Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (19 page)

Her hand flattened against him, a small
exhalation escaped her as she closed her eyes and pressed closer to
him. Time seemed to slow as she lifted her face to him, and her
lips parted beneath his. He didn’t care who was there with them,
forgot about the reason that had driven them here as he lost
himself to the soft pressure of her lips, the sweet taste of her
mouth, and the quickening of her heartbeat.

For one long moment the only thing that
existed was her, and then reality returned. It took everything he
had to pull away. He pressed his lips to her forehead as he held
her for a lingering moment. “I’ll lead the way,” he
whispered.

She relented with a nod before she
reluctantly released him. She didn’t meet Xavier’s gaze, but Braith
did. Xavier’s eyes were hooded with a gleam in them that Braith
couldn’t quite place. The wheels in Xavier’s mind were turning, but
it was impossible to decipher what it was the powerful vamp was
thinking as he examined the two of them. It would only cause
friction among the factions, but he would kill Xavier if he made
one move toward Aria.

Taking hold of her hand, he turned
sideways in order to fit through the small crevice in the face of
the rock wall. For a moment he wasn’t sure he would fit as he
pushed himself further along. “It’s cramped for the first hundred
feet or so, but it opens up in a little bit.” Aria seemed to have
read his mind.

Ashby grunted in response, Xavier
remained silent in the back. Aria’s hand trembled in his, her palm
was sweatier than normal but she forged steadfastly on behind him.
Relief filled him when the walls released their grasp. Even with
his enhanced night vision he had to strain to see the pathway
before him as almost no light penetrated the thick rock
walls.

“Wait.” Aria released his hand
suddenly. He grabbed for her as she moved forward, intending to
pull her back, but she returned to his side almost immediately.
“Hold this.”

She thrust the handle of a torch into
his hand and fumbled into the darkness for something else. He
spotted what she was searching for and pulled the box of matches
from a small hole tucked into a crevice of the cave. They huddled
together as she fumbled with the matches and finally struck a
spark. A small flicker of light played over the contours of her
face before she pressed the flame to the end of the
torch.

Fire blazed forth as she grinned at
him. “Lead on.”

The torch lit the dusty cobwebs of the
tunnel and the solid rock floor beneath them. The air became
mustier and colder the deeper they moved into the cave system. The
faint drip drop of water could be heard in the distance,
condensation coated the rocks around them. Aria’s grip on him
increased. Aria pointed out gates hidden secretly into the walls,
heavy iron gates that could be swung shut in order to keep out
invaders.

“No wonder the king couldn’t squash the
rebellion! You live like rats beneath the earth,” said
Ashby.

Braith halted as Aria stopped abruptly
and turned to face Ashby. “We did what was necessary, what we were
forced to do,” she grated. “And we don’t always live within the
caves; most of the time we live within the woods and only resort to
the caves when it becomes necessary.”

Ashby chuckled quietly. He reached for
her shoulder, glancing quickly at Braith he thought better of it
and dropped his hand back to his side. “Easy tiger, I was just
making a comment. Don’t forget I was forced out too.”

Aria stared at him for a long moment
before Braith tugged gently on her arm, pulling her forward as even
Xavier began to smirk with amusement. Braith had to admit that
though Ashby had gone about saying it the wrong way, he completely
agreed with him. The hidden nooks and security systems they had set
into place down here were amazing. Though most of the tunnels were
natural, there were manmade ones running throughout the cave system
also. She’d said there was only one other exit, and he believed
her. She wouldn’t put them all at risk by lying about that, but
there was far more to this cave system than she was revealing.
Especially when she shut some of the iron doors while leaving
others open.

“Do you know all of the cave systems?”
Xavier inquired in his deep timbered voice.

“Not all of them, there are far too
many for that, but a fair amount of them. We’re almost to the
center of the cave now.”

Braith could sense an opening ahead
even before he stepped into the massive cavern. “Bats,” Ashby
griped with a shudder as Braith’s eyes landed upon the rodents
lining the ceiling. He’d started to smell them awhile back, but the
smell was worse within the large cavern. He didn’t bother to look
down; he knew the floor was coated with guano. The thought of
staying here repulsed him, the fact that she had grown up among
these caves disturbed him immensely.

No wonder she preferred the
trees.

CHAPTER 11

“You know, for an immortal vampire
you’re a bit of a wimp,” Aria informed Ashby.

He flashed his dashing smile as he
grinned. “I never said I wasn’t.”

As quietly as possible, so as not to
wake the sleeping creature’s, she closed three of the five gates.
“They’ll go out tonight.” She pointed to the fourth gate. “That’s
the way out, when they leave to feed we’ll lock it down and they
won’t be able to get back in.”

“We’re not staying here, are we?” Ashby
inquired worriedly.

Aria shook her head. “No, we are not
savages; we don’t like the smell of guano any more than you
do.”

Braith squeezed her shoulder
soothingly. “No one is saying that,” he assured her.

Aria took a deep breath, trying to keep
her control. It wasn’t only their scrutiny and blatant revulsion
that had her so wound up, but also the confining walls surrounding
her. “I know,” she said. “We always leave one of the larger caverns
blocked off so the bats can’t get inside. This way.”

Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the
pungent aroma of the bat droppings as she picked her way over it,
moving steadily toward the fourth gate. It had already been closed
off. “I’ll go,” Braith was moving toward her but she held up her
hand and shook her head.

“No Braith, I have to go through this
time. Its booby trapped and I know where the triggers are.” A low
grumble of displeasure escaped him as he moved to intercept her.
She’d already prepared herself for this argument. “I helped Daniel
design a good portion of them, believe me it is far safer for me in
there than you.”

“Aria…”

“Stop being so stubborn,” she
interrupted. “Besides, at this point in time, your life is far more
valuable than mine.”

She realized immediately that had been
the completely wrong thing to say. He seized hold of her, lifting
her as he thrust his face into hers. The gentle man from outside
was gone, before her was the vampire prince that was used to being
obeyed and expected it from everyone, except for maybe her. “Don’t
you ever say that again!” he snapped so loudly that Ashby’s gaze
darted nervously to the top of the cave. “Your life is every bit as
important as mine, if not more so…”

“Braith,” she whispered. “You must
lower your voice.”

“Do you think I care about a bunch of
flying rodents?”

“If they leave their perch they’ll
leave this cave. They’ll attract attention Braith, you must calm
down.” She touched his arm lightly, looking to soothe him. “I know
these caves Braith, I’ll be fine.”

His jaw clenched, his head bowed as he
pressed his forehead against hers. “Your life is just as important.
Without you, I’m nothing.”

Her gaze darted nervously toward
Xavier; Braith had just revealed too much, she knew it. A surge of
protectiveness shot through her, her hands squeezed around Braith’s
arms as she stared fiercely at the dark vampire, daring him to say
something, to do anything that would hurt Braith. She would be
nearly useless against the powerful older vamp, but she would do
everything she could to keep Braith safe.

“It’s ok,” he whispered against her
ear. “It’s too late anyway.”

Aria shuddered, it was too late, their
secret had been revealed to Xavier, and if they continued on it
wouldn’t be long before it was obvious to everyone. Terror coiled
through her belly, it spread out to her limbs, leaving a trail of
cold across her skin and within her muscles.

She pressed closer to him as her hands
grasped at his flesh. She needed the physical contact like a
drowning man needed air. A low sigh of relief escaped as her
fingers encircled the thick steel of his arms. Beneath the wiry
hair of his forearms his skin was smooth to the touch. It eased the
tension within her.

She forced herself to release him as
she took a small step away. “I can do this, I know the traps well.
I’ll be fine.”

His eyes closed, she sensed his inner
struggle, she braced herself for more of a battle but then his
shoulders slumped and she knew she’d won. “I’m going to be right by
your side.”

She went to turn away but he pulled her
back to him. He tenderly clasped hold of her face, cradling it with
an ease that belied the power that radiated from him. He could
crush her in an instant, yet he held her with the gentleness of
someone who had just been handed the most fragile flower in the
world. His lips were a light caress against hers, so faint that she
barely felt the brush of them.

“Just as important, and don’t you ever
forget that, don’t you ever say something like that
again.”

She swallowed heavily and managed a
small nod. “I won’t,” she promised.

He continued to hold her, seemingly
torn and unwilling to let her go. Finally he stepped back and
released her. She felt a sense of loss that she couldn’t shake. She
didn’t look at Xavier as she turned slowly away from Braith and
moved toward the closed fourth gate.

“How do you get it open?” Ashby’s voice
was hushed. She turned toward him, startled by the paleness of his
skin that she didn’t think was entirely due to the bats. His lips
were pinched; his eyes shadowed and haunted as his gaze darted
nervously away from hers.

“I have my secrets, and talents,” she
answered with a small wave of her fingers, hoping to coax his cocky
smile back. He remained uncharacteristically solemn.

“That’s for sure.”

She frowned at Xavier as she studied
him. She thought he had spoken those words, but she couldn’t be
certain. She took the torch from Braith as she ran her fingers over
the wall. She found the tiny switch set back into the wall and
pressed against it.

The thick metal door popped open with a
hiss of stale air. It smelled even danker and mustier in there, but
it didn’t stop her as she pressed her hand against the solid iron
door and pushed it the rest of the way open. “Ingenious,” Ashby
muttered.

Aria gulped as she stepped into the
dark tunnel. It was ten steps to the first trap, a set of four
stones set into the floor that when stepped on would fire a rapid
release of stakes from the cave walls. “Should we shut this?”
Xavier inquired.

“Yes. William knows how to open it and
we all know Ashby won’t appreciate it if a bat gets in.”

“You got that right.”

“There are four stones here.” She
pointed them out. “Don’t step on them.”

“What happens if we do?” Xavier
inquired.

“Nothing good. I’ll be right back.” She
had to set the traps off, she knew that. William was well aware of
their location, but there was no way that all of those troops
weren’t going to hit at least one of them. “Stay here.”

She could feel the apprehension
radiating from Braith. “These traps are old…”

“Not that old, and Daniel is a genius,
believe me they’re still safe to maneuver through.”

She could tell that he didn’t want her
to go but he fisted his hands at his sides, locked his jaw and
managed to give her a brief nod to continue. Aria placed the torch
into a socket in the wall; she would not need it on the other side.
She moved through the tunnel, avoiding the stones with ease.
Reaching the safety of the solid rock, she knelt as her fingers
sought out the small switch carved into the bottom of the cave and
set about six inches back from the bottom.

“Move back,” she told them.

Braith hesitated for a moment before
pushing Xavier and Ashby back. When she was certain they were well
out of the way she flipped the switch. Stakes exploded from the
wall in a puff of dust and air that made it impossible to see the
three of them on the other side. Ashby and Xavier cursed
loudly.

“Aria!” Braith shouted.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. He was
slowly coming back into view as the dust began to settle. Though
most of the stakes littered the ground, some had embedded
themselves into the crevices of the rock wall. Ashby was gawking as
he searched the scattered stakes; even Xavier’s normally calm
exterior seemed ruffled. “It’s safe now.”

Though Xavier and Ashby hesitated,
Braith strode rapidly forward. His displeasure was evident, his
tension high as his arm wrapped around her waist. “How many more of
these traps are there?” Xavier inquired as he and Ashby picked
their way carefully through the stakes.