Awareness began to grow in her. Ashby had said that he didn't know why the bloodlink between vampires made them stronger, but Aria understood it now. It wasn't only the sharing of blood between such powerful beings, though she knew the strength of their blood was part of it, but it was also the love and trust so freely given amongst creatures that seldom allowed themselves to be vulnerable to someone else. She wasn't even a vampire, but she made Braith more powerful simply by loving him, by accepting his love in return, and by nourishing him with the blood he craved most.

  She also understood something else, she wouldn't lose Braith. He wouldn't be overcome by the darkness and anger rolling through him. An anger that he'd always harbored toward his cruel and heartless bastard of a father; a darkness that broke free of him every time he felt her life was in jeopardy. He could easily lose himself, but he wouldn't, not with her here to help pull him back. Even now, in the middle of this whole mess, there was still hope, and a growing understanding of who she was, of who he was, and what they were together.

  She knew, because she knew him, that whatever happened from this point on he wouldn't be driven by fury and hatred, but by love. And love was by far the stronger motivator. It was something that his father would never understand, and it was their most powerful asset.

  - CHAPTER 13 -

  Braith embraced her as her blood flowed freely into his mouth. She smelled of the dungeon, but beneath the stench of that hideous place he could smell her natural, sweet essence as it flooded his senses and invaded his body. He could taste his father within her blood, and though he knew he should be infuriated by it, all he could find was relief, pleasure, and an all encompassing love that left him shaken.

  He'd thought he'd lost her, and yet she was here, in his arms, holding him as she offered herself with the ease that only she could. He heard the strong thump of her heart, felt the tears that wet his neck as she pressed her face against him, and tasted the power of her blood as it infused him. The knick in his heart sluggishly began to repair as her blood worked to heal him.

  He unhurriedly pulled away from her, nuzzling her neck briefly before leaning back from her. Her tears had left streaks through the dirt that marred her delicate cheeks. Her eyes fluttered open; their crystalline sapphire depths shimmered with unshed tears. It was the love in her gaze that humbled him and made him stronger; it radiated like a brilliant ray of sunlight. For her, he could do anything; even retain control when he was so close to losing it. If this was to be their last moment together, he would make sure that she never saw the monster inside of him again.

  "Impressive son."

  He grasped her cheeks when she moved to face the king. He didn't want her to see that bastard again, not right now. "Look at me. Focus on me Aria."

  "I won't let them take me alive," she whispered.

  "They won't take either of us alive."

  She swallowed heavily and closed her eyes as she nodded briefly. He savored in the sight of her before turning toward the king, the man that had fathered him but had failed to turn him into the son that he'd wanted him to be. "Very impressive. I am actually proud of you for the first time."

  The king spread his hands out to indicate the bodies littering the floor around Braith. He had managed to take down a good fifteen soldiers before Aria had reached him. Caleb stood before the dais and his father, his forehead furrowed as he stared at them with glowing red eyes. Blood still stained his cheek, but the gouges Aria inflicted had already healed. No, there was no way he would allow Caleb to get his hands on her again.

  "I never knew you had it in you. It is her, isn't it? She is what makes you stronger?" Braith held Aria's head still as she tried to look at his father again. "Her blood is what makes you like this. I'm thinking there's a link." The word hissed out of the king as he stepped forward. "After what I've just witnessed, I think I'll keep you both alive and use her to keep you under my thumb. You would be my greatest weapon to control and use as I saw fit, even against the forces trying to take me down now."

  So that was why the king had told his troops to hold, to stay away from them, Braith realized. He'd wanted to know the lengths that Braith would go to for her. He had needed to see how much he could control Braith by controlling her, and Braith had played right into his hands. He'd shown his father exactly what he'd been looking for and had hoped to know, probably since the moment Braith had left here.

  "I bet you'd even kill Jericho if it meant keeping her alive." Aria inhaled sharply, her tears wet his fingers as he held her still. "I'll make her watch as you destroy everyone and everything she loves, for her."

  Braith would destroy himself first. "That will never happen."

  The king grinned at him as he gave a brief nod of his head. "I want them alive."

  The soldiers started moving in to shatter their moment of solitude and peace in this brutal place. He turned his attention back to her, taking just one more moment to feel her against him. "Stay behind me."

  She shot him a wild grin that made him realize she would do no such thing, not his Aria. He grabbed hold of her, wrapping her in his embrace as he launched to his feet. Her blood had renewed his strength, and revitalized him in ways that the guards blood never could have. He hadn't taken enough to impair her, but even so, he bit into his wrist and offered it to her as he spun her away from the onrushing guards. She seized hold of it, pressing it firmly to her mouth with an enthusiasm that surprised even him.

  She swallowed swiftly and eagerly before she released him. He reluctantly let her go to face the soldiers rushing at him. From the corner of his eye he saw Aria leaping forward with the grace of a deer as she dashed to a spear discarded on the ground. Snagging hold of it, she spun with an eerie elegance toward the soldier charging at her. Her throw would have been lethal if the guard hadn't sidestepped the weapon at the last second.

  Braith grabbed hold of the two closing in on him. He snapped the neck of one with a brutal jerk before ripping the spear from his twitching hands. The man wasn't dead, but Braith didn't have time to finish the job as he drove the spear deep into the other guard's heart and pulled it free. Aria ducked beneath the grasping hands of the guard. She moved so quickly that even Braith didn't notice the broken end of the spear she'd managed to plunge into the man's chest until the guard fell back.

  She ran toward her brothers and Max. Braith kept an eye on the guards encircling them as he deliberately moved back with her. Three more guards launched themselves at him; he fended them off as he fell back, determined to keep his body between her and the king. It would be Aria his father went for first, Braith was certain of it. Keegan leapt before him, growling and snapping as he forced one of the guards away.

  Max, William, and Daniel launched forward suddenly. They shoved their shoulders into two of the guards that were watching over them as Xavier leapt to his feet. A guard grabbed William by the neck of his shirt and plunged a spear through his right leg. William wailed loudly before his scream broke off and he grasped hold of his thigh. Sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip, his face went deathly pale as he tried to rip the spear free.

  Fury darkened Aria's features. She switched directions as she raced toward the man that had just maimed her brother. "Aria!" The shout came from Max as he managed to grab hold of a bow and a quiver of arrows. He tossed them toward her before being knocked back by a blow that echoed throughout the room and probably knocked more than a few teeth loose.

  Aria slid across the floor on her knees; she snagged hold of the bow and arrow before leaping back to her feet. Braith had no idea where she was going, or what she had in mind until she leapt onto the lap of one of his father's trophies, jumped onto the table, and launched herself at the massive, dark wood beams that ran across the rounded cathedral ceiling of the room. She hung for a moment before swinging her legs up and catching hold of the beam. Pulling herself up, she sat briefly on top of the beam before leaping to her feet.

  She was back in her trees, Braith realized as she dashed across the wood.

  Braith wasn't surprised that some of the soldiers had stopped to stare at her as she leapt from beam to beam toward her brother, Max, and Xavier. Even the king was watching her with assessing, shrewd eyes. Braith met Xavier's gaze over the crowd of soldiers, Xavier's dark eyes closed as he bowed his head to Braith and gave a brief nod. Braith didn't know if it was relief or anguish that filled him at Xavier's confirmation of what he suspected about Aria.

  But he did know that they had to survive this before anything could be discussed or decided.

  Braith shoved another guard out of his way as he struggled to get to the others. Aria leapt to another beam, leaned back on her heel and fired two arrows at the guard that had stabbed her brother. He fell back as another guard snagged hold of Daniel and hauled him to his feet.

  Xavier was a man of books and histories, but even so, as the guard jerked Daniel up, Xavier grabbed hold of him and slit his throat with deadly ruthlessness. Xavier pulled Daniel free and finished the guard with a killing blow to his chest. Pushing Daniel behind him, Xavier grabbed hold of Max as the three of them were forced back beneath the crushing wave of the king's men.

  Daniel tried to grab hold of William, but the spear through his leg made it nearly impossible for him to move. Aria covered her twin by firing at any guard that dared approach him.

  Braith leapt over the bodies of two fallen guards. Grabbing hold of William, he tried to lift him from the ground but part of the spearhead was embedded into the marble. William released another shout that was eerily echoed by Aria, as Braith ripped him free with a merciless yank that tore muscle and bone.

  William's fingers dug into his arm, his lip bled from biting into it, but he didn't offer a complaint as Braith shoved him at Max and Daniel. Something pointed and rigid pierced his shoulder; a ferocious growl escaped him as he spun back on the guard that had just shot him with an arrow. He leapt forward, looking to bring the man down, but an arrow pierced the man's chest before Braith could get to him.

  Aria nodded as she smiled fleetingly at him. Turning to face the new wave of guards coming at him, he braced himself for their impending attack. An arrow whistled past his ear, Daniel and Max leapt into the fray beside him as they attacked the soldiers with spears and arrows. Xavier hung back, protecting William as others poured forth to try and get at the injured human. Keegan raced around the guards, barking and snarling as he forced them back from Xavier and William. A shrill yelp escaped the wolf as a guard managed to deliver a solid kick to his ribs that knocked him back a good five feet. The guard went after Keegan but William had managed to retrieve a bow and fired an arrow through the guard's heart.

  They were putting up a good fight, but Braith knew they would eventually be beaten down by the multitude swarming around them. Using his shoulder, Braith rammed back three more guards and dodged three arrows aimed at him. One clipped across his bicep but it was only a flesh wound that would heal quickly. He managed to rip a spear and some arrows free from one of the men and threw the extra arrows up to Aria. She knelt down and snagged them out of the air.

  Braith speared three more guards, and released a series of punches on one of them that left his face battered beyond recognition. He ripped the spear free, falling back as more guards pressed against the five of them. Aria suddenly leapt to her feet, her eyes were riveted upon the front of the room as she turned to face the throne. Braith continued to fend off the guards, as he fell back toward the table in order to try and see what held her so enraptured, and what had caused her to look like she'd seen a ghost.

  Her eyes clashed with his as she gestured toward the front of the room. Braith leapt onto the top of the table in a solid bound. Staring over the raucous filled room, he watched in disbelief as Caleb, using the distraction of the battle had circled behind the king and was now closing in on him. Braith took a step toward the dais as his brother sprang forward and shoved a spear through the king's back and straight into his heart. Blood pooled at the corners of the king's parted mouth as his eyes widened. His hands clawed at the spear, a strange guttural sound escaped him as his knees began to buckle. Caleb grinned at their father as he turned slowly toward the son that had just committed patricide, with seemingly no remorse.

  'It may be harder to take Caleb down now that he realizes he is the heir apparent.' The words, spoken so long ago by Melinda, hauntingly floated back across his mind.

  As Braith watched his father fall he realized that even in his death, his father was actually proudest of the offspring that had just destroyed him than any of the other children he'd created.

  Caleb ripped the spear from his father's chest and stepped forward to take his place before the throne he had just claimed as his own. He bent and pulled the royal ring from his father's lifeless hand and unhurriedly slid it onto his index finger. His eyes gleamed with pride; a malicious smile curved his mouth as he held his hand out before him and wiggled his fingers admiringly. Braith had no love for his father, would have taken him down himself if it meant protecting Aria, but even so loathing and vengeance flashed hotly through his belly. He would have slain his father, but he would have taken the man head on, he wouldn't have been as cowardly as Caleb had just been.

  Caleb continued to bask in his moment as he lifted his head to survey the room that was now his. He smoothed the front of his black shirt and idly surveyed the motionless crowd. "Kill them." The command, almost nonchalant and flippant didn't immediately get the stunned soldiers moving again. Their king had just fallen, and a new king, one even more ruthless and sadistic, had just stepped forward to take his place. Even if they had been trained their entire lives to one day follow Braith, Caleb's slaughter of their ruler had just earned him the throne. "Except the girl, keep her alive if you can." Caleb lifted his head to survey Aria. "I have some truly magnificent plans for her."

  A chill crept down Braith's spine as he met Aria's gaze. Her face was pale, her eyes shadowed and haunted as she stared back at him. He knew that she would never allow herself to be taken alive again. No matter what it took, he had to keep them all alive until Jack could get here, if Jack could get here, with the reinforcements.

  The room erupted into violence again as the soldiers lurched forward to obey their new king's command.

  - CHAPTER 14 -

  Aria forced herself to remain calm, to take a deep breath and steady her shaking hands as she pulled an arrow from the quiver. He'd just murdered his own father, Caleb had just killed the man that had helped to create him, that had raised him, and that had molded him in his image. She shouldn't be surprised, she'd spent a fair amount of time in their company these past few days, she knew there wasn't anything they weren't capable of, but she couldn't shake the revulsion and horror that ensnared her.

  The worst part was now that hideous spawn of the devil was the new king.

  Struggling to keep her composure, her wounded middle finger gave a twinge that she ignored as she placed the arrow against her bow and fired at a soldier narrowing in on William. She didn't think about William's suffering, she couldn't right now. Not when their death order had just been handed down. The arrow pierced through the vampire's back, driving straight through his heart as the man fell forward.

  Max charged forward with a loud bellow and threw his shoulder into one of the soldiers closing in on William. Xavier grabbed hold of the spear that was knocked free and used it to batter back three guards trying to get at Daniel as he hurriedly tended to William's wound. Keegan, seeming to sense William's extra need for protection, stayed close to William's side.

  Aria rapidly released a flurry of arrows on the soldiers focused on her brothers. She wished she could offer cover for Braith too, but he seemed to be handling the soldiers trying to get at him fairly well from his elevated position on the table. Her brothers were unprotected, vulnerable, even with Max and Xavier trying to battle back the men bent on destroying them. Aria fired two more arrows, there were only five left in the quiver Braith had tossed her.

  Her gaze ran rapidly over the hall, she had to find something else to use. A loud shout jerked her attention back to the battle below. Blood seeped from a deep cut on Max's cheek; his shirt had been torn open to reveal his firm chest and the blood that welled from his flesh. Aria clenched her jaw and fired an arrow at the vamp closing in on him. The guard jerked forward before keeling over from the fatal blow.

  Max nodded a brief thanks to her before turning his attention back to helping Xavier. Braith was surrounded by five soldiers, she managed to take one of them out but he was quickly replaced by another one. Terror tore through her, there were too many of them, it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

  Caleb stepped casually over the body of his father as he climbed down the steps of the dais. Taking a steadying breath, the world around her went strangely silent as she focused her entire being on Caleb and fired an arrow straight at his already cold and deadened heart. At the last second one of the guards dove forward and threw themselves in between Caleb and the arrow.

  Caleb's head tilted back, a wicked grin curved his mouth as his lips pulled back to reveal his elongated fangs. Aria met his gaze, refusing to back down, refusing to cower from the twisted perversion within his eyes. Then, ever so deliberately, he tilted his head and nodded toward where she had last seen Braith.

  Braith was being pushed back by the wave of soldiers pressing against him. She fired three more arrows in rapid succession, killing two guards and knocking another one away from Braith. There were only two arrows left; she'd have to make them count.

  Adrenaline pounded through her as Braith was maneuvered toward where Max and Xavier stood before Daniel and William. They were going to die. She was about to watch the people she loved most be slaughtered right in front of her. Caleb passed beneath her beam as a grunt of pain escaped from Braith. Heart hammering, panic drove her as she scurried across the beams toward a flag hanging above the king's throne.

 

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