Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) (30 page)

"And you," Damon said sharply to Prince. "You
need a reminder."

"Stop, please," she begged quietly. She
wanted to reach out the short distance and pull Prince away, but didn't dare.
Damon was furious enough already.

The Dragos held Prince helpless with one arm and
reached up with the other to roughly push his long black hair aside. "Look."

She stared at the mark on the back of Prince's neck.
She'd never seen it before. She barely had time to try to figure out what the
strange dark markings meant before Damon brushed his fingers over it.

Prince froze and stiffened. "Don't," he
pleaded, his voice weak and cracking.

Damon completely ignored him. "This is an Elven
rune," he explained to her, his voice suddenly calm. "It keeps his
glamor in place. If you remove it…" His fingers dug in, and then he
pulled, somehow ripping the mark away. "You see what he truly is."

She stared in shock as Prince cried out in pain and
convulsed within Damon's arms. Suddenly he shimmered and Damon moved, dropping
him nearly in her lap.

Prince curled up and shuddered on the ground as
everyone watched in complete silence.

She wasn't sure what she expected, but nothing really
happened. She looked up at Damon, eyebrows raised.

The Dragos grimaced and reached down, turning Prince's
head to the side.

Her mouth dropped open at the long pointed ear he
revealed. Trying to gather her wits she shook her head vehemently. "It
doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what he is."

Both Prince and Damon looked at her in surprise.

"It doesn't." She smiled. "My best
friend is a Fey. I'm used to pointed ears." She rested a hand on Prince's
shoulder. "Can you stand?"

He nodded slightly and pushed himself up, first to his
knees, then to his feet. She scrambled to her feet, a hand out in case he
needed assistance. He ignored it.

She looked at him, he seemed mostly the same. She had
been expecting more. Yes, his ears were now pointed. They were longer than
Kei's. His features remained the same, just a little more perfect. Each line
and plane had lost any roughness. His skin however, continued to look pale. Dark
rings still smudged beneath his eyes. The dust and dirt of their travels didn't
help. Not much had changed. He was still Prince.

His eyes met hers, still their bright sparkling blue.
No, they
were
brighter...more blue.

She smiled a little and reached a hand out to him. "It
doesn't matter."

"Were you aware," Damon said. "That
Elves, like the Were, are mind readers?"

She looked from Damon to Prince and back again. "What?"

"He is weak, yet he can still read your mind."

She looked down at their joined hands.

I would never hurt you.

Fear rushed through her and she gasped. Prince's
voice, though quiet, had sent echoes of pain through her battered mind. Someone
else in her mind…she couldn't...

"No…"

"Every time you touch," Damon continued, "he
can wander through your thoughts. Learn your secrets."

She jerked her hand away. Panic rippled through her.
She raised a hand to her forehead, her heart pounding away. She couldn't look
at Prince. He had been in her mind? All this time...

She closed her eyes and shuddered.

"Aro...," Prince whispered.

She shook her head and took a step backward. She
wasn't surprised to feel Kei wrap his arms around her and she turned into them,
hiding. She buried her face against Kei, drowning out all the words that came
next. All she could think about was how Prince had been in her head, like
Damon. He knew her secrets, her thoughts.
He knew...
She squeezed her
eyes tightly together as new tears formed.

Kei remained silent, merely holding her tightly while
she tried to push away the pain and sort out what was going on.

"Arowyn."

She turned when Prince called her name, though she had
trouble meeting his eyes.

He gave her a graceful, formal bow. "I
apologize...for my secrets. For hurting you. It has been an honor traveling
with you. I wish you well."

She gaped at him and watched in stunned silence as he
retrieved his sword and walked stiffly away. "No…wait…I…" She couldn't
get her thoughts to form coherent words.

"It is for the best," Damon said.

She jerked her head around to glare at him. "Why
would you say that?" Kei pulled her tightly against him again before she
could say something else that would get her in trouble.

"Build your walls again," Damon said to her.
"You still have much to learn." He looked at Kei, the power of his
gaze forcing the Fey to meet his eyes. "Will you continue to protect her?
She will need it now, before she grows into her destiny."

Kei held her more tightly, but he nodded.

"Take care of your future queen."

She turned in Kei's arms and pressed her face against
him again, squeezing her lips tightly together to keep from telling Damon was
an insane monster. Blighting idiot, did Damon really believe all of that? She
didn't want to ask. She didn't even want to think about it.

Kei pressed a hand reassuringly against her back. "He's
gone."

So was Prince. She hadn't stopped him. Everything had
been so confusing. It had all happened so fast. Why had he left so quickly?

"We should get going," Bo said roughly.

She nodded and let Kei guide her back to the main city
street. She didn't know what to think. Or to say. Kei kept his arm around her
as they walked, later holding her hand as Bo and Cain bought more supplies when
they finally found the market. Everyone was quiet, so she didn't feel the need
to speak either. It gave her time to try to sort out what had happened.

They left the city before dark and walked down the
road toward the next in silence. As the sun began to sink they moved off the
road to make a camp for the night.

They didn't have a fire, though they rarely did. Wood
was too hard to come by unless they camped near the sea and could scavenge
driftwood. Even when they did find wood they hoarded it, making a fire only
long enough to cook meals.

The area had grown rocky again and Bo and Cain found a
spot somewhat sheltered from the wind. No clouds hung in the sky. At least they
didn't have to worry about rain in the night.

After a quick meal of bread and cheese she leaned back
against a rock, closing her eyes. Her head still hurt, though not as badly as
before. While walking she had started to build up her walls again.

Tears came to her eyes. He'd pulled them apart so
thoroughly, it wasn't easy. She worked slowly, making the walls larger,
stronger. Horrible Dragos! She hated him. She fought back more tears.

Prince had left. She had let him. She could have run
after him. She could have said something. She hadn't. Maybe she was still
broken.

No matter how much she tried not to think of him her
thoughts kept returning to Prince. She couldn't believe he'd gone. Yet he had
been so angry. Perhaps it was for the best as Damon had said. Certainly it
would be safer for them, now that he didn't look human anymore. Prince had said
once how dangerous it was for an Elf or Were or Fey. Most humans hated them. She
didn't really understand that. They'd heard only gossip and stories in their
travels here. They'd never come across them on the road or in a city. It seemed
to her they left humans alone. Well, except for the Fey. The only one she knew
was Kei, and he was different. He hadn't grown up here. The anger rose within
her again. It was all Damon's fault. Why couldn't he leave them alone?

She didn't hate Elves. At least not her Elf. She loved
him as a brother, perhaps as something more. She still wasn't sure how she
felt. However she didn't delude herself they would be together. Ever. He was a
prince and an Elf. She groaned. He was an elven prince! Yet…no matter what he
was, he had become her friend. Her family.

She opened her eyes and sought out the others in the
darkness. "We need to talk," she said quietly.

Chapter 23

A Prince is a Prince

"We do," Bo agreed. He turned immediately to
Kei. "You knew. About Prince."

She raised her eyebrows. The thought hadn't even
occurred to her. Of course Kei would know. If he could smell she was a girl,
he'd certainly be able to tell Elf from human.

Kei looked down at the ground. "Yes."

"You didn't say anything," Cain accused.

The Fey fidgeted as he searched for words. "You
don't anger an Elf," he said finally. "I learned that much from my
parents. Certainly not an elven prince. He didn't want it known who he was, or
what." He looked up at them. "We were never in any danger from him.
If we had been, I would have said something."

"Is that why you two fight so much?"

"For me, yes." He shook his head. "He
is used to the other Fey. I don't think he ever trusted me to be able to
control myself."

"I'm more concerned he's been reading our
thoughts all this time," Cain said into the silence that followed Kei's
words. He shuddered.

"I don't think he really was," she said
carefully. They all looked over at her and she continued quickly. "I've
felt what it's like, with Damon, when he invades your mind. You feel it, you
know he's there when he's prying deep down inside. I never felt anything like
that with Prince. I never noticed at all. I don't think he was rummaging around
in our private thoughts. Just random ones, like what we're thinking right then.
Know what I mean? He didn't do it often either."

Cain grimaced.

Bo nodded his head. "He didn't touch any of us,
not more than normal." He looked over at her. "You however..."
he left his comment hanging.

Yes, Prince had always been touching her, a hand on
her shoulder, holding her hand, curling up next to her every night...

She gasped. "He kept the nightmares away."
She looked back and forth between the others to see if they agreed.

"He did," another voice came from the
darkness.

She whirled around, fear making her heart beat
suddenly faster.

Damon sat leisurely on a rock beside her.

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled slightly as she scrambled to her feet and
backed away toward the others. "I've returned to make amends."

Stay out of my head!

His lips twisted into a smile.
I do not wish for
you to hate me.

Anger made her cocky and reckless.
A bit late for
that isn't it? You hurt me!

You're such fragile creatures.
He sighed.
I will try to be more gentle in the
future.
He paused.
Though if you would just let me in, we would not have
this problem.

Her eyes narrowed.
Next time try just asking.
Perhaps I'll tell you what you want to know. You don't need to be in my head.

He shrugged.
Perhaps.

She didn't believe him. Not for a moment.

I don't need to ask. It's the fighting me that makes
it hurt. I can wander through any of your minds, and I do. Remember that. Pick
your battles, Arowyn.

"Very well," Damon said, clapping his hands
together once. "I will answer one question from each of you. This will
make things right between us."

His sudden declaration put her off guard. What was he
up to? She exchanged looks with her men, getting confused shrugs in response.

Cain let out a deep sigh when no one else spoke. "Why
did he lie to us?"

Damon gave a short
tsk
. "That is a waste
of a question. I'm disappointed in you." At their collective frown he
sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Humans," he muttered into
the air. "Your memories are so short and selective."

He shook his head again before continuing, "He
never lied to you. Prince himself answered your question in the past, why he
has kept quiet. The answer then being he has many enemies. More so the closer
you come to Elven lands. The Elves are not well liked by humans, and for good
reason. Humans are considered little better than dogs. They are rarely allowed
entrance to Elven lands, and even then, those few are treated like pets. Elves
do travel in human lands, usually in at least pairs or more. If not, they
conceal themselves with their glamour, their illusions, because they are at
least aware of the human's dislike of them." He paused a moment. "In
the past, Elves have died because of this hatred, killed by angry mobs or their
throats slit in the night."

She paled a little at the thought of Prince getting
his throat slit and looked down at her hands. She opened her mouth to ask a
question and closed it quickly, remembering she only had one. She had to make
it a good one, but for some reason she couldn't think of anything other than
the shock and pain on Prince's face when Damon had removed his glamor.