Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (18 page)

Let us go, the ravine is not a safe place.

She followed him back to the others.
Why did you
show me that? Why tell me everything?

His head cocked to one side.
In case you are the
one.

She was really getting tired of that prophecy.

* * *

The Were noticeably relaxed once they’d made it up the
other side of the ravine. Perhaps because of the dangers below or maybe they were
just happy to be home. They’d finally entered Rhee-En’s pack lands.

The alpha shifted once they’d all reached the top.

"Thank you for guiding us," she said
formally.

"I wish you safe travels," he replied. He
looked to Prince. "May your journey be swift. Travel southwest and you
will reach the river before nightfall. Stay the course and you should find it
near the easiest crossing."

"Thank you, again, for everything." She
smiled, looking at the surrounding Were as well.

He walked up to her, stopping close. "You travel
with interesting companions. Stay safe, little one. Perhaps we will meet again
one day."

"I would like that," she said politely.

Regarding her steadily for a moment, the sudden boom
of his mind voice startled her.
Hear me all, the human Arowyn is welcome in
my lands.

She blinked in shock, but quickly gathered her wits. "And
Bo," she said quietly, tilting her head in his direction where he waited
on the horse.

"Yes, of course."
Let that be, the
humans, Bo and Aro.
He laughed out loud. "Bo and Aro."

She grimaced, but a smile overcame it. "We’ve
heard that before, you know."

"I imagine so."

"Why did you do that?"

He gestured to Kei. "You travel with a Fey.
Perhaps one day he will wish to visit Furia. Even in ruins, it is beautiful.
You should see it, if you can."

"I will try."

He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. She
froze, surprised by his action. His thumb traced a path along her cheek and
across her lips. "You are an intriguing young woman. It is a shame you are
mortal."

Sound erupted behind her. Both Kei and Garen growled
and she heard two swords slide from their sheaths.

Easy, boys.

The Were played a dangerous game. She wondered what he
thought to accomplish. Though his motions indicated an interest in her, his
face had not been tender or loving, merely thoughtful.

Her eyebrows rose as she waited for the Were’s
reaction to her overprotective friends.

He looked over her shoulder and bared his teeth. A low
growl of warning rumbled from his chest.

She laughed.

Startled, he dropped his hand to stare at her in
surprise.
You should fear me. You do know this?

Apparently I’m not like most women.

A smile twitched at his lips.
Apparently.
"We
return to the pack now," he said out loud.

She nodded and stepped back, wanting to avoid any
further incidents. His actions and words surprised her and she wasn’t quite
sure what to make of them. All she did know, was her boys had not been happy. She
almost feared to turn around in case she had done something wrong.

Watching the wolves fade into the trees gave her some
time. Turning your back on a pack was not only bad manners, but not a smart
thing to do either. Though they had been nothing but helpful to them, she
wasn’t sure how much she could trust them.

Once the last wolf ran out of sight she spun on her
heel. "Ready to head out?"

Prince frowned down at her. "Arowyn."

"I didn’t do anything!"

His frown deepened. "I dislike his interest in
you."

"Believe me, so do I."

She does not act submissive to the alpha,
Garen commented.

Heads turned to regard him in surprise.

She hadn’t thought about how the Were worked within
their packs.

Arowyn is our alpha female, but he does not know this.
To him she is merely a mortal human. Even so, most humans fear the Were. He is
impressed by her bravery and strength.

"There’s nothing to worry over," she
insisted.

"Very well," Prince snapped. He turned his
horse and headed into the trees.

She fought back the urge to throw something at his
back and followed.

"Be careful," Kei whispered, falling into
step beside her.

"Always."

Chapter 21:

A Different
Kind of Fighting

They reached the river Rhee-En mentioned before dark.
Garen located the crossing and they stood on the shore debating whether to
cross now or in the morning.

The river was wide and fairly fast moving. The
crossing showed shallow waters a good distance out, but they were uncertain if
it remained that way the entire distance across.

"If I’m going to get wet," Bo said. "I’d
rather do so now. We can dry off at the fire all night."

"Would it be safer? Over there," Aro asked.
Talk of the Vor, and the fact they’d been encountered recently made her
nervous.

Prince frowned. "Vor prefer not to cross water.
However, they could have found a way across, or others could have come down
from the mountains on the other side of the river."

Aro looked up at him and sighed. "We might as
well go now then. Like Bo said, I’d rather not be wet all day tomorrow either."

Aro mounted behind Prince, and Kei behind Bo. The
river deepened in the middle, and despite hopes of staying dry, boots and pants
did indeed get wet. Garen swam across easily enough and met them on the other
side.

A bit further downstream they found a favorable spot
for a camp and managed to have everything set up and dinner started before
darkness fell.

After a meager meal that didn’t do much to relieve her
hunger, Aro stared into the flickering flames of the fire. Her thoughts rambled,
bouncing from the Vor, to other worlds, to the fact Prince would be home soon.

If they remained on schedule they would reach the
gates of Rivenward in three or four more days. They had almost made it. Prince
seemed strong enough to be able to complete the journey. As promised, they
would get him home safe. Part of her knew she should be happy about it, the
rest of her wished they had more time. Though the journey had taken months,
almost a year if she counted in the many months they’d wintered in the city up
north, it didn’t seem like that long. How had time gone by so fast?

Bo ruffled her hair as he walked by. "You should
get some sleep, pup."

She nodded, though worried she’d not be able to get
any at all with the way her thoughts ran around in her head. Tomorrow would come
soon enough.

Kei settled down next to her. She rolled over,
watching Prince where he’d found a spot not far from her. Would he notice if she
stayed up all night and watched him sleep?

He turned his head as if he’d heard her thoughts and a
small, sad smile crossed his lips for a moment. "Sleep well, Arowyn."

"You, too," she whispered. Rolling over, she
concentrated on listening to the sounds of the night around them. Night animals
skittered around. Something chittered. The fire popped and crackled. Bo started
snoring.

Sleep came and went and she tossed and turned. The
feeling of being watched woke her more than once. She didn’t roll over to see
if it was Prince.

* * *

Light rain made for a damp start to the morning. At
least in the distance they could see blue skies. Travelling in such weather put
her in a foul mood. She stumbled along next to the horses picking their way
carefully through the wet underbrush.

Kei and Garen came and went, grumbling in her mind
about the wet and rain and how it interfered with scent trails.

She slipped on a patch of wet leaves and cursed under
her breath.

Prince pulled his horse to a stop. "Do you want
to ride?"

Wiping soaked hair from her forehead, she grimaced and
then nodded. He pulled her up in front and settled himself again.

"Thanks," she murmured. The warmth of him at
her back distracted her quickly. Heat flushed her cheeks and she let out a
slow, quiet breath. Since they touched she had to remember to keep her thoughts
carefully guarded. Things remained mostly good between them. She didn’t want to
ruin the friendship with stray thoughts of how much she still loved him.

They rode in silence, which suited her fine. The
dismal rain continued through the morning until the wind began to pick up. It
quickly blew the clouds away and sunshine wrapped them in warmth. Between it and
the wind she thought they might actually dry out by noon.

The horse spooked suddenly to the left. Her balance
shifted and she scrambled forward, trying to grab onto the mane. Before she
could, the horse reared, shrieking out an ear-piercing scream. Only Prince’s
arms to either side of her kept her in place. Her body slammed back against his
as he struggled to hold on to the reins. The horse crashed back to the ground.
Prince’s chin banged off the back of her head and she cried out at the sudden
unexpected pain.

The horse swung and twisted and then bucked, sending them
both flying from the saddle. The sudden impact with the nearby tree sent pain
lancing through her shoulder. It was quickly forgotten as she dropped and hit
the ground.

Landing on her side sent new waves of pain through her
body. With a groan she tipped over onto her stomach and pushed herself up on
her elbows. "Rotting horse…" Her fingers dug into the dirt as she
struggled to push past the pain.

Her head snapped up, her mind suddenly focusing in on
the sounds of chaos in front of her.

Bo struggled to keep control of his horse. He fought
one-handed with the reins, spinning the panicked animal in fast, tight circles.
He held his sword in his other hand and cursed loudly as they spun, his head
turning every which way.

He was surrounded.

Her mouth dropped open at she stared at their
attackers. Their long claws and small stature immediately identified them as
Fey. Wearing ragged leather and furs, even from a distance she could see how
filthy they were. Four of them gracefully circled Bo and the horse, easily keeping
out of reach of both hooves and sword.

"Wither me!" She scrambled up to her knees
and spun around in the dirt, searching for Prince. "Rot it!"

He’d hit a tree as well and had fallen into a limp
heap at the base of it. Flinging herself forward to reach his side, she then
shook his shoulders. "Wake up!"

His eyes fluttered, but he remained unconscious. "Rot!"
She smacked his cheeks, but he didn’t stir.
Kei!

We’re coming!

Standing quickly, she drew her daggers and stood over
Prince, turning to keep an eye on the Fey. She counted four of them and debated
whether she should leave Prince’s side to help Bo or not. Were there more?

She’d fought with Kei before, but that had just been
training. Worry knotted her stomach. Could she fight wild Fey? As they circled,
she could clearly see all of them were in full fury with their glowing red eyes.

Garen burst from the trees, knocking a dark haired Fey
to the ground. Their battle quickly became one of claws and fangs and snarls.
Kei appeared next to another, eyes red and claws striking.

A pale haired female darted at the horse. Bo finally
lost his seat as it panicked, rearing and bucking. Once free of its rider it
bolted into the trees.

Prince! Wake up!

She spared one last glance for him before rushing
forward. Strategies and training flashed through her mind as she crossed the
distance between them. Approaching the two Fey closing in on Bo, she muttered
curses under her breath…

And sheathed her blades.

Gritting her teeth, and hoping she hadn’t lost her
mind, she flung herself at the closest Fey, bringing them both down to the
ground. Twisting and rolling to keep away from the deadly claws, she finally
managed to get above the growling Fey. She slammed her flat palm onto his chest
and before he could react…pulled.

"Let it go!"

The Fey stared at her in shock. She didn’t give him a
choice. With all the force she could muster she ripped his fury from him,
pulling and pulling until she fell back with a gasp once his eyes had returned
to a normal, not glowing, gold.

The Fey gaped at her and began to shake. His claws and
fangs retracted. Before she could say anything else he sprang to his feet and
ran.

His power thrummed through her. His fury danced along
her nerves, burning and pushing for violence. Stumbling to her feet, she spun
around and saw Bo closest to her.

The Fey’s power made her feel invincible. She repeated
the same tactic, springing onto the back of the female Fey engaged with him. She
also ran as soon as her fury disappeared.

"Aro, what are you doing?"

She shook her head, trying to control her erratic, heavy
breathing. She’d never taken so much before. Unlike Kei’s fury, theirs was much
wilder. Of course, for all she knew they’d been trapped in their fury for five
hundred years.

"See to Prince. He’s hurt." She couldn’t see
Garen and the dark haired Fey.
Garen, where are you?

On a merry chase.

She ran toward Kei, ignoring Bo’s comments and curses
behind her.

Kei noticed her approach…and her glowing red eyes.
No
more!

Can you make them stop? Do you want to kill them?

His frustrated growl rumbled through her mind as he
evaded the other Fey. It didn’t escape her notice he wasn’t attacking. He faced
another woman, this one with a dark mess of tangled and matted shoulder length
hair.

Aro’s brow drew down in confusion and she frowned. The
woman didn’t seem to be trying to kill him either. She kept trying to sneak
quick glances behind her, but Kei prevented her each time, keeping her occupied
with his feints.

Hold her for me. It doesn’t take long.

I don’t–

Hold her!

The next time the woman became distracted Kei lunged
forward. They scuffled and the woman screeched as he finally managed to get her
into a position where she couldn’t use her claws against him.

Aro sprang forward, pressing her hand on the woman’s
chest and pulling the fury into her. The Fey tensed, and then held still, her
eyes widening as the color shifted from red to orange. As they turned yellow
tears appeared and she slumped back against Kei. He continued to hold her, and
Aro pulled her gaze from the woman’s face to meet his.

Still in his fury, his red eyes blazed angrily at her.
His lip curled up slightly, showing fang, and low growl met her ears.

Kei wasn’t happy with her, at all. Pressing her lips
tightly together, she looked back at the woman. Her eyes no longer glowed. Aro
pulled away the last of her fury and power and stepped back.

Kei released his hold and the Fey dropped to the
ground. "What have…how did you…" She raised her hands and stared at
her fingers. Suddenly her head snapped up and she whirled around where she sat,
searching amongst the trees. "Meena! Aron!" Before they could react she
flung herself away, finding her feet and disappearing into the shadows of the
forest.

Aro turned, searching to see if any of them had
returned.

The forest remained silent.