Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (25 page)

Freeing her also, she realized as she
bent over, her arms wrapping around her stomach. “He will be blind
again.”

“He will, but he was blind for a
hundred years before you, it never slowed him down. The world was
dark to him, but it was not a weakness for him. Ashby, Melinda,
Gideon, and many others will be there to protect him.”

She almost laughed at the mention of
Ashby, the one who had blinded him to begin with, but there was no
humor in her. It was all too awful to even remotely be funny. “I
know this is a lot to ask of you Aria, I know that you are young
and in love, but…”

“Stop,” she whispered.

Ashby clasped hold of her hands as he
knelt before her. She almost jerked away from him, but the tears in
his bright green eyes held her immobile. He was actually crying,
not for himself, but for her. “Jack doesn’t understand what you’re
going through; I know that, you know that, but I understand. I
couldn’t do this; I couldn’t let Melinda go if someone asked me to.
She is everything to me. No matter what they did to me it didn’t
matter as long as she was safe, and alive. I am so unbelievably
sorry, I cannot…” his words broke off as tears slid down his
cheeks. “I cannot imagine and I do not want to imagine your pain or
his. It’s not fair, I know.”

His tears were her undoing. She wept as
she fell against him, finding no solace in his arms. There would
never be any comfort again. She was unable to regain control as
Ashby rocked her, his tears mingling with her own. Jack stood away
from them with his shoulders set stiffly, and his jaw locked as he
stared into the dense forest.

Slowly, her sobs started to subside
simply because there was no water left inside her to shed. Ashby
continued to hold her, but he didn’t pretend that anything he
offered would do her any good. Braith’s sense of rightness would
prevail, she was sure of it. He may become irrational and explosive
when she left, but she had faith that his good would win out in the
end.

“There’s more Aria.” She could barely
lift her head to look at Jack, never mind hear more of what he had
to say. “He can’t know about this. You have to act normal around
him.”

Horror filled her. “You mean we’re not
leaving now?”

“No. He’ll tear these woods apart
looking for you rather than fight. You can’t leave until the war is
over and he’s been established as the leader. He has to realize he
has a duty to thousands upon thousands rather than just himself and
you.”

“My family?” she whispered.

“Your father will be informed of our
intentions when the time is right, he will not be able to leave
though.” So she would never see him again either. She’d thought she
didn’t have any more tears left in her. She was wrong as agony
clenched at her. “Daniel will also have to remain behind as your
father’s second in command and most likely successor, but I think
William will go with you.”

She nodded slowly. Yes, William would
come with her, even if she told him to stay and enjoy the life that
he was going to fight for, he would come with her. “And I think he
should, even if you don’t. I will also be going with
you.”

Aria blinked at him in surprise. “You
can’t leave him, Jack.”

“I can’t leave you either, not
unprotected…”

“William...”

“You will need more than just William.
Braith is going to look for you and we will have to get far from
him as fast as we can. I’m asking this of you, and I will follow it
through with you.”

“And return after I’m dead?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I will never
return. Even if time and distance ease his suffering and rage, he
will still kill me if I return.”

Aria bit on her lip, her head bowed,
she felt as if she were being crushed. She couldn’t find the right
words, not anymore. Ashby rubbed her hair in an awkward attempt to
soothe her further.

“I know it’s going to be difficult Aria
but you have to act normal around him.” She blinked up at Jack; her
lashes were sticky from the tears coating them. “If he suspects
anything he’ll take you and he’ll never look back.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to do
that.”

“I know this is a lot to ask of you, I
understand that I can’t fathom what you are going through, what you
will have to endure, but you are one of the strongest people I
know, human or vampire, and I know that you can do this. I have
absolute faith in you.”

She was glad someone did, because she
sure as hell didn’t. Not about this. How on earth was she going to
act normal around Braith? How the hell was she going to hide her
misery and pretend that everything was fine, when her heart was
shattering and her body was already aching with loss? How was she
going to look him in the eye knowing that she was going to break
his heart by leaving him again?

He would never forgive her. Even if it
was for the best, even if it was for the good of so many, he would
never get over her abandonment of him again. He would hate her.
That realization was even worse than their time together coming to
an end.

“He’ll never forgive me either,” she
whispered, giving voice to her thoughts. “What if you’re wrong?
What if he loses it completely?”

“Then we’ll deal with the consequences
of that when it happens. Whether we bring you back or he steps
down…”

“People could be killed before
then.”

“I don’t think he’ll go that route
again Aria. Last time he was confused. He didn’t know what was
going on inside himself and his pride wouldn’t let him go after
you. This time he’ll know, and once he calms down he’ll understand
that this is for the best. You’ll leave him a note...”

“A note,” she laughed humorlessly, as
if that would be enough. As if a simple piece of paper would be
enough to convey her regret over leaving him. How could she put her
sorrow into words? How could she possibly write down how much faith
she has in him or how she knows that he will be the best leader for
all those depending on him? She didn’t think they had enough paper
for that. Even worse, Jack would have to write it for
her.

“And he’ll come to realize that though
it’s not fair, it is for the best. For everyone.”

“Maybe they would accept me,” she
whispered.

“I’m sorry Aria,” Ashby squeezed her
shoulders, pulling her against him. “But that will never happen.
Saul and Barnaby have already inquired about your relationship.
Braith believes he can keep the true nature of your relationship
from them, but they will eventually figure it out. They’re on our
side for now, but human and vampire bloodlines are not to be mixed,
the children are shunned if they are human, tormented if they’re
not…”

“Children?”

“It never ends well for them Aria,”
Jack told her.

“There have been children?” she
demanded stunned by this revelation.

“Yes, though if it is a blood slave
carrying the child, she is usually killed before she can give
birth.” Horror shuddered through her body, her hand instinctively
rested on her stomach. “The vampire children that have been created
are relegated to a life nearly as bad as the human servants within
the palace. I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t a good number
of half-breed vampire children amongst the troops in that cave; a
lot of them left soon after my father took over.”

“Children,” Aria breathed awed by the
possibility. She had never given much thought to children, she’d
assumed she probably wouldn’t live long enough to have them, and
she certainly didn’t want them exposed to the hardships of her
life. She hadn’t thought a child with Braith was even a
possibility, but now…

Jack knelt before her. “You cannot
allow your relationship to progress Aria.”

Everything inside her shriveled up like
a plant without water. Fresh tears fell. It had all been right
there in front of her: happiness, security, a family. And now it
was gone, all of it, just gone. She felt empty.

Jack took hold of her cheeks, cradling
them. “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to ask of you, and this
isn’t fair, you deserve a happy ending, you both do,
but…”

She grasped hold of his hands,
squeezing them firmly as she leaned toward him. “But so do many
others… I know… I get it,” she whispered.

Jack’s steel gray eyes were intense.
“That’s not what I was going to say. You know well enough that the
world isn’t fair, that bad things happen to good people but you’re
the only one that can do this.”

She released his hands and looked away.
The lake shimmered in the light of the sun, it was beautiful, but
she found no joy in it. She didn’t think she’d find joy in anything
for a long time if ever again. She didn’t know how she was going to
do this but she knew she had to. Jack was right, Braith had to
lead. He was strong, he was powerful, he was bred for leadership
and they would all follow him.

Jack leaned back as he studied her.
“Aria?”

She turned slowly toward Jack. “I’ve
always done what’s needed to be done, as has Braith. I’ll do it
now, and he will do it when I’m gone. I don’t know how I’ll do it,
how I’ll pretend everything is fine, but I’ll figure it
out.”

Jack grimaced as he closed his eyes.
For the first time Aria realized a part of him had hoped she
wouldn’t agree, that she would absolutely refuse to go along with
it. That she would go back to Braith and not care about the
consequences of her actions. Jack didn’t want to be the one to
inflict this pain on his brother, or her, but now that she had made
her choice, his road had been mapped out for him too. For the first
time since he’d brought her out here she didn’t see him as her
enemy, as the person who had just ruined her life, but more of an
ally in her despair.

“I’m sorry,” Ashby
apologized.

Aria had no idea how she was going to
deceive Braith in such a way, but hopefully their lives would
continue to be as hectic as they had been and he wouldn’t notice if
she was a little distant.

“We should return,” Jack
said.

She hated the idea of going back, but
she couldn’t hide here forever, and as of now Braith could still
track her anywhere. It was possible that he would always be able to
do so. Jack hoped that there was a way to dilute Braith’s blood but
she wasn’t so certain. She knew full well that Braith’s blood was a
part of her now. Perhaps someone else’s blood could alter that, but
she didn’t see how.

She started to share her thoughts with
Jack but stopped herself. She knew she had to leave Braith, but it
may be impossible for her to ever truly separate from him. There
was nothing that Jack could do about that, or at least nothing that
he would do. Jack was willing to take this road with her, willing
to give up his old life for good, but if it became necessary he
would not do the one thing that may be required to truly separate
her and Braith.

He was like a brother to her and he was
almost as stubborn as Braith. If she told Jack what she was
thinking, he would only insist that someone else’s blood would be
enough to dilute Braith’s within her, enough to separate them, even
if it wasn’t.

Jack would not consider the fact that
there may be only one way to truly sever her bond from Braith. But
she knew someone that would.  

CHAPTER 16

The reassuring thud of the arrow
hitting its mark was typically like music to her savaged spirit.
She fired off another arrow. Usually target practice soothed her,
but nothing could soothe her now.

“Bad mood?”

She started in surprise; she’d been so
entrenched in her melancholy that she hadn’t heard anyone approach.
She was even more surprised to discover that it was Max. Her arm
lowered, her lips parted as her heart leapt in anticipation. She
hoped he had come to speak with her, to try and salvage their
tattered friendship. She couldn’t handle it if he had only come to
reinforce his intense disapproval of her and her
decisions.

“Max.” Though she tried to sound as
aloof as he was with her now, she heard the longing in her voice.
He heard it too as he offered a small smile and ran his hand
nervously through his shaggy blond hair. “I haven’t seen you
around.”

He shrugged before stuffing his hands
in his pockets. His eyes shifted nervously to the target as he
started to rock on his heels. “Been busy. There’s a war coming you
know.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Glad to see you’re still deadly with
that thing,” he said glancing at her bow.

She didn’t know what to say, didn’t
know what she expected from him. What had once been simple and
easy, was horribly awkward and uncomfortable now.
“Yeah.”

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” she admitted unable
to lie to him. “You?”

“Possible imminent death and
destruction aside, I’ve actually been doing better.”

Hope surged through her.
“Really?”

His smile widened. “Yeah, really. I’m
not looking forward to going back into that palace, but I am
looking forward to getting some revenge.”