Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) (9 page)

Not only that...this Fey...this strong wild creature,
had meant something to her father. Father had trusted him, had taken him in and
cared for him. He'd been with Father before he died.

"I don't mind," she finally managed to
whisper.

She hadn't realized how tense he had been until she
felt him relax next to her. "Good," he said. "I mean…"

She smiled slightly at his floundering. He truly wasn't
that great with people. "I understand."

He let out a little growl of frustration and it made
her smile. It was something she would think a Fey would do. A Fey. She still
couldn't quite believe they truly were real, that she was sitting next to one.

"So you'll do what I tell you," he said
finally. It wasn't a question.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Hold on…"

His hand rested on her arm again. "When it comes
to protecting you," he amended. "If I tell you to run, you run. If I
tell to hide then you hide."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose I can do that. But..."

"No but," he said firmly. "I need to
know you'll listen. I'm a Fey, you mustn't forget that. I don't want you in the
way when I fight."

Oh yes. The fury of the Fey
. "I will do my best," she said quietly.
It
wouldn't be that hard, just like listening to her brothers
. She blinked,
her thoughts going off once more.

He let out an irritated breath, distracting her. "Fine.
I hope you do. I'd feel really bad if I killed you."

"So would I."

They both laughed quietly and sat in easy silence for
a while again.

She shivered and grimaced. She hated being wet…and
cold. Fall quickly approached and though the days weren't too cold yet, the
nights had started to get chilly. They'd been lucky so many people in the hold
had kept it relatively warm, but the wet and chill of the rain wasn't helping.

Kei shifted closer to her until his side pressed right
up against her. The sudden warmth shocked her. "How can you not be cold?"

"I'm Fey," he reminded her. "We're very
warm-blooded."

She chuckled, resisting the urge to turn and try to
snuggle into the warmth.

"May I ask you a question?"

She nodded, forgetting the darkness again. "Yes,
of course."

He paused, "Did…did your father say anything else
about me? In his letter?"

His voice was so quiet, so…shy. She smiled slightly,
that her father's words might mean so much to him. "Yes. He wrote nearly a
whole page." Her smile faded as she remembered the letter. It was lost
now. Pain pulled at her chest again. How long would she be able to remember it?

He sat quietly beside her, waiting.

She was so dense sometimes. "Not a bad word in
it," she assured him. She bit her lip and then made up her mind. "Would
you like me to tell you all he said?"

He sucked in a sharp breath. "You remember?"

"Of course. I have it memorized," she said
quietly. "It was the last words of my father. It goes," She closed
her eyes, bringing the page to mind. "I bet you cannot guess what I found
last week. Maybe I should make you guess, but you would just get cranky. I know
you would never guess right either. I found a boy in the woods, close to your
age, maybe a little older. He is quite wild, and feisty. Even more so than you,
if you can believe that. I have him here at the fort and it is taking him a
while to settle in, but I am confident a little time is all it will take. By
fall I am sure he will be much quieter. I am certain you will like him. I have
grown quite fond of him myself. He will certainly fit right in. I can already
imagine the trouble you will all get into. I expect you to be on your best
behavior when I come home then, understand?" She sucked in a breath and
then coughed. "That's all he wrote about you."

She could feel him shaking against her. "Kei?"
He didn't answer. "Hey, are you laughing or crying?"

A choked laugh answered her. "I'm not sure."

Embarrassed she waited in silence for him to get
control of himself.

"He was going to take me home, to meet you all,"
he whispered finally.

She blinked rapidly, as she understood his reaction.
She reached a hand out to touch him. He didn't understand, not like she now
did. "Not just to meet us, Kei. To live with us. To join our family."
She sat back as he froze.

"Are you sure?" His whispered voice broke
slightly.

"Very," she said firmly. "Father was
like that. He liked helping others. I have a few foster brothers."

His words came out in a rush again, "So you'd
have been like my sister?"

It became her turn to freeze. "Does everyone
know?" She ground her teeth in frustration.

"That you're a girl?" He chuckled. "I've
always known. You smell like a girl."

"Huh." She grunted, leaning back and
crossing her arms, her chains rattling.
Smelled like a girl? What did that
mean?

"Who else knows?"

"Kendric. He's a family friend. And the prince.
He heard about me at court."

A quiet growl came from beside her. "You should
stay away from him."

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you know him?"

"I know his kind," he replied curtly.

Apparently he didn't like nobility either. "He's
not so bad," she said quietly. "Let's not fight about it. We need him
to escape all of this."

"Fine."

She sighed and again they sat in silence. She thought
of her father and her brothers. Kei was one of her brothers. Or would have
been, if Father hadn't died. She couldn't keep the small smile from crossing
her lips. Taking ahold of the thought, she refused to let it go. Kei was
family. She wasn't alone. They weren't all lost to her. Not only that, he
wanted
to take care of her, to protect her. The horrible fear that had been
crushing her lessoned a little. She'd make it through all of this, she would.

"Do you believe in magic, Aro?"

"What?" His sudden question startled her. "Well,
I guess." She paused, thinking. "They say the eastern lands are full
of all manner of beings that aren't human. Some are...something more. Like you.
Is what you do magic?"

"Sort of. You could say part of me is magic. The
Were use it more, changing forms. The Elves have their powers."

She interrupted him warily, "Are you going to do
something strange again?"

He was silent for a very long time. "We Fey have
a special magic. A magic of the heart and soul. A magic of…binding…of promise
and intent. Do you understand?"

"No idea at all," she admitted.

"I want you to know how serious I am about
protecting you, and I want you to know it's not just because of your father. I
like you, Aro. I want us to be friends."

"I sort of thought we were heading that way
already."

"But I can make it
binding
. Forever.
Forever friends. No matter what."

She considered about what he said, who'd he suddenly
become to her. He was her brother, her father had believed in him, but
still...she hesitated. "Would it hurt?"

"Of course not," he said incredulously. "It's
words and a little magic. That's all."

"Sure," she said impulsively. "What are
the words?"

Her answer seemed to have surprised him. He took a
moment before answering. "In friendship I shall bind my heart and soul to
yours. Forever beside you I shall stand. Together or apart always will I be
with you. Eternal friends we shall ever be."

Her throat tightened as tears came to her eyes at his
words. "That's beautiful," she finally managed to whisper.

His warm hand closed around hers. "I don't know
really, if it would work, you being human. I don't think it's ever been done
with one before. But, if you would like to, for you I would say these words and
even if there was no binding, I would still mean every word."

To have a friend forever. No matter what. To not be
alone through all of this...She nodded her head frantically as tears splashed
down her face. "Yes."

"Yes?" He seemed startled she had accepted. "Are
you sure? It's not something to be taken lightly, Aro."

She squeezed his hands. "I want to. Tell me what
to do."

"Very well." He sounded immensely pleased. Again,
she could almost see him grinning. He shifted himself until he sat in front of
her and took her hands and placed them palm to palm to his, raised between
them. "I'm doing the eye thing again," he warned her, and suddenly
she could see them, glowing faintly.

A little gasp escaped her as she actually looked at
them. "They're beautiful," she murmured.

He chuckled, and ducked his head for a moment, clearly
embarrassed. "Thank you," he said shyly. "Now look into my eyes
and repeat after me." He said the words again, and she repeated them after
him. Not once did she make a mistake. It surprised even her.

Staring into his golden eyes as she spoke, his hands
warm against hers, sent her heart pounding. She wasn't alone anymore. As the
last word fell from her lips she smiled slightly. It hadn't been too bad…

She gasped suddenly, as his hands suddenly became
warmer. Much warmer.

"Don't look away," he murmured, as she was
just about to do so.

She stared into his eyes as the warmth spread from his
hands into hers, and then rushed through her entire body. It didn't hurt; it
didn't feel bad at all.

He was smiling softly and her eyes widened as she
noticed this. She could
see.
Little lights danced around them both, like
tiny fireflies. A few moments passed before the lights settled onto them both
like little motes of dust and the faint light faded away.

She blinked in the darkness. His eyes had gone out,
too. She took in a shaky breath. "That was so strange."

His fingers gently entwined through hers. "It
didn't hurt did it?"

"No. I feel…wonderful. Warm." She paused a
moment. "Does that mean it worked?"

"I would think so," he replied in amusement.
"I've never done it before, but something certainly happened."

"Indeed," she agreed.

"Aro, don't tell anyone about this. Not about us
being friends," he added quickly, "About what we just did, I mean."

She paused and bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn't have
agreed so quickly and should have asked more questions. "Why?"

A little growl of frustration escaped his lips. "Humans
wouldn't understand it. They would be afraid I did something bad to you. And
people like me, well… I don't know if it's really allowed. So..."

"I understand," she said quickly, before he
started his quick talking again. She grinned. "We've our first secret?"

"Aye," he said with a chuckle. He pulled her
in close to him as he shifted to lean again against the hull. "Now go to
sleep, little Aro. I will watch over you."

She did easily, because she suddenly felt safe. She
wasn't alone anymore. He wouldn't leave her. He'd promised.

Chapter 6

Mother of All Storms

Faint light shone down into the cell again as she woke,
nestled against Kei's side. She blinked and shifted away quickly, her cheeks
coloring. Not only was Kei not one of her brothers, she was also supposed to be
a boy. What would everyone think? The men of course, were all up.

Everyone stood about the hold, even Prince. Looking
down, the reason became quickly apparent. The straw covering the cell floor had
become a soggy mess overnight.

"Morning, Aro," Kei said quietly as he
stood.

She scrambled to her feet, keeping her head down. "Morning."

She peeked up at him, catching his small smile. This
was the first time she'd seen him so close, even if the light was poor.
Surprisingly, he looked almost exactly as she'd imagined. He was boyishly
handsome, his face round with high, defined cheekbones, and his chin slightly
pointed. His skin had been tanned gold and perfect, his eyes a yellow gold and
not human at all. Slightly pointed ears showed through his light brown, spiky
hair. He certainly looked like she imagined a Fey should.

Kendric walked over, the straw squishing under his
boots, and held out his hand. "Hey, Aro. Here. They fed us today."

She stared at his hand and the dark lump in it. Her
nose wrinkled. "That's food?" She peered up at him through her hair
as she took it. "What is it?"

He made a face. "Bread. A bit dirty, but no bugs
at least."

She stared at it. Even as starving as she was, she
didn't want to put it in her mouth.

"Eat it," he said firmly. "We all ate
ours."

She looked at Kei and he nodded. She noticed how
Kendric saw the exchange and raised his eyebrows, yet he didn't do anything but
smile slightly. That was odd. He had seemed so protective of her before. Maybe
he and Kei had already spoken before she woke up. Either way, she somehow
managed to choke the hard, dry stuff down.