Broken Promise (The Broken Ones Book 3) (34 page)

"I'm glad I came to see you, then."

Looking down at her, he smiled and it
even reached his eyes, making little crinkles around them. "As am I. You
are always welcome by my side. I hope you know that."

His words made her slightly
uncomfortable, unsure what exactly he meant. Not really wanting to know. Was she
being childish, naive, to avoid thinking about such things? "Have safe
travels," she said finally, stepping away.

His smile faded, but he didn't let go of
her hand. "You, as well. We will see each other again soon."

"Your soon or mine?"

This brought a small smile to his face.
"Most likely mine." He became serious once more. "Arowyn… Please
be careful." He paused, his eyes meeting hers and holding them. His brows
drew together and he glanced away before once more turning his attention to
her. His amusement died. "Ah, I see. I am sorry."

If she'd been able to tear her eyes away,
she would have glared at Raythe. Instead, she snapped at him,
You told him!

It didn't look like you were going to.

That is not your place!

He didn't reply. Trying to keep calm, she
focused on the pirate still staring into her eyes. "I'm fine."

He shook his head. "You're not
supposed to lie to me."

"I'm trying to believe it."

Raising a hand, he gently cupped her
cheek, a thumb wiping away a tear she hadn't known she'd shed.

"It's hard, isn't it? Keeping the
pain at bay."

She wanted to yell, to scream and hit
him and tell him he didn't understand. The words didn't come, and exhaustion
weighed down her limbs.

"I understand," he said
gently.

His eyes changed. She saw his own pain
hiding behind his usual coldness. Perhaps he did understand. For a moment, she
wondered if the coldness helped, if she should try to wrap herself in it to
keep all the emotions she didn't want to feel trapped away.

Dropping her gaze, she wished again she
hadn't come.

"You don't need the cold," he
whispered. Suddenly she found herself pulled close against him. "But only
to understand you don't need anyone," he continued, his barely audible
words muffled even more by her hair. For a moment, he held her tightly and then
kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

She relaxed her clenched fists. Part of her
wished he'd not let her go. A deep longing rose up within her to be held,
comforted, yet…not by him. However, he'd given her strength. She could get through
this…on her own. "What if I just want them?" She kept her voice low,
knowing he'd hear her.

"Want and need are two very
different things. As long as you know that…"

"I do."

His eyes snapped up, looking over her
shoulder. "I wondered where you were."

Jerking her head around, she saw someone
standing by the end of the alley. Not Raythe. Once she saw him, he came forward,
and she frowned. Baelan. He'd indeed bought new clothes, now wearing a simple gray
shirt with darker gray pants. He easily blended into the shadows.

Perhaps I should have killed him,
Roan muttered
in her mind.
Make good use of him. Learn.

She looked up at him in surprise.
Can
I trust him?

He is sincere in serving you. He has to
be, if he ever wants to be free. He is now outcast and loyal only to you.

Grimacing, she found that thought
strangely disturbing.

Arowyn, you now have the best Elven
assassin at your disposal.

She stiffened, looking up at him in
surprise. What would she need an assassin for?

"Remember all I've said," Roan
whispered, once again catching her hand. "Until next time." Giving
her hand a gentle squeeze, he dropped it and turned, walking swiftly away.

The sound of Baelan coming up behind her
kept her from calling after him. Rotting Elves. The both of them.

Turning swiftly, she debated giving
Baelan a swat up the side of the head for interrupting. "What are you
doing here?"

He stopped, a pained look crossing his
boyish face. The half she could see of it. He'd pulled his messy hair forward,
hiding his scar.

"It is…painful, to be away from
you. And I…I felt…" His brows drew down in confusion. "Something was wrong?"

"Never mind." Looking over her
shoulder once, she started walking. "Let's go."

Raythe followed behind them. He didn't
seem overly impressed to see Baelan, either. Poor Elf. She wondered if it
bothered him that no one wanted him around. He muttered something behind her
and a wicked grin crossed her lips for a moment. Guess he'd caught that
thought.

Having him in her head, seeing the pain
and weakness there…no. She didn't trust him, and that gave her all the more
reason to push it down.

"Stay out of my head, Elf. I'm not
going to tell you again."

"As you wish."

They walked through the city silently
for a time, before he hesitantly drew up beside her. She cast him an irritated look.
He blanched but didn't fall back.

"What do you want?"

"He cares for you very much."

"We are not having this
discussion," she said firmly. Nodding once, he fell back.

His words brought more confusion. Had he
meant Roan, or Prince? If the former, she didn't want to have that discussion
again. A headache began to form behind her eyes. Too much, today had just
been…too much.

You around this evening?

A faint smile came to her face at the
sound of Hale's cheerful voice.
On my way home now. You coming by?

After we close up. Ready for some
practice?

Always!

Fighting with Hale was just what she
needed to take her mind off her brothers and make time go by faster.

Tomorrow she would meet Damon and get
Kei back.

∞ ∞ ∞

As they passed the inn, Raythe traded
shifts with Silas. The quiet Were nodded to her as he joined them on the short
walk back home.

How was the Elf today?

Annoying,
she answered
flatly.

This drew a rare amused smile from the
normally serious Were. It didn't last long.
Raythe said you got bad–

I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it.

His deep brown eyes regarded her calmly
for a moment before he nodded once and fell back.
You aren't alone.

The words hurt. He was right, but at the
same time not. The ones she wanted most, needed most, weren't here. Closing her
eyes, she once again tried to bury the raging sorrow and pain within her. Soon she'd
at least have Kei back.

When they reached the house, she told
Silas that Hale would be coming by later before going up to her room. Baelan
hovered, but she glared at him when he tried to follow her up the stairs.

Closing the door, she pressed her back
against the wood. Everything came rushing back, flooding her with emotions she
didn't want to feel. Dead. They were dead. Gone…

The room disappeared…darkness…silence…

With a gasp, she forced her eyes open.
Yes,
like that.
Heart beating furiously, her breathing came in frantic pants.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she slid to the floor. Fingernails bit into
her upper arms. Rocking, she began banging the back of her head against the
door, harder and harder.

Tears finally made their escape, and she
broke, curling forward and sobbing into her raised knees. Shaking so hard bile
rose in her throat, she struggled not to scream. Raising her head, she brought
her hands to her mouth as a tortured wail of sorrow ripped out of her. She was
losing her mind, herself, everything…

Someone knocked tentatively on the door.

The faint sound jolted her back to
reality. Sniffling, she choked on another sob as she frantically wiped at her
face. "What?"

"Hale is here," Baelan said
softly.

Had so much time passed? Tipping her
head back, she took a long breath and surged to her feet. "I'll be right
down."

"Arowyn…" His voice cracked.

"Go away."

He did.

∞ ∞ ∞

She washed her face, took another deep
breath, and strangely felt better. Guilt swarmed through her thoughts and she
clenched her teeth against it.

Opening her door, she frowned when she
saw Baelan leaning against the wall by Kei's room. Head bowed, his hair once
again hid his face. Guilt pressed on her again, though for a different reason.

Shaking her head, she strode past him
and down the stairs. He followed silently. Stopping at the bottom, she turned
and grimaced. He was going to drive her insane. "Go find something to
do."

Stopping, he nodded, avoiding her eyes.
"Can you be more specific, please?"

"I'm not your mother," she
snapped.

"No," he agreed softly,
turning his head away. "You are my master."

Nausea cramped her stomach. Her mouth
grew dry. She didn't want this. "Maybe I should have just killed
you."

Nodding slightly, his gaze fell to the
floor. "What would you like me to do?"

A deep breath huffed out of her. She
pressed her fingers to her temples. "I don't know. Clean something?"
Giving her head a shake, she turned on her heel and continued down the hall,
not bothering to see if he followed or not.

Hale waited for her in the practice
room, spinning a long wood pole around in his hands. "Rough day?"

Walking over to get the other staff
where it leaned against the wall, she snorted. "Could say that."

"Heard you had an interesting one
yesterday."

Coming to stand before him, she gave him
a dirty look and he laughed. "It's not really funny."

"I suppose not. Ready?"

Standing off to the side, they began
with simple spins and blocks. She still wasn't used to the long weapon and
occasionally it would hit the floor or her leg and she'd have to start over
again.

"Maybe I'm too short," she
muttered after a long string of failed attempts to copy his actions.

"Height has nothing to do with it.
It's just not something you're used to."

Grimacing, she wiped sweat from her
forehead and then wiped the palm of each hand on her pants.

Elaina is here,
Silas informed
her.

Thank you.

Not long after the bouncy auburn-haired woman
paused in the doorway and waved. Keeping her pole spinning, she flashed her a
quick grin and nod. Hale did the same, and then Elaina wandered back to the
kitchen.

"Any word on when they'll
marry?"

"After Kei returns."

He stepped back, pole still spinning.
"That's a bit vague."

Lunging forward, she tried to remember
how much they'd told him about Kei. Not much. "Soon," she finally
said.

Before he could reply, she attacked with
more power, trying to get rid of the pain and frustration bubbling inside of
her. The clack of wood on wood almost drowned out the faint footsteps. Both she
and Hale paused as Elaina came rushing back in, face white and eyes wide.

"There is an Elf? An Elf in the
kitchen!" She made motions by the side of her head, which Aro assumed meant
to show pointed ears.

Struggling to hold in a laugh, she
nodded instead. "So there is."

Elaina raised a hand to her chest.
"But they aren't
real
!"

She shrugged. "Go tell him
that." It took everything she had not to say "I told you so."
However, Elaina look frazzled enough she gave Hale an apologetic look. "I
think that's all for today." To Bo,
Elaina just met Baelan. You might
want to hurry home.

Did he hurt her?

No, she just seems a bit…overwhelmed.

I'll be right there.

Smiling shyly, Hale put his pole away.
"No worries. It's been a long day. Will you be around tomorrow?"

She hesitated before answering.
"No. Kei is coming back."

Frowning, he shook his head.
"That…" he glanced at Elaina, "boy? He's been gone all winter.
You're just going to let him–"

Raising a hand, she stopped his angry
tirade.
He was taken from me. Tomorrow I will get him back.

What are you talking about?

Her shoulders slumped.
It's a long
story.

Weariness suddenly bore down on her.
Perhaps he noticed because he stopped asking questions. "You can ask Bo,
if you want. It's… I don't want to talk about it right now."