Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (24 page)

“There are things that need to be done
in order to secure the bond between bloodlinks,” Ashby
explained.

Braith squeezed her hand gently. He was
trying to soothe and comfort her, but Aria could not shake the
horror and fear rolling through her. This was not her world, she
did not belong in this place of blood and death and strange
bloodlinks that allowed the blind to see. What the hell was she
doing here? How did she get involved in all of this?

But the answer to those questions was
standing before her, willing to die for her, as he used his body to
block her from whatever attack might come their way. Her heart
swelled, tears burned her eyes. She did not belong in this world,
but she realized now that she would never be leaving it again. She
hadn’t realized at the time, but when she’d chosen to leave the
woods with Braith, she had sealed her fate. There was no turning
back, and even though she was frightened by the uncertainty of
their future, she was willing to endure the hardships that were
still to come.

“And those are?” Braith
inquired.

“Exchange of blood, sex,” Ashby
continued. Aria’s face burned, it was all she could do to keep
standing before them. “But those are vampire interactions. With
this, I’m assuming that the change will also be
necessary.”

“And if she doesn’t survive it?”
Melinda asked.

“Then I doubt any of us will,” Ashby
muttered.

Aria finally managed to lift her head
to stare at them. “I’m not going to die,” she told them.

Ashby and Melinda leveled her with
identical looks of hopelessness. “Most do not survive the change.
The human body is too frail; it simply cannot take it. If you stay
human it is certain that one day you will die. And Braith will go
crazy from it.”

“And that’s only if you are willing to
become a vampire,” Melinda elaborated.

Braith turned toward her, she could
feel the full force of his gaze upon her, but she couldn’t find the
words to answer his unspoken question. Was she willing to become a
vampire? Was she willing to live in that world? Was she willing to
die? Willing to drink blood and feed from her people? She lifted
her gaze to Braith, she could feel the tears burning in her eyes,
but they did not slip free. He was so strong, so powerful, and
wise. He was ancient compared to her, a near God in his world. She
was a fighter, and she was strong, but he could snap her bones with
a flick of his wrist. And yet, as he looked upon her, she could see
the weakness in his gaze, the uncertainty and need that blazed from
him, and made him just as weak as she was.

She did that to him, she was doing it
to him, and she hated herself for it. She touched his face lightly,
loving the feel of his hardness beneath her hand, loving the stroke
of his stubble against her fingertips. He awed her, and inspired
her in so many ways. “You humble me also,” she
whispered.

A low groan escaped him; he lifted her
as if she weighed no more than a feather, pulling her tight against
him. His hands were in her hair, his lips against her cheek and
ear. “It will not be so Arianna,” he whispered. She pulled slightly
back to stare at him questioningly. “I will not take the risk of
killing you. I will not be the one that kills you.”

Aria frowned at him; she bent her
forehead to his. “I will survive it.”

“There is no guarantee. I will not risk
it.”

“But I will die no matter
what!”

He managed a wan, halfhearted smile.
“Then I will just have to make sure it is not for a very long
time.”

“I will grow old.”

“You will grow even more beautiful. And
when you are gone, I will follow you.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. She was
far more accepting of her own death than she was of his. But then
again, she had expected to die every day since she was old enough
to realize what death was. “No Braith. No. I see the way you are
now, what you said earlier…”

“I was wrong,” he said firmly. “It was
a moment of weakness, it won’t happen again. I will not do that to
you.”

His eyes were beautiful, bright as he
watched her, smiled at her, and loved her. He kissed her lightly,
his mouth warm and hard against hers. For a moment Aria allowed
herself to forget there were other people in the room. For a moment
there was only the two of them, and none of the pressure. For a
moment, just a small fraction of a second, there was total joy,
total happiness, and true wonder in a world that often lacked such
things.

And then Braith was pulling away and
the world was once again intruding upon them. Aria wrapped her arms
around his neck, dropping her head to his shoulder she buried her
face in his neck, wanting to keep the world at bay for a little
longer. He continued to hold her tight, but she knew his attention
was not solely focused upon her anymore. As prince, as the future
ruler of his world, and hers, he had other matters to attend to.
But for right now she just wanted to hold him, just wanted to feel
safe, and loved.

CHAPTER
15

Arianna was finally asleep, but it had
only been a matter of time before exhaustion won out over her
stubborn nature. She had fought against it for a long time before
succumbing to the needs of her body. She was curled up on the
couch, her head in his lap, her hand curled around his thigh.
Achingly sweet, she appeared exceptionally young to him. Then
again, she was exceptionally young compared to him.

He trailed his hand across her silken
hair, running it lightly through his fingers. Melinda was watching
him with interest, but she did not protest the fact that Braith
still refused to untie Ashby. She may be his sister, but he was not
going to be outnumbered by them. Not when Arianna’s life was on the
line.

Ashby sat beside her, his arm wrapped
around her shoulders. Though there was tension in his eyes, his
posture remained casual, and he retained his mischievous air. “I
never suspected anything between you two,” Braith said
softly.

“There was a lot going on at the time.”
Melinda’s gaze drifted toward Arianna. “I never suspected anything
between the two of you either, but then I never thought you were
capable of love. Especially not with a human, especially not with
your blood slave. Though I was curious as to why you had finally
taken one. Now I know why.”

Braith didn’t take offense to her
words. He hadn’t thought he was capable of love either. He cared
for his brother Jericho; he even cared for Melinda, though he had
never known her as well as Caleb or Natasha. Even when Melinda had
returned to the palace, she had remained mostly distant from her
other siblings, aloof. However, she hadn’t really known them, as
she’d spent her first twenty seven out of thirty years in exile,
with their mother.

The war had been raging in full force
by the time Melinda returned, Braith had only seen Melinda a
handful of times before his vision was lost. Though she had
continued to mature over time, most of her growing had been
completed before he was blinded; she had not changed much since
then. Even after he had lost his sight, he had only come into
contact with her once a month, if even. He’d assumed that she did
the same things as Natasha. That she wandered about the palace,
enjoying the luxuries, and thriving on the blood.

Apparently she had actually been
escaping into the wilderness to nourish and spend time with her
lover. Melinda had always seemed so sweet and young to him.
Apparently her picturesque face and quiet demeanor hid a far
stronger personality than he had ever suspected.

“Why did you keep returning to the
palace? Why didn’t you just stay here?”

“Someone had to bring back the slaves.
Someone had to keep the locals around here quiet. Someone had to
make sure they did not send out new guards, and when they did, we
had to be prepared to take care of them. Someone had to spy, to see
if there would ever be a chance that we could escape together and
finally be free.”

Braith nodded, slightly impressed by
his sisters cunning, daring, and skill. He was also slightly put
off by her manipulation and cold admission about her deceptions. He
made a mental note not to trust her, he didn’t think she was
inherently cruel, but it was more than obvious she would do
anything to keep Ashby safe, and Braith was certain that Ashby
would do the same thing for her. Neither of them was going to leave
his sight until Jack arrived. It was the only way he would feel
marginally better about Arianna’s safety.

Arianna stirred slightly, her hand
tightened on his thigh. “You know that you don’t have a prayer of
keeping her human,” Ashby said softly.

“I won’t change her.”

“You may not want to change her, you
may think that you can keep yourself from doing so, but we all know
the truth here Braith. You think you can go the next five, ten,
fifty years risking her life, and watching her die?”

“If I have too.”

Ashby shook his head; he leaned back
against the wall. The young vampire girl remained silent; she had
offered no further protests to her restraints. She was sullen,
resigned to remaining tied for a long time. “You’re only in the
beginning stages of this Braith.” Ashby folded his hands before him
as he stared fiercely at Braith. “Do you think it’s going to get
easier as the years go on? It grows and intensifies; the bond
between you will become something so intense that it will take
everything you have to get through one second without her. You
asked me earlier who I was expecting; do you think it was this
girl?” He gestured sharply at the young vampire girl.

“No, I thought it was Melinda at the
door. Do you know how hard it is to see her go back there? I hate
myself every time she leaves here, every time she returns to that
depraved hell hole. If there was ever a time she didn’t return from
there, I would be there in a heartbeat, killing everyone in my way
until they finally took me down. I would welcome the death they
would finally deliver to me. She’s human Braith; you will live with
her mortality every second of your life together. You won’t be able
to handle it, I can promise you that.”

Braith glowered at him. “I’m stronger
than you.”

Ashby snorted softly as he sat back.
“Bull. You’re physically stronger than all of us, but you are by
far the weakest amongst us right now. Your Achilles heel is lying
on your lap, and if any of your enemies gets a hold of her, they
will control you completely. If they kill her, you are done for.
Smarten up Braith. Yes, you are stronger with her in your life, but
you are also far weaker. Especially if she stays human.”

“I don’t have much of a choice on that
front.”

“Keep her human until you figure out
what you want to do. Though, I’m beginning to suspect that might be
taking your father down, am I right?”

Melinda’s eyes widened, her delicate
mouth parted. “No,” she breathed.

Ashby squeezed her hand tighter as his
bright eyes gleamed with an eager light. “Yes love, I believe that
Braith has finally realized that there is something more important
than duty, honor, and obedience. Right?”

“I will not kill my father,” he
grated.

“No, I’m not even sure if you could. At
least not by yourself, but you do have the advantage of not being
blind anymore, and I’m assuming he doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t,” Melinda confirmed when
Braith didn’t.

Ashby nodded, his fingers twirled idly,
Braith could see the gears churning within his devious mind. “You
wouldn’t kill Caleb either. But if you could take them down,
overthrow their rule, wrest control from them, you would. If you
can get enough help to do it. It’s why you came here.”

Braith had forgotten how perceptive
Ashby was. It was annoying the hell out of him right now. “You’re
hoping that I may still have ties to the rebellious families that
fought with mine and somehow managed to avoid capture. You’re
hoping that I may know some vampires that might be willing to help
you. You wouldn’t be here for any other reason than that, and the
only reason you would want to know those things, was if you wanted
to oust the king. Am I wrong Braith?”

Braith turned his attention to the
window. He would not deny Ashby’s words, nor would he confirm them.
He hadn’t left the palace with the intent of ousting his father
from power. He hadn’t gone after Arianna in those caverns because
he had decided that he was going to fight, he hadn’t pulled her
free of there with the intention of one day claiming the throne (he
still wasn’t sure he would do that, it depended on Arianna). He had
just wanted to get her somewhere safe; to people that might be able
to shelter her, and to try and live a life with her. But somewhere
along the way he had realized that there was nowhere safe for her,
and no one that could protect her, except for him. And if he was
going to keep her safe, then his father would have to be removed
from rule. A new power, and a new world system, would have to be
established.

“This will be interesting, a civil
war,” Ashby pondered. “A civil war, within the most powerful regime
to ever take control of us. A war between the murderous, vicious
father, and the son who hates him. Imagine the consequences of such
a thing, imagine the horror.”