Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (30 page)

“This is for you.” She started as
Daniel slid something into her hand. Her mouth parted as she gazed
wonderingly at the beautiful drawing before her. Tears clogged her
throat. She’d always known Daniel was a talented artist, a trait
that he never had enough time for, but this was far beyond anything
she could have imagined. She was curled within Braith’s lap, her
head on his chest as he rested his chin on her head to look at the
book in his hand. The looks of love on their faces nearly caused
her to sob aloud.

“I came across you by accident. I just
saw you for a moment,” Daniel added quickly when her face colored
faintly. “It was then I realized that what’s between you isn’t
something easily broken, it’s not a passing fancy, it’s not a
rebellious moment, it’s not even just love. It’s something more,
it’s this.” He pointed at their faces in the drawing. “It astounded
me Aria; I can only hope that I find something like this one
day.”

“Daniel,” she breathed, tears slowly
rolling down her face. “It’s beautiful.”

“No matter what you decide, I think you
should have this.”

She nodded as he ruffled her hair
affectionately. William was staring at the sketch over her shoulder
when Braith emerged from the cave. “Do you want me to take
it?”

“Yes.”

William took the drawing from her and
slipped it into his shirt. “I’ll keep it safe.”

“I know.”

They remained seated; their heads
tilting back as Braith stopped before them. “It’s not safe up
here.”

“We’re fine. We know these woods better
than most of the animals.” He didn’t seem at all appeased by her
reassurance. He stared hard at each of her brother’s obviously
wanting them to leave, while she wanted them to stay right where
they were. “How did it go?”

He locked his hands behind his back.
“We’re going to run a few scouting missions to the palace and back.
I would like for you to go on one Daniel, so you can get a feel of
the town and its dimensions in order to formulate a
design.”

“Of course,” Daniel murmured in
assent.

“When do you think we’ll be ready to
make a move on the palace?” William inquired.

“Hopefully within two weeks. I would
prefer to move by the end of this week but I realize that’s asking
a lot. Jack, Saul, and Barnaby are going into the outer towns to
gather the vampire’s Jack recruited there. We’ll need them here
before we can make any solid plans.”

“I’d like to go on one of the scouting
missions,” Aria informed him.

He frowned at her, his fingers curled
and uncurled at his sides. “Aria…”

“I’ve gone on plenty with Daniel and
William before.” A muscle jumped in his cheek as his jaw clenched.
“I’ll be fine, and I’m tired of feeling useless and confined. I
have to do something useful.”

“We’ll keep her safe, even from
herself,” William nudged her playfully.

She rolled her eyes at him and shook
her head. He wasn’t helping. “No one will recognize me. I need to
do this Braith.”

The last thing she wanted was to fight
with him, but she simply couldn’t sit here for the next couple of
weeks, being torn apart by her decision and feeling useless. She
had to find something to do or she would go crazy.

“
Fine,” he relented, his
shoulders slumping.

She didn’t feel even a little good
about the fact that she had gotten her way; she simply felt the
gulf between them growing. It took everything she had not to cry as
she bowed her head. She couldn’t look at him anymore, it was too
difficult.

CHAPTER 19

Aria’s head was down, her bow
discreetly tucked away on her back and covered by the gray cloak.
It billowed around her ankles, blowing back to allow the rain to
wet the bottom of her pants. As much as she hated the cloaks she
was grateful for the cover it provided from the surprisingly chilly
rain. She stood at the top of the hill, staring down at the town
that rolled out from the hollows of the knoll.

It was beautiful, deadly, and far too
close to the palace for her liking. A palace that she could see the
gleaming top of as it rose out from behind another hill. Braith
moved closer to her but now that they were amongst his people
again, he had returned to trying to keep his distance from her.
Saul and Calista came forward to speak with Braith before returning
to the small group gathered within the tree line.

William and Daniel stood beside her,
the hoods of their cloaks pulled up. Max was also wearing the cloak
but the hood was tossed back. Rain trickled down his face and had
plastered his fair hair down. He was still handsome, but she was
acutely reminded of the fact that the boy she had grown up with was
gone. He looked older, wiser than his young years. He was only a
couple years older than her, but there were lines around his eyes
and the corners of his pinched mouth. Seeming to sense her
attention he turned to her and offered a small smile.

Braith stepped in front of her, drawing
her attention away from Max. For a moment his hands fisted in
impotence as he grappled with his urge to protest her decision. Her
father wasn’t happy about this either, but at least he was used to
them going on such missions and more accustomed to watching his
loved ones walk away.

“Make sure your hair stays covered.”
His frustration was obvious as his hand twitched toward her. Her
hair was already tucked beneath the hood, but she adjusted it again
to try and ease the tension she felt running high in him. It did
little good. “If anything goes wrong…”

“I’ll be fine. I’m fast, you know
that.”

“You’re not faster than a vampire, and
you have a habit of throwing yourself on the sword to protect
others. You need to run if something goes wrong, and I mean
it.”

She bristled at his commanding tone,
but he was frightened and arguing with him about it would get her
nowhere. He would force her to stay with him if she pushed him; she
was still a little surprised he had relented to begin with. Then,
not seeming to care about the others, he pulled her hood tighter,
his hands hesitating on the edges as he held it for a
moment.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

Frustration filled her; she ached to
touch him, to reassure him that she would be fine and that she
wasn’t doing this to be reckless. She wouldn’t do anything to
damage their cause, but she would be helpful down there. That’s why
she was going. She wasn’t the girl who had nothing to live for
anymore. Even if she had to give him up there was still plenty to
live for, and even after her deal with Gideon she still hoped she’d
be around to see it all.

Her fingers clenched as she restrained
herself from grasping his hands. “I promise I won’t.”

He pulled on the hood again and walked
away. Aria watched him for a longing moment, before she turned back
to her brothers and Max. “Let’s go,” Daniel said.

She chanced a glance over her shoulder
at Braith. He was watching her intently, his arms folded over his
chest as Jack stepped beside him. She didn’t look back as they
began to pick their way down the hill, moving at a diagonal angle
to the town below. Aria struggled to keep her balance as wet leaves
slipped and slid beneath her beaten shoes. She was relieved when
they made it to the road even though she felt exposed and
vulnerable.

They received a few questioning glances
as they moved past but the gray cloaks they wore were common place
here, as were random people moving through in search of food or
employment within the palace.

Not all of the people here worked
within the palace and served the royal family, but they were still
traitors to her. They didn’t fight or go against the grain. They
simply lived in this hollowed existence and did whatever they were
told or whatever was expected of them.

They passed a bar that had its doors
thrown open to let in the fresh air. Bawdy laughter filtered out
from within. Aria was surprised to realize that there were people
already inside, drinking and laughing loudly. Life in the towns was
far different than life in the woods. She couldn’t recall a day
that had been wasted on such things.

“Keep moving.” She hadn’t realized
she’d stopped until William grated the words at her.

She turned away from the bar as a
woman’s laughter joined in with the men’s. She shook her head,
uncertain about this place. Max grasped her arm gently, urging her
along when she fell behind. “It’s so different here,” she
muttered.

“
Yes. Don’t
stop.”

Aria fell back into step beside him as
they wound through the town, taking in as many details as they
could. She had been in the town once as a child, but she hadn’t
paid much attention to it. Now she noticed details that made her
sick. The homes were not as opulent or fancy as the ones within the
palace walls but they gleamed with the rain beading off of them.
Their paint was fresh and their porches were decorated with more
furniture than she’d owned in her entire life. Flowers, like she
had seen in the palace flowed over people’s walkways, their petals
shining from the drops of rain.

Though the rain had driven most inside,
the few that did brave the weather were wearing the deep blue
cloaks that marked them not as servants, but as free people that
held higher positions within the palace. It was a coveted position,
one that had been earned by the ultimate betrayal against their
fellow man. Her fingers itched to put an arrow in the hearts of
every one of them.

She hated those blue cloaks more than
anything. And judging by the stiffness in Max’s shoulders he was
fighting the same urge she was. These people were the ultimate
traitors, they had no allies here, and as far as Aria was concerned
they could all be killed in the upcoming days and she wouldn’t lose
any sleep over it.

She kept her head down so they wouldn’t
see her revulsion. She was supposed to be in awe of the people
wearing the blue cloaks, not plotting their demise as she shuffled
down the dirt road that was slowly turning to muck They reached the
end of the main road and began to move through the more narrow side
roads. The homes were smaller here, but they were just as nicely
maintained.

“Why haven’t we seen any soldiers?”
Aria wondered.

“It’s so close to the palace they don’t
fear anything. I’m sure there are some posted here but the weather
has probably driven them inside,” Max answered.

Aria’s heart began to hammer; she
shrank deeper into her cloak as they moved even closer to the
palace that had nearly destroyed her and Max. It was situated on a
mountain, tucked behind the hills and valleys that rolled through
this area. She knew they weren’t going to get much closer, but she
couldn’t stop the foreboding that pulsed through her.

To her surprise, Max seized hold of her
hand. Though they had been trying to repair their fractured
friendship things had still been uncomfortably awkward between them
more often than not. But now his hand wrapped around hers,
squeezing tight as they stopped to stare at the place where they
had been imprisoned.

The golden gates gleamed, even in the
dim light of the murky day they shined from the hours spent
polishing them. Though the top spires of the palace were visible
above the homes and hills, the main bulk of the massive building
was obscured. She knew it well though, she would never forget it
and she would be back within its massive walls again soon if
everything went well. In the meantime, she would need to reign in
her abhorrence for the place if she was going to be of any
use.

Max’s hand was sweaty in hers, small
tremors rocked through him. She wanted to tell him it was ok, but
it wasn’t and she wasn’t going to lie to him. It would be a long
time, if ever, before he got over what was done to him.

As they watched, guards appeared. They
marched across the front of the gates before disappearing from view
once more. Goosebumps broke out on her arms and it had nothing to
do with the chill in the air. After a minute or so the guards moved
back across the front of the gates. “We should get moving,” Daniel
said.

She fell in beside her brothers again
as they moved further through the town. She could practically see
the gears turning through Daniel’s head as he mapped out the roads,
and plotted the best ways to move through the buildings and streets
with all of their troops. They were all here to take in as much of
the details as possible, but Daniel would be the one that
remembered the most, the one that would see things the rest of them
didn’t and recall it far more vividly.

They arrived at the edge of the town,
the road continued onward, winding up another hill before dipping
from sight and reappearing again near the palace gates. Aria had
had enough. She didn’t want to see anymore of that place than she
had too. “Let’s go back.”

The road was becoming muddier as they
wound their way back through the town. The rain was picking up to a
steadier flow that was starting to creep its way through the cloak
to wet her clothes and skin. Her hair was beginning to cling to the
back of her neck, tickling her skin. She wanted out of here, for
the first time she wanted back into the caves and away from this
oppressive place that she could practically feel draining the life
from her.