Unbound (The Captive #7)(3)
“Don’t shoot,” Jack said to William.
William scowled at him before focusing on the forest once more. “I haven’t yet, have I?”
Ashby pulled Melinda from her horse, tucking her against his chest as he surveyed the encroaching vampires with haughty disdain. Xavier tugged on the reins of his horse, positioning himself directly in front of Aria. The fading sunlight gleamed across Xavier’s dark skin and bald head, illuminating the tribal tattoos on his arms, hands, and neck. His deep brown eyes were troubled when they met Braith’s before falling to Aria.
Xavier had been the vampire history keeper for most of his life, yet he had stepped aside from taking his rightful seat at The Council table in favor of being Aria’s bodyguard when the war with Braith’s father ended. Braith didn’t have any concerns Xavier might have romantic feelings for his wife. Xavier would be far more likely to be attracted to him. However, Xavier did care for Aria, deeply. They had become extremely close and Braith knew Xavier would lay down his life in order to save hers.
Braith hugged her against him; he would do whatever it took to get her out of here. She had literally brought light and color back into his life. She was his everything, and he would not allow her bright soul to be taken from this world.
Max and Daniel moved closer to Timber as he broke off the shaft of the arrow embedded in his shoulder and tossed it aside. The king’s men moved closer to him and Aria. The other king’s men had remained with the residents of Chippman and the survivors from Badwin. They were over a mile back, awaiting word it was safe to progress.
They were going to be waiting longer than he’d anticipated.
“Braith,” William hissed under his breath. “It is her.”
Braith followed William’s gaze to a small grouping of pines where a woman leisurely emerged from between the snow-encrusted limbs. It was impossible to miss her, as instead of the white cloaks of her followers, she wore a blood red cloak that emphasized her pale complexion and vivid green eyes. Black hair tumbled behind her to brush against the snowy ground with every step she took. Her face was perfect in its beauty, but malevolence oozed from her pores, making her one of the ugliest women he’d ever encountered.
Braith’s gaze ran over her slender figure and refined features. He’d never seen her before, but as William had said, there was something familiar about her broad cheekbones and full lips. He felt as if he should know her, yet he couldn’t figure out how or why.
Aria’s hand flew to her mouth as some of the color faded from her sun-kissed skin. When she tried to sit up in order to see the woman better, he pulled her back, refusing to let her be more exposed in any way.
The vampire men and women in the white cloaks fell back and bowed their heads in deference when the woman passed by them. Timber, Max, and Daniel pulled their mounts back, edging away from the woman who stopped at the edge of the small clearing.
Braith’s skin tingled, and the hair on his arms rose as waves of power crackled against him. He’d assumed William had exaggerated, or been mistaken, about the amount of power this woman possessed. Staring at her now, he realized William had been right.
She may be the most powerful vampire he’d ever encountered.
CHAPTER 2
Braith
The sharp, ozone scent of her power permeated the crisp air as the woman’s gaze landed on Braith.
“She’s powerful,” William had said to him. “And old. She felt as powerful as you, perhaps more so.”
Definitely old and powerful. More so than him? Maybe. Where had she come from?
It didn’t matter; he’d destroyed other vampires that were more powerful than him before, he would do so again. This woman may be older and stronger than him—for the life of him he couldn’t figure out how that was possible when he was supposed to be the oldest vampire in existence. One thing was for certain, she didn’t have a bloodlink to strengthen her like Aria strengthened him. This woman had no idea who she was messing with, but she soon would.
Aria’s head tilted back to look up at him. Her rounded cheeks somehow appeared more hollow as she bit on her full bottom lip. The freckles on the bridge of her nose stood out starkly as she gazed at him.
“Braith—”
“It will be okay, love,” he whispered.
She stared at him for a minute more before giving a brisk nod. A small tremor went through her and into him. He lifted his gaze to take in the woman across from him once more. His horse released an uneasy snort, a plume of air coiling up from its nostrils as the sun dipped behind the trees. The woman continued to stare at him as another vampire emerged from between the pines behind her.
If not for his red cloak, the man would have blended in with the snow around him with his white blond hair, pale skin, and eyes so light a blue they were almost white. His bushy white eyebrows nearly touched. He had a prominent roman nose, thin lips, and a rail-thin frame that made him look deceptively frail despite his six-three height and the aura of strength he emitted, though one not nearly as intense as that of the woman he stopped beside. The ruby rings on all the fingers of his right hand cast sparkling red flashes of color across the snow.
“Goran,” William whispered.
William had mentioned this man before, said he might be the false queen’s second-in-command, but Braith had never heard of him, and neither had Xavier despite his extensive knowledge of vampire history and lineage. Braith exchanged a look with Xavier who gave a subtle shake of his head. He still had no idea who either of them were either.