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?”

“I didn’t. I knew Braith might be here.”

Arianna glanced up at him, frowning in consternation. “I didn’t expect him to look for me,” Braith said softly. “I didn’t think he would expect the two of us to be together, and come here.”

“I see,” she said softly.

“I only hoped that you had just brought her here, and not returned her to the palace. I only hoped that it was not someone else that had taken her,” Jack explained further.

“Now you trust me with her?” Braith growled.

Jack quirked an eyebrow at him as he tilted his head. “I just wanted to believe that father had not destroyed all of your humanity, as he has with Caleb. I knew you would be infuriated that I took her from you, I half expected you might try to find her again just to soothe your pride, but I had to believe that you would not punish her for something that I had done.”

Braith continued to glare at his brother, infuriated with him. It was the soft rumbling of her stomach that finally pulled his attention away from his sibling. “You should get something to eat Arianna.”

“Braith…”

He cradled her face gently in his hand. “I can hear your stomach rumbling.” Her face flared red as she ducked her head. “Come on.”

He led her forward, pulling out the chair for her to sit. He watched his brother wearily as he pushed her slowly in. Jack was frowning, his eyebrows drawn sharply together as he studied them. Arianna stared silently back at him, her gaze weary and resigned. Braith made her a plate of food and slipped it in front of her.

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually her hunger won out. She dug eagerly into the eggs. “You can see!” Jack blurted in shock.

Arianna froze with the fork halfway to her mouth, her gaze darted swiftly to Braith. She didn’t even breathe as she watched him, her eyes wide with worry for him. Braith rested his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. “I can,” he confirmed.