Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (5 page)

She froze. Turning her head away she tried to fight
the pain within her. "Dead."

He sucked in a startled breath. "Aro..."

"It's like you said. People die to protect me. I understand."
She clamped her mouth shut over her stiff and angry words.

"That explains–"

"My mindless killing?"

"Arowyn." He leaned forward and reached out
a hand to her. When he swayed suddenly, she scrambled closer and caught him,
holding him against her. "You're not fine," she whispered. He turned
in her arms so he rested on his back, looking up at her. His blood and dirt
streaked face looked so broken and weary she clenched her jaw to keep from
crying.

I am sorry.
His
voice whispered through her mind.

I know. We'll have you home soon. The horses will
help.

Aro, I do not...

She squeezed her eyes closed and held him more tightly
to her. "Shh..."

Feeling his hand on her cheek she looked down at him
in surprise, blinking back the tears in her eyes.
Don’t leave me.
Don't
die.

He smiled faintly as he looked up at her.
I am
trying not to.

His wry reply forced a small laugh from her. "Stupid
prince."

Closing his eyes he sighed again. "The things I
do for you."

"I know, living and all. Such a hardship," she
replied blandly.

His lips curved up slightly. She couldn’t find it
within herself to smile.

"I’ll get you home," she whispered. "I
promise."

You have saved me enough already.

As you’ve saved me. It’s what friends do. I won’t ever
stop. Don’t ever ask me to.

Aro, you do not–

Despite the fact he spoke to her with his thoughts, she
pressed her fingertips to his lips. "Hush. You need to rest."

She looked up and saw Kei returning quickly, having
found both of the horses. "We have horses."

As Prince mounted she stood next to her horse for a
moment, taking in a deep, shuddering breath and closing her eyes.

While holding the beautiful, broken man in her arms,
acceptance had suddenly flooded through her. He was her friend. Her family.
More than that, she finally understood she truly was in love with him. Months
of trying to deny the feelings, to hide and ignore them, had failed. The
emotions he created within her would not go away. She just had no idea what to
do about them.

"Wither me."

* * *

She and Prince moved quickly back into the trees. Kei
went in search of the lost pack. Heading south again, Prince followed behind
her. Once certain he wasn't going to topple off the horse, she closed her eyes
and pictured Garen.

Can you hear me?
She waited a moment, and then tried again, thinking of the human form
he’d shown her and attempting to push her thoughts out further.
Garen? Are
you there?

Yes. I have not found your friends yet
, he finally replied.

Relief flooded her he had answered.
We found
Prince. We're heading south again now and still looking for Bo.

Very well.

"Aro, what are you doing?"

"Talking to Garen," she replied. "Letting
him know we found you." She turned in the saddle to look at Prince when he
didn't answer.

He was staring at her incredulously.

"What?" She frowned, wondering what she had
done now.

He shook his head. "You should not be able to
talk to him."

She shrugged. "I've had a lot of practice. With
you, with Damon."

He opened his mouth and closed it quickly again before
looking off to the side and shaking his head. "Troublesome child," he
muttered softly.

She turned back around, keeping her eye out for Bo.
Kei would be pacing them within the fields and doing the same. She hoped they
found him soon.

* * *

She and Prince made their way south slowly, stopping a
few times to rest. Kei checked in on them occasionally, tying Prince’s pack
onto his horse on the first visit. They met again at noon to eat a quick lunch,
fill their water skins, and do a quick wash at a small stream.

The new horse drew her attention when they stopped. She’d
noticed it had a small pack. It didn’t take her long to go through it. She
found some food, a small knife, and other odds and ends they could use. The
best discovery was the sword. They’d only had two, and John had carried one of
them.

"Is it any good?" She set the sword in
Prince’s lap.

"Where did you get this?"

She shook her head. "It was on your horse. How
did you not notice it?"

He looked down, his brow furrowing. She’d been teasing.
However her comment seemed to hit him hard. He wasn’t doing well at all, and he
knew it, too.

Pulling it out of the scabbard he then tested for
balance and looked briefly at the blade and hilt. "It will do. I can
sharpen it for you later." He looked up again. "Or did you want to
give it to Bo?"

Prince carried the other sword. Kei had his claws when
needed. She bit her lip, wondering who could use it better. "We’ll give it
to Bo. I’m quick enough with my daggers. They will do for now."

He handed it back to her and she went and put it back
on the horse. She spent the rest of their stop trying not to stare at Prince
and worry about how awful he looked. At least her thoughts distracted her from thinking
about Cain.

They had started packing up again when she heard from
Garen.

I found your human.

Grinning, she quickly told the others.
Is he hurt?

He is being very troublesome. I dropped your note for
him. He threw it at me. I'm not an over-sized dog.

She burst out laughing at the mental picture his words
brought to her mind.

Can he even read?
Garen's mind voice sounded extremely annoyed.

She paused. She had assumed he could. She knew Kei and
Prince could read. So could Cain. During the long winter he had picked up books
now and then from somewhere and read to them all. She closed her eyes for a
moment, the memory of her lost friend bearing down heavily upon her heart.
Letting out a long, slow breath she got back to the problem.

She couldn't once bring to mind ever seeing Bo
actually reading.
Rot it all. Apparently not.

What would you like me to do now? He won't follow me.

I'll send Kei. Where are you?

He told her and she quickly relayed the information to
Kei who set out immediately. She grinned at Prince. He had a rare smile on his
face. She just didn't know if it was from Bo being found, or from what he had
done to the Were.

The way his smile made her heart pound and face flush
irritated her. Now wasn’t the time to think such thoughts. Being happy Bo lived,
she could deal with. Anything else just felt wrong. She hurried him along so
they could meet up with the others quickly.

They rode silently for quite some time, keeping within
the trees, until she spotted Kei ahead of her further in the forest. He
beckoned her on and she turned her horse to follow him to the others.

A smile of relief spread across her face when she
spotted Bo washing up at the edge of a pond. He truly was alive. Pulling the
horse to a stop she slid off, carefully minding her twisted ankle. Kei took the
reins and she quickly limped toward her friend.

Bo grinned and came to meet her, pulling her into a
tight embrace. "I'm sorry, pup," he mumbled into her hair.

Nodding against his chest, she held him tightly and
fought back tears. Kei must have told him about Cain. She had been trying so
hard not to think about him. There wasn't anything she could have done. She
couldn't have saved him. He had died, like Kendric and Avery, and there wasn't
anything she could do about it.

Despite wanting to stay in his big, strong arms she
squeezed him once more and pulled away. "You hurt?"

"Nothing major, and all far from my heart,"
he said with a crooked grin.

She forced a smile, blinking away tears. "Good. We’ll
get you taken care of–"

Something thumped behind her and she turned quickly
when Bo cursed. Her eyes first found Kei where he stood a short distance away,
tending her horse. Just beyond him Prince's mount shifted beside a prone body.

"Prince!"

She and Bo raced for Prince. Surprisingly, Kei reached
him first, dropping to a knee and bending over him.

Her ankle burned with pain from the short run as she
dropped to the ground beside Prince, her hands reaching out for him. "What’s
wrong?"

Kei shook his head, his brows creased with worry.

Your Elf does not fare well.

She glared over at Garen. "I know."

Prince moved beneath her hands, bringing her attention
back to him. He had collapsed onto his stomach and she quickly shifted her
hands under him, either to help him turn over or sit up.

Tears threatened again when he turned and his arms
came up. With her help, he pulled himself up against her chest, his head falling
weakly against her shoulder.

"Prince," she whispered, bowing her head
over his and wrapping her arms around him. He felt so light, so thin, like he
had truly started to fade away into nothing. He didn't move within her arms,
his breath came slow and shallow against her neck. She wasn't sure if he had
lost consciousness or not.

"Prince?" She gently shook him. "Wake
up, you have to wake up." Her hand shaking, she gently brushed hair from
his face. "What should we do?" She looked from Kei to Bo, hoping one
of them knew.

Bo ran a hand over his face, shaking his head
slightly. "We'll not be moving tonight I think." He glanced over at
Kei. "We should set up camp, maybe start a fire and have some decent food.
Maybe that will help him."

She nodded and looked over at Garen. "Is a fire
safe here?"

The wolf cocked his head slightly to one side,
considering.
Keep it small. It should be safe. We mustn't stay long however.
Other Were may come to investigate.

She nodded and relayed the information to the others,
grimacing slightly at the inconvenience caused because they couldn't hear
Garen. Bo took the Were's sudden addition to their family without comment. Kei
must have introduced them while they waited for her and Prince.

Kei frowned down at Prince, though it was different
than normal. It wasn’t directed at the man, but the situation. "I’ll get
his pack."

She remembered Prince had been wounded in the
fighting. How badly had he been hurt? Nodding at Kei as he rose, she tried to
see where the injuries were.

Bo moved to quickly set up a small fire pit near the
pool while Kei took Prince's horse away to tend to it and unload all of their
packs. She remained where she was, holding Prince. She didn't know what else to
do.

Kei brought the pack of supplies and a skin of water
over and helped her treat and re-bandage the wounds Prince had taken. None
would normally be life threatening, but in his weakened condition, she didn’t
know how serious they would affect him. She held him to her again when they
finished, wishing she knew if he would get better or not.

Kei watched her silently.

"Can you help treat Bo? Please," she asked
quietly.

He squeezed her shoulder as he rose and gathered the
supplies.

The frustration of it all began to tear her apart.
They had come so far, were so close to his home, surely only a few more weeks
at most, yet she didn't know if he would make it. Tears ran down her cheeks and
she bent her head over him again, gently rocking and mumbling a quiet
children's tune.

After a while, Garen's voice came tentatively into her
mind.
He is very weak...

She nodded, not looking up, trying to hide the stupid
tears.
Do you know how long it would take to get him home?

To Rivenward?

What?

He snorted.
Has he told you nothing?
That is
the name of the Elven lands.

He doesn’t talk a lot about his home. How long?

Riding hard, as the crow flies, maybe five days.
However you are not crows and t
he
northern border is warded. There is only one entrance and it is south. With the
fighting going on, I do not think you would make it through. Best would be to
keep moving south along the forest boundary until you reach the wardwall and
then head west. Two weeks perhaps, now that you have the horses.

I don't think we have enough time.