. What he did feel bad about was the fact that Arianna had suffered abuse because of his forgetfulness, and extreme lack of caring about the girl before him.


    Her head fell back, her eyes widened as he moved to stand before her. Fear radiated from her, but beneath it all he could sense her hurt. ¡°And you felt that gave you the right to treat my property poorly?¡± he grated.


    A single tear slid down her face, her lip began to tremble even more. He was indifferent to her obvious distress, her race meant little to him, and she meant even less. ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are. You are not to return here.¡± He grabbed hold of her chin, drawing her attention sharply back to him as her gaze darted to the doorway behind him. He knew that Arianna had entered the room; her presence caused it to brighten considerably. ¡°Don¡¯t look at her,¡± he growled. Lauren¡¯s eyes widened, for the first time terror began to radiate from her as she began to shake within his grasp. ¡°You are to leave here and never return, if you step foot in this palace again your life is forfeit.¡±


    The girl gasped, the color drained from her face. Being barred from the palace was a social punishment that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Not only that, but she had just lost the wages and prestige that this job had awarded her. ¡°Do you understand me?¡± She managed a small nod, batting back the tears that swarmed her eyes. He released her, disgusted by the feel of her skin beneath his hand. ¡°Get out.¡±


    The girl scurried away, shooting only a brief glance at Arianna before she fled the room. He turned toward Arianna, surprised by the fierce frown marring her features, and the dark anger simmering in her eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be so mean to her.¡±


    His eyebrows shot up as he stared at her over top of his glasses. ¡°Are you defending the girl?¡± he inquired, trying to keep the disbelief from his voice.


    Arianna tilted her head slightly. The light streaming through the windows highlighted the deep red of it. She was still wearing the nightgown, but in the daylight he could see through some areas of it. Something new began to curdle through him, rising up out of the hopeless pit that had been his soul for so long. He did not know what was going on with this strange girl, why she affected him like she did, but for the first time he admitted to himself that whatever she did to him was deep, profound, and something that he had never experienced before.


    He knew that she was special, that she always would be to him, but for the first time he admitted that he was not going to want to part with her. He had been keeping her here, under the delusional assumption that he would one day trade her off. He realized now that he never would. He may not be using her in the way that a blood slave was supposed to be used, but he wasn¡¯t ever going to allow someone else to use her in that way either.


    What it all meant, he didn¡¯t know. But for now, he simply knew that he wasn¡¯t going to let her go and he wasn¡¯t going to let anyone else near her, especially someone that might hurt her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not defending her,¡± she said softly. ¡°But you didn¡¯t have to be so mean to her. You were the one that forgot about her and brought her here to take care of what she mistook as her replacement. That¡¯s an awful thing, you hurt her.¡±


    His eyes narrowed upon the frail slip of a girl. Was she really scolding him? Was she really questioning his way of life, and the things he did? She was a child for crying out loud, a human child. His hands fisted at his side, he fought the urge to go to her, to shake some fear into her because he was beginning to realize that she did not have a healthy enough dose of fear for him.


    ¡°Am I supposed to care?¡± he grated.


    She blinked in surprise, her crystalline blue eyes widened in disbelief. Then, she shook her head, her eyes cleared and her chin jutted slightly. Her hands folded demurely before her, but he was beginning to realize that it was just an act. There was nothing demure or weak about this girl, she may play it off well, but there were many layers beneath her docile exterior. ¡°I suppose not,¡± she said softly, even her voice had taken on that decorous tone.


    ¡°She also hurt you.¡±


    Arianna shifted slightly; though she remained outwardly meek he sensed the raw anger that spiked through her. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make what you just did right. You took her job and her pride away from her. Two wrongs don¡¯t make a right, or at least that¡¯s what my dad always told my brother¡¯s and I.¡±


    Despite his frustration with her, and his growing urge to shake her, his interest was piqued by her words. It was the most she had talked about her family since arriving. ¡°How many brothers?¡±


    She shrugged absently, her fingers nervously played with the sleeves of her nightgown. Her eyes were sad, distant as her thoughts turned toward her family. It was the first time she hadn¡¯t looked angry or frustrated with him this morning. He found her preferred the anger to the sorrow that engulfed her. ¡°Two. Anyway you did not have to frighten her. She was simply jealous because she thought that I was a threat to her, when it came to you.¡±


    ¡°And why would she think that?¡±


    Arianna shrugged again, sighing softly as she folded her arms over her chest. He did not miss the slight wince of pain the action caused her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She was wrong of course; I mean I am most certainly not a threat to her, or anyone else. Especially when you were feeding from her¡­¡±


    ¡°I was what?¡± he interrupted her rush of words sharply.


    Arianna¡¯s blue eyes widened slightly, she began to fiddle with her nightgown sleeves again. ¡°Feeding from her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you got your information, but it is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said softly, her forehead furrowing slightly. ¡°Oh, I see. I thought¡­¡± her voice trailed off, she shook her head slightly. ¡°I must have misunderstood her, or you. I simply assumed that though you may have forgotten about her, that the wounds on her were from you.¡±


    ¡°You think I would forget her that quickly.¡± She shrugged softly, but there was a hint of remorse in the set of her shoulders. ¡°You really think that little of me?¡±


    Her mouth parted, she bit hard on her bottom lip as she watched him with new interest. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to make of you,¡± she admitted honestly. ¡°I really don¡¯t. This whole situation¡­¡± She held her hands out before her, her gaze darted over the room before turning back to him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to make of any of it. It¡¯s scary and it¡¯s disconcerting, and I am so far out of my league here that I have no idea what is going on. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re playing with me while plotting my death, I don¡¯t know what the hell is going on here. I¡¯ve heard the stories and I¡¯ve seen the damage your kind can do. I don¡¯t know how to play these games; I don¡¯t understand the anger and resentment that festers here! How the hell am I supposed to know what to think or what to do?¡±


    Her voice was ragged and filled with raw emotion by the time she stopped speaking. Her shoulders were heaving, her eyes wide and earnest. For the first time her fa?ade completely crumbled and he was able to see the terrified, angry girl beneath the timid exterior. She took a ragged breath; her shoulders bowed again as she folded her hands before her once more, but they both knew that she could not un-ring that bell.


    For the first time he began to understand how she truly felt. She had kept so much of it hidden from him, but in that one brief moment she had laid it all bare. He started to see her in a new light, and though he had known something more lie beneath her prim exterior, he began to truly see the pride and heart of this trapped, cornered girl. He felt the stirrings of a new emotion and was surprised to realize that it was sympathy, something that he had never felt before, and had never thought to experience.


    ¡°Well, anyway, she thought more of what transpired between you,¡± she finished softly.


    Braith clenched his fists, struggling against the strange feelings stirring within him, feelings that would only make him weak. Feelings that he could not allow himself to experience. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± The words were sharper than he had intended, but he didn¡¯t like the thought that the girl had even mentioned such a thing to Arianna, and he didn¡¯t like the fact that it even bothered him.


    It also served to remind him of the fact that he was hungry. There were a few different women that he would often visit when the need came upon him, but he found that the idea of feeding from them wasn¡¯t appealing at the moment. Especially not when he had Arianna standing across from him looking unbelievably innocent and striking, and smelling deliciously wonderful.


    His veins thrummed with hunger, his hands fisted at his sides. He recalled her words about having to take anything from her by force, he wondered if she still felt the same, or if maybe, just maybe, she might allow him to feed from her. He didn¡¯t think that was very likely, not when she still looked at him with fear and distrust most of the time. And not when she believed that he tossed women, and especially humans, aside like they were nothing. Though, if he were to be honest with himself, he usually did.


    He had tried to be as gentle with her as possible, but after the events of today he realized it was going to take a lot to earn her trust if he wanted it. And he was beginning to understand that he just might want it. He wanted her trust even more than he wanted the blood he could hear thrumming through her veins, and smell in the suddenly stifling air of the room. If he was going to get that blood, then he was going to have to get her trust.


    It was strange to realize this; he was used to getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, not ones constantly challenging and refuting him. And she wasn¡¯t even quite a woman, not yet anyway. She was young, and she had known so little in her short life. Yet she was strong willed, vibrant, and far more willful and alluring than any woman he had ever known.


    ¡°How old are you Arianna?¡±


    She was startled for a moment and then her mouth curved into a soft smile. ¡°Far younger than you, I¡¯m sure. But I¡¯m seventeen.¡± Though he had thought her older, he was not surprised by the tender age. ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°Far far older. Nine hundred and fifty two.¡±


    Her eyes widened considerably. Her mouth parted slightly. ¡°Wow.¡±


    He managed a wan smile. ¡°Yes, wow. I am the oldest of my siblings.¡±


    Curiosity lit her features. ¡°How many siblings do you have?¡±


    ¡°Two brothers and two sisters. This is not common knowledge in your world?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°There is little known about the royal family. It is mostly just rumors and guessing. We don¡¯t give much thought to the people that have taken so much from us, other than trying to survive from day to day.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡±


    She met his gaze head on, a trait that he admired even though her stubbornness and inability to look past what he was were beginning to aggravate the hell out of him. He decided to let it go for now, to continue to bicker with her would get neither of them anywhere, other than frustrated.


    ¡°Come here; let me take a look at your ribs.¡±


    She sighed softly, and for a moment he thought she was going to defy him, but instead she came slowly toward him. She stopped before him, her hands folding in front of her. He examined her carefully, admiring the fact that she did not flinch when he pressed against her wounded ribs. ¡°They should be good in a few weeks.¡±

 Page 12

    ¡°I know.¡±Advertisement


    His hands lingered against her sides, holding her lightly for a moment. If he gave her some of his blood she would heal quicker, but he knew that she would not take it, and though he was drawn to her more than anyone else he had ever met, he wasn¡¯t ready to create the bond between them that sharing his blood would produce. He had never shared his blood with anyone before, never mind a human.


    Her eyes came slowly toward him, bright in the light of the room. Her dark eyebrows drew sharply together as she studied him for a moment. He felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to know what she would feel like against him, what she would taste like.


    Before he knew what he was doing, he moved slowly toward her, pressing his mouth lightly against hers. She stiffened beneath him, her heart lurched violently, and he could hear the rapid pace of her pulse as it raced through her veins. Excitement tore though him, hunger gripped him tight as the delicious scent of her blood assailed him. He struggled to keep control of himself, struggled to keep his teeth from elongating as the tantalizing desire to bite into her, and savor her, ripped through him. He would frighten her if such a thing happened though, and that was not what he was looking to do at the moment.


    He pulled slightly away from her, waiting for her to shove him away, to tell him to stop, or to leave her alone. She did none of those things as she stared up at him in wide eyed wonder. She blinked rapidly for a moment, her head tilted slightly as she seemed to be trying to decide what exactly it was that he intended. And as long as she did not tell him to stop, he knew exactly what it was that he wanted from her.


    He searched her crystalline sapphire eyes before bending down and kissing her again. Her surprise was palpable, he could sense some fear underneath it all as she remained stiff against him for a moment more. He believed that fear was more from the unknowing of what he wanted, than from the actual kiss or from him. Then, to his surprise and delight, her hard mouth yielded slightly and he could feel the heat of her breath against his mouth. He pulled her closer to him, careful not to scare her as he slowly deepened the kiss.


    She was one of the most wonderful things he had ever tasted. She was sweet and giving, her body warm against his as she succumbed even more, pressing closer to him. He had not expected this from her, he had expected some resistance, a fight even, but there was none of that. In fact, she was far more yielding than he had ever imagined she would be, and she felt far better than he had ever thought she would. It felt right to hold her, to touch her. His hand entwined in her loose hair, it was as soft as silk beneath his fingers.


    Her hands curled around his forearms, she gasped softly as he ran his tongue along her lips. He wanted to lift her up, to carry her from this room, but he knew he could not move too fast. And her ribs. He had to remember her ribs. He had to remember that she was injured, even as his control began to swiftly unravel.


    He pulled away, before he couldn¡¯t. Pulled away before he lost complete control and either hurt her, or rushed her into something that she was not ready for. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide with wonder as he rested his forehead against hers. He was trembling, nearly shaking with the effort that it was taking for him not to touch her again, not to kiss her again.


    Not to drain the wonderfully tempting blood from her.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that,¡± she said softly, her voice tremulous, her grip on his arms fierce.


    ¡°Neither did I.¡±


    He brushed the hair lightly back from her face, cradling her cheeks gently within his grasp. What was this girl to him? Why did she affect him so? What the hell was going on here? The questions raced rapidly through his mind, but he couldn¡¯t answer any of them. There were no answers from him. He could not deny that she was special, that he was supposed to have found her, because he knew both of those things to be true.


    He was, however, beginning to doubt that he could keep her safe in this world, or even from himself. He knew that he could not keep her happy, she did not belong here. This was not her place, this was not her world, and she would never be safe here. If anyone even suspected that he might have feelings for her, they would kill her. Blood slaves were used, drained, tortured, and tossed away. They were not treasured, they were not taken care of, and they most certainly were not kept alive for extended periods of time.


    What the hell was he going to do with her?


    She peered questioningly up at him, her fear and hesitance evident. He forced himself to become expressionless; she had obviously seen something that troubled her on his face. ¡°Prince?¡±


    ¡°Braith.¡±


    She blinked at him, her forehead furrowing in confusion. ¡°Excuse me?¡± she asked in surprise.


    ¡°Braith, my name is Braith. You never say it. I want you to use it.¡±


    Her mouth quirked in a small smile, her eyes lit with amusement. ¡°Forgive me your majesty; I am not used to being around royalty.¡±


    Aggravation spurted through him at her words, until he realized that she was teasing him. He didn¡¯t think he had ever been teased before, he wasn¡¯t entirely certain that he liked it, but it seemed to make her happy. And he had to admit that he did enjoy seeing her happy. ¡°I see. I would prefer if you said my name though,¡± he told her abruptly.


    His brisk attitude did not seem to bother her as she shrugged her shoulders. The lack of fear she showed to him was truly amazing, he had never experienced it before. Even other royal vampires were fearful and weary around him. ¡°Braith, why do you always wear those dark glasses?¡±


    His hand darted up to the dark frames. For the most part he didn¡¯t even remember that he was wearing them, they were like another extension of his body. He shrugged, unsure of how to respond, unsure how much he really wanted to reveal to her right now. This situation was strange enough without heaping even more strange onto it.


    Thankfully he was saved from responding by a soft knock on the door. He released Arianna and took a small step away before inviting whoever it was to enter. The small brunette he remembered seeing before stepped slowly into the room. Braith bristled, his shoulders straightened as he prepared to take this girl on to.


    Arianna rested her hand gently on his arm. He glanced at her, surprised by the calming affect such a simple gesture had upon him. ¡°Hi Maggie,¡± she said softly, offering a small smile for the obviously frightened girl.


    Maggie nodded at her, but her gaze lingered over Arianna¡¯s hand on his arm. Braith pulled slowly away from Arianna, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but knowing that they had to play it safe. He had to be careful with her. ¡°I was told to come up,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Braith responded coldly. ¡°Your friend has been dismissed. Permanently.¡± The girls brown eyes widened as the implications of those words sank in. ¡°The same will happen to you if you step out of line in anyway. You will take care with her ribs.¡±


    The girl looked slightly stunned, and more than a little confused. ¡°Of course, yes your highness, of course I will,¡± she stammered out.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Braith moved swiftly past the woman. Grabbing hold of his cane, he left the room with Keegan trailing behind.


    Aria popped the grape into her mouth, chewing the sweet fruit eagerly as she picked at the tray of food. She was starving from not having eaten yesterday. She heaped more fruits onto her plate, then some breads and meat. There was so much, and it all looked so good that she didn¡¯t know where to start. She popped a handful of grapes into her mouth as she made her way to the window seat. She had not read in over a week, she¡¯d missed it and was eager to continue with the story, but she wanted to wait for Braith to come back. She was afraid that she would miss something, or would get something confused whenever she read on her own. Though, he said that she was making good progress, and was doing well on her own.


    Truth be told though, she simply enjoyed curling up next to him and listening to the deep rumble of his voice as he slowly read with her. She stared out the window, slowly rolling the fruit around in her mouth as she thought over the implications of that admission. What the hell was the matter with her? Had becoming a blood slave caused her to completely lose her mind?


    Was she actually beginning to have feelings for a monster? Feelings for one of the creatures that she had hated, and fought against her entire life? That was crazy, it was simply insane. It could not be possible, it really couldn¡¯t.


    But she truly believed that she was, and she didn¡¯t understand any of it. She had thought that he had turned against her. That he had purposely set Lauren on her in punishment, but he hadn¡¯t. And not only had he not known that Lauren was hurting her, but once he had found out about it he had been attentive, caring, protective of her and worried about her safety.


    And then he had kissed her.


    And that damn kiss had almost been her undoing. She thought back to the kiss she had shared with Max, it had been sweet and kind and it had left her feeling safe and warm. Braith¡¯s kiss hadn¡¯t left her feeling any of those things. It had left her shaken, torn, bewildered, on fire, and longing for more. Longing for so much more. She wanted him to hold her, and kiss her, and touch her forever. Yet it wasn¡¯t possible, none of it would ever be possible.


    She was a blood slave; she was supposed to die eventually. What was going to happen to her?


    She chewed on a piece of cheese as she watched the light play over the gardens. Though she didn¡¯t think he was, she knew there was still a possibility that he could be playing with her. That he was toying with her emotions only to make her emotional breakdown even more pleasurable in the end. But if that kiss was a sign of anything, she thought it was definitely a sign that he would not purposely be cruel or mean to her.


    She just didn¡¯t know exactly what he was going to be to her. She was far from certain of anything these days. A few weeks ago she would have been terrified by this realization; she was surprised that she was not terrified now. And she felt that it was because of him. It was hard to be terrified when he was there, looking out for her, taking care of her, protecting her.


    Aria frowned as she realized that she had never really been sheltered before. Her family loved her, and had always tried to keep her safe, but she had been on her own far more often than she had been under their wing since the time she was a young child. In her life, children could not be sheltered, not once they were old enough to start helping out. Every hand was needed in order to try and feed the many hungry mouths, and to help keep everyone safe.


    Hunger, it was a foreign concept to her at the moment, as she munched on some more cheese and fruit. But it was not a concept that was foreign to her family, to her friends right now. Guilt tugged at her, for a moment she could not swallow the food as it stuck in her throat. She was daydreaming about something that could never happen, a life she could never have, and her family and friends were still struggling, still fighting for their lives every moment of every hard day.


    Arianna managed to choke down the food, but she dropped her half full plate back on the tray. Her appetite was gone now anyway. Though she had been given this brief moment, this reprieve from the hunger, death, and struggle that had constituted most moments of her life, she knew that it could not last. It could never last. His world would never allow it to last. And she was a foolish child for even thinking that it might. A foolish child for not realizing the futility of this whole situation.


    Aria touched the leather binding of the book, her fingers trailed slowly over it as she admired the simple beauty of the thing. ¡°Do you need me for anything else?¡±


    Arianna lifted her head; she had forgotten that Maggie was here. She had been working on Arianna¡¯s dresses; some of them had needed to be let out as she had put on weight. ¡°Oh no, thank you though. Would you like something to eat?¡±


    The girls brown eyes widened slightly, her mouth curved in a small smile. Though she had not commented upon the bruises marring Aria¡¯s skin, Aria had seen the shock and dismay in the girl¡¯s tender gaze. Aria had wanted to tell her that the bruises were not from Braith, that he had not done this to her, but the words stuck in her throat. It was probably best if people began to believe he was mistreating her, though Lauren¡¯s dismissal might negate that fact. She imagined rumors and gossip were already flying around, and she found that she didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°No, thank you, I have other things I must attend to.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Aria said softly, feeling a twinge of guilt over taking the girl away from her work. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t mean to keep you.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s fine,¡± Maggie assured her. ¡°You are my number one priority. The prince has seen to that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Maggie was at the door, her hand upon the handle before she turned back to Aria. ¡°The prince has never had a blood slave before, did you know that?¡±

 Page 13

    Aria felt her eyes widen, her mouth parted slightly as she stared at Maggie in disbelief. She recalled her encounter with Braith¡¯s sister. The woman had asked what he was doing with her. She had thought the question odd at the time, had wondered if she was the first but she had never given much credit to the notion. This revelation did little to ease the confusion inside of her. In fact it made it even worse. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know that.¡±Advertisement


    Maggie nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true, he has never had one.¡±


    Arianna frowned, her eyebrows drawing sharply together as she thought over what Maggie had just revealed. She didn¡¯t know what to make of the words, or what they might implicate. Why would he choose her then? What was it that he wanted from her?


    Before Aria could ask any of these questions Maggie slipped out the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She sighed softly as she settled onto the window seat, torn and guilt ridden. It was an awful mess that she was in, that they both might be in right now. She didn¡¯t know what the rules for a blood slave were, but she imagined she was not supposed to be treated so kindly. And she was fairly certain that she was not supposed to live for long.


    That realization turned her thoughts back to Max. He was out there somewhere, going through God only knew what and possibly on the verge of losing his life already. Sweet, gentle Max who deserved far better than what he was probably enduring right now. Sweet, gentle Max who was only here because of her. Aria sat silently, her thoughts turning over the situation. Max had vowed to try and rescue her, they had both known that it would be a slim possibility, but was there any chance that she might be able to get to him?


    Her gaze traveled over the beautiful apartment, and all of its wonderful things. She was lucky to be here, she was lucky that Braith had rescued her from that other, vile creature, but no matter how lucky she was, how well she had it, and how angry it would make Braith, she knew that she had to break free of here. She had to get to Max, and she had to get them both to safety before it was too late. Because no matter how safe and secure she felt now, it would not last. It could not last.


    It was only a matter of time before this all crumpled around her, she had to do something before that happened. She had to save her friend before they were both doomed. Arianna sighed softly, her gaze slid slowly back to the tray of food. If she was going to plan an escape, going to get them both free she would need as much food, energy, and strength as she could get, but the idea of an escape was enough to make her stomach twist. She needed the food, but there was no way that she could force it down her throat right now. She was too frightened and lost right now to even attempt it. Tomorrow she would start taking better care of herself, for now she simply wanted to sit in silent misery as she tried to formulate some kind of a plan to get out of here.


    The first thing she had to do was locate Max. It would do her little good if she was able to break free, yet unable to find her friend. If she got out of here, she would have to know where he was so that she could get to him swiftly, and safely. It would be hard, she knew that, but she was fairly certain that she would be able to do it.


    She hoped.


    Her attention was drawn to the door as Braith returned; his loyal wolf close to his side. She knew immediately that something was not right. His shoulders were too stiff, his jaw clenched tight. Arianna¡¯s eyes widened, her hands clenched tight before her as she braced herself for whatever it was he had to say.


    ¡°Caleb will be here shortly. I need you to go to my room and stay there until I call for you.¡±


    Aria swallowed heavily, she managed a brief nod for him. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Arianna.¡± She turned back at his soft word. His knuckles were white as he gripped the head of his cane. ¡°I mean it; do not come out of there.¡±


    Her temper bristled slightly, she wanted to rebel against his command, but she was able to keep her mouth shut as she nodded again. She didn¡¯t particularly want to see his brother again anyway; there was something about the man that frightened her on a primal, instinctive level. She slipped silently from the room.


    Chapter 8


    Arianna hated the thin gold leash, but she accepted the fact that she had to wear it, that she would not be allowed out without it. And all she wanted was out. It was the only chance she had of maybe finding Max. Thankfully she didn¡¯t have to plead with Braith to take her with him to town; she suspected that he wanted people to see her chained to him like any other blood slave should be.


    Arianna ignored the questioning stares as Braith led her through the streets that she hadn¡¯t truly noticed on their walk to the palace. They were clean, made of cobblestone, and lined by sweeping, beautiful buildings that she tried hard not to gape at as they made their way swiftly along. Vampires moved about the street, many had blood slaves following meekly behind. The gold leash was the brightest thing about the poor victims that trudged behind their masters.


    Aria tried hard not to stare at the blood slaves, tried hard not to notice the misery that radiated from them, but by the time they had made it a few hundred feet down the road she had tears forming in her eyes. These slaves were thin, beaten, marred with bruises and bite marks. There were some that looked healthier than others, but there was still a bleak look in their eyes that left Aria shaken and confused. These were her people, and they were being cruelly used and slowly bled to death. Braith had spared her from such a fate, but it had nearly been her as well. That thought did not ease the pain clawing at her, but only increased it. She had been lucky enough to be spared such a fate, but why? She was no better than any of them; she did not deserve to be spared when they had not been.


    Braith grabbed hold of her elbow, pulling her close against him. ¡°Do not cry; do not show sympathy, if you do so then we must go back. You are not permitted to show such emotions, do you understand me?¡± he hissed in her ear.


    Aria swallowed heavily, her head bowed as tried to blink away the hot tears burning her eyes. How could she not show sympathy for these poor, broken people? They were her people after all, and they were suffering unfairly. Braith released her arm; he took a swift step away from her as they neared the busier section of town.


    Vampires and people mingled about the shops and stores, merchants sold their wares in the streets, shouting to be heard above the hustle and bustle of the people. Aria¡¯s eyes darted over everything, there was so much to take in, and she could not do it all at once. She had never seen anything like it in her life of wilderness and caves. She had never even imagined that such a thing existed.


    ¡°Amazing,¡± she said softly.


    She felt Braith¡¯s eyes upon her, but she did not look at him again, there was too much to see around her. The crowd parted easily as he led her through it. Everyone scurried to get out of his and Keegan¡¯s way. Aria trailed silently behind, like the docile and good blood slave that she was. Her eyes darted over everyone, rapidly searching for Max, or the blond woman that had claimed him somewhere amongst the crush of bodies.


    Aria stopped short as they broke free of the crowd, horror rolled through her, nausea surged through her stomach as she came face to face with the stage she had been paraded upon. She felt the sharp tug of her leash, but her feet would not move as she gazed at the newest victims upon the simple platform. The same man that had auctioned her off was spewing the praises of the young boy he held.


    ¡°Move!¡± a sharp shove pushed her forward, knocking her slightly off balance. She turned slightly, just catching a brief glance of the woman that had shoved her out of the way. Aria did not recognize her, but it was apparent the woman was in a rush as she disappeared swiftly into the mob of bodies.


    Aria managed to get her feet to move again. She stumbled forward, suddenly finding it hard to breathe in the packed street. Braith had not gone far in the crowd, as he had been stopped by an older man with graying hair and a potbelly. He must have been human. The man looked intense; his eyes were narrowed as he spoke rapidly and swiftly. Aria was smart enough to hang back; she would not be welcome in this conversation.


    The man did not acknowledge her presence, but she did see his gaze flicker to the golden leash. Aria turned away, trying hard not to think about the bond that kept her tied to Braith. Keegan was allowed to roam free, while she was leashed and tethered. Anger and resentment coiled through her, but she fought both emotions back. This was the way it was supposed to be, this was the only way that a blood slave could be brought out in public. He could not allow her to wander free, too many questions would be raised then; she would be in danger. It would be the end of her life.


    Aria bristled against the restraint, bristled against the fact that this was her life for however long it would be granted to her. For no matter what, eventually she would have to die. A chill crept down her spine. She had accepted death when she¡¯d first arrived here, she had hoped for it, and prayed for it. She did not want to accept it now though.


    A sharp tug on her leash alerted her to the fact that Braith was ready to move on. She turned back to him, freezing instantly as her eyes latched onto the woman that had claimed Max. She was a few feet away from Braith, narrowing in on him. She was just as beautiful as Aria remembered with her long blond hair, and voluptuous figure. Aria had the fleeting thought that this was the type of woman, or vampire, that Braith really liked and desired. She didn¡¯t know why the thought popped into her head, but once there she couldn¡¯t shake it.


    ¡°Prince,¡± the woman greeted, a knowing smile curving her full mouth as she thrust her hip out.


    Aria stared at her, fighting the urge to glare at the overt, obnoxious woman. Anger and jealousy curdled through her as the woman touched Braith¡¯s arm lightly. There was a familiarity between them that left Aria shaken, and stunned. A familiarity that left her feeling slightly sick and more than a little disconcerted. She didn¡¯t like the thought of other women around him; she didn¡¯t like the fact that such a realization troubled her so much.


    Though Braith did not move closer to the woman, she did press herself against him in an overt way that nearly caused Aria to vomit. That was all she could take, she turned sharply away, her gaze scanning over the crowd as she eagerly sought out Max. She needed something to distract her from the awful scene before her. She spotted him almost instantly, standing amongst the crush of bodies, his golden leash draped over a wooden post. A post that had other blood slaves tied to it.


    Aria¡¯s stomach dropped, her heart leapt in her chest. A surge of relief, hope, and joy erupted in her chest. The sight of him was one of the most wonderful things she had ever encountered. The moment that her eyes found him, he also found her. His bright blue eyes widened considerably, he took a step toward her, only to be brought up short by the leash holding him in place. Tears filled her eyes, he still looked healthy, but there was a broken air about him that robbed her of her breath.


    Without thinking, she was moving, heading toward him, needing to be with her friend, needing to see and touch and speak with a man that meant so very much to her. Max watched her, his eyes bright with excitement, he grabbed hold of the leash, looking as if he was going to rip it free, but they both knew that was impossible. His mouth parted, delight radiated from him. Aria couldn¡¯t help but smile back at him; her fingers itched to touch him, her heart soared with happiness. For one brief, shining moment, everything was right and she didn¡¯t know fear. She knew only that she needed to get to her friend.


    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.

 Page 14

    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.Advertisement


    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.¡±


    Acting on pure instinct, and with the reckless abandonment her father had often cautioned her about, Aria¡¯s hand snaked up with the agility and speed that had enabled her survival for the past seventeen years. And which would probably end her life now as her hand connected with his face with an echoing slap that lingered for a long time in the deathly silent air. Aria panted, trying to catch her breath as she gazed at him in wounded shock. The mark of her bloody handprint was perfectly evident against the hard curve of his cheek.


    His head, which had been knocked slightly aside by her hard blow, came slowly back to her. She could feel the shock that rolled through him, but beneath that she could feel the rolling force of fury building within him. She knew that she should be afraid, knew that she should probably beg for forgiveness, but she would not, and she did not.


    He stepped against her, forcing her into the wall, his face mere inches from hers. Aria found that she could no longer breathe, her hands were shaking. He pressed tighter against her, his hands resting on either side of her head as he bent low, his nose nearly touching hers. ¡°It won¡¯t be you I kill Arianna,¡± he growled. Her breath gasped into her, her knees buckled slightly as the implication of his words sank in. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you alive, and I¡¯ll make you watch. I can take whatever I want, whenever I want it. I have been kind to you so far, I will not be kind any longer. No one disobeys me, no one goes against me. I will show you what kind of a monster I can truly be.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she managed to whisper.


    ¡°Oh yes, and I am going to enjoy it. I¡¯m actually rather parched at the moment, it¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve fed.¡±


    Horror tore through her, she was rapidly shaking her head as he shoved away from her, moving with swift speed toward the door. She knew where he was going, knew who he was going to retrieve, and she had to stop it. Max couldn¡¯t be punished because she was an idiot. Max couldn¡¯t be punished because of her. Not again.


    ¡°Wait! No! Stop! Your highness, please do not do this! Please!¡± She scurried after him, nearly tripping over the leash still tethered to her. She seized hold of his hand but he shook her easily off. ¡°No!¡± she gasped. ¡°Don¡¯t do this! Braith, I¡¯m begging you, please!¡±


    Her feet tangled up within the leash, jerking her painfully down, and causing it to slice deeper into her flesh. ¡°He¡¯s my friend, just my friend! He¡¯s been my friend since we were children! He¡¯s like a brother to me!¡± she practically wailed, despair threatening to choke her as tears clogged her throat. ¡°I have never begged anyone in my life; please I am begging you, please do not hurt him! He did nothing wrong! I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll do whatever you want, whenever you want! Punish me! Punish me!¡±


    The force of her sobs shook her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe through her broken rib. She couldn¡¯t move; her entire body was wracked with agony. Blood continued to spill from her wounds, forming a puddle beneath her, soaking into her dress, but she didn¡¯t care. She didn¡¯t care about anything anymore. She had ruined everything; she had destroyed Max¡¯s life. She had not freed him; instead she had given him a death sentence. And from the look on Braith¡¯s face it would be a painful one.


    There was a long moment of silence in which she could not look at him, in which she felt as if she were dying, felt as if her misery was going to kill her. And then, to her surprise, she felt the gentlest, lightest touch she had ever felt. His hands were upon her face, cradling her cheeks as he lifted her face to his. His lips were on her, brushing against her cheeks, her forehead, whispering against her ears softly as he tried to soothe her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he said softly. Her sobs shook her, rocking her harder as a soft wail escaped from her. She didn¡¯t know why she was crying now, didn¡¯t know where the full source of this misery was coming from, but she could no more stem the flow of it as she could stem the flow of a tsunami. ¡°Arianna stop, you¡¯re hurting yourself. Stop Arianna, it¡¯s ok.¡±


    His hands were in her hair, pulling her toward him, drawing her against him as he clung tighter to her.


    Chapter 9


    Aria sat silently as Braith slowly bandaged her wrist. His touch was gentle, his hands light upon her wounded and sore skin. Her tears had finally subsided but she felt exhausted, broken, completely defeated. He was being kind to her again, and she didn¡¯t know why. Neither of them had spoken in the past hour. She did not know why he had come back to her, why he had not gone after Max, and she didn¡¯t care. As long as Max stayed alive then she didn¡¯t care what happened, she had promised Braith anything he wanted; she had meant it.


    She didn¡¯t know if that was what had halted him, if that promise was what had brought him back to her, but she wasn¡¯t going to risk him changing his mind. She had overestimated his kindness and understanding of her, but then again she had slapped him in the face. She supposed she was lucky that he hadn¡¯t just killed her outright.


    He finished with her bandages, his hand rested lightly upon her wrapped wrist and fingers. She slowly lifted her head to meet his shaded eyes. ¡°Why?¡± she asked softly.


    ¡°Why what?¡±


    She swallowed heavily, fearful of sending him into another rage, but she knew she had to ask the question. ¡°Why did you pull me off that stage? Why did you choose me when you have never chosen a blood slave before?¡±


    He sighed softly; his hands gently squeezed hers. He rose slowly from the floor and sat on the bed beside her. ¡°I see that people have been talking.¡±


    She shrugged, fiddling anxiously with her bandages. ¡°I think most are curious.¡±


    ¡°As are you.¡±


    ¡°As am I,¡± she agreed softly.


    He remained silent for a long moment, his attention fixed on the doorway. ¡°I have never had a blood slave because I prefer to take my blood from the willing. Many of my kind enjoy the force and the control, I do not. I never have.¡±


    She turned slowly toward him, her fingers stilling on her bandages as she studied his hard countenance. Her blood had been wiped from his face, but she could still see the fine imprint of her fingers upon him. A small bit of shame crept through her, she shouldn¡¯t have hit him, but she had never been known to control her temper. It had nearly cost Max his life.


    ¡°There are many willing ones out there.¡±


    She felt his eyes slide to her, felt his gaze as it slid over her. She could only imagine what she looked like. Her eyes had to be bloodshot; she could feel the swelling in them. She imagined her face was blotchy and swollen also; her hair was in disarray, wild as it straggled about her face. For the first time she found herself caring about her looks, she did not want to be ugly to him, did not want to look like a helpless child. Yet she felt as if she were both in his eyes right now.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She nodded, not liking the strange pit that formed in her stomach as he confirmed what she had already known. What the hell was wrong with her? Just an hour ago she had been slapping him, now she was upset by the thought of him with his many women. She was losing her damn mind, she had finally flipped her lid, and she was surprised to realize that she didn¡¯t really care. Not anymore.


    ¡°So then why me? Why did you choose me?¡±


    He sighed softly, running his hand through his hair. It was already disheveled, now it stood slightly on end. He stood up, walking over to the window before moving back across the room. He looked like a caged animal as he paced restlessly back and forth. ¡°Because I saw you on that stage.¡±


    Aria frowned, stunned by his response, unsure of how to respond to it. What the hell did that mean? Of course he had seen her on the stage, as had everyone else that was present that day. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°No, of course you don¡¯t,¡± he said softly. He stopped before her, kneeling down as he took hold of her hands. ¡°I brought you here because for the first time in almost a hundred years I was able to see something, and that something was you Aria.¡±


    She frowned at him; her fingers limp in his as she stared at him in confusion. Her eyes scanned over his hard face, landing upon the thick glasses. Her mind flashed to the cane, and to Keegan who was ever present at Braith¡¯s side. ¡°You¡¯re blind,¡± she breathed, stunned by this revelation, and the fact that she had not realized it until now. But, he couldn¡¯t be blind. How could he have taught her to read then? And how had she always felt his gaze on her, how had he seen her connection with Max today if he was blind? ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

 Page 15

    He shook his head, turning slightly to look out the window. ¡°I don¡¯t either,¡± he said softly. ¡°But for some reason I saw you on that stage, and once the shock of actually seeing something again wore off, I began to realize that I could also see things around you.¡±Advertisement


    ¡°So your eyesight is coming back?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He turned back to her. ¡°I only see things when I am with you, when you are around. When I leave this room, when I am not in your presence, I can no longer see again.¡±


    Aria¡¯s eyes widened, her heart leapt wildly in her chest. She did not know what to make of this confession, did not know what it meant, what it signified. Her fingers were shaking, her lips trembled slightly as she leaned forward and gently stroked over the hard edge of his glasses. He did not move away from her, did not stop her as her fingers wrapped slowly around them. She bit her lip, excitement washing through her as she gently pulled the glasses away.


    His eyes were closed, but she could see the faint white scars that outlined them. It had been a hundred years, plenty of time for a vampire to heal, but those scars were still there, still marring the otherwise perfection of his masculine beauty. Her fingers stroked lightly over the marks, compassion washed through her. Whatever had caused this had to have been something horrific to have left this type of lasting damage. Something horrific and painful.


    ¡°Let me see Braith,¡± she said softly, suddenly needing to see his eyes more than she had ever needed anything before.


    His eyes remained closed for a moment longer before his long, dark lashes swept upward. Surprise flickered through her, but she found herself frozen, immobile within the grasp of that solid, fierce stare. His eyes were striking. They were a bright, stunning gray that robbed her of her breath and left her immobile upon the bed. Around the iris of them was a band of bright blue that was arresting. They dilated once the light hit them, once they focused upon her.


    Aria could only gaze at those eyes, the slow comprehension dawning upon her that they were the most beautiful things she had ever seen, and that they were damaged. Though they had focused upon her, they seemed strangely unseeing and slightly dazed. Yet they scanned over her face, searching her slowly as she ran her fingers lightly over the soft scars encircling them.


    ¡°Beautiful,¡± she said softly. She saw the brief shock that rolled through him, but she didn¡¯t care. They were beautiful, and she couldn¡¯t stop touching them, couldn¡¯t stop touching him. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°An explosion.¡±


    ¡°The war?¡± she asked softly. He shook his head in response, but did not elaborate and she sensed that he didn¡¯t want to. She wasn¡¯t going to push him either. It didn¡¯t matter how it had occurred, it simply mattered that she was here, with him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It was a long time ago, I had long since adapted to the loss. Until you.¡±


    She stopped searching his wounded gaze, and focused fully on the man before her. ¡°What does it mean?¡± she asked softly.


    His hands encircled hers, his grasp tender upon her wounded fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it means Arianna. I simply don¡¯t know. I do know that I wasn¡¯t going to let you go once I saw you, and I especially wasn¡¯t going to let you go to Richard Ellis. That is all I do know, I wish I had more answers, but I don¡¯t.¡±


    She nodded, biting on her bottom lip. Her hands tightened briefly on his hard face, she leaned slightly forward, pressing her lips lightly against his forehead. She wished that she could do so much more, wished that she could heal the wounds that had been inflicted upon him so long ago, but she couldn¡¯t. She could not undo what had been so cruelly imposed upon him all those years ago, long before she was born even.


    ¡°Braith,¡± she breathed, so completely lost and confused by everything that was happening to her. To them.


    She pulled slightly back, surprised to feel tears burning her eyes again. She didn¡¯t think that she could possibly have any more tears left in her, but she did. ¡°Arianna, you must listen to me. I don¡¯t wish to hurt you, I really don¡¯t, but there are rules to being a blood slave, and there are rules about the relationship of a master and their slave.¡±


    ¡°I know my life is not going to be a long one,¡± she said softly. ¡°I¡¯ve known that for years. I¡¯ve seen more death than people three times my age, and I¡¯ve narrowly avoided it many many times. I understand the rules Braith; and I know there is nothing you can do¡­¡±


    ¡°But there is, or there could be, but you must do as I say Arianna. There have been other vampires that have kept slaves for a few years, even longer. But you must behave, you must stay quiet, and you have to stay away from your lover¡­¡±


    ¡°Max is just my friend!¡± she interrupted sharply; angered by the fact that he kept insisting upon something that wasn¡¯t true. ¡°I told you that already, and I meant it. We¡¯ve been together since we were babies; he¡¯s my brother¡¯s best friend. If it wasn¡¯t for me, and my recklessness and carelessness, Max wouldn¡¯t be here. I can¡¯t let him suffer because of me! I can¡¯t let him suffer because I am a fool who never listens to orders¡­¡±


    Aria broke off, her gaze widening as she realized what she had just revealed to him, or had nearly revealed to him. ¡°Orders?¡± he inquired softly.


    She shook her head, not wanting to discuss this now. She simply couldn¡¯t. ¡°He¡¯s my friend and he is going to die because of me. I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t bear it,¡± she choked out. ¡°All he wanted was to save me, for Daniel.¡±


    ¡°Daniel?¡±


    Aria nodded, managing a tremulous smile. ¡°My brother.¡±


    Braith¡¯s face was hard, his eyes searching as he looked her over. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Max could have gotten away Braith. I went in to rescue Mary¡¯s child, but Max could have gotten away, he could have escaped and fled into the woods. He is here because he thought that he could save me from all of this, Max is an optimist to the end.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡±


    She managed a wan smile as she sat back slightly. ¡°I have always been one hundred percent pragmatic. Like I said I have seen a lot in my short life, very little of it has been good. Max is good though, and I hate the fact that his goodness will be destroyed because of me. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you; I just wanted to see my friend, to know that he was safe, and that he wasn¡¯t dead. At least not yet anyway.¡±


    Braith sighed as he sat back. ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt me.¡±


    Arianna nodded, her hands slipping slowly away from his hard face. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t hurt you. I shouldn¡¯t have said that, I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± She couldn¡¯t hurt him, she had been foolish to think that maybe that was the reason he had been so angry with her. She needed to remember that though her feelings for him might be changing, his feelings for her weren¡¯t. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do what I did today. It¡¯s just that when I saw Max he reminded me so much of home, and I missed him so much that all I could think of was getting to him. All I could think of was freedom. All I could think of was my woods and hunting and running free. Freedom, Braith, I loved my freedom, I reveled in it. And I¡¯m sorry that what I did today could have caused us both problems, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself because for one brief moment I was in those woods again. I could smell them, taste them, feel them around me, and it was wonderful.¡±


    Aria broke off, overcome with a crushing sense of homesickness again. Braith was silent, his mouth parted slightly as he studied her, and then his fingers were in her hair and he was pulling her against him. Aria gasped softly, but then his lips were upon hers, his mouth claiming hers with a desperation that left her stunned and breathless. At first she was so surprised that she was motionless against him, unable to respond to the intensity and need she felt radiating from him.


    And then her shock was buried beneath the torrent of emotions that surged forth in her. She was shaking, rocked by the need that filled her, the desperation that seized her. She needed this, she needed him. And it felt so right, so perfectly, wonderfully, right! Something inside of her seemed to be healing, mending, becoming whole. There had always been something missing in her life, something that she had been searching and hoping for, but she had never known what it was. Until now.


    And now she knew that it was him.


    He was what she had been missing; he was what she had been searching for, looking for. He was what had made her so reckless all the time, because without him she had been so lost and empty that she hadn¡¯t stopped to think about the consequences of her actions. And though she knew there would be consequences for these actions, she didn¡¯t care, because this was right. In fact, even though he was something that she had always hated and fought against, she thought this might be the first right thing she had ever done.


    He rose over top of her, his large body loomed over hers as he seized hold of her waist and lifted her easily up. Aria gasped softly as he deposited her in the center of the bed before coming down on top of her. Aria¡¯s heart hammered, excitement and panic tore through her in equal measures. It all felt so wonderful and new and thrilling, but it was also moving far too fast as the heavy weight of his body pressed her deeper into the mattress, and his strong hands began to slip her thin dress up her thighs.


    Aria broke free of the delightful pressure of his mouth as fear finally took over completely. She couldn¡¯t breathe, couldn¡¯t get control of her surging body and tumultuous emotions. ¡°Wait Braith, wait!¡± she managed to pant out.


    He froze against her, his hands stilled instantly upon her thigh. Aria shook at that realization; it was the most intimate touch she had ever experienced. A tremor raced through her as desire sent her heartbeat skyrocketing again. She had never felt so torn and lost before, never felt such overwhelming desire mingled with such pulsating fear of the unknown. It was all moving too swiftly, she couldn¡¯t think, and she desperately needed just a moment to at least try and sort out what was going on.


    His hands were upon her face, turning it towards him. She blinked at him, trying hard to focus on the beautiful, caring eyes swarming before her. ¡°Arianna, are you ok?¡±


    She managed to nod; she even managed a wan smile. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m not¡­ It¡¯s just too fast. It¡¯s all too fast.¡±


    His eyebrows drew sharply together again for a moment, his eyes scanned slowly over her face. Then, much to Aria¡¯s horror, a dawning realization seemed to come over him. His brow smoothed out, his eyes were far more understanding as they came back to her. ¡°Arianna, are you a virgin?¡± Her face flooded with color and her eyes darted rapidly away from him. She couldn¡¯t meet his gaze again, she was too mortified. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    She bit on her bottom lip, shaking her head as she struggled to keep the fierce heat from her face. ¡°You should have told me, I would have gone slower, I would have¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± she whispered, too embarrassed to hear anymore.


    He sighed softly; he bent his head, pressing his forehead against hers for a moment. His fingers twined slowly within her hair, stroking lightly through it. ¡°Ok,¡± he said, pressing a soft kiss to her nose. He rolled off of her, pulling her tightly against him, his arm wrapping around her waist as he held her against him. Aria was stunned by the easiness with which he cradled her, and the fact that he had taking her rejection this calmly as he held her gently within his arms.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand any of this,¡± she whispered.


    He was silent for a long moment, lightly brushing the hair back from her face. ¡°Neither do I, but you must keep this to yourself Arianna. No one else can know about my eyesight.¡±


    She rolled over to stare at him; his hand cradled her face as he watched her. ¡°Not even your family?¡±


    ¡°They see my blindness as a weakness, and there are many people that want to keep me weak. If they realize that I have my vision back and that it¡¯s because of you, they will kill you to keep me weak. They may not know why I can only see around you either, and they won¡¯t care. You can¡¯t let anyone know.¡±


    She bit on her lip as she nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she promised.


    He smiled at her, pressing soft kisses across her cheeks. She was amazed by him, stunned by the tenderness he showed her, shocked by the fact that he had so easily been denied something she knew he desperately wanted. He was a vampire, a monster, and yet she knew now that though he could be volatile, he was not a monster. He never would be, not with her anyway. She knew it instinctively, deeply, and with every fiber of her being.


    ¡°What are you going to do with me?¡± she asked softly.


    His smile was swift and stunning, his eyes twinkled brightly. ¡°Whatever you want me to do.¡± Aria couldn¡¯t help but smile back at him as she lightly traced the hard ridge of his jaw. ¡°I know you want your freedom Arianna, and I understand that, but I can¡¯t give it to you. I will keep you protected for as long as I can, for although I am a prince there are those with more power than I. It may take a little while, but I will work through this, somehow. I won¡¯t let them kill you.¡±

 Page 16

    Aria nodded, warmed by the words, but not comforted by them. There would be little either of them could do if it were decided that she was a threat that needed to be taken care of. ¡°You look exhausted.¡±Advertisement


    ¡°I am,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Sleep, we can talk later.¡±


    But she didn¡¯t want to sleep, she wanted to lay here and feel him against her. She wanted to lay here and enjoy the simple wonder of her strange and tenuous situation. But though she struggled against it, sleep was swift and deep when it claimed her.


    Chapter 10


    Braith watched the light play off of Arianna¡¯s vibrant hair. Her head was bent, her legs drawn up beneath her as she sat curled within the window seat. She had moved on from Ivanhoe and now held Of Mice and Men before her. Her instincts were quick and honed, she had actually managed to slap him after all, but she had not noticed his arrival. She was enrapt with the thin novel, her eyes wide as she read through the page.


    She may not be the most beautiful woman, but she was by far the most stunning and appealing. He felt a surge of emotion as he watched her; it was an emotion he had never felt before, and one that he couldn¡¯t name right now. Actually, the longer he stood and stared at her the more he realized that, to him, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. That she always would be.


    She seemed to finally realize that he was there as she lifted her head, blinking at him in surprise. Then, a small smile spread over her face, lighting her delicate features and sparking her sapphire eyes. She swung her feet down, placing the book beside her as she rose. Her wrist and fingers were still bandaged; the white cotton a stark contrast against the soft hue of her skin.


    She was mouthwatering, alluring without meaning to be, beautiful without even trying. And she was his. The possessive feeling was strong, intense, and consuming as it surged through him. It was true, he knew that. She was his, and he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, and protected.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she said softly, her gaze darting briefly away as her cheeks flooded slightly with color. He had left her sleeping, unwilling to wake her after the events of yesterday, when he had left this morning. Now her innocence, her uncertainty raced to the forefront.


    ¡°Arianna,¡± he greeted, smiling as he placed his cane next to the door. It was wonderful to be able to see once again, but the best thing was being able to see her. Keegan padded slowly into the room, and settled by her feet. Braith had not missed the fact that even the wolf seemed infatuated with her. ¡°Did you eat?¡±


    She nodded; her smile wan and tremulous as her gaze darted to the tray of food. Her dark eyebrows drew sharply together; a tumultuous expression crossed her face. Then, her expression cleared and she met his gaze again. He could see the fleeting thoughts that crossed over her expressive face, sense the questions that lingered just beneath the surface. He was surprised when she held her tongue though. It was a first since he had met her, he realized.


    ¡°Arianna?¡±


    She smiled brightly at him, but it was a smile that did not reach her eyes. ¡°This book is very good,¡± she said softly.


    He glanced at the novel resting upon the seat, heaving a sigh as he pulled his coat off. He could guess at what troubled her, but if she didn¡¯t want to speak about it, then he wasn¡¯t going to force her to. It wasn¡¯t something that he really wanted to discuss anyway. He was not going to push it on her, he was not going to make her do anything that she did not want to, but he still needed to feed. Even if he found the women he took blood from undesirable now, even if it was really her blood that he craved. He still had to sate his hunger otherwise he might hurt her without intending to. ¡°It is one of my favorites.¡±


    She watched him as he moved silently toward her. He was itching to touch her again, itching to feel her once more. Her head tilted back as she stared up at him, her mouth parting slightly, and her breath coming more rapidly. He could hear the increased beat of her heart; her pulse sped rapidly through her veins. He smiled at her, pleased to know that he affected her as much as she affected him.


    He caressed her face, his hand twining into her thick hair. Her eyes were bright as they twinkled up at him. She truly was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. He bent over her, pressing a soft kiss to her full lips. Her sweet breath left her on a soft sigh that he caught as he pulled her closer to him. His arm encircled her waist; he lifted her against him, holding her tight as she wrapped her arms around his neck.


    She melded against him, nestling easily, perfectly. He was amazed by how incredible she felt against him, how right all of this felt. How on earth had it come to this? That he, of all vampires, had managed to find himself in this situation, in this predicament of being ensnared by the allure of a human. But he found himself not caring as he lost himself to the feel of her mouth and body against his.


    He was so lost to her that he did not hear the knock on the door until it was too late. It was Keegan¡¯s low growl that alerted him to the new presence, Keegan had never liked Caleb. Braith froze, his hands stilling on Arianna as he pulled slightly away from her. She stared up at him in wide eyed shock as heat flared through her face. Though Braith could not see his brother, he could feel the force of his gaze on his back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me interrupt you brother,¡± Caleb said softly, closing the door behind him. ¡°You know I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Fear and shock shot through Arianna¡¯s eyes, her gaze darted toward Caleb, but Braith held her still, keeping her sheltered from Caleb¡¯s scrutiny. A scrutiny he knew would be cruel, speculative, and far more leering than Braith wanted her exposed to. He held her for a moment longer before sliding her feet slowly back to the ground. How had he missed Caleb¡¯s approach? He usually sensed his brother the moment he hit the hallway. Caleb carried a wave of cruelty, anger, and depravity with him that was hard to miss.


    ¡°You need to go to my room,¡± he told Arianna softly.


    ¡°By all means continue,¡± Caleb drawled lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll wait. I¡¯ll even enjoy watching.¡±


    Horror bloomed in Arianna¡¯s gaze, she tried again to look at Caleb, but Braith held the back of her skull, keeping her sheltered from Caleb¡¯s gaze. ¡°Arianna,¡± Braith growled. Her eyes came back to him, her lips, still swollen from his kiss, began to tremble. He could sense her fear, her revulsion. He wished that he could take this away from her, shelter her from this, but he could not. It was too late for that, Caleb was amongst them now. And Caleb was one of the nastiest sons of a bitches that Braith had ever met. He didn¡¯t want him anywhere near Arianna. ¡°Go.¡±


    She hesitated for a moment before nodding swiftly. He released her, taking a step back as she squared her shoulders and locked her jaw. She turned away from him, keeping her chin raised as she strode across the room, not looking at Caleb as she moved. ¡°Wait!¡± Braith bristled, stepping forward as Caleb barked out the harsh command. He didn¡¯t want anyone ordering her around, least of all his little brother. Arianna stopped, her gaze turned slowly to Caleb. She did not waver, did not hesitate as she kept her shoulders proudly back and her jaw clenched tightly. Caleb lifted an eyebrow, amusement flitted over his face, but Braith saw the immorality in his brother¡¯s gaze as it raked sharply over Arianna.


    ¡°She¡¯s not really your type Braith, not that you can see that, but she¡¯s really not. I, on the other hand, always liked a redhead. I really think you should give me a turn at her.¡±


    Horror flashed across Arianna¡¯s face, her gaze darted frantically toward Braith. He hated that she was being exposed to this, hated his brother for doing it to her, but he could not stop it, not without revealing too much, and then her life would be forfeit. ¡°I don¡¯t share.¡±


    Caleb shrugged absently, folding his arms over his chest as his gaze slowly raked Arianna from head to toe again. ¡°Anymore,¡± Caleb purred. ¡°Things were different just a month ago.¡±


    ¡°Go!¡± Braith snarled at her, fighting the urge to punch his brother in the face. Amusement flickered over Caleb¡¯s handsome features, but he did not try to stop Arianna again as she hurried from the room. Though she hid it well Braith could sense her confusion, fear, and horror. Braith kept his attention on his brother, struggling to keep his fury under control and his face impassive. He wasn¡¯t sure he succeeded though, as Caleb was staring at him questioningly. A gaze he didn¡¯t realize that Braith could now see.


    ¡°What are you doing here Caleb?¡± he inquired when he heard the soft click of the door closing behind Arianna. Though his vision darkened without her beside him, he was still able to dimly make out his brother. Caleb shrugged as he moved into the room, settling himself leisurely upon one of the sofas. Braith bristled, but didn¡¯t show a reaction to his brother¡¯s cavalier attitude.


    ¡°Father is holding a banquet tonight.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Caleb picked at the back of the couch as he stretched his long legs before him. ¡°Jericho has returned.¡± Braith stiffened, Keegan padded over to him, brushing up against his legs. ¡°And you know what it means if little brother has returned?¡±


    ¡°The war will resume,¡± Braith answered softly, his gaze darting toward the closed door. He didn¡¯t want Arianna to know about this, not yet anyway.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Caleb agreed. ¡°I wonder what he has learned.¡±


    Braith didn¡¯t respond; there was no use in trying to guess at what Jericho had learned during his time away, until Jericho informed them what it was. He had not agreed with Jericho being sent out to try and assimilate with the rebels in the first place. Jericho was young, reckless, and it was dangerous to send a prince into enemy territory. But he had insisted upon going, wanting to do something for their cause, wanting to prove that he was something more than the youngest son. And their father had been all too happy to send him, eager to see what Jericho might learn about the rebel faction, and not really caring if he lost his youngest. He had two other sons after all.


    But Jericho was the only member of their family that Braith had ever remotely been close to, and he had not wanted to take the risk of losing his brother. His protests that if Jericho was captured he could be used as a weapon against them had fallen on the deaf ears of his brother and father. His father would not rescue Jericho if something went wrong, a point that he had made very clear.


    And now Jericho was back, and if he was back that meant he had discovered a way to bring down the rebel faction. He had discovered a way to destroy their enemies. Braith wasn¡¯t entirely sure he wanted to hear what it was though.


    Braith stood in his father¡¯s chambers, his hand folded over the head of his cane. Keegan sat silently beside him. It had been a long time since Braith had been in his father¡¯s private living area. He could not see them now, but he knew over the years that his father had acquired more things, amassing his fortune within these private walls. He could sense things about him, hear the extra padding in the dull echo that rang through the enclosing walls.


    ¡°Your brother has returned.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ve been told.¡±


    Braith didn¡¯t have to see his father to know that he was large, imposing, and dark. He was also sadistic. It was how he had managed to keep control of their race for over four hundred years, when many rulers had failed to keep it for more than a hundred at a time. His father ruled with an iron fist, no one stepped out of line, anyone that disobeyed was killed. They were not merely killed though, but tortured and destroyed in the most brutal and horrendous ways possible as a way to deter others who might try to bring the king down. He ruled by fear, he had won the war, and the vampires respected and obeyed him because of that.


    Braith felt he should respect him too, he was his father, and he had succeeded where many had failed, but Braith felt nothing for the man except an intense dislike. His father had been cruel to the world outside of this palace, but he had been even crueler to the world inside of it. Beatings had been a mandatory rule upon growing up, being the first born Braith had received the blunt force of them, and being the youngest boy Jericho had also been heavily focused upon. Caleb had mainly managed to slip through untouched. Caleb also had a cruel way about him that his father recognized, and admired.


    By the time Jericho had been born, Braith had been nearly grown and almost untouchable, and his father had eagerly turned his attention to a new target. It was why Braith had always felt closer to Jericho, had always looked out for his little brother, and had not wanted him sent straight into the lion¡¯s den. His father had been more than eager to throw Jericho in there though, easily willing to toss him aside.


    Braith had been surprised when his father hadn¡¯t destroyed him after the loss of his eyesight; it had only been the fact that he had adapted so well to being blind that saved him. He could still fight as well as he had when he had been able to see his attackers, and he was still as ruthless as he had ever been. He was not like his father and Caleb though; he was not vicious for the pleasure of merely being vicious and cruel. He was simply a murderer when it was needed, and not a moment more. He was not his father and he was not Caleb, he did not relish in cruelty and he did not relish in hurting people, especially not children.

 Page 17

    ¡°He has some interesting information for us.¡±Advertisement


    ¡°Does he now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have called him and Caleb here.¡±


    ¡°This is not a celebration announcement for the banquet then?¡±


    ¡°The banquet is not a celebration.¡±


    Braith kept his face impassive; he did not want his father to see that his curiosity was peeked. He turned at the sound of the door opening, listening to the swift footsteps that echoed down the hall. He recognized Caleb¡¯s gate in the lead, but behind it was Jericho¡¯s softer, lighter steps. Though he wanted to smile in greeting, he didn¡¯t. Caleb moved past him, but Jericho stopped, his hand clasping hold of Braith¡¯s arm. Braith accepted his outstretched hand, squeezing it tight within his own. When Jericho had left, his hand had been a boy¡¯s, with no calluses, or scars. It was not the same now. It was larger, firmer, stronger, and marked by multiple scars and calluses.


    ¡°You have grown,¡± Braith said softly.


    Braith could almost feel his smile, the light that Jericho radiated. He had always been the easiest going of them all, the least affected by their world, and it seemed as if he was still the same. But beneath it all, he could sense a tension and maturity in his brother that had not been there when he had left six years ago. They held each other¡¯s hands for a long moment, Braith tried to size up the man before him, but there were a lot more layers to Jericho now. He had a feeling that there were a lot of things that Braith no longer knew about his little brother, and may never know.


    ¡°I finally reached maturity.¡±


    Braith laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. There had always been a joke between them that Jericho would never grow up, that he would be seven hundred and still acting like a seventeen year old. Braith had always thought it would be true, but he realized now just how wrong they had both been. Whatever had happened to Jericho in the last six years, it had changed him deeply. Braith was surprisingly saddened by this realization. He had missed his brother¡¯s easy camaraderie over the past years, he realized now that he would not be getting it back.


    ¡°I can tell.¡±


    Jericho squeezed his hand again before releasing it. ¡°Tell your brothers what you have told me,¡± their father commanded.


    Jericho took a few steps away from Braith. ¡°After a year of living in the woods, fighting amongst the rebels, hiding my true nature, and struggling to earn their trust I was finally able to break through part of their tight knit, tight lipped, group.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°I saved the life of a child that happened to be a cousin of the group that leads the rebel faction. The child¡¯s parents started to trust me, accepted me, but it was still another year before the father took me to meet his cousin. I was blindfolded for this journey, and it was in the middle of the woods, but I met the man who leads the rebels. His name is David, I don¡¯t know his last name, most rebels have forsaken them, but I would recognize him on sight.¡±


    ¡°And you know where he lives?¡± Caleb inquired eagerly, the bloodlust evident in his voice.


    ¡°No, no one outside of family knows where David lives.¡±


    ¡°Then what good is any of this?¡± Caleb hissed. ¡°A man named David leads these imbeciles. Six years and that¡¯s all you came up with?¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± their father snapped. ¡°Let your brother continue.¡±


    ¡°As I was saying,¡± Jericho growled; his annoyance at being cut off and degraded was more than apparent. At one time Jericho would have laughed off Caleb¡¯s impatience and attitude; he did not do so now. ¡°I met David, and though I don¡¯t know where he lives, I do know his family. They may keep their living quarters a secret, but they all work together, especially David and his oldest son. I only knew the eldest son in the beginning, but three years ago David¡¯s younger son became more involved, as did his daughter. Though they tried to keep the girl out of most of the fighting, she was well trained at it, and is a very skilled hunter. She often went on the food gathering trips, and would aid in planning and executing raids.¡±


    Braith felt a tight knot beginning to form in his stomach. Arianna had been hunting for food when she was captured, she had admitted as much. And Max, she had said that Max had been captured because of her, that he could have run but had instead sacrificed himself in the hope that he would be able to free her from captivity. There were only two reasons a man would do that either for love of the woman, or love of his leader. He had assumed that Max had wanted to save her because they were friends, that he did love her, and because he was good friends with her brother. He realized now that he may have been wrong, that Max may have come after her because he knew who she was, and who her father was. Because he realized what a threat it would be to their cause if one of the children of their leader was caught and held by the enemy.


    What the hell kind of a mess had he gotten himself into with this?


    ¡°Ok, so the girl is a heathen and wishes to be a man.¡±


    ¡°Shut up Caleb,¡± Jericho growled. Braith could feel Caleb¡¯s shock, and he supposed he would have felt the same if he wasn¡¯t already completely stunned and terrified of what else Jericho might reveal. ¡°The girl is also in our possession right now, or at least she was. There was a raid on an outer encampment a few weeks ago, blood slaves were taken. Who exactly was taken was only muttered and rumored about, but one child claimed that a girl had saved him, a girl that very much resembled David¡¯s daughter. No one knew for sure, until last week.¡±


    ¡°And what happened last week?¡± Braith asked softly.


    ¡°David¡¯s daughter did not return as scheduled, and neither did one of his higher ranked lieutenants. It was confirmed that the girl had been taken. It is not confirmed if she is alive as a blood slave, or not. That¡¯s why I risked blowing my cover to come back here now.¡±


    ¡°What good is any of this information?¡± Caleb inquired, but the anger was gone from his voice.


    ¡°Human¡¯s tend to be very attached to their children. If David¡¯s daughter is alive, and being kept as a blood slave, than we can use her against him. He won¡¯t like the thought of his child being used in such a way, he will be reckless. If she is dead, then we will have to dig up a blood slave that looks like her, and try to use that girl against him. Either way, we have strong leverage over the rebels right now,¡± Jericho said softly.


    ¡°I want all of the blood slaves from the past few weeks brought forth tonight, Jericho will inspect them all,¡± their father said softly.


    Braith¡¯s hands were tight around the head of his cane. Sensing his agitation, Keegan had risen and begun to pace anxiously. ¡°Perhaps it is your blood slave Braith,¡± Caleb said lightly.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he managed to agree.


    ¡°You have taken a blood slave?¡± Jericho inquired shock evident in his voice.


    ¡°Yes, Braith has finally sunken to the levels of depravity that the rest of us have enjoyed all these years. He did well for a blind man; she¡¯s a pretty little thing, if you like redheads. Which, I do.¡±


    Braith stiffened, close to ripping the head off of his cane as he waited for Jericho¡¯s response. If David¡¯s child was a redhead, they would all know shortly, and they would all be racing up to his apartment to get at Arianna. They would use her, and they would torture her, and they would kill her. He didn¡¯t know how he was going to stop them from doing so, but he knew that he had to try.


    Jericho gave a soft laugh. ¡°No, fortunately for Braith¡¯s newest addition, David¡¯s daughter is not a redhead.¡±


    Braith breathed a sigh of relief, but the tension did not ease in his chest. Something still felt off about all of this, something was not quite right. He wanted desperately to return to Arianna, to question her, but he had a feeling that no matter what had passed between them, she still would not tell him about her family. Especially if this David really was her father. And he also knew that he could not blame her for that, her family was probably far closer than his, humans tended to cling to their loved ones. Vampires did not.


    But, if David was her father, than why would Jericho lie about her hair color? Maybe he did not consider her dark tresses red, but Braith doubted that. Maybe he had never actually seen the girl, but why would he lie about it? What did he have to gain by coming here and lying about this? Unless, Jericho had wanted to escape the woods and this was his excuse to return to the luxurious lifestyle he had left behind.


    Neither of those things sounded right, but he couldn¡¯t quite figure out this puzzle, not yet anyway. He just knew that he needed to get back to Arianna, and he had to keep her away from Jericho. She could not go to that banquet tonight. ¡°Well, if she is not a redhead, then I will be leaving my blood slave behind tonight. I¡¯d prefer to mingle amongst the crowd, alone.¡±


    ¡°Already tired of your treat?¡± Caleb taunted. ¡°Funny, but it didn¡¯t seem that way when I stumbled upon you earlier.¡±


    ¡°A change is always good,¡± Braith replied dully.


    ¡°So be it,¡± their father replied. ¡°I still want Jericho to see the girl, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Braith murmured in consent, trying hard to remain calm. ¡°Whenever you wish to stop by Jericho. I will join the rest of you later.¡±


    Braith strode swiftly from the room, Keegan following at his side as he tried not to race back to Arianna.


    Chapter 11


    Aria stood silently as Maggie slipped the beautiful dress over her head and began to tighten the strings that ran up the back of it. Aria stared down at the shimmering green material, stunned breathless by the striking color as it flowed gracefully to the floor. There were only two things she didn¡¯t like about the dress; it¡¯s low cut revealed far too much of her cleavage than she liked, and the strings that were even now cutting off her breath as they pulled tight about her ribs. Ribs still tender from her beating.


    ¡°Is it too tight?¡± Maggie asked softly.


    ¡°Just a little,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°I can loosen it, but it has to be tight so that it will stay up. This is the dress that the prince chose, but maybe you could be allowed to wear another if he knew that it was painful for you.¡±


    Aria swallowed heavily, closing her eyes as she shook her head. She had to stay with this dress; no one could think that Braith was taking any kind of sympathy with her. If this was the dress he had chosen, than she would wear it. There were probably already questions about them; she could not allow any more to be raised.


    ¡°No, it will be fine and the prince will not allow me to change it if this is the one he chose.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he might, he probably wasn¡¯t thinking when he picked it. Men do not understand strings and their tightness after all.¡±


    ¡°It will be fine,¡± Aria murmured. Maggie sighed in aggravation but returned to pulling the strings tight again. Aria closed her eyes, trying to keep her face impassive as Maggie tried to be as gentle as she could. ¡°Do blood slaves often attend the banquets?¡± Aria asked, more to distract herself than out of any real sense of curiosity.


    Maggie shrugged absently, but she looked slightly troubled. ¡°Not normally, and not when it is such a big celebration.¡±


    ¡°What are they celebrating?¡± Aria inquired. She had not seen Braith again after he had sent her to his room, but Maggie had appeared shortly after. She had explained that Braith had sent her, and that Aria was to get dressed so that she could attend the party tonight.


    ¡°The youngest prince¡¯s return.¡±


    ¡°Return, return from where?¡± Aria asked in surprise. She hadn¡¯t even known that he was not here, Braith had never mentioned it.


    ¡°No one knows, but he has been gone for six years.¡±


    ¡°Odd,¡± Aria whispered, mulling over Maggie¡¯s words.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been speculated and whispered about for years,¡± Maggie said eagerly. ¡°Some say that he left to fight the war on the western front, and others say that he left for the love of a woman that his father did not approve of. Of course, no one wanted to believe that one.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Aria asked softly.


    Maggie was silent for a moment; her gaze darted swiftly around before she bent closer to Aria. ¡°The young prince is very handsome. No one wanted to think of him with another woman. They all hoped that they would snag him.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Aria said dully. ¡°I see.¡± But she didn¡¯t see, she didn¡¯t see how anyone could be more handsome than Braith, and she also didn¡¯t want to think about the women running around here trying to snag a prince for themselves. Especially when it could never be her.


    Aria closed her eyes as her ribs began to scream in protest. She was so intent upon trying to ignore the pain that she did not hear the prince arrive until she heard his growled command. ¡°Leave us.¡±

 Page 18

    Aria¡¯s eyes flew open, her heart leapt wildly as she caught sight of him standing in the doorway. He was striking, magnificent, and he seemed very angry and tense right now. Aria stood slowly as Maggie glanced wildly between them. Maggie didn¡¯t seem to want to leave Aria by herself, but when Braith barked at her to leave again she scurried swiftly from the room.Advertisement


    A slight shaking began to work its way through Aria, she had never seen Braith look like this. There was a strange cross between anger and fear clinging to him that left her breathless. ¡°What is wrong?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°If I am going to keep you safe, then I am going to need to know more about you. Do you understand me Arianna? There can be no secrets.¡±


    Her eyes widened, her gaze darted behind him. She could see very little of the rooms beyond him as his shoulders seemed to encompass the entire doorframe. ¡°I don¡¯t understand Braith, what is this about? What happened?¡±


    ¡°My youngest brother has returned.¡±


    ¡°I heard,¡± she said softly. He moved slowly forward, his hard body taut, his jaw clenched fiercely. ¡°Is he ok? Is everything alright? He is safe isn¡¯t he?¡± she gushed out, uncertain as to what was going on.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, Arianna, but he has come back in search of someone.¡±


    Aria¡¯s eyes widened, her heart sputtered, jumped, and leapt wildly within her ribcage. She could only assume who it was that he had come back for, and she imagined that it was her that he was probably looking for. But how was that possible? How would he know who she was? Until her capture, and Braith, the only vampire¡¯s she had encountered had been killed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡±


    Aria shook her head, trying hard not to seem panicked, but she knew she was failing. Then, a flicker of movement behind his back caught her attention. Her eyes widened, terror coursed through her as adrenaline slammed into her veins. She could only gape in silent horror as the man behind Braith moved slowly forward. She didn¡¯t understand though, her mind would not comprehend what her eyes were seeing. It was impossible. What she was seeing was completely impossible!


    She took another step back, the overwhelming urge to flee consuming her. She didn¡¯t know what to say or what to do. She was trapped, cornered within these rooms with two vampires, one of which she was greatly afraid she was falling in love with, and the other one a man she had once trusted with her life. She was certain that he had come here to end it. She was trying to breathe, but the dress and her panic was making the simple task exceptionally difficult right now.


    And then, she gave into her instinctual urges. Braith¡¯s loud curse followed her as she darted through the door of his bedroom, flew over top of his bed, and raced for the door to the library. She didn¡¯t look back, didn¡¯t hesitate in her heedless rush forward. She didn¡¯t even stop to think about where she could possibly be going. She just knew that she wasn¡¯t wearing her leash, so there was an unbelievably small sliver of a chance that she could escape if she just stayed free of them.


    She fled through the library. She didn¡¯t kid herself into thinking she could truly escape, part of the reason they had lost the war was because the vampires were exceedingly fast, exceptionally strong, and so damn hard to kill. But she had to try at least, she wasn¡¯t going down without a fight; she simply wanted to stay alive for a few minutes more.


    She threw things behind her as she ran, tossing a chair here, an end table there in an attempt to knock them off of their pursuit. She wasn¡¯t even entirely sure they were still behind her, that they hadn¡¯t gone another way, until she heard a reassuring grunt of pain behind her.


    She grabbed hold of the library door, slamming it shut behind her as she leapt forward. Out of the corner of her, she caught a rushing blur coming at her. Aria ducked low, darting to the side as the blur dove at her. A small gasp escaped her as a hand skimmed over her back, but she dove forward, just barely managing to escape its seeking grasp. It was not Braith that had leapt at her, for she knew his touch anywhere, but his brother the traitor. She scrambled back to her feet, lifting the annoying hindrance of her dress as she leapt onto one of the sofas, jumping over the back of it in an easy, graceful motion.


    There was a frustrated growl behind her, but she ignored it as she bounded forward. The door was right there, just feet away from her. For the first time since the chase had started, true hope bloomed in her chest, excitement pounded through her. She had managed to avoid two mature vampires in an enclosed space, surely she could get free. Surely she would escape this never ending nightmare.


    Her fingers scrambled over the doorknob, she worked swiftly through the locks that had been thrown. Locks that were rarely ever in place, as she had learned earlier when Caleb had walked in on them. Locks, she realized, that Braith¡¯s brother had put into place. The door was almost a foot open when a hand slammed hard against it, banging it shut with a resounding crash that echoed throughout the room, but did little to drown out the shattering of her heart. She tugged uselessly on the handle for a few moments more, feeling like a fool, feeling like a helpless idiot as frustration, despair, and anger filled her.


    She wanted to scream for help, but there would be no one to come to her aid. No one to save her, she was trapped, and she was discovered. There was no escaping that fact. Not with Jack here now. Except his name wasn¡¯t Jack, was it? No, it was Jericho, and he was not one of her allies, but a member of the damn royal family. And he had come here to root her out, hand her over, and use her as a weapon against her own family.


    Well the joke was on him then wasn¡¯t it? Because no matter what they did to her, her family would not come here. It would be a suicide mission, they knew that, and there were far more other people¡¯s lives at stake, than just hers. She was willing to accept that fact. She just wished it hadn¡¯t come to this. The sense of betrayal was sharp, she had always liked Jack, she had trusted him, enjoyed spending time with him, had learned from him, and in return had taught him a few tricks of her own. Her father had liked the man, had trusted him, and brought him into his confidence. And the entire time Jack, no Jericho, had been planning to betray him. She was shaking, her body trembling with the anger radiating through her.


    A hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against a hard body she recognized instantly as Braith¡¯s. She remained stiff, wooden within his grasp. She did not try to kid herself, they had grown close, she believed he might even care for her, but his loyalty would always be to his family, and his kind. He could not protect her from this, even if he did want to, which she wasn¡¯t quite sure he would. He turned her away from the door, spinning her to face Jack.


    Maggie was right he was handsome, though she didn¡¯t think him as handsome as Braith. He was as tall as Braith, with a slightly leaner, more whipcord build. His hair, lightened by his time in the sun, was not as dark as Braith¡¯s but had lighter streaks of brown and gold highlighting it. His eyes were steel grey, piercing, and severe as his gaze locked on hers. She glared fiercely back at him, anger curling through her as she tilted her chin defiantly.


    ¡°I take it you two know each other,¡± Braith grated, his voice low in her ear. She clamped her jaw shut, resisting the urge to swing her hanging feet back and kick him in the shin. But pissing him off right now would do her little good. ¡°Is she who you¡¯re looking for?¡± he demanded harshly.


    Aria remained unmoving in his grasp, her hands fisted tight as she stared hard at Jack/Jericho, her new greatest enemy. His eyes remained on her, narrowed slightly as he took her in. ¡°One of you answer me!¡± Braith snarled, shaking her slightly within his grasp.


    ¡°Put me down!¡± she snapped. His grip simply tightened on her. Anger and frustration boiled through her, everything inside of her seemed to explode at once. She wanted to scream, wanted to kick and claw and go wild, but she did none of those things, she wouldn¡¯t give them the satisfaction of seeing her broken. She folded her arms over her chest as she focused her gaze behind Jack, and on the gardens.


    Seeming to realize that she was not going to bend, Braith placed her slowly down but did not release her. He kept his arm latched around her waist. ¡°My family will not come for me,¡± Aria said softly. ¡°No matter what happens, what is done to me, they will not come for me. They can¡¯t.¡±


    Braith hissed softly, his fingers clutched on her stomach. He pulled her tighter against him, pressing his body flat against hers. Jack¡¯s eyes widened slightly as he surveyed her and Braith. ¡°Damn it Arianna! You should have told me!¡± Braith growled.


    She shuddered, wishing she could take solace in his arms, like she had before, but she knew there was no solace to be found this time. Telling him wouldn¡¯t have changed any of this; it only would have denied her the few moments of happiness she had found with him. And no matter what, she would not forsake those moments for anything, not even to avoid this. He could not protect her from this; he could not stop his family from hurting her, not once his brother revealed who she truly was. She did not even pretend to kid herself that he could, it would be impossible.


    Aria closed her eyes, fighting the hot wash of tears in her eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t let you turn her in Jericho.¡± Aria¡¯s eyes flew open in shock, Braith¡¯s hand brushed briefly across her stomach, stroking her gently. She was trembling, shaking within his grasp, uncertain as to what he was saying. He released her slowly, pushing her behind him, pinning her against the door. ¡°I can¡¯t let you tell them.¡±


    Jack¡¯s eyes widened, shock radiated from him as his gaze darted wildly over them again. ¡°What are you saying?¡± he inquired softly.


    ¡°I am saying that you will not be leaving this room until we figure something out, but it will not involve you taking her, and it will not involve you telling them who she is.¡±


    Aria rested her fingers lightly on Braith¡¯s back, too stunned to move for a moment. Slowly, hesitatingly, she peered around his back to look at Jack. ¡°Braith¡­¡±


    ¡°You may be mature now, but I can still take you,¡± Braith growled.


    Aria gasped softly, Jack¡¯s mouth parted slightly as his dark eyebrows shot into his hairline. ¡°Braith,¡± she breathed. Her fingers curled into the shirt he wore, she was awed by the fact that he was willing to protect her.


    ¡°She can¡¯t stay here Braith,¡± Jack said softly.


    ¡°You¡¯re not giving her to them!¡± he snarled, taking a small step forward.


    Aria jerked on his shirt, trying to pull him back. His body quivered in rage, his muscles fairly vibrated with it. She did not want to die, she did not want to be handed over to be tortured and used against her family, but she also did not want to watch two brothers fight because of her. She did not want to see Braith hurt because of her.


    ¡°I never intended to,¡± Jack told him.


    Both Aria and Braith started at his soft words. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Braith grated.


    Jack rocked back on his heels. ¡°Apparently we have a lot to discuss, but you can rest assured that I am not here to turn Aria over to our father.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you here for?¡± Aria whispered.


    Jack turned to her, his eyes hard. ¡°To bring you home.¡±


    Aria¡¯s mouth dropped, her fingers dug tighter into Braith¡¯s clothes as she trembled against him, stunned and thrilled at Jack¡¯s words. Home! To be home in her forest, with her friends, and her family! To be free, running wild, back in the world that she knew and loved so much. To be amongst the animals and trees, to breathe fresh air and not have to be leashed in order to do so. It was all so wonderful, and she wanted it so badly that she could nearly taste it, nearly feel it.


    And then she felt Braith as he turned slightly toward her. She felt the heat of his gaze behind his glasses, the shock that held him as she tilted her head back. She knew she could not keep the hope from her gaze, but there was a new sense of longing swirling rapidly within her. She would have her freedom, but she would not have him. She clung tighter to him, unable to let go, unable to stop the fierce surge of terror that shot through her.


    What was wrong with her? She should be embracing this, should be halfway out the door with Jack right now, not standing here feeling rattled, confused, and a surprisingly fierce ache in the region of her heart. Her head dropped against his chest, she could hardly breathe through the shocking pain swamping her. She barely knew him, yet the idea of parting from him was almost unbearable. He remained unmoving for a moment before his hand entwined slowly in her hair and he cradled her gently against him.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Braith said softly. ¡°Apparently we do have a lot to discuss.¡±


    Chapter 12


    Braith did not move away from the door, he did not let her step away from him. He wasn¡¯t going to let her anywhere near Jericho, or Jericho anywhere near the door, until he truly felt he could trust his brother, which might never happen. ¡°What has happened here?¡± Jericho asked softly.

 Page 19

    ¡°I might ask you the same question,¡± Braith retorted sharply.Advertisement


    Jericho¡¯s grey eyes shone with merriment for a moment before they grew serious and hard once more. Braith had been right, his brother had matured. Jericho¡¯s demeanor had always been carefree and lively. It was not now; in fact he looked highly perplexed and more than a little upset. He was thinner in the face, and in his build, most likely from not having access to sustenance whenever he wanted it. However, though he was thinner, there were muscles cording his entire body that had never been there before. A jagged scar marred his cheek, it was fresh though, and with time it would probably disappear. Just as, in another fifty years, he would not be able to see the scars around his eyes anymore. It was only the severe amount of damage that had been done to his eyes that had caused the scars to remain this long. And it was still uncertain if he would ever fully regain his eyesight when he wasn¡¯t in Arianna¡¯s presence.


    ¡°What are you doing Braith? If they discover this they¡¯ll kill her. Father might even kill you.¡±


    Arianna bristled over this, her fingers tightened in his shirt, her jaw clenched tighter. ¡°And you plan on what, just walking out of here with her? Do you believe father would allow that? And if someone else had claimed her, then what Jericho, were you going to kill them in order to free her?¡±


    ¡°I have a plan.¡±


    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t risk her life at all?¡± Braith growled.


    Jericho shifted slightly, his gaze drifted toward Arianna. ¡°There is always risk, in everything we do. However, we felt that the risk far outweighed the danger if it meant getting Aria back.¡±


    ¡°You followed me up here after Caleb told you she was a redhead, were you going to kill me?¡±


    Jericho shifted uneasily. ¡°No. I was sent here to assess the situation, to find out if Aria was even still alive, and if I could get her safely out without jeopardizing either of our lives.¡±


    ¡°And if you couldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Then I was to leave.¡±


    Braith was slightly shocked by this statement. It made little sense to him, and he didn¡¯t entirely believe him. ¡°They sent you in here just to have you leave if you couldn¡¯t do anything?¡±


    ¡°Jack has worked his way up in our ranks; my father thinks very highly of him, he would not risk losing him. Especially if he feels that he can trust him,¡± Arianna said softly, her gaze still weary as she surveyed his brother.


    ¡°Is that so, Jack?¡± Braith inquired sharply.


    Jericho shrugged as he reached into the pocket of his coat. ¡°I couldn¡¯t give them my real name, now could I? They may not know much about the royal family, or at least a lot of them don¡¯t, but I wasn¡¯t going to chance one of them possibly recognizing my name. And Jack is just less pretentious, don¡¯t you think?¡± He pulled something from his coat pocket and stepped toward them. ¡°Your father wanted me to give you this.¡±


    Braith shifted, blocking her with his body as Jericho approached them. He snatched the thing from Jericho¡¯s hand, growling at his brother when he went to take another step closer to her. At one point in time Jericho had been the only person her trusted, that was not so now. Not when Aria¡¯s life was on the line. He really did not want to have to kill his brother, but he would do what was necessary to keep her safe. Jericho¡¯s eyes widened slightly, but he stepped swiftly away from them.


    Arianna held out her hand, accepting the small silver pendant that Braith gave her. Her mouth parted as she stared down at it, tears swam in her eyes. ¡°He gave this to you?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°So you would know that you could trust me, that I was telling the truth. Your father has known what I am since we met, he trusts me Aria, and I need you to trust me too.¡±


    Her fingers were trembling slightly as she stroked over the silver horse head. Her eyes came slowly up to Braith¡¯s, a single tear slipped free. ¡°It was my mother¡¯s, he would never give it to anyone he didn¡¯t trust.¡±


    Braith wiped the tear from her cheek; his hands enfolded hers as he turned his attention back to his brother. ¡°And can he trust you?¡± he asked softly.


    ¡°There are many things you don¡¯t know about me Braith, many things you have never known,¡± Jericho said softly.


    ¡°I can see that, but can he trust you, can I trust you?¡±


    Jericho nodded slowly. ¡°If you want her safety as much as her father and I do, than yes, you can trust me.¡±


    Braith studied him carefully, not at all convinced by his words. ¡°What was supposed to happen if you couldn¡¯t get her, or yourself, out of here safely?¡±


    Jericho leaned back, folding his hands behind him, his eyes sad and grave. ¡°If I am unable to get us both to safety, I am to leave, so that David can come here.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Arianna asked sharply, her head snapping up at Jericho¡¯s words.


    Jericho was silent for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped slightly as he ran his hand through his hair. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to risk losing us both. If I couldn¡¯t get you free then I was to return to the woods and he was going to offer himself in trade for you.¡±


    Arianna¡¯s breath hissed out of her, her hands clenched around the pennant. ¡°That¡¯s crazy! Why would he do such a thing!?¡±


    ¡°Because he loves you, because you are his child. Because he would rather give his own life than think of you as a blood slave.¡±


    Arianna shook her head rapidly. ¡°No, he can¡¯t do that! There are thousands of other lives that depend on him, that count on him, that need him. Mine is nothing compared to that. Nothing! He knows better than to do something so foolish!¡±


    Jericho just studied her silently. Braith was unable to wrap his mind around the words that Jericho had just uttered. A father that would give his life for his child, it was crazy to him, unheard of, unfathomable. He stared at Arianna¡¯s countenance, noting the stubborn set of her jaw, and the fire in her bright eyes. There was a rod of strength and courage that ran through her that was both admirable and slightly frightening. She was careless, reckless, a danger to herself, and she needed to be protected from the cruelty of the world. To give his life for her did not seem so crazy, did not seem unbelievably farfetched. It was a strange realization, one he had never experienced before, and had never expected to.


    For her, he could do anything. Even see.


    That truth struck him sharply. It slammed into his gut as his hands tightened around hers. He felt that was the reason that he could see when he was near her. Something inside of him had somehow recognized her spirit as belonging with him, and had seen who she was. And then, because he had needed to see the face behind the bright spirit so badly, his eyes had finally worked enough to make her out upon the stage. And he would always be able to make her out; he would always be able to find her.


    ¡°He knows better,¡± Jericho said softly. ¡°But he does not care, not when it comes to you. If I couldn¡¯t succeed in saving you, I was to try for Max, and then retreat to the woods. Is Max still alive?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Arianna whispered, her voice slightly choked with shock.


    ¡°Katrina has him,¡± Braith said softly.


    Jericho nodded. ¡°She might be difficult, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to get to him. Your father will not have to come for you.¡±


    ¡°He was going to sacrifice himself for Max too?¡± she breathed.


    Jericho shook his head. ¡°No, your father cares for Max, and he is an important member in the rebellion, but he was not going to come for him. You are his daughter Aria, he loves you, and you are far more important to the rebellion than Max is.¡±


    Arianna shook her head, blinking in surprise at him. ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡± she protested. ¡°Max is a strong fighter, he rallies people to the cause, and he knows the woods as well as I do!¡±


    ¡°No one knows those woods as well as you do,¡± Jericho muttered, his gaze darting briefly to Braith, who remained unmoving as he tried to absorb everything.


    Arianna shook her head. ¡°It still makes no sense,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°As your father¡¯s daughter, a man that the rebels obviously admire and follow, you would be able to rally the rebels to battle even more so than Max,¡± Braith explained softly.


    Arianna bit on her bottom lip, her gaze darted swiftly up to him. ¡°I don¡¯t want this; I didn¡¯t want any of this.¡±


    She looked so lost, so frightened and wounded. He had never seen her like this; even dirty and bedraggled she had displayed an air of defiance that was admirable. ¡°I know, but it has to be dealt with.¡±


    She turned back to Jericho. ¡°My father had to know that it would be a suicide mission, that they would not release me, no matter what.¡±


    Jericho¡¯s gaze darted to Braith. ¡°It was a chance he was willing to take, if it meant he had even a possibility of saving your life. Daniel is capable of taking charge of the rebels within the camps, while William and I could take control of the rebels outside, if your father had to come in here.¡±


    Arianna¡¯s eyes widened, her mouth dropped as all of the color drained from her face. ¡°William?¡± she choked. ¡°You brought William near here? What were you thinking Jack!? What was my father thinking!?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine,¡± Jericho said softly.


    ¡°Fine!¡± she sputtered, releasing Braith as she took an angry step forward. ¡°Are you trying to get him killed!?¡±


    ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you Aria me!¡± she retorted, suddenly charging at Jericho. Braith was so shocked by her sudden attack that he did not spring into immediate action to try and stop her. She was in front of Jericho poking him hard in the chest as he backed away from her. Her broken demeanor was gone, she radiated fury now. ¡°What the hell were the two of you thinking!?¡±


    Jericho seized her finger, keeping it within his tight grasp when she tried to pull it back. Aria let out a raspy grunt of frustration, then wound up and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. Jericho jumped back slightly as Aria glared at him. ¡°Damn it Aria!¡± he barked at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m wearing this stupid dress and couldn¡¯t get my foot any higher!¡± she snapped back.


    Jericho glared fiercely at her, she returned it wholeheartedly. Braith stepped forward, seizing hold of Jericho¡¯s arm. He didn¡¯t think his brother would hurt her; in fact Jericho seemed to genuinely like and admire Arianna. There appeared to be an almost sibling connection between them, but Braith did not like him touching her. He didn¡¯t like the idea of any other man touching her, even if it was his brother. Jericho glared at her for a moment longer before releasing her hand. Arianna looked as if she was going to kick him again, but she restrained herself.


    ¡°Now,¡± Braith said coldly. ¡°Who the hell is William?¡±


    Arianna folded her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowed dangerously. ¡°Her brother,¡± Jericho answered.


    Arianna¡¯s lip curled at him, she looked completely disgusted and infuriated. ¡°My twin brother,¡± she emphasized.


    Braith did not entirely understand why that seemed to upset her so much. ¡°Ok,¡± he said softly.


    Arianna finally turned her attention to Braith; the desperation in her eyes stunned him. ¡°William and I are inseparable, we¡¯re rarely apart. The only reason he wasn¡¯t on the hunt with me that day was because he had been hurt in a raid two days before. He¡¯s my twin, he¡¯s another extension of me, and we are almost exactly alike.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re both hotheaded and reckless,¡± Jericho explained further when Braith still did not fully grasp what she was saying. ¡°I personally blame it on the hair.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an ass!¡± she snapped, spinning on her heel and storming away. ¡°My father and you are both idiots! William will not stay away.¡±


    She strode swiftly to the door of the library where she stopped, and stood uncertainly. Her arms were wrapped around herself, she seemed torn, lost. ¡°That is why your father brought him.¡±


    She turned back at Jericho¡¯s words. ¡°At least here your father can keep an eye on him, keep guards on him so that he cannot break free and do something that could get us all killed. If he had left William behind than he would not be able to keep an eye on him.¡±


    Arianna¡¯s gaze flickered, and then she bit on her bottom lip and nodded slowly. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she whispered. Then she was moving again, coming back to Braith, slipping her hand into his. She stared up at him for a moment, her eyes searching his face. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    He didn¡¯t have an answer for her. ¡°Now, we make a plan to get you out of here,¡± Jericho said softly.


    Horror filled Arianna¡¯s eyes, Braith felt a sharp pain in his chest, his entire being recoiled at the very idea. He knew that she needed to leave, that she had to get somewhere safe, he just wasn¡¯t sure he could let her go in order to do so.

 Page 20

    Aria watched numbly, she hadn¡¯t moved from the window seat since Jack and Braith had left to attend the banquet. They were needed there, they had to go, and neither of them wanted her anywhere near it. Braith did not think that Max would be brought, but he wasn¡¯t willing to take the chance. No one knew how Max was going to react when he saw that Jack was one of the royal family, they did not need her presence there to complicate things.Advertisement


    The only problem was that they hadn¡¯t settled anything before they left, and now she felt lost, confused, torn between her family and a man she was beginning to realize that she loved. She didn¡¯t know when she had started to love him; she supposed it had been the night that he had comforted her after Lauren¡¯s attack. It had been cemented by the sight of his beautiful, wounded eyes.


    But what did that mean? Where did that leave her? All of them?


    If she stayed here, she would forfeit her family, friends, and freedom forever. She would also have to die, probably sooner rather than later. If she left, she would be back with her loved ones, back in the life that she cherished so much, but she would be leaving a big piece of herself behind. A piece she didn¡¯t think she would ever find again, in fact she was certain that she wouldn¡¯t.


    She thought it should be an easy choice, her home, her life and her family, or a life in a place that she didn¡¯t understand, that was cruel, and frightening. It wasn¡¯t even close to being easy though. Not when it meant that she would never see Braith again, never touch him or hold him or feel him again. That thought left her cold, empty, torn between freedom and a short, sweet life.


    She wanted to cry, but she found that the tears would not come. Her eyes were as dry and empty as a desert. She sat for hours, unable to move as the sweet sounds of music drifted softly up from below. The sun had set awhile ago; it was late when Braith returned. She hadn¡¯t realized that she had drifted off until she felt his arms wrapping around her. He lifted her gently from the window seat, cradling her lightly against his chest.


    ¡°Braith?¡± she whispered, though she knew it was. She would know him anywhere.


    ¡°Go back to sleep love.¡±


    She curled closer against his chest, savoring in his strength and scent. Her fingers threaded inside of his coat, pushing aside the buttons on his shirt to rest her palm against his hard chest and slightly cooler skin. She sighed in contentment as her hand came into contact with his skin, caressing him lightly. It was such a wonderfully safe and secure moment that she never wanted it to end.


    He placed her lightly upon his bed, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead before pulling slowly away from her. She watched through half closed eyes as he disappeared into the bathroom, pulling his coat off and tossing it aside. He disappeared from view, she listened as he moved about, fighting against the deep pull of sleep that wanted to claim her.


    He was back again before she knew it, his hand upon her shoulder. ¡°Do you want me to take your dress off?¡± he asked softly.


    Her mouth went dry, her heart leapt wildly in her chest as fear and excitement tore through her. It was only then she realized that Maggie had not returned, he must have told her to stay away for the night. Sleep was officially forgotten in the face of his question. Did she want him to take her dress off? The relief on her ribs would be wonderful, yet the intimacy of it was terrifying.


    She swallowed heavily, before nodding slowly. She was wearing a slip beneath the dress, it was just as covering as the nightgowns, and she really wanted the damn strings untied. And truth be told, she really wanted him to continue touching her. His hands were gentle upon her as he slipped the ties free, allowing her to breathe easily for the first time in hours. She heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Why did you wear this thing with your ribs?¡± he inquired softly.


    ¡°You picked out,¡± she reminded him.


    He stared at her for a moment, his eyes bright in the dark of the room. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was like this, I simply liked the color. I thought it would like nice on you. You could have said no.¡±


    She lay on the bed for a moment, breathing slowly in and out, relishing the full air within her lungs. ¡°Maggie suggested it, but I didn¡¯t think it would look right if I went against the dress you chose for me.¡±


    He cursed softly as he sat back, his hand resting lightly upon her arm. He was no longer looking at her but staring into the dark. She knew he was wondering if it would be best for her to leave, and the thought terrified her. He turned slowly back to her, his hand stroking over her arm for a moment before he lifted her easily to her feet. Aria stared at him in surprise, her mouth parting slightly. His full mouth curved into a hard smile as he slid the dress down her, letting it pool at her feet on the ground. Her face flared with heat, she ducked it away from him as she stepped out of the material.


    For the first time she truly noticed that his legs were bare, as was his chest, he wore only a pair of shorts. Her eyes widened, her mouth went dry, and her heart thumped with barely contained excitement as she stared breathlessly at him. ¡°Arianna?¡±


    She glanced up at him from beneath lowered lashes, struggling to control her embarrassment but failing miserably. ¡°My friends call me Aria,¡± she said, for lack of anything else to say, or do.


    His hand was gentle as it caressed her cheek, tilting her face so that she had to look up at him. ¡°We¡¯re a little more than friends, don¡¯t you think?¡± he asked softly.


    Her eyes widened, her heart leapt into her throat. There were no more words left in her, there was nothing she could say to that, because it was true. They were more than friends, and at that moment she would have done anything he wanted. She stepped closer to him, resting her hands on his bare chest, marveling at the broad, well muscled expanse as her fingers trailed slightly over it. He was unmoving beneath her touch, letting her explore him as she saw fit. She wanted to touch all of him, but her hands froze upon the hard ridges of his sculpted abdomen.


    His hand caressed her cheek; he pulled her forward, kissing her forehead gently as he held her lightly against him. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful Arianna.¡±


    She blinked in surprise, her mouth dropping. No one had ever said that to her, and though she knew it wasn¡¯t true, she couldn¡¯t stop the thrill of pleasure that raced through her at his words. It seemed as if he had even meant it. ¡°No Braith, but thank¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes Arianna, to me, you¡¯re the most beautiful woman in the world.¡±


    Tears burned in her eyes, she searched his gaze, but all she saw was honesty and need radiating back at her. Her fingers curled against his skin, love bloomed rapidly through her chest. She couldn¡¯t fight the tidal wave of emotion that was taking her over. The need in his eyes, she realized, was more than sexual though, there was a burning hunger in his gaze that puzzled her. Then, she knew what it was, what he so desperately needed and wanted from her.


    What she could give to him in order to help ease that hunger.


    ¡°Did you feed tonight Braith?¡± His eyes flickered slightly, his hand convulsed slightly on her cheek. She seized hold of his hand, pressing it tighter to her cheek. ¡°Why not?¡± she inquired softly.


    He shook his head, his eyes closing for a brief moment. ¡°I cannot feed as often as I once did,¡± he replied.


    She frowned at him, confused by his words, than a dawning realization swamped her. ¡°Because if you did, they would wonder what you were doing with me,¡± she said softly. ¡°What use I was if you were feeding off of everyone else.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything, just looked beyond her at the back wall. His jaw clenched tighter, his hand trembled upon her cheek before he wound it slowly into her hair. ¡°It¡¯s more than that Arianna,¡± he said softly.


    She tilted her chin back, drinking in the sight of him. He was magnificent, perfect, and for now, in this moment, it was just the two of them. There was no blood slave and master, there was no Jack and Max, even her forest and family did not exist. It was just them, and they didn¡¯t have to worry or fear anything else, not here.


    ¡°What is it then?¡±


    He bent closer to her, his mouth just inches from hers, his eyes intent upon hers. His hand entangled lightly in her hair, pulling her head slightly to the side. His other hand lightly traced her pounding pulse, and jumping vein. His finger lingered upon her, his eyes dilated to near pin points as hunger oozed from him. ¡°Your blood is the only blood I¡¯ve wanted since I set eyes on you. Nothing else could completely satisfy me.¡±


    A sob caught in her throat. She could only stare at him in wide eyed wonder as he bent to place a kiss against her throat. His lips were soft, gentle, loving, but beneath them she could feel the hard press of his fangs. He tried to keep them from her, tried not to let her know that they were there, but she did know, and even more than that, everything in her thrilled at the thought of them. Her blood pumped harder, goose bumps broke out across her skin. Her hands curled against his hard muscles as he dropped soft kisses along her neck, her cheek, before brushing softly against her lips.


    Aria¡¯s knees trembled, she was shaking against him, barely able to stand as his tongue lightly touched upon her lips. She gasped, her mouth parted eagerly to the invasion of his tongue. His arm locked around her waist as he lifted her off her feet, keeping her pressed tight against him. Aria wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he laid her upon the bed, leveling himself slowly over top of her.


    The weight of him was wonderful, everything about him was wonderful. She never wanted this moment to end, never wanted any of this to stop. She wished that she could freeze time, that she could simply lay here, with him, and enjoy the wonder of this moment. She wished that they would never have to face the world, or any of the horrible things in it, ever again. Though thoughts of the real world tried to intrude, she pushed them aside. No matter what happened, she was going to enjoy this night. They were going to have one moment of pure happiness and peace.


    His kiss became more urgent, desperate. She could feel the hunger that he radiated, the need. Her head was spinning; her body was completely out of control as she clung to him, using him as an anchor to a world that was as crazed as a tornado. His hands stroked her gently, moving over her in a whisper of a caress that caused her to tremble everywhere. His lips were upon her neck, his teeth skinning over her throat, but he did not bite.


    And he would not, she realized, unless she gave him permission too.


    She was shaking, close to tears as she turned her head, burying her face in his strong neck. She kissed him softly, clinging to his arms as she tried to stabilize herself, tried to keep herself grounded though she knew it was impossible. ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± she whispered. ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to hear her at first, as he didn¡¯t stop kissing her ear. Then his arms locked tight, the corded muscles stood out in them as he froze. He didn¡¯t move for a long moment, and then he drew slightly back from her. She caressed his face, pushing his dark locks aside as she traced the scars circling his eyes. ¡°Arianna?¡±


    Her fingers moved over his cheekbones, then down to the hard curve of his full mouth. She trailed over his lips, but he recoiled slightly when she touched upon the long teeth beneath them. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she said softly, refusing to let him pull away from her. His forehead furrowed in confusion, but he didn¡¯t try and pull any further away from her. She was stunned to realize that the sensation of running her fingers over his pointed teeth was tantalizing and wonderful. She was not at all frightened by it, as she thought she would be. Instead, she wanted more of him. So much more. ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± she said again, her fingers stilling on his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re hungry, and I can ease that. I want this Braith.¡±


    ¡°Arianna.¡± His voice was a low pain filled moan as he dropped his head into her shoulder. His shoulders shook beneath her; the tension in him was almost palpable. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re asking for.¡±


    ¡°Yes I do, I¡¯m asking for you.¡± His shaking increased; his hands no longer ran over her as he froze, his hand cradling the back of her head. Her heart swelled with love, with need. He was fighting so hard against himself, restraining himself because he was afraid that he might hurt her, when she was willingly offering him the one thing he needed most. ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡±


    She grasped hold of the back of his head, gently turning it toward the hollow of her neck. His muscles were shaking as he pressed his long fangs against her rapid pulse. ¡°It¡¯s yours Braith, I¡¯m yours. Take it. Take me. I want to be the one that satisfies you, not them.¡±


    He groaned loudly, and then his arms seized tightly around her. She felt the snapping in him, the point where he lost control and his hunger and desire took over. He reared back slightly before striking. Arianna gasped, her fingers dug sharply into his back as his teeth punctured through her skin and struck deep into her vein. For a moment the entire world blurred, she could think of nothing, and see nothing except for him. He was everywhere, over her, in her, a part of her as he bit deeper, his teeth sinking into her completely.

 Page 21

    And then, slowly, they became separate entities again. She could make out his hunger, his thirst, his need as he consumed her, drinking deeper than he had ever drank from anyone before. And somehow, though he did not say it, she knew that was true as his thoughts seemed to mingle at the edges of her conscious. He had never drunk like this before. Had never swallowed and consumed and wanted more than this before. He wanted all of her, could not get enough of her, he would never get enough of her. And she did not want him to.Advertisement


    He pushed against her, shoving her harder into the mattress as he bit down sharply. She heard cartilage snap, her cartilage, but she didn¡¯t care. It did not hurt; she didn¡¯t feel anything above the sucking greediness of blood being pulled eagerly from her. She knew she should be afraid, knew that this was going far beyond her control, or his, but she wasn¡¯t scared. As long as she was in his arms, she knew that she would never be scared again. If he killed her now she would not know a moment of fear, even though she could feel her blood being gulped eagerly into him. She could feel it running down her neck to stain the mattress and her slip, but she still did not feel one moment of fear. Instead, her heart swelled with love, her body boiled and swelled with it until it was overflowing from her.


    It wasn¡¯t until he growled low, and bit down even harder, that she realized the words I love you were spilling from her in a monotonous chorus that she could not stop until a wave of blackness washed up to ensnare her. She drifted in and out of consciousness, pleasant memories washing up to engulf her, before slipping ever so slowly away again. Dreams came and went, shadows spun throughout her mind. Braith was holding her, cradling her, whispering for her not to leave him, but she felt he should know that she would never leave him, and she told him so repeatedly.


    He offered her something, it was on his wrist. But she pushed him away, telling him that she had all she wanted, she had him, but he made her take his wrist into her mouth, made her swallow whatever was on it. It was sweet, and it tasted like him, and though she hadn¡¯t wanted it at first, she found herself taking more of it into her, clinging to him as she consumed what it was that he was offering. She thought she heard him whispering I love you as she drank greedily until she drifted slowly back into a profound bliss that she knew could never be pierced.


    Chapter 13


    ¡°Aria! Aria! Arianna!¡± She groaned softly as she tried to roll away from the incessant hands shaking her, but they were clinging to her, refusing to let go as they shook her again. This time harder. ¡°Arianna!¡±


    She batted at the hands, trying to break free, but she was so tired and they just wouldn¡¯t let her go. ¡°Stop!¡± she protested.


    ¡°Get up Aria, you have to get up!¡± It was the urgency of the voice that finally pierced through the haze of bliss and exhaustion that clung to her. She cracked open an eye, frowning at the blurry face before her. It was too much effort to concentrate on the face, instead her eye drifted back shut and she snuggled deeper into the delightful bed beneath her. The voice swore loudly, then, before she knew what was happening, she was heaved up out of the bed and tossed over someone¡¯s shoulder. She sputtered in disbelief as she was spun around in a circle and then dumped on the bed once more. ¡°Get up Aria or I¡¯m going to throw you in the tub.¡±


    She blinked in surprise, trying to clear her blurry vision. Eventually her eyes began to focus; she frowned in surprise and disbelief as Jack came into focus. She gaped in horror, bolting upright in the bed as she pulled the comforter tight against her chest. ¡°Jack!¡±


    She was completely disoriented, out of sorts, and lost. She was in Braith¡¯s bed, wasn¡¯t she? But where the hell was Braith and what the hell was Jack doing here? ¡°Where¡¯s Braith?¡±


    Jack had turned away from her, he was searching for something, but she didn¡¯t know what it was until a pile of clothes was dropped in her lap. She stared at the pants and cotton shirt in disbelief. They were similar to the clothes she had worn in the woods, except these were pitch black instead of brown or light green. ¡°He was called to a council meeting with our father. Get dressed. We have to go quickly, before he gets back.¡±


    ¡°Wait! What?¡± she gasped.


    ¡°We have to go Aria! Now!¡± he snapped impatiently. ¡°Get dressed before he gets back.¡±


    Horror flooded through her. Go? Now? Leave Braith? No, no she couldn¡¯t. Not after last night, she could never leave him after last night. ¡°No Jack, no I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand Jack. I can¡¯t leave, I simply can¡¯t.¡±


    He seized hold of her cheeks, thrusting his face into hers. ¡°You don¡¯t understand Aria. This is our only chance at escape, if we don¡¯t leave now then you will remain here, and your father will come for you and he will die. Now get up, and get dressed.¡±


    She gaped at Jack, then at the clothes, then back at Jack. Her mind spun, her heart was thrumming. She couldn¡¯t leave Braith, she couldn¡¯t. She loved him! And though she wasn¡¯t completely sure, she thought he might have said he loved her too last night. But it was all so hazy, so distorted and confusing, and it was all so wonderful that she could barely contain her excitement over it. Until the horror of this situation, right here and now, came surging back to the forefront.


    ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    ¡°No Jack, no. I want to stay. I can¡¯t leave him, I don¡¯t want to.¡± Jack¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, the blue flecks in them were more clearly visible as he gawked at her. ¡°Jack, please¡­¡±


    ¡°You cannot stay here Aria, I can¡¯t let that happen. No matter what, your father will come after you.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She seized hold of Jack¡¯s hands. ¡°Not if you tell him I¡¯m dead Jack, that I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°Max¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell Max the same thing.¡±


    Jack¡¯s jaw clenched, his nostrils flared. He was staring at her as if he didn¡¯t recognize her, staring at her as if he didn¡¯t have a clue as to who she was. And truth be told, she didn¡¯t really know who she was anymore either. All she knew was that her heart was with Braith and she could not leave him. ¡°Max is here Aria, he knows you¡¯re alive. He¡¯s keeping lookout right now.¡±


    Her eyes widened, her gaze darted rapidly around the room as she searched out Max, but she didn¡¯t see him anywhere. Disappointment filled her; she wanted to see her friend again, at least once more. She wanted to make sure that he was ok, but she couldn¡¯t leave.


    ¡°Then tell them I¡¯m happy Jack, because I am. I¡­ I¡­¡± She broke off, her fingers clutched at the blanket. She heaved a soft sigh before she turned back to Braith¡¯s brother. ¡°I love him Jack.¡±


    Jack¡¯s eyes widened, he sat back as his mouth dropped in horror. ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    She seized hold of his hand as she leaned forward. She was desperate for him to understand, desperate for him to hear and believe what she was saying. She knew what Jack was now, but she was surprised to realize that she still trusted him; that she still believed in him, and he was the only one that could help her right now. ¡°I know it makes no sense, but I do love him and I want to stay with him.¡±


    Jack¡¯s gaze turned pitying. ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    ¡°Please Jack, I¡­¡±


    He seized hold of her face, his hands lightly cradling her cheeks. ¡°He has a fianc¨¦e Aria.¡±


    Her words broke off, sputtered, and died. Horror curdled through her, she couldn¡¯t breathe, couldn¡¯t move. She could only sit there and stare at him, her mouth open, and her heart no longer beating as something within her curdled and died. ¡°No, not possible, he¡­ No.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Aria. They¡¯ve been betrothed for over a year. They are getting married in six months.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t breathe; she was choking on the air she so desperately needed to get into her lungs. Strange sounds were coming from her, they weren¡¯t human. She didn¡¯t feel human anymore as her heart shredded, her chest constricted, and a moan of pain died within her. Jack held her as she rocked forward, unable to fully comprehend his words, unable to function through the agonizing pain consuming her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Aria, I am so sorry, but you can¡¯t stay here. She¡¯ll have you killed as soon as the wedding is over and he won¡¯t be able to save you. He¡¯s my brother, but he will never go against my father. It¡¯s the curse of the first born I suppose to be the one reared to one day rule the roost, and to do as expected. Now, you have to pull yourself together, we have to get out of here.¡±


    He pulled her out of the bed, depositing her on her shaking legs. ¡°Don¡¯t make me have to dress you Aria.¡± She shook her head numbly, tears streamed down her cheeks as she grasped hold of the clothes he thrust at her. She could only gaze numbly, brokenly up at him. She hated the awful pity in his eyes, hated the fact that she looked so weak and pathetic right now. ¡°We have to go, get dressed.¡±


    Jack turned away. Her hands shook as she pulled the slip over her head. She was still wearing the crazy undergarments from yesterday, but she was shaking so bad she knew she would never be able to get them off. He was engaged? He was engaged! They were the only words running through her head, the only thing she could concentrate on. He was engaged and he had never even told her. He had slept beside her, held her, kissed her, and he had fed off of her. He had used her, and all the while he had known that he had a fianc¨¦e. She had never kidded herself with dreams of a future for them, but she had never expected this betrayal. If he had told her, she never would have allowed things to go this far, she never would have allowed him to touch her and hold her. And she sure as hell wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to feed off of her.


    Tears streamed down her face, she couldn¡¯t get the buttons together. Jack was back before her, his eyes sad, the sympathy in them almost more than she could bear. ¡°You let him feed from you.¡± Aria blinked at him as he buttoned her shirt swiftly. She was not embarrassed that Jack was seeing this much of her, nothing else could faze her at this moment. He grasped hold of her shoulders, shaking her gently. ¡°Aria, you need to listen to me, and you need to focus on me for a moment, it¡¯s important.¡±


    She managed a nod, and she just barely managed that. ¡°He fed from you.¡± It was not a question. In fact it was quite obvious that Braith had fed from her as her slip was stained with blood, so was the bed, and she could still feel it against her neck. She winced slightly as Jack brushed at the blood on her neck, rubbing against the sore wounds upon her. ¡°Did he give you any of his blood?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± she asked in surprise.


    Jack was growing frustrated with her. ¡°Think Aria! This is important! Did you feed from him?¡± he enunciated clearly.


    Aria blinked as she tried to recall the night, but her mind and body shied away from the painful memories. It was too much. She couldn¡¯t think about it. It had all been a lie. A cruel, brutal lie that she had thought meant so much more, when in fact it had meant absolutely nothing to him. She was nothing but a blood slave after all. She didn¡¯t know why he had waited so long to feed from her, and she didn¡¯t want to think about it. There was no way that she could figure out what he had been thinking, or doing, or why. She was not cruel and manipulative like him, she would never understand why he had done this to her. It didn¡¯t matter anymore. It all meant nothing. For the first time in her life she had been a silly fool who had allowed her defenses down, and she had gotten what she had always expected. Nothing.


    ¡°Aria!¡± Jack growled.


    She blinked him into focus, shaking her head slightly. ¡°No, I¡­ No. What does it matter anyway?¡±


    ¡°It matters. Are you sure?¡±


    She bit on her bottom lip. There had been dreams, so many wonderful dreams of peace and love and security. There had even been a dream about something sweet and wonderful tasting, but they had been nothing more than dreams. They couldn¡¯t have been anything more, he was engaged after all, and therefore he never would have told her he loved her. Because his heart already belonged to someone else. Dreams, nothing but awful, shattered dreams.


    ¡°No,¡± she whispered. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Jack heaved a sigh of relief as he nodded. ¡°Good, good. We need to go.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond as he seized hold of her arm, pulling her through the library, sitting room, and then into the bedroom she had first used upon arrival. Max was standing by an open doorway that she had never seen before. It seemed to have magically appeared in the wall next to the bed she¡¯d slept in. Max¡¯s eyes widened as he caught sight of Aria. For a moment, the sight of her friend was enough to make her forget her pain. A soft cry of happiness escaped her as she raced forward, throwing herself into his open arms. He had lost weight, his face was gaunt, his eyes were far wiser and sadder, but his arms were still warm and secure as they wrapped tightly around her.

 Page 22

    ¡°Later, later.¡± Jack was pushing them toward the open doorway, shoving them into a dark tunnel.Advertisement


    ¡°What is this?¡± Aria gasped.


    ¡°Security tunnels, all the apartments have them. They lead out of the palace. We have to go fast though; they¡¯ll kill us if they find us, and personally I don¡¯t feel like being caught and branded as a traitor. It is not a pleasant death,¡± Jack informed her.


    Aria imagined it probably wasn¡¯t. She kept her hand tight in Max¡¯s, taking strength in his warm touch. She was struggling not to cry as they fled through the dark tunnels with Jack leading the way. She could barely see through the darkness, but Jack moved with unerring speed and sureness. She didn¡¯t look back until they reached the end of the tunnel, and then she only paused for a moment. She vowed that she would never look back after this, never think about anything that had happened within those hated walls again. Though she wanted it desperately to be true, she knew that she was lying to herself.


    She stared down the darkened tunnel for a long moment. Her heart was broken; her chest ached with the force of the agony consuming her. She was leaving that palace and that world behind, she would never return to it, but she knew that it would haunt her for the rest of her life. She would never escape what had happened within those walls, never be free of the agony inflicted upon her. Though she didn¡¯t want it to be true, she knew that it was. She also knew that she would never be same, knew that the woman that walked out of this tunnel was far different than the girl that had first entered as a captive.


    Max tugged on her hand, pulling her forward, tearing her from her melancholy thoughts. She turned away, fighting back the tears of hurt and anger that burned her eyes. She would never look back again; especially not now that she had her freedom, and would soon have her family. They plunged into the wonderful sanctuary of her beloved woods, blurring easily in with the surrounding forest.


    Braith was shaking; rage consumed him, boiling through his blood, causing his eternal darkness to turn a fierce shade of red. She was gone. He had known it the moment he stepped back into his apartment. He had sensed her absence when he had been downstairs, but it wasn¡¯t until he had returned that the lack of light, and her beauty, confirmed his fear.


    Keegan whimpered softly, moving slowly away from Braith¡¯s leg, slinking away into the shattered debris that littered the room. To say he had lost his temper would be an understatement; he had been in a rage, furious at himself, furious with Jericho, and furious with her. He knew that his youngest brother was behind this, there was no one else that could have taken her from these rooms without being seen. There was no one else that would have known when Braith would not be present, and where the tunnel within his apartment was located.


    ¡°Your highness.¡± He turned slowly at the sound of the wavering voice. His hands clenched tightly on the head of his cane, he would need it now that he had destroyed the room. There were obstacles in his way that had not been there before, and she was no longer present to light his way. ¡°There is no sign of them outside of the palace walls.¡±


    ¡°Of course there isn¡¯t,¡± Braith growled. Jericho was smart, he was quick, and he would be long gone by now. Using his cane, Braith maneuvered his way through the shattered remains of his furniture. His display of temper and destruction could be blamed on the fact that his brother had stolen his blood slave; all of his kind would understand the betrayal, the wound to his pride, and the denial of his toy. But as he stopped in the doorway of his bedroom, he knew that it was far more than that.


    The scent of her blood assailed him; it burned into his nostrils, flared through his body, causing an aching hunger to explode through him. She had been so wonderful, so free and giving last night and so delectably satisfying. Her blood was delicious, it had filled him and nourished him in a way that he had never felt nourished or filled before. But even more potent than her blood, had been her words. Whispered words of love repeated over and over again as she had clung to him. Words he had never heard before, but that he had relished and believed in. Just as he had believed her vow to never leave him, to stay with him always.


    Lies, it had all been lies, and he had been the fool that believed them. He clutched the head of his cane tighter, fighting the urge to smash it off the wall. He wanted to rip his brother limb from limb, he wanted to shake her, grasp her, make her tell him why she had offered her blood to him, why she had told him she loved him, and then left him the very next morning. It was the betrayal that made him angriest, the betrayal that made him want to hunt them all down and destroy them. And he could, he could find her so easily.


    He could track her through her precious woods, seize hold of her, drag her back here, and lock her in a room for the rest of her miserable life. He could make her pay dearly for her betrayal, make his brother pay. He could make both of their lives a living hell if he chose to. He could destroy them, ruin them completely. Arianna may not have known that he could find her whenever he chose, but his brother should have known better. Jericho should have known that Braith would make him pay for their perfidy, that he would come after them, and that he would make Jericho pay for helping her, and make her pay for her lies.


    ¡°The other blood slave?¡± he growled, turning back to the servant.


    He could hear the man shifting nervously; feel the fear coming off of him. ¡°Is gone also your majesty.¡±


    Rage suffused him once more; he couldn¡¯t stop himself from smashing his cane off the wall. The impact jarred through his hand, the cane shattered, sending pieces of shattered debris flying. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was Keegan, or the servant that yelped in response. Braith stood for a moment, shaking with anger, barely able to keep his fury under control.


    ¡°Get me a new cane,¡± he snarled.


    The servant scrambled away, his feet cluttering over the debris. Braith stood for awhile, trying to regain control of himself and his wildly swinging emotions. It was a long time before he felt calm enough to move again without ripping something to shreds. It took even longer before he could take a new cane from the servant, without fear of killing the innocent man.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go after them, we¡¯ll make them pay.¡± Braith turned at the sound of Caleb¡¯s voice. It was funny that just yesterday Jericho had been his favorite, now he despised him even more than he ever could have disliked Caleb. ¡°There are already men gathering to hunt them down.¡±


    Braith remained silent for a moment, he could hunt her down, he could find her in a matter of hours, but he found himself not wanting to do so. He did not want that traitorous bitch back in his life, did not ever want to see her again. He preferred his world of blackness to the sight of her disloyal, hideous face. She had wanted her freedom so badly that she had lied and manipulated for it, as far as he was concerned she could have it. She could have her starvation and cold, she could have everything that she so badly wanted.


    He wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and would not stand in her way.


    ¡°Jericho has been labeled a traitor.¡±


    ¡°He is,¡± Braith said softly.


    ¡°There is a large bounty on his head; it shouldn¡¯t be long before one of the starving masses turns him in. I am sure that the other two slaves will be in his vicinity, and I am also certain that he will turn on them as swiftly as he turned on us when we find him.¡±


    Braith nodded, wrapping both his hands around the head of his new cane. ¡°If he is found, I want him brought to me. I want all of them brought to me.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Caleb murmured.


    Braith leaned back, closing his eyes as he tried not to think about the depth of her betrayal. He would not hunt them down, he would not go into the woods after the two people he had come to rely on and trust the most. But if they were captured and brought back here, he would be the one to make sure that Jericho was destroyed, and he would be the one to hand her over to Caleb, one of the most vicious vampires he knew. And then he would sit back, and relish in the sounds of her screams as Caleb did what he did best.


    Until then, he was going to gorge himself on as much blood as it took to help him forget this horrendous mess. He moved toward Caleb, finally beginning to understand his brother¡¯s cruelty and hatred as those emotions started to curdle through his gut, move through his chest, and bury him beneath its crushing force. He had never experienced these emotions to this depth before, but he relished in the hatred and bloodlust as it was the only thing that buried his betrayal and hurt. ¡°Clean this mess up,¡± he growled at the servant.


    Keegan whimpered softly as he padded slowly after Braith, following him down to the dungeons. The wolf had never been here, it had been years since Braith had been down here, mainly because he despised it. But now he found himself craving it, needing it, desiring it with a ferocity that left him shaken. He threw the doors to the dungeons open, the scent of humans and fear assaulted him. These were the blood slaves of the royal family, at least until they were drained dry, and discarded to make room for others.


    He moved swiftly through, stopping only briefly to pick out three women from behind the bars. He did not know what they looked like, but the scent of their blood was not as repulsive to him as some of the others. ¡°Have them cleaned and brought to me,¡± he commanded the guards.


    He may not have Arianna now, but he sure as hell was going to satisfy his hunger and attempt to ease some of his fury. It was funny; a skinny wisp of a girl had managed to do in one month what his father had failed to do in over nine hundred years. And that was to turn him into a coldhearted, blood thirsty monster.