Braith adjusted his hands to slip one away from her eyes as he pushed back a limb. He stopped suddenly, pulling her back against his chest as he held her. The hum of anticipation raced through her as she practically bounced on her toes. “Are you ready?”
His lips brushed against her ear as he bent close to her. Her heart pulsed with excitement but she wasn’t sure if it was for the surprise, or for him. “Yes.”
He slipped his hands away from her eyes. For a moment she stared around the darkening forest in confusion as she saw only the flickering fireflies and a fox hiding amongst the trees. Braith reached around her, his chest pressed against her back, and his cheek briefly brushed against hers as he pointed upward. Aria’s head tilted back, her mouth dropped as shock and incredulity swamped her.
There, nestled in the trees, was a home that had been spread throughout five large maples and oaks. The light wood of the building gleamed in the moonlight that reflected in the two front windows. A winding walkway started from the far edge of the woods and curled up toward the large porch. Her hand fluttered to her heart, she couldn’t breathe through the love that engulfed her. It was far smaller than Ashby’s rambling creation had been, but it was stunning.
“I know you’re not at home in the palace. I know that this is where you’re happiest, that this is who you are. I told you I’d bring you to the woods as often as I could, but you’ll require a place to stay when you come here, somewhere safe, a home.”
“Home,” she breathed. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she turned slowly toward him. “How? When?”
His fingers caressed her cheek. “I started it after Caleb took you in the hopes that it would help to keep me somewhat calmer. It didn’t work very well but it kept me a little preoccupied and from going insane. Jack, Ashby and Daniel have been working on it lately, and I’m told that William hobbled around giving orders.”
Aria laughed as she shook her head. She turned back to the tree house; she could barely breathe as she tried to take it all in. She was loved, so unbelievably loved. That love was in every nail, in every piece of wood, in every drop of sweat that it had taken to put it all together. It was amazing, she loved it, but she knew one thing above all else...
“Wherever you are will always be my home.”
His arms wrapped around her and turned her within them. He kissed her briefly before lowering himself to one knee and holding out a small black box to her. She could only gape in astonishment as he opened the box to reveal a small emerald ring inside. “Will you marry me Arianna?”
For a moment she couldn’t find her voice, she could only open and close her mouth like a fish as her heart raced and tears of joy burned her eyes. “I thought you didn’t have to ask.”
Oh how she loved that grin, loved to see it on such a regular basis now, loved how it lit his eyes, and revealed that dimple in his cheek. “Is that a yes?”
She nodded eagerly and burst into joyous laughter as he leapt to his feet and wrapped her in a massive hug and kissed her soundly. She wiggled her fingers as he slid the ring on, it was a little big but she didn’t care. “I thought an emerald suited you better than a diamond.”
“I love it.”
He cradled her face as he kissed her again. She melted against him as his tongue swept in to take possession of her mouth. Her legs encircled his waist as he lifted her up and held her against him. She barely felt him moving as he carried her up the walkway and into their home.
***
Aria hadn’t taken the time to explore the night before, or at least Braith hadn’t given her the time to do anything but explore him, but now she relished in every square inch of the rooms. There was far more detail than she would have thought to put into a home in the trees. Daniel must have helped with the details as some of the intricate carvings in the doorframes and cabinets were a work of art.
She smiled as she ran her fingers over the cabinets within the kitchen. She closed the door on some bread and as her stomach rumbled at the sight of it, she wondered how much longer she would feel hunger for something other than blood. She wasn’t certain if she would be leaving here a human, wasn’t certain if she would even be leaving here at all. It seemed like a perfect time to make the change, to throw caution to the wind and have eternity, but she was terrified of losing this bit of bliss they had just discovered together.
Her whole life had been nothing but arduous and now that it was going so well, she was contemplating her own death, and no matter how she looked at it Braith was right about one thing, she was going to die.
The delicate carvings in the cabinets were ivy leaves she realized as her fingers lingered on them. That had to have been William’s suggestion; he knew how much she loved the way the ivy grew through the trees in some areas of the forest. Thoughts of Max and her brothers saddened her. They had already lost her father, she didn’t know how they would survive her loss too, especially William, if she decided to do this and didn’t survive.
Aria sighed as her fingers slipped from the cabinet. She had no idea what to do. It was one thing to die for a cause; it was another thing to risk her life when it wasn’t entirely necessary. At least not yet.
She could wait a few years; maybe even wait till she was twenty five. It was an age she’d never thought she’d hit anyway, it would be nice to see it.
However, if she waited a few years she wasn’t sure she’d have the courage to do it, and what if she accidentally became pregnant? She’d never take the risk of leaving her child behind by doing something that may very well end her life.
She’d thought this decision would be easier, but now she was completely torn. Why did she have to become reasonable and concerned about consequences now? She wished her father were here so she could talk to him and seek his guidance in making this decision.
I have vampire blood inside of me; she clung firmly to that thought. I’m stronger than most, more stubborn. I will survive, I will.
She traced over the swirls within the soft green countertops as she studied the open, airy kitchen. They hadn’t run electricity from the palace and Aria was glad of that, she much preferred the flicker of the lanterns hanging above her. It was warmer, cozier with the mellow radiance that lit the picturesque home.
She felt Braith’s eyes on her before she spotted him leaning against the doorframe. Her toes curled as her mouth went dry. His eyes were still hooded with sleep and his dark hair was tussled across his forehead. He had taken the time to throw on a pair of pants that hung low on his hips, revealing the hair that ran from the waistband and up to his belly button before flaring out slightly at his chest. The hard ridges of his abdomen flexed as he crossed his legs and scanned her with the same hunger she was certain had just been in her gaze.
He was far more delicious looking than cake, she decided firmly. And he was hers. The thought caused her hands to clench as possession shot through her. He would always be hers, no matter what she decided.
“Do you like it?”“It’s incredible.” There was a sly gleam in his eyes as her gaze raked him from head to toe. His full mouth curved in a predatory smile. “Everything is perfect.”
“I’m glad. You must be hungry.”
Her stomach rumbled eagerly at his words. “Guess I am,” she told him laughingly as she placed a hand against her belly.
“I’ll make you something.”
She nodded as he moved away from the door with the ease of someone that was intrinsically aware of every muscle and cell within their body. He opened and closed cabinets as he retrieved supplies and she settled at the table. “Braith?”
“Hmm,” he murmured as he used the knife to slice bread with startling speed.
“Will I, uh, be able to eat human food again if I become a vampire?”
He stopped slicing and stared at the cabinets for a moment before glancing at her over his shoulder. His eyes flickered; something feral, dark, and hungry crossed his face before he shook it away. “You can, it’s not the same, but I’ve eaten it before. I don’t find it appealing but it might be different for you, you have a taste for it; I never did.”
“Oh.” Her eyebrows drew together as he continued to watch her. “The blood, I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know if I can do that to someone. I know you’ve been drinking the blood that humans willingly provide, but…” She shuddered as she really thought about the one aspect of this whole thing she had been trying not to think about.
Braith turned away, she watched as the muscles in his back and shoulders rippled with the deft slices of the knife. He finished cutting the loaf and carried a plate of bread and fruit over to her. Sitting before her, he leaned forward, his hands clasped as his eyes blazed into hers.
“You have consumed my blood.”
She fiddled with a piece of bread. “That’s because it’s you. But another’s blood, a stranger’s blood, is an entirely different matter.” Her nose wrinkled at the thought, revulsion twisted within her. “And after your father’s blood.” He stiffened at the reminder as a slight snarl curved his lip. “It was awful Braith; I could never describe just how awful it was.”
“I know.”
She leaned closer to him, enjoying the smell of spices and earth that radiated from his body. “Is it that awful for you now, with others? Is that why you don’t like drinking other people’s blood anymore?”
“I don’t think it’s quite as revolting to me. The blood isn’t forced upon me as my father’s was forced upon you, and its blood, it’s always been my staple. I don’t enjoy another’s blood the way that I enjoy yours. It doesn’t fill me in the same way, it’s not as empowering, and it’s nowhere near as pleasant tasting, not anymore.” He shook his head as he leaned back. He was trying to appear casual but the tension in his shoulders and chest didn’t ease. “I don’t like touching them either. It’s not their fault, but the idea of it has become offensive to me. Ashby doesn’t enjoy it either, though he seems more willing than I am when it’s necessary.”
“What will happen if I’m gone?”
“Don’t say that,” he growled.
She opened her mouth to argue, to push it further. She hoped he would move on if she was gone, that he would find someone else even though the idea of it made her want to vomit, but she bit back her words. Rehashing these worries and concern’s wasn’t going to achieve anything except upsetting them both. She forced herself to eat a slice of bread. He wasn’t looking at her anymore; his gaze was focused on the windows behind her. “You don’t have to drink anyone else’s blood afterward though, I can provide for you.”
She froze with a piece of bread halfway to her mouth. Her brow furrowed as she stared at him in confusion. “What?”
His gaze came back to her. “I can provide for you. My blood will be more than enough to sustain you. I will have to consume more, but it won’t be necessary for you to go to another.”
Relief flowed through her. “That’s possible?”
“It is.” His hands seized hold of hers.
“But what about you? Won’t it be draining on you?”
“Not if I stay well supplied.”
“You just said that you dislike the other blood Braith. I know that you’re not feeding as well as you should, you can’t hide it from me. If you lose my blood on top of that…”
“But I won’t be losing your blood.” He brushed the hair back from her neck, his eyes latched onto his fresh marks upon her skin. “I will still have yours, though it won’t be enough to completely sate me, I won’t lose it.”
She swallowed heavily and took a large gulp of juice in order to wet her suddenly parched throat. A few months ago such a proposition would have been revolting. For a reasonable, sane human being it still would be, but he’d helped to make her anything but reasonable and sane. She couldn’t take her gaze from his neck, the muscles that corded it, the tautness of his smooth skin.
“Will you…” she had to take a breath before she asked the question. “Will you feed from other women?”
She couldn’t look at him; she couldn’t breathe as she awaited his answer. She knew it was necessary for him to survive, and possibly her too, but damn if the thought didn’t almost break her. He grasped hold of her cheeks as he turned her face to him, forcing her to look at him as he tilted his head to peer up at her.
“No. I would never turn to a real person again unless it becomes absolutely necessary in order to survive, and even then I would hate it. I don’t mind the other blood as much as long as I don’t have to touch the person. I will use the donor program, and you can feed solely from me if you decide to do this.”