Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (18 page)

“Hello brother,” Braith
growled.

Ashby choked, his movements became
wilder as Braith pressed down harder. “Braith.” Arianna’s shocked
whisper barely pierced through the red haze of his fury. He turned
slowly toward her, trying to make her out through the cloud that
surrounded his vision. For a moment he thought he was going blind
again, but then he realized that it was his anger that shadowing
his vision now. “Braith.”

Braith clenched down tighter, and then
he eased his grip. Arianna knew exactly what he was capable of, but
he couldn’t bring himself to kill in cold blood in front of her. He
may kill Ashby later, but he would need more of an excuse then the
fact that his ex brother-in-law had opened the door. He shoved
Ashby roughly back as he stepped away from him.

Ashby’s hand went to his throat; he
staggered away from the wall, his gaze hooded as he stared hard at
Braith. Arianna stood back, her hands clenched on the bow at her
side. He hadn’t realized she had pulled it out until now, and she
wasn’t going to put it away if the stubborn set of her jaw meant
anything. She stared defiantly back at him for a moment before her
gaze slid angrily to Ashby.

Ashby was watching her, his forehead
furrowed, confusion etched into the handsome lines of his face.
Then, his gaze slid slowly over her, raking her from head to toe.
The confusion in his bright green eyes was apparent as he turned
slowly back to Braith. His eyes were questioning, dark, full of
wonder and disbelief. “Where are the guards?” Braith inquired his
voice a low growl.

Ashby swallowed, he rubbed his throat
again, but he didn’t speak. Braith grabbed hold of his shoulders,
slamming him off the wall as he shook him roughly. Ashby staggered
slightly but swiftly caught his balance again. His lips curled into
a sneer, his fangs extended but he did not come at Braith, he was
too smart for that. They both knew that he would not win. Braith
was older, stronger, and well sated.

“Where are the guards?” he demanded
again.

Ashby straightened his shoulders,
fixing his shirt as he straightened away from the wall. He had
always been meticulously dressed and groomed. “Dead.” Braith nodded
slowly as he glanced around the large room, he had already expected
that answer.

His mother’s family had once had the
home finely appointed with classical furniture, and works of art.
All of those things had been stripped from the house when Ashby had
been banished here. Now, though the room was still fairly bare,
Braith was not surprised to see that Ashby had managed to find a
few nicer things to decorate it with. Ashby had always had fine
taste and liked the finer things in life; he would find a way to
incorporate them into his home.

“Who speaks with the guards from the
palace when they call?”

“I do.”

“So you discovered the code word, and
killed them.”

It had not been a question, but Ashby
answered anyway. “Yes.”

“When will someone from the palace be
getting into contact again?”

“Not until tomorrow morning. They
checked in about an hour ago. I won’t tell you the password.”
Braith hadn’t suspected that he would. Ashby would stay alive for
as long as he was needed. When Ashby’s gaze slid back toward
Arianna he stepped in between them. “She’s human.”

“Very astute of you,” Braith
growled.

Ashby’s eyes narrowed on Braith. “Why
are you here Braith? What the hell are you doing with a human? Why
is she not wearing a leash?”

Arianna bristled slightly as she
stepped forward. “I am not a blood slave,” she coldly informed
Ashby, her jaw clenched tight as she glared at him.

“Arianna.” Braith pushed her slightly
back, wanting to keep her as far from Ashby as possible.

Ashby was studying her in surprise and
disbelief. Then his gaze drifted down to her shoulder. Her loose
shirt had slid slightly down, revealing the marks that marred her
porcelain skin. Hunger flashed through his eyes, but something even
more flitted across his features. “You’re not a blood slave, and
you’re not a palace woman, yet you nurture him?”

Arianna was beginning to grow
thoroughly annoyed with Ashby, her hands twitched upon her bow.
Braith wouldn’t put it past her to draw an arrow and shoot him just
to make herself feel better. He reached out, pulling the collar of
her shirt up, stroking her skin for a brief moment before he
covered the marks. Her eyes fired with love, her mouth parted
slightly.

“How did you know her shirt was down?”
Braith turned slowly back to Ashby, a small smile curved his mouth.
Ashby’s mouth dropped, his eyes widened. “You can see!” Braith just
shrugged in response. “What? How? I don’t understand.” Ashby’s
attention turned back to Arianna, he shook his head, causing his
dark blond hair to spill across his forehead. He seemed completely
mystified by her. “I thought your eyesight was gone for
good.”

“Do you have a place where she can lie
down?” Braith inquired, unwilling to even begin to ease some of
Ashby’s shock and questions.

“I’m not leaving you,” Arianna
protested instantly.

“You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine Braith.”

“Arianna…”

“No, I am not leaving you alone with
him!” she retorted fiercely.

“What the hell,” Ashby whispered, his
head bouncing rapidly back and forth between them.

“Shut up!” Braith snapped at him.
“Arianna…”

“I’m fine Braith, really. I slept on
the way here, remember. I don’t want to leave you alone, or be
alone right now.” Her response was so honest, so vulnerable that it
tugged at his heart. He didn’t want her anywhere near Ashby, but he
couldn’t force her away. Especially not now that he realized that
beneath her defiant expression and posture, she was
terrified.

“Sit down.”

He wasn’t surprised when she didn’t
move but simply stood immobile with her hands clenched around the
bow. “Jesus,” Ashby said softly. “What the hell is going on Braith?
Why are you here? And what the hell is she to you!?”

“That’s not your concern,” Braith
informed him. “Who are you expecting?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ashby
replied, trying hard to appear nonchalant and failing
miserably.

“You were whistling when you opened the
door, you weren’t worried that there may be a threat on the other
side. Who are you expecting?”

Ashby tilted his chin to glare at
Braith. “You have your secrets and I have mine,” he responded
softly.

“I have my secrets but I can, and will,
rip your throat out.” Braith pushed him back, keeping him tight to
the wall. “I already owe you one Ashby; you think I won’t take
great pleasure in drawing your death out.”

Ashby’s turned toward Arianna, his
eyebrows drew sharply together. “She doesn’t look too pleased by
that notion.”

“I don’t have to watch,” Arianna
informed him tautly.

Braith gave her an approving nod before
turning his attention back to Ashby. The knock on the door snapped
all of their heads around. Ashby opened his mouth to shout a
warning, but Braith seized hold of his throat, cutting his cry
swiftly off. Before Ashby could react Braith delivered a swift blow
that knocked him out, rendering him unconscious. Arianna was gaping
at him, her eyes wide with shock. He placed his finger to his lip,
directing her to remain silent as he made his way toward the door.
He heard the arrow being knocked back against the bow, but he did
not look back.

He pulled aside the curtain a little.
He could not see who was on the porch, but he was satisfied that it
was only one person. He threw the door opened, not at all surprised
to see the girl standing outside. She was, however, stunned to see
him. Her mouth dropped, her eyes widened, a small cry escaped her
as Braith seized hold of her arm and pulled her swiftly into the
house.

CHAPTER
12

Aria sat on the edge of the couch, her
hands clasped before her, the bow and quiver by her feet. She
wasn’t taking any chances; she didn’t want them more than arm’s
length away from her. Ashby was holding a rag to his cut lip; his
gaze hooded as he stared hard at Braith. Aria leaned forward, not
liking the look in Ashby’s bright green eyes.

He was exceptionally good looking in a
very easy going, charming way. His dark blond hair was shaggy as it
fell forward in waves, highlighting the carved planes of his face.
There was an air of indifference surrounding him, and yet Aria
sensed that there was something more to him, something that even
Braith didn’t know about. Something that Ashby had managed to keep
hidden from everyone that had ever known him.

She didn’t know why she was so
convinced of this; perhaps it was years of honing her instincts
within the forest. But she could not shake the feeling that there
was far more to Ashby than met the eye.

The young girl sat across from him, her
brown eyes wide as she nervously watched them. She was pretty, with
long dark hair that fell in thick waves about her delicate
shoulders. She was older than Aria, about twenty two or three in
appearance. Though there was no way to know her real age, as she
was not human. A fact that had been made clear when she had
attempted to attack Braith, only to be swiftly rebuffed.

He had tied her hands behind her back,
and then secured her to a beam in the ceiling with enough rope to
allow her to keep her hands down. Her legs were also tied, with
another length of rope that ran to a different beam. Aria was edgy,
nervous about this situation, uncertain as to what they were doing
here, and what Braith planned for these two.

Ashby appeared just as uncertain as he
watched Braith wearily. “What have you gotten yourself into
Braith?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t see how that is any of your
concern.”

She felt the spark of hunger and
curiosity that raced through Ashby as his eyes raked over her
again. Aria shifted slightly, hating the way he continued to look
at her like she was something to eat, or an oddity that he couldn’t
explain. Aria forced herself not to squirm beneath his scrutiny,
forced herself to return his gaze.

“You’ve come to me Braith; that makes
it my concern. You have brought whatever trouble you are in into my
world. I have a right to know what the hell that is.”

Braith turned to him, but his jaw was
tight, and Aria was well aware of the fact that he was not going to
talk to Ashby. She was just as curious as Ashby was, just as
puzzled as to what Braith had planned, but if Braith didn’t want to
say it in front of Ashby then she wasn’t going to press him. “This
isn’t your world Ashby, it’s your prison. Or at least it was
supposed to be. Who is the girl?”

“Who is your girl?” Ashby
retorted.

A low growl of anger and frustration
escaped Braith. The hair on Aria’s neck and arms stood on end as he
stalked toward Ashby. She was afraid that he was going to kill
Ashby; apparently Ashby felt the same way as he recoiled from
Braith’s approach. Aria leapt to her feet, intending to stop Braith
when the girl charged at her with a soft, violent hiss. Aria spun,
but she was caught off guard by the girl’s sudden attack. Stunned
by the brutality and hunger the girl radiated, Aria fell back as
she lunged forward with a ferocious snarl, red eyes, and hooked
fingers.

She was defenseless, having left her
bow by the sofa. Reacting on instinct alone, she slammed a fist
into the girl’s cheek, putting the full force of her weight behind
it. Aria’s blow barely did anything to affect the vampire, but the
ropes caught suddenly, jerking her roughly back. The girl fell back
on her ass, a frustrated cry escaping her as she slammed her hands
on the floor.

Aria took a small step back, her heart
hammering with terror, her throat dry with the shock strumming
through her. Braith was before her, his hands grasping hold of her
arms. “Are you ok?” he demanded. Aria swallowed heavily, trying to
calm the frantic beat of her heart, and her fear.
“Arianna?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she said
softly.

He grasped hold of her chin, turning
her face toward him. His eyes were intent, dark, and simmering with
the barely contained fury and bloodlust pulsing through him. She
had seen that look a few times from him, but it still scared her,
mainly because she knew there was nothing that she could do to stop
whatever it was he intended. “Braith…”

But it was not the girl that Braith
took his anger out on, it was her. His mouth seized hers in a
desperate, needy way that left her stunned and shaken. He took firm
possession of her, pulling her roughly against him as he clasped
her tightly. Though she was originally shocked into immobility by
his fervent need, she felt herself melting against him. She gave
into to his wild desire mainly because she couldn’t refuse him
anything, but also because she needed this as badly as he did. His
hand was firm in her hair; his fingers gently cradled her skull as
he deepened the kiss.

He pulled slowly away from her, his
arms trembling around her as he rested his forehead against hers.
Aria struggled to catch her breath, struggled to calm the hum of
desire his volatile kiss had ignited. She clung to his strong, well
muscled arms, trying hard to keep herself grounded in this strange
new world and the overwhelming sensations that he evoked in her. He
clasped hold of her face gently, kissing her nose lightly as he
held her for a moment longer.