Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) (24 page)

Prince drew his sword. "Who are you?"

"I am Damon." Peeking around Prince she
could see the man smiling slightly. "Thank you for asking."

"Leave Aro alone," Prince said stonily. "Have
you grown so weak you must torture children?"

Damon scowled. "You do not want to play such
games with me." He glanced over at her. "She is not so much a child
any longer."

Prince stiffened, his fingers tightening around the
hilt of the sword.

Damon grinned. "I will take my leave now."
He nodded slowly. "Be well, Prince." He turned to her and gave a
short bow. "Grow strong, little one, and learn to guard your mind."
He smiled at Kei. "It was good to see you again, Kei. I will be watching."
With a wink of an iridescent eye he turned and stepped off the rock edge
leaving them all staring after him open mouthed.

She shivered against Kei as Prince turned, sheathed
his sword, and crouched down in front of her. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head a little. "He..." She
took a shuddering breath. "He went in my head. He made me remember things."

Prince grimaced slightly and gently brushed hair from
her face before looking at Kei. "You knew him?"

Kei shook his head. "He knew me. My parents. From
before we crossed the sea. I don't remember him. I must have been too small."

Prince nodded, accepting Kei's words.

"What was he?" She still couldn't quite
figure out, or believe, what had happened.

Kei shook his head, but Prince answered, "A Dragos."

She looked up quickly as Kei sucked in a sharp breath.
"What are they? I've never heard of them."

Prince stood. She took his hand when he offered and
let him pull her and Kei up. "The oldest and rarest of creatures. Dragons
that can take human form. They are more powerful than anything else that walks
these lands."

She bit her lip. "Are they evil?"

Prince sighed. "They are neither good or evil.
They do what they want." His dark brows drew together. "I dislike that
he has taken an interest in you."

She snorted. "Me, too." She glanced over at
Kei. "I think I'm not the one he's interested in though."

He regarded her and Kei quietly for a moment. "Tell
me everything he said."

She opened her mouth to protest and then changed her
mind. With a small sigh she repeated everything they had all said as much as
she could remember.

"What do you think?"

Prince shook his head. "I'm not sure what to make
of it all. He really didn't say much. Though he mentions Kei having a
connection to the Fey queen." He paused a moment and shook his head again.
"Fey are immortal. The prophecy could be speaking about any time in the
future. What is more worrisome is having the attention of a Dragos. That is..."
He grimaced, clearly worried.

"Really, really bad," she offered.

He smiled slightly. "Yes."

"How about we head down to the others." He
paused. "Do you want them to know about this?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I don't want to keep secrets
anymore." She paused. "What's a seer?"

Prince looked surprised, not at the question, but that
she'd
asked it. "Someone who can see the future," he said
finally.

She thought that over. "He said Fey seer. Are
there more?"

This time his eyebrows went up. "Yes."

He didn't elaborate and she frowned. "I'm not
stupid."

"I know."

"I had tutors," she added defensively.

A smile quirked at his lips. For some reason she found
it distracting. "We should get back to the others."

They didn't seem to know what to make of the whole
encounter. She didn't know if they thought there was some truth to what the
crazy Dragos had said. She just was pretty certain he'd gotten so old he'd gone
and lost his mind.

Kei did not leave her side the entire night, that for
some reason made her feel deliriously happy and relieved. When Bo looked
disapprovingly at him as everyone settled down to sleep the Fey merely growled
and pulled her down next to him. He took her hands in his as they lay curled up
facing each other.

She smiled suddenly as he looked over her shoulder and
growled quietly. A moment later Prince's hand slid over her waist. "Good
night, boys," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Chapter 19

After the Long Cold
Winter

"I hate winter," she muttered.

Prince glanced up at her. "It's almost spring."

She supposed he should know. He came from these lands,
but scowled at him regardless.

After they had finally left the forest they'd traveled
the nearly deserted road to the first of the human cities. They hadn't stayed
long. It had been too small and too close to the border of Franua for their
taste. The second city wasn't much better, however the third suited well
enough, it even had a seaport.

It ended up they could have travelled further, the
snows started weeks later than expected. The added time gave them a chance to
find work and earn the money needed for a place to live. It had not been an
easy time, yet they had done it together and eventually everything had worked
out.

Their new home consisted of a small room on the second
floor of an ancient, decrepit building close to the docks. They couldn't afford
much better, but at least it had a large stove for heat and cooking. There
wasn't anything else she could say nice about it. It was drafty, there were
bugs and rats, it smelled funny, and the neighbors left much to be desired.
Cramming six people into one room should have been nearly impossible.

The only thing that made it bearable turned out to be
the men's work schedules. Bo and Prince both worked nights at taverns. Avery
and Cain worked days at the docks. Kei they couldn't risk letting work at all.
A knit wool hat hid his pointed ears, but close inspection would show his eyes
were not normal either. He risked hunting and gathering wood in the far
forests. She got to cook and clean.

She was rather irritated they didn't want her to work.
She certainly could have found something as a servant or barmaid. At the same
time she understood. They had become her family, and in doing so had also
become overprotective. Part of the problem was her uneasiness in crowds and
around other men. Over the months things had gotten a lot better. Her anger and
fear had mostly faded away and her nightmares weren't nearly as frequent. Still,
she was uncomfortable going out into the city alone and avoided doing so.

The men continued to teach her to improve her fighting
skills when they had the time. It became the only thing that kept her from
screaming and going insane. They did not have much else to occupy their free
time. Sometimes John would bring home a small, tattered book and read to them.
Most often they just talked and told stories of their past and people they had
known.

Though she had never before been one to gossip, she
found boredom got the better of her and she actually paid attention to the
local goings on the men would report when they returned from their jobs.

Some of the news and stories were interesting. Tales
of Were, Fey, and Elves were more common here. Interestingly, they still took
on the form of stories for the most part. There were very few actual events
ever spoken of. From the little she learned about them that made sense, they all
lived in the forests and didn't interact with humans very often. Apparently
humans were lesser creatures, at least to the Elves and Were. The Fey were just
all insane. She worried about Kei sometimes, wondering how he felt about all
these stories. He never said anything though, and missed many of them while on
his trips to the forests.

Winter dragged on forever. The cold and snow had kept
them in the city for almost half a year. At least they didn't freeze, and
though the food wasn't of the greatest quality, they were able to afford enough
they never went hungry. They slowly bought supplies when they had the money to
do so; a pot, utensils, an ax, and packs to carry it all in.

She became adept at making soups and stews. They being
one of the easier meals to cook and because it seemed someone was always sick
with a running nose or cough.

She glanced over at Prince. He hadn't been looking
well for a while, though he didn't have any visible signs of a cold. He just
looked pale with dark rings always under his eyes. She constantly worried about
him, though she tried to hide it because it just made him angry. She could only
hope the reason he looked so awful was just because he didn't sleep well with
working nights.

Everyone else was sick again, including her. She wiped
her nose on her shirt sleeve and grimaced as she got boogers on her arm
instead. She'd been growing like crazy and nothing fit anymore.

"Arowyn, you truly do try my patience,"
Prince muttered.

She winced and pulled a square of old cloth from her pocket
and wiped her arm off before blowing her nose. "Sorry."

He only sighed.

She bit her lip and went back to cooking. Avery and
Cain had already left for work at the docks. Bo was due back in a little while.
Kei would return from hunting in the forest sometime the next day.

"You should get some sleep," she told
Prince.

"Come lie down with me then," he said
quietly.

At least that's what she thought he said and she
turned to look at him quickly. "What?"

He smiled faintly. "Nothing."

She stared at him, sitting on a pile of ratty blankets
leaning against a rotting wall. Her prince dressed in torn and stained clothing
and living in a dump. It broke her heart. She set her spoon aside and went and
sat down next to him. Taking his hand she sighed as she leaned her head on his
shoulder. "Spring is coming soon you said?"

He surprised her by leaning his head against hers. "Yes."

"So we can leave soon."

"Yes."

She forced a smile. "Well that's a relief. I'm
quite sick of this place." She turned her head and he lifted his as she
did. Pulling her hand from his she gestured to the blankets. "Lie down.
You need some sleep." He frowned and she grinned. "I'll tuck you in."

He chuckled and did as she told. She pulled a blanket
over him. He slept during the day now, since he worked at night. Their old
routine had been interrupted by necessity. Maybe that was what he'd meant. He
missed the past, too.

Impulsively, she scooted herself in under the blanket
as well, curling up in front of him like she used to. Like so many times before,
his arm moved to its spot around her waist and she smiled at the memories. He
pulled her a little closer and his cheek rested against her hair. That was
different, but she didn't mind. She'd missed him and safe and calm feelings he'd
always brought her while she slept. "Sweet dreams, my prince," she
murmured.

She closed her eyes, just for a moment, before waking
at the sound of her name.

Carefully sitting up, she turned to see Avery standing
by the door, a stricken look on his face.

"What's wrong?" She spoke quietly to avoid
waking Prince, quickly but gently moving away from him and getting up. "Why
are you back so early?"

Avery grimaced and pulled off his wool hat and mitts,
tossing them to the side. "Everyone is sick. Most of the crew didn't show
up today so the foreman sent the rest of us home."

She frowned. Worry knotted her stomach, not just
because it seemed a sickness was going around, but the fact Avery had been sent
home. They couldn't afford him not working.

Before she could comment he glanced over her shoulder
at Prince. "You need to be more careful."

She stared at him blankly. "What?"

He grimaced again. "You're not a child anymore.
You've," He made wavy lines in the air in front of her, "grown up.
And out," he added with a flushing of his cheeks.

Her own cheeks flamed as she glanced down at her
breasts. Yes, they had grown along with the rest of her this winter. She hadn't
paid them much attention, except to silently complain when they got in the way.
She needed to get something to keep them from bouncing around, but they didn't
have money for clothes.

"Just be more careful," Avery said again. He
looked away and added quietly, "You're beautiful, you know. I don't want
to see you hurt."

She gaped at him even as her face burned hotter. She
was beautiful? She snapped her mouth closed. "I'll be fine," she
answered. She eyed the growing hole in his black wool sweater. "Give me
your sweater. I'll fix it before the entire thing unravels."

He pulled it off over his head and turned his head
away from her as a fit of coughing started.

She bit her lip and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Come
and sit down."

She went back to the stove to stir her current batch
of soup. When she looked back at him he sat on another of the makeshift beds,
staring at Prince with a sour look on his face.