Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (10 page)

“You have no idea what you have gotten
yourself messed up with here Aria,” Jack continued as if Braith had
never spoken. “And yes, you are a child. Especially when compared
to us. You are a small blink in our lifespan Aria. You should know
better Braith, I thought better of you than to do this with a young
girl, a human girl no less! What the hell are you
doing!?”

Braith bristled at the reprimand, the
muscles in his back rippled. “Like I said before, that’s none of
your business.”

Jack’s eyes widened slightly, he shook
his head. “How did you even find her? What are you even doing
outside of the palace?” Neither Braith nor Aria answered him. Jack
glanced rapidly between them, then his shoulders slumped slightly
and his gaze landed upon Aria. “You lied to me.”

Aria shook her head. “I didn’t lie to
you.”

“Then what the hell do you call it!?”
he exploded. “I asked if he had shared his blood with you! You told
me no!”

“I’m not going to tell you again to
watch how you talk to her!” Braith warned.

Aria reached out to him, grasping hold
of his arm as she sensed his rapidly unraveling control, he was
nearing a volatile snapping point. She didn’t want them fighting,
not only were they brothers but she had a feeling that they would
destroy this house, and each other, if they did. And the last thing
she wanted was for either of them to be hurt.

“It’s ok Braith.” He relaxed slightly,
but a tremor remained in his muscles, and she was not fooled into
thinking that he wouldn’t attack at a moment’s notice. “I didn’t
remember Jack; I thought it was a dream. I didn’t lie to you on
purpose, it was…” She didn’t know what it was, she couldn’t explain
it. “I’m sorry Jack.”

“Don’t apologize to him,” Braith told
her.

“You put us all in danger,” Jack
scolded.

Aria bit on her bottom lip, her fingers
wrapped tighter around Braith’s arm. She stepped closer to him,
needing his touch to soothe her raw nerves. He glanced back at her,
his eyes softening as he took her in. She stared up at him for a
moment, trying hard to calm her racing heart. He finally released
his hold on the wall, pulling her tighter against him, but also
moving her slightly behind him. Jack watched them silently, his
eyes narrowed as he studied them.

Aria rested her forehead against
Braith’s chest as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her raw,
savaged nerves. Braith wrapped his hand around the back of her
head, holding her tight to him for a long moment. He bent his head
to hers. “Why don’t you go get dressed Arianna,” he whispered in
her ear.

She shook her head, her gaze darting
back toward Jack. “No, I’m not leaving you.”

“It will be ok,” he assured her. “I’d
much prefer you in clothes though, ok?”

She wanted to put clothes on, she felt
slightly vulnerable at the moment, but the last thing she was going
to do was leave the two of them alone together. “No
Braith.”

He sighed impatiently, his eyes
narrowed as he studied her. She could sense his frustration with
her, but she was not leaving here if there was a chance that they
were going to hurt each other. “Go Aria,” Jack told her.

She shot him a fierce look. “Jack, we
may be friends, but you need to stop treating me like a child.”
Jack’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Both of you,” she added,
turning her attention back to Braith. “I’m not as old as you, but
I’ve seen and experienced a lot. So no, I am not leaving here until
I am certain that you will not kill each other.”

Braith’s jaw clenched tight in
annoyance, Jack’s mouth quirked in sardonic amusement. “Well
apparently she disobeys everyone, even the mighty future king,”
Jack drawled. Braith shot him a fierce look. “Are you going to be
his queen Aria? Oh but you could never be the queen there’s already
somebody set up to produce heirs for him. Will you be the mistress
then, the kept woman?”

Hurt speared through her, she shrank
from the sharp reminder that she could not be his queen; that she
never would be. There was already another woman in line for that.
Her fingers dug tighter into Braith, she struggled to breathe
through the pain constricting her chest. “That’s enough!” Braith
snarled. “You say one more word and I’ll rip your throat out myself
Jericho, do you understand me!?”

“One more word of the truth?” Jack
demanded.

Aria clung to Braith as he tried to
pull away, tried to lunge at his brother. “Stop Braith, please.
Just stop, both of you, stop!” Braith tried to shake her free, but
she somehow managed to insert herself in between the two of them.
“Stop!”

Aria was breathing heavy, terrified
that she was about to witness two brothers kill each other. She
didn’t realize that the sleeve of her robe had fallen down,
exposing her shoulder, until Braith grabbed hold of her, pulling
her back as he yanked the sleeve up to cover her skin and the dark
mark upon it. It was too late though, Jack had not missed the fresh
wounds upon her body. He stared at her covered shoulder for a
moment longer, before finally lifting his startled gaze to
hers.

“I told you, I am here willingly,” Aria
said softly, defiantly.

CHAPTER
6

Braith held the robe tight around her,
surprised to realize that she was not wearing anything underneath.
He had at least expected the thin nightgown he had set out for her,
but perhaps she had not noticed it, or she had simply chosen not to
put it on. Either way, she was not wearing clothes. He didn’t know
if he was more excited by this prospect, or infuriated by it.
Though, if his brother hadn’t been standing there, Braith knew what
the answer to that question would have been.

Arianna seemed oblivious to his
surprise over this new development as she continued to glare at
Jack; her chin raised in defiance, her eyes narrowed in anger.
Braith’s gaze turned back to his brother. “I came here willingly,
and I know that there is no future for us Jack. You don’t need to
continuously remind me of something that I am painfully aware of. I
wanted this. I needed this.”

Though her voice was strong, Braith
could see the tears burning in her eyes. “Aria,” Jericho said
softly, looking lost and dumbfounded. Her fingers curled fiercely
around Braith’s arms, she clung tighter to him, shaking
slightly.

“I know everything,” she told him. “I
know it all and I accept it for what it is Jack.”

“Do you know about the blood slaves?”
Jericho demanded fiercely. “The many he has kept in the past
months? Do you know what he has done to them, with them Aria? You
are not special!”

Though Braith still thought of him as
his brother, he was beginning to realize more and more that this
man before them was no longer the Jericho he had known, but was in
fact more the Jack that Arianna knew him as. This was not the same
brother that had left the palace, it was not the same Jericho that
Braith had grown up with, and been close to. This man was a
stranger, one that seemed determined to rip Arianna away from him.
He didn’t think it was because Jericho had romantic feelings for
her, but in fact had come to think of her as a sister, or a good
friend. One that he was trying to protect, unfortunately Jericho
seemed hell bent on trying to protect her from him. And hell bent
on hurting her, and tearing her away from him, in his desire to try
and keep her safe.

Jericho just didn’t realize that he was
trying to keep her safe from someone that would die to make sure
that she stayed that way also. And Braith knew that the man across
from him was no longer Jericho, but was in fact, the man that he
had rebuilt himself into. He was now this creature called
Jack.

Arianna glanced up at him, biting hard
on her bottom lip as her eyes swam with tears. Anger spurted
through him; she had been hurt and jerked around enough. He could
not stand the fact that she had to experience even more of it. He
cradled her face lightly in his hands, savoring in the feel of her
silken skin. “I know,” she said softly.

Braith rested his forehead against
hers, taking a small moment to steady himself. Taking a small
moment to enjoy the peace and splendor she brought to his hectic
world. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was reveal to her
what a monster he had been these past couple of months, he was
immensely glad he had now.

“Jesus,” Jack whispered. He pulled a
chair out from the table and slid limply into it. “What have you
done Braith? What have the two of you done?”

Braith kissed her softly, holding tight
to her for a long moment before pulling slowly back. “I put some
clothes out for you; they’re on the chest in my room. Please go get
dressed Arianna.” She glanced at Jack, her forehead furrowing in
consternation. “We’ll be fine,” he assured her.

She paused for a moment more before
finally nodding her consent. He watched as she moved swiftly down
the hall, glancing wearily back at them. She hesitated before
slipping around the corner and disappearing from sight. Braith
turned slowly back to his brother, folding his arms firmly over his
chest as he stared hard at him. Jack didn’t know that Braith could
see the incredulous look on his face, didn’t know that he was
watching his brothers every move.

“What is this Braith?” he asked
softly.

“I don’t know,” he answered
honestly.

Jack frowned at him, his hands curled
upon the table. “She may think that she can handle this, but she
can’t Braith. She’s strong Braith, she’s seen a lot, but she’s also
very innocent to the ways of the world. You didn’t see her after I
took her away from there. You don’t know her the way that I know
her…”

“What the hell is that supposed to
mean?” Braith demanded.

Jack sighed as he leaned forward in his
chair, clasping his hands before him on the table. “I’ve been in
those woods for six years Braith. I’ve seen firsthand what these
people suffer through, what our kind has forced them to suffer
through. I’ve known Aria for over four years now, she’s proud,
she’s wild, and she has one of the kindest hearts I’ve ever known.
She’s been broken ever since I pulled her out of that palace. She
may think she can handle this, she may even feel that she is
prepared for it, but compared to us she is just a child Braith. And
it’s obvious that she’s in love with you.”

Braith shifted slightly, glancing
behind him to see if she was coming back yet. He was bristling,
resentful of his brother’s words, and the fact that Jack seemed to
think he knew so much more about her. “She is more than a child,”
he grated.

“She is seventeen years old! You are to
be king; you are to be married…”

“I don’t need you constantly reminding
me, or her, of that fact!” Braith snarled. “I was not lucky enough
to be born the middle, or youngest son. I was not lucky enough to
get the chance to leave that place, and all of my responsibilities,
behind. I was not lucky enough to escape father’s
brutality!”

Jack was silent for a long moment. “I
know that Braith, probably more than anyone, it was why I wanted to
leave in the first place. Though, at the time I had wanted to win
father’s favor by doing something daring, and treacherous. I wanted
to earn his respect, and I wanted him to think of me as more than
just a punching bag. But once I was free, and amongst these people,
I realized just what a monster he is by living amongst the people
that he has hurt even worse than us. Aria’s family, and Aria, is
the biggest contributors to this realization. She’s special, I care
for her, and I do not want to see her hurt anymore. You’re my
brother, I love you, but I’ll never return there. These are my
people now, I need to protect them.”

“And you think that I won’t protect
her?”

Jack studied him for a long moment. “I
think you will try, but there is only so much you can do. You hate
father as much as I, but you have always been big on
responsibility, and duty. You will not turn your back on that. It
is why I did not tell you that I was going to take her. I knew you
would stop me simply because it would weigh heavily on your
conscious to be involved with such treason.”

“You have been gone for a long time
Jack; you don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about,”
Braith growled.

Anger spurted across Jack’s face. His
hands sprawled on top of the table as he half rose from the chair.
“And why is that?” he demanded. Braith glanced back down the hall.
Arianna was still not in sight, but she wouldn’t be much longer. He
turned back to his brother, Jack had become a man in the time he
had been gone, but Braith still saw the little boy in him. “You’re
to be married Braith, you are to take over for father. That is your
world, this is not…”

“She is my world,” Braith interrupted
sharply.

Jack stared at him for a long moment,
and then his gaze slid slowly past him. Braith held out his hand as
Arianna arrived at his side. She took hold of his hand, squeezing
it tightly between the both of hers as she held it before her. Jack
studied the two of them, he slid limply back into his
chair.

“Dear God Braith, this is a mess,” he
breathed. “Your father is worried about you Aria.”

She bit on her bottom lip as she
nodded. “I’m sorry for that.” He ran his hands through his shaggy
hair, nodding as he played with the fork Braith had placed on the
table. “How did you know I was here?”