Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) (29 page)

I see.

The black rolling pain began to overwhelm her.
Get
out! Get out! Get out!

Is that all?

It wasn't. There were still the complicated feelings
she had for Prince. But she would not even think them. She refused to feel
them, to even admit them to herself. It helped she couldn't make sense of them
and had never had the time to try to sort them out. The past months she had
managed to keep them buried within her, to even bury them deeper.

He tore through her recent memories, searching, his
presence ripping and shredding and burning its way through her mind.
Stop
fighting! What are you hiding? Show–

His hand ripped away from her as something barreled
into them. The shock of his departure startled her. The sting of his nails
scratching across her forehead made her gasp, then he disappeared and she
started slipping down the wall.

The deserted alley echoed with voices.

She opened her eyes to see Damon on the ground, Kei on
top of him.

Kei in a full wild fury, blazing red eyes, talons,
teeth and all.

She wanted to call out to him. Whether to stop him or
urge him on she wasn't sure. She didn't. Couldn't. All she could do was sit in
a daze. Her body shook and shuddered in painful spasms. Her mind roiled in
shambles, her walls torn down, her memories raped and raw. She couldn't gather
her thoughts enough to think. She only felt the pain.

Call off your Fey, or he will die.

She closed her eyes, wishing his voice would just go
away. His words slowly sank in and her eyes snapped open. Kei still fought, but
Damon now stood.

He didn't have a mark on him.

Prince had told her Dragos were the most powerful
creatures in these lands. Kei was strong, but she didn't know if he was strong
enough. She couldn't take the chance he wasn't. She couldn't lose him.

"Kei!" He ignored her. She tried to rise and
failed. Leaning her head back against the stone behind her she called him
again, not only with words, but with her heart, "Kei! Back off!"

He stepped back from Damon, claws clicking at his
side. He didn't come to her, but did look over, eyes blazing a furious red.

Hearing the pounding sound of footsteps she turned her
head and saw the others running up the alley, Prince in the lead.

She sucked in a deep breath as he dropped to a knee at
her side. She didn't want him to worry. She just wanted it to be over. She
wanted Damon to leave.

"Are you hurt?"

He cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping
away tears she hadn't known she'd shed.

"I'm fine," she lied. She didn't want him to
fight Damon. If Kei couldn't hurt the Dragos then Prince certainly wouldn't be
able to do anything either.

Her body shuddered again, pain ripping through her
head as if the dragon was still inside. Was he? Was he still inside?

Prince froze. He turned to face Damon. "What have
you done?"

She rested a hand on his arm as he began to rise. "It's
fine."

He cupped her cheek again, wiping away more tears. "No.
It is not." He rose in one fluid motion, drawing his sword as he did.

"Prince..."

He ignored her quiet plea, angrily striding forward,
pausing only a moment at Kei's side. "See to Arowyn."

Kei came to her and helped her rise. She looked behind
him and saw Bo and Cain standing a short distance away, weapons drawn. She
didn't blame them for keeping back, not with a Fey in a fury and a Dragos.

She allowed Kei to pull her close. She wasn't afraid
of the razor sharp claws that wrapped around her. Kei rested his cheek on her
head for a moment and then leaned back. She looked up at him, and her heart
started beating even more furiously. His eyes still blazed red, his teeth too
long. She wasn't afraid
of
him, but
for
him. What if the city
people saw him like this?

She glanced over at Prince. He and Damon had moved
further down the alley. They spoke either mind to mind or too quietly for her
to hear. Damon looked amused. Prince stood stiff and angry. Rot it, she
couldn't deal with both problems at once. However, Prince had at least stopped
attacking, for the moment he was safe.

She looked back to Kei. One thing at a time. She
rested a hand on his cheek and pushing slightly, forced him to look at her. "Give
it to me," she whispered. Kei's back was turned to Bo and Cain, they
wouldn't see, not at the moment at least. "Hurry. It's not safe here."

He didn't answer, she wasn't even sure he agreed,
before she felt the power of the fury flowing into her. As a test she closed
her eyes. The power still came. Good to know. She rested her face against him
and allowed him to hold her there while the power continued to quickly drain
from him.

His fury swirled around within her, giving her
strength, taking some of the pain away. She tried to hold on to some, and
succeeded. She directed it through her mind, easing some more of the pain.
However the fury enveloped her and threatened to overcome her with its anger
and rage.

She sucked in a deep breath, trying to control it.
Somehow she managed to regain control, to turn the reckless fury into barely
bridled anger.

Kei relaxed against her, the claws around her body
receded and disappeared.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

The anger began to drain away. She didn't know what he
was sorry for. "Silly Fey."

"Your Fey."

"Yes." She smiled slightly at his words and
looked up at him. She blinked rapidly a few times. "How are my eyes?"

"Good."

"You should not interfere," Damon said. "It
is not your place."

"Nor is it yours," Prince replied.

Aro bit her lip. What were they talking about?

Damon raised a hand at Prince, though his attention
had returned to her and Kei.

Something whipped her mind again. The ruins of her
walls collapsed further as the dragon suddenly dug deeper, pushing through
older memories, learning who she was.

His eye's widened, their strange iridescence whirling
with color. "And you are Aro. Are you made of stone?" He laughed, as
if he'd made a great joke. He stopped suddenly and leaned forward, regarding
her thoughtfully. "Is it possible the son succeeded where the parents did
not?" He looked to Kei.

"Dragos," Prince said warningly. "You
will stop. Now."

Damon ignored him. He pushed her through her mind
again. Her lips trembled at the pain and she closed her eyes tightly.

His strange eyes opened wide and he took a step toward
her. "Arowyn Mason."

She looked up at him again. She didn't like the tone
of his voice, or the way he'd said her name, like it meant something.

He looked surprised, more than surprised...truly
shocked. His gaze traveled around the group. He turned back to her. "Do
you know what a Mason does?" He kept talking before she could even answer.
"They work with stone."

Kei's arms tightened around her. She had no idea what
Damon was talking about. However, the pressure on her mind lessened and she let
out a soft sigh of relief. Prince looked back at her, and took a few steps
backward toward her.

Damon smiled, clearly pleased, and perhaps a bit
amused. "It seems the prophecy spoke not of an artifact at all."

The prophecy again? He truly was insane. Even so, she
did not like the way he was looking at her, not at all. Fear skittered up her
spine. "What are you talking about?"

"The original prophecy of course. The one Kei's
parents were so intent on. 'Find the broken arrow carved of stone, stolen from
across the sea. It will heal the Fey and they will rise again.'"

She choked, unable to speak.

"You, my lovely, are Aro Mason. Masons work with
stone. You were stolen from across the sea. Interesting isn't it?" He grew
thoughtful. "The only question is whether you are broken or not."

She knew the answer without even having to think about
it. Looking up at Kei's brilliant red eyes she saw he did as well and wasn't at
all happy about it. She looked back at Damon, afraid he might try to go in her
head to find out. "I was, maybe." She looked the boys. "But not
anymore."

"Perhaps," Damon agreed. "But that is
unimportant. You were when Kei found you. Until recently, you have been. You
still fit the prophecy."

"So you say. An old prophecy no one knows
anything about."

"The Fey do." He smiled over at Kei. "You
have done well, Kei. Very well." He looked back at her. "I wonder how
you will do it. It will be interesting, watching you."

She grimaced. "I'd rather you didn't."

He laughed suddenly, the loudness of it startling her
it was so unexpected. Kei pulled her closer. The man stood and looked at her
again, tilting his head slightly and looking thoughtful. "I wonder..."

"That is enough," Prince said quietly.

Aro snapped her head up to look at him. Prince was
furious, nearly trembling with the force of his anger. Why?

She didn't have a chance to ask. Damon laughed and
Prince suddenly lunged for him.

"Prince! Don't!" He didn't hear her, he was
so furious, perhaps he couldn't. She cursed under her breath. She didn't want
him to fight.

Damon laughed as they stepped around the alley in an
intricate dance.

She jumped suddenly as Prince's voice rang sharply
through the alley.

"You will not!"

"Rot it," she muttered. She winced as the sound
sent spikes of pain ripping through her skull again. Kei's power had helped,
but her mind remained a painful broken jumble. She motioned Bo and Cain over,
only a little surprised they actually came.

Bo carefully looked her over. "How bad is it?"

She forced a fake smile, pushing the anger caused by
his worry away. "He was just in my head again. I'm fine."

"So he's the man you saw before," Cain
commented.

"Yes, that's Damon." She frowned as she
turned back to look at him and Prince. Prince fought, Damon avoided or blocked.
He had a sword in his hand now. Where he had that come from?

She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing the pain in
her head would go away. She just wanted to find somewhere to go and curl up and
sleep for a week. Anger continued to swirl around within her. Damon had hurt
her. He could have hurt Kei, he might still hurt Prince.

She wanted the fighting to stop.

Bo stepped forward and to the side, one of his knives
drawn. Cain moved the other way, both ready to join the fighting.

"Enough!" She pulled away from Kei. "Damon,
leave!"

Damon stiffened. His iridescent eyes whirled as he
turned to stare at her incredulously.

"Rot it," she muttered.

Prince lunged but Damon still blocked him easily.

"Little girl, you do not tell me what to do,"
Damon snarled. "All you creatures are powerless against me." He
jabbed his sword in her direction "Pitiful little powerless humans! You
are nothing!"

Gah!
She
raised her hands to push her fingers into her temples. She'd only made things
worse.

Damon continued to rant, jabbing his sword again. "Even
your tame little Fey cannot touch me! Nor can your weak little Elf! Nothing can
stand against me! Do you understand? I am a Dragos. You do not tell me what to
do!"

Elf? "What?"

Bo and Cain muttered curses.

Prince flung himself recklessly at Damon. "Bastard
Dragos! They did not need to know!"

"You should know better." Damon turned on
him and his sword flashed. Prince's blade went sailing through the air,
clanging against stone before falling to the ground. "Of all of them, you
should know to show respect." Damon moved again, so quickly it was
difficult to follow his blade.

Prince fell backward to the ground, a hand rising to
the slash through his dirty worn shirt.

"Prince!" Not caring about what danger she
might be putting herself into, she rushed to drop to her knees by his side.

Damon strode toward them, sheathing his sword. "Your
darling Prince is nothing but a weak little Elf. He can't protect you."

She looked over at Prince and reached a hand out to
him. He shrugged it away, not looking at her. She didn't know who was telling
the truth.

"He's not an Elf," she said in confusion.
All of the old stories she'd heard told of their magic and beauty. He looked
human, and he certainly didn't have any magic.

Damon swore and before she could react he bent,
jerking Prince up and wrapping an arm around him as he flipped him over. "You
need to learn to
see
, Arowyn."

Prince struggled against him, cursing loudly, but she
knew the strength of the Dragos grip and wasn't surprised when he didn't break
free.