Captured (19 page)

   Aria rested her fingers lightly on
Braith’s
back, too stunned to move for a moment. Slowly, hesitatingly, she peered around his back to look at Jack. “Braith…”

   “You may be mature now, but I can still take you,” Braith growled.
   Aria gasped softly, Jack’s mouth parted slightly as his dark eyebrows shot into his hairline. “Braith,” she breathed. Her fingers curled into the shirt he wore, she was awed by the fact that he was willing to protect her.

   “She can’t stay here Braith,” Jack said softly.

   “You’re not giving her to them!” he snarled, taking a small step forward.

   Aria jerked on his shirt, trying to pull him back. His body quivered in rage, his muscles fairly vibrated with it. She did not want to die, she did not want to be handed over to be tortured and
used against her family, but she also did not want to watch two brothers fight because of her. She did not want to see Braith hurt because of her.

   “I never intended to,” Jack told him.

   Both Aria and Braith started at his soft words. “Excuse me?” Braith grated.

   Jack rocked back on his heels. “Apparently we have a lot to discuss, but you can rest assured that I am not here to turn Aria over to our father.”

   “Then what are you here for?” Aria whispered.

   Jack turned to her, his eyes hard.
“To bring you home.”

   Aria’s mouth dropped, her fingers dug tighter into
Braith’s
clothes as she trembled against him, stunned and thrilled at Jack’s words. Home! To be home in her forest, with her friends, and her
family
!
To be free, running wild, back in the world that she knew and loved so much.
To be amongst the animals and trees, to breathe fresh air and not have to be leashed in order to do so. It was all so wonderful, and she wanted it so badly that she could nearly taste it, nearly feel it.

   And then she felt Braith as he turned slightly toward her. She felt the heat of his gaze behind his glasses, the shock that held him as she tilted her head back. She knew she could not keep the hope from her gaze, but there was a new sense of longing swirling rapidly within her. She would have her freedom, but she would not have
him
. She clung tighter to him, unable to let go, unable to stop the fierce surge of terror that shot through her.

   What was wrong with her? She should be embracing this, should be halfway out the door with Jack right now, not standing here feeling rattled, confused, and a surprisingly fierce ache in the region of her heart. Her head dropped against his chest, she could hardly breathe through the shocking pain swamping her. She barely knew him, yet the idea of parting from him was almost
unbearable. He remained unmoving for a moment before his hand entwined slowly in her hair and he cradled her gently against him.

   “Yes,” Braith said softly. “Apparently we
do
have a lot to discuss.”

CHAPTER 12

   Braith did not move away from the door, he did not let her step away from him. He wasn’t going to let her anywhere near Jericho, or Jericho anywhere
near
the door, until he truly felt he could trust his brother, which might never happen. “What has happened here?” Jericho asked softly.

   “I might ask you the same question,” Braith retorted sharply.

   Jericho’s grey eyes shone with merriment for a moment before they grew serious and hard once more. Braith had been right, his brother had matured.
Jericho’s demeanor had always been carefree and lively. It was not now; in fact he looked highly perplexed and more than a little upset. He was thinner in the face, and in his build, most likely from not having access to sustenance whenever he wanted it. However, though he was thinner, there were muscles cording his entire body that had never been there before. A jagged scar marred his cheek, it was fresh though, and with time it would probably disappear. Just as, in another fifty years, he would not be able to see the scars around his eyes anymore. It was only the severe amount of damage that had been done to his eyes that had caused the scars to remain this long. And it was still uncertain if he would ever fully regain his eyesight when he wasn’t in Arianna’s presence.

   “What are you doing Braith? If they discover this they’ll kill her. Father might even kill
you
.”

   Arianna bristled over this, her fingers tightened in his shirt, her jaw clenched tighter. “And you plan on what, just walking out of here with her? Do you believe father would allow that? And if someone else had claimed her, then what Jericho, were you going to kill them in order to free her?”
   “I have a plan.”
   “And it doesn’t risk her life at all?” Braith growled.

   Jericho shifted slightly, his gaze drifted toward Arianna. “There is always risk, in everything we do. However, we felt that the risk far outweighed the danger if it meant getting Aria back.”

   “You followed me up here after Caleb told you she was a redhead, were you going to kill me?”

   Jericho shifted uneasily. “No. I was sent here to assess the situation, to find out if Aria was even still alive, and if I could get her safely out without jeopardizing either of our lives.”
   “And if you couldn’t?”

   “Then I was to leave.”

   Braith was slightly shocked by this statement. It made little sense to him, and he didn’t entirely believe him. “They sent you in here just to have you leave if you couldn’t do anything?”

   “Jack has worked his way up in our ranks; my father thinks very highly of him, he would not risk losing him. Especially if he feels that he can trust him,” Arianna said softly, her gaze still weary as she surveyed his brother.

   “Is that so,
Jack
?” Braith inquired sharply.

   Jericho shrugged as he reached into the pocket of his coat. “I couldn’t give them my real name, now could I? They may not know much about the royal family, or at least a lot of them don’t, but I wasn’t going to chance one of them possibly recognizing my name. And Jack is just less pretentious, don’t you think?” He pulled something from his coat pocket and stepped toward them. “Your father wanted me to give you this.”
   Braith shifted, blocking her with his body as Jericho approached them. He snatched the thing from Jericho’s hand, growling at his brother when he went to take another step closer to her. At one point in time Jericho had been the only person her trusted, that was not so now. Not when
Aria’s life was on the line. He really did not want to have to kill his brother, but he would do what was necessary to keep her safe. Jericho’s eyes widened slightly, but he stepped swiftly away from them.

   Arianna held out her hand, accepting the small silver pendant that Braith gave her. Her mouth parted as she stared down at it, tears swam in her eyes. “He gave this to you?” she whispered.

   “So you would know that you could trust me, that I was telling the truth. Your father has known what I am since we met, he trusts me Aria, and I need you to trust me too.”

   Her fingers were trembling slightly as she stroked over the silver horse head. Her eyes came slowly up to
Braith’s
, a single tear slipped free. “It was my mother’s, he would never give it to anyone he didn’t trust.”

   Braith wiped the tear from her cheek; his hands enfolded hers as he turned his attention back to his brother. “And can he trust you?” he asked softly.

   “There are many things you don’t know about me Braith, many things you have never known,” Jericho said softly.

   “I can see that, but can he trust you, can
I
trust you?”
   Jericho nodded slowly. “If you want her safety as much as her father and I do, than yes, you can trust me.”

   Braith studied him carefully, not at all convinced by his words. “What was supposed to happen if you couldn’t get her, or yourself, out of here safely?”

   Jericho leaned back, folding his hands behind him, his eyes sad and grave. “If I am unable to get us both to safety, I am to leave, so that David can come here.”

   “Excuse me?” Arianna asked sharply, her head snapping up at Jericho’s words.

   Jericho was silent for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped slightly as he ran his hand through his hair. “He didn’t want to risk losing us both. If I couldn’t get you free then I was to return to the woods and he was going to offer himself in trade for you.”

   Arianna’s breath hissed out of her, her hands clenched around the pennant. “That’s crazy!
Why would he do such a thing!?”

   “Because he loves you, because you are his child. Because he would rather give his own life than think of you as a blood slave.”
   Arianna shook her head rapidly. “No, he can’t do that! There are thousands of other lives that depend on him, that count on him, that
need
him. Mine is nothing compared to that.
Nothing
! He knows better than to do something so foolish!”

   Jericho just studied her silently. Braith was unable to wrap his mind around the words that Jericho had just uttered. A father that would give his life for his child, it was crazy to him, unheard of, unfathomable. He stared at Arianna’s countenance, noting the stubborn set of her jaw, and the fire in her bright eyes. There was a rod of strength and courage that ran through her that was both admirable and slightly frightening. She was careless, reckless, a danger to herself, and she needed to be protected from the cruelty of the world. To give his life for her did not seem so crazy, did not seem unbelievably farfetched. It was a strange realization, one he had never experienced before, and had never expected to.

   For her, he could do anything. Even see.

   That truth struck him sharply. It slammed into his gut as his hands tightened around hers. He felt that was the reason that he could see when he was near her. Something inside of him had somehow recognized her spirit as belonging with him, and had seen who she was. And then, because he had needed to see the face behind the bright spirit so badly, his eyes had finally
worked enough to make her out upon the stage. And he would
always
be able to make her out; he would always be able to find her.

   “He knows better,” Jericho said softly. “But he does not care, not when it comes to you. If I couldn’t succeed in saving you, I was to try for Max, and then retreat to the woods. Is Max still alive?”

   “Yes,” Arianna whispered, her voice slightly choked with shock.

   “Katrina has him,” Braith said softly.

   Jericho nodded. “She might be difficult, but I’m sure I’ll be able to get to him. Your father will not have to come for you.”

   “He was going to sacrifice himself for Max too?” she breathed.

   Jericho shook his head. “No, your father cares for Max, and he is an important member in the rebellion, but he was not going to come for him. You are his daughter Aria, he loves you, and you are far more important to the rebellion than Max is.”

   Arianna shook her head, blinking in surprise at him. “No I’m not!” she protested. “Max is a strong fighter, he rallies people to the cause, and he knows the woods as well as I do!”

   “No one knows those woods as well as you do,” Jericho muttered, his gaze darting briefly to Braith, who remained unmoving as he tried to absorb everything.

   Arianna shook her head. “It still makes no sense,” she whispered.

   “As your father’s daughter, a man that the rebels obviously admire and follow, you would be able to rally the rebels to battle even more so than Max,” Braith explained softly.

   Arianna bit on her bottom lip, her gaze darted swiftly up to him. “I don’t want this; I didn’t want any of this.”
   She looked so lost, so frightened and wounded. He had never seen her like this; even dirty and
bedraggled she had displayed an air of defiance that was admirable. “I know, but it has to be dealt with.”

   She turned back to Jericho. “My father had to know that it would be a suicide mission, that they would not release me, no matter what.”
   Jericho’s gaze darted to Braith. “It was a chance he was willing to take, if it meant he had even a possibility of saving your life. Daniel is capable of taking charge of the rebels within the camps, while William and I could take control of the rebels outside, if your father had to come in here.”
   Arianna’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped as all of the color drained from her face. “William?” she choked. “You brought
William
near here? What were you
thinking
Jack!? What was my
father
thinking!?”