“Yes. You are also going to have to do something about Max.”
“Max?” she asked in confusion.
“He’s in love with you.” Aria frowned, her hand tightened on Jack’s arm. Jack was right, she had to make it clear to Max that there would never be anything between them. She hadn’t been fair to him lately, telling him no well leaning on him to help get her through the past months. Guilt and self hatred twisted through her stomach, she was ashamed of herself and Max was going to be hurt. But she knew now, that even if she never saw Braith again, he would always own her heart. “And he’s not very stable right now.”
“That woman that held him, she was awful to him in there, wasn’t she?”
Jack was silent for a long moment before he nodded briskly. “She was, and Max is convinced that it was the same with you.”
“I’ve told him it wasn’t.”
“And he doesn’t want to believe that. It’s easier for him to think of us all as monsters. If I hadn’t pulled the two of you out of there, he would hate me too. He still doesn’t trust me.”
Aria frowned as she glanced up at him. “Do you think he would do anything to hurt you?”
Jack shrugged. “He might try, but not for awhile, not until things are more established. He knows that I’m needed right now, but after…”
Aria stared at him in wide eyed surprise. “And you’re not angry about this?”
He glanced down at her. “What was done to him in there was something awful Aria. We will never know the extent of the cruelty he experienced, of the abuse that he took. No one comes out of that completely normal. I understand his anger and his hatred. But if he tries to kill me, I will not hold back.”
Aria swallowed heavily, she hated the awful situation they were stuck in, hated the fact that she would have to choose between Braith and her family, hating the fact that she was becoming increasingly worried and fearful of Max.
Chapter 8
“Do you ever do what you’re told?”
Aria didn’t bother to look up from the berries she was collecting. “Not usually.”
“You know you’re supposed to stay close.”
She glanced up at Max as he stopped at her side. His shadow fell across her, blocking out the sun. “I’m close.”
“Within eyesight Aria,” he growled.
She dropped the berries into her bucket, trying hard to keep her patience. She hated being ordered about, hated his high handed demeanor, but most of all she hated the fact that he felt he had any say over what she did, or didn’t, do. “I have my bow,” she reminded him.
“That will do a lot of good against a group of marauding vampires.”
Aria rolled her eyes as she wiped her hands and rose slowly to her feet. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she reminded him.
“So capable that you were caught already.”
Aria heaved an impatient sigh; she grabbed hold of her bow as she tried to ignore the tugging waves of guilt crashing through her. She didn’t think she would ever be able to forgive herself for what had been done to Max, but she could not continue to live under the weight of that guilt. She also could not allow him to continue thinking there was any hope for them. Even if she gave Braith up, she would not choose Max. There could never be anyone, but Braith.
“I’m fine Max.”
“I understand your need for solitude Aria, I do, but you have to understand that I am only concerned about your safety.”
“I know,” she said softly, just agreeing with him in the hope that he would back off. Aria jumped in surprise when he seized gently hold of her chin. She frowned fiercely at him, trying hard to keep her temper.
“I know you feel that this raid is a bad idea, I know you think that they treated you kindly in there, but…”
“Max I can only tell you so many times that I was treated kindly in there. I know you had an awful time, I know that, but you have to believe me when I tell you that I didn’t. This raid is a bad idea, it’s an awful idea. I know you want revenge, but risking innocent lives is not the way to get it.”
His eyes were hard, narrowed as he glared at her. Jack thought that Max was in love with her, but at the moment, she felt that he might actually hate her more. She wanted to reach out to him, wanted to explain it all to him, wanted him to understand that she didn’t mean to hurt him, but she couldn’t find the words to even attempt such an explanation. “Max,” she whispered.
He shook his head, his shaggy blond hair falling across his forehead. “You don’t know what you’re talking about Aria. What they did to you in there, it’s confused you.”
Aria wanted to argue with him further, but it was useless, and something else had caught her attention. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as all of her senses focused upon the forest. It had become eerily silent. Aria glanced around the shadowed woods, panic hammered through her. The birds had stopped singing; the squirrels no longer ran through the trees.
“One day you will realize…”
Aria slipped her hand over Max’s mouth, silencing his words. She placed her finger over her own mouth, motioning for him to be quiet. He frowned at her, but Aria was no longer paying attention to him. She could read the woods, and right now they were telling her that something was not right, that danger was coming. She just didn’t know what direction it was coming from, didn’t know which way to flee. She tilted her head back, glancing up into the high reaches of the tree.
She pointed up as she took her hand away from his mouth. Moving silently, Aria grasped hold of the lowest tree branch and easily scooted her way through the branches. Max was not as swift as she was, but he followed her. Aria climbed higher, burying herself within the thick foliage. She searched the forest but still saw no cause for the odd silence that had descended over it.
She reached back down, grasping hold of Max’s hand to help pull him onto her branch. His skin was slightly paler, he looked as if he were about to throw up. He had always hated heights, but they didn’t have many options right now. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head fiercely at him. She still couldn’t find the danger hidden within the shadows.
And then she saw them. They had come from behind the tree, and were underneath it, before she knew what had happened. She plastered herself against the trunk of the tree, holding tight to it as Max pressed against her. Aria was shaking, terror pulsed through her. If they looked up…
If they looked up, she and Max were dead. Max could not move through the trees like she could, and even she could not outmaneuver a group of vampires forever. They would catch her eventually. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she was certain they would hear it, certain that they would look up and spot them within the foliage of the tree. Aria’s breath caught in her throat, she could hardly breathe as Caleb appeared beneath them, moving slowly behind the six soldiers before him. His head moved constantly as he searched the woods. The excitement strumming through his body was nearly palpable.
Terror pulsed through her; her legs were trembling so bad that she could hardly stand anymore. Max was frozen before her, his lean body as hard as rock as he pressed against her. If Caleb was here then only bad things could follow.
Aria’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped as Braith stepped into sight behind his brother. Her heart leapt, flipping wildly as she took in his magnificent form. Longing spurted through her, she almost called out to him, almost flung herself from the tree, and into his arms. And if it hadn’t been for Caleb mere feet before him, she probably would have. For a moment all she wanted was to be in his arms again, to hell with the other monsters with him.
It had been a week since she had last seen him; a long tortuous week that had been filled with uncertainty, fear, and a desperate longing that was shaking her thoroughly. She had gone two months without him, had spent two months trying to forget him, but this past week had been the longest and the hardest thing she had ever had to endure. Her fingers twitched, she wanted to cry for the unfairness of this whole situation. She remained frozen instead, motionless with the terror that had locked her muscles into place.
Braith froze, his head turned slightly from side to side. Then, ever so slowly, he tilted his head back. She knew the minute that his shaded eyes locked onto them. Max took a small step closer to her. She could barely breathe as she was squished against the trunk of the tree. Though his jaw clenched slightly, and a muscle jumped in his cheek, Braith showed no other sign that he had seen them. However, she could sense his shock, his displeasure, his anger.
He turned away from them, moving onward through the forest as the small troop disappeared from sight. Max relaxed against her, breathing a huge sigh of relief. “Good thing your former master is blind.”
Aria was fighting against tears, fighting against screaming in frustration and terror. She wanted to tell Max that Braith had seen them, that he knew they were there, and that he would keep them safe. She thought it might help him to understand that Braith was not a bad man, that he was in fact a very good man, and that he loved her. She thought it might help Max to understand that not all vampires were evil, but she could not bring the words to leave her throat. She had promised Braith that she wouldn’t tell anyone his secret, and she meant to uphold that promise. Even if it meant continuing to alienate her friend.
“We have to warn the others,” Aria whispered.
Max nodded, he moved slowly away from her as he began to gingerly make his way from the tree. Aria hesitated, staring out over the forest as she searched for any sign of Braith, and the others. They had moved on though. She descended rapidly, dropping silently to the ground beside Max. They moved swiftly through the forest toward the campsite they had left behind.
“What are they doing here?”
Aria shook her head helplessly. How was she supposed to know what they were doing here? “I don’t know Jack.”
“Did Braith tell you about this?”
“No,” she retorted, anger spurting through her. “I would have prepared people if he had. I sure as hell wouldn’t have been hanging out in a tree with Max if he had!”
Jack’s face was hard, his eyes cold and thoughtful. “He may not have known.”
“Of course he didn’t know! He wouldn’t have left me out here, unprepared.”
“Aria…”
“He wouldn’t have Jack,” she insisted, infuriated that Jack would even think such a thing. Infuriated that she was also thinking it, even though she knew it was wrong. Braith would not do that to her, she knew that, but she still couldn’t stop the doubts creeping through her.
“He knew we were in that tree Jack. If he was here to hurt us, or to recapture us, he would have turned us in. I couldn’t have escaped them all, and I wouldn’t have left Max behind.”
“He might not have seen you. He said himself that his vision comes and goes; we have no idea of knowing how good it is when he does have it.”
“I know he saw me,” Aria insisted unwilling to discuss how she knew this.
Jack leaned back, biting on his bottom lip as he closed his eyes. He shook his head before pacing away and coming rapidly back. He stopped before her. “I don’t know what this bond is between the two of you, I don’t know what to say about it, but I do know that it has put us all in danger. Especially if Caleb is here.”
Aria’s jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him. “Did you stop to think that maybe Braith is here because Caleb is here? Did you ever think that he is here to offer what protection, and help, he can?” she demanded fiercely. “You say you and Braith were close, and that you were good friends, yet you have no faith in him. You have no idea what kind of a man he truly is!”
“And you do?” he growled.
Aria stared defiantly back at him. “I know better than you.”
He studied her for a long moment before cursing loudly and pacing away again. “We need to get these people somewhere safe.”
“Yes.”
He cursed again before retreating toward the caves. Aria was unwilling to follow him into that dark, cavernous zone though. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped within the caves again, but that was where everyone had retreated to in the hope that they would stay safe. He turned back to her, but she remained unmoving just feet from the cave.
“Aria!” he hissed.
She shook her head, trying hard to keep breathing, but finding it very difficult through the constriction in her chest. She had never truly liked the caves, but now she found herself terrified by the prospect of going back in there. Her skin was clammy, she was shaking. She found she would almost prefer to be in the hands of Caleb than back in there, trapped amongst the cold rock.