Vengeance (The Captive #6)(2)
The woods and caves outside of the palace, that had always been his home, were different now. They were familiar and foreign all at the same time. Places he’d always known and spent so much time in, were far more elaborate than he’d ever realized. He’d become more accustomed to it, but it felt weird trying to adjust to a world that had always been one way, but wasn’t anymore.
It had been worse in the palace; a place he wasn’t familiar with at all. He felt like a fish out of water when inside it. He didn’t know how Aria handled all the people and the walls; the confinement had been the worst part of it all. There was no way to escape when they were constantly pressing against him and keeping him penned in. After a month inside of the palace, he’d moved back to the woods, unable to take the feeling of imprisonment anymore.
He knew it wasn’t the palace, or the walls he couldn’t take, it was the resentment festering within him he couldn’t escape. His newly acquired vampire strength hadn’t been the only reason he’d been destroying bows, boards, and pretty much anything he could get his hands on for the first three months. It was the rage he felt inside that caused him to destroy things around him whenever he recalled his last moments on earth as a human.
His fangs pricked and slid free at the memory of being stabbed through the back. He poked at the edges of them with his tongue, took a deep breath he didn’t need anymore, but sometimes he still fell back into the habit. He forced himself to rein his pointed canines back in.
Aria grabbed hold of her hood and pulled it over her head. The cool air brushed over his face and hands, but he didn’t feel it as acutely as he had when he’d been human. His fingers didn’t tingle; he could still feel his nose, and though his toes were cold, they didn’t hurt when he curled them within his boots.
Walking toward the deer, he pressed his foot against its chest and pulled the arrow free. Daniel and Max emerged from the trees. Years of living and hiding from vampires within the forest had made them exceptionally silent and agile for humans. He barely heard their footfalls on the snow as they walked toward where William stood. Amongst the trees, he spotted Xavier, Aria’s bodyguard and friend, keeping watch.
“Good-sized deer,” Daniel commented.
“Hannah will be happy with it,” Max said.
“She will,” William agreed.
He bent down, lifted the stag, and easily slung it around his shoulders. They’d all recently returned to Chippman to join Jack and Hannah for their upcoming marriage. Everyone else had come for the wedding; he’d come with the purpose of starting his search for Kane.
He’d waited enough time to begin his hunt for Kane, and he’d gotten good enough with a bow and arrow again, better than he’d ever been as a human and certainly faster. As an older vampire, Kane was stronger than he was, but he’d spent the past five months preparing to take on the man who had killed him.
He ran every day, had learned more hand-to-hand combat moves and practiced with his bow and arrows three hours a day. He’d also improved his knife and stake throwing skills considerably. After Aria had been locked within the dungeon of the palace, he’d begun to teach himself how to pick locks. It was something he’d practiced far more often over these past months. He refused not to be prepared for every instance that could come up while on his hunt.
The crossbow he always wore tied to his waist bounced reassuringly against his thigh, as he walked back through the woods with the others. The bolts were strapped to his waist opposite the crossbow. He may not be able to breathe fresh air anymore, but the woods were where he belonged, and he relished the clean air brushing over his face. The snow crunched beneath his feet and slid midway up his fur-lined boots. The subtle breeze carried with it the scent of the nearby lake, ice, and burning wood from the chimneys within the town.
“How do you stand spending so much time inside of that palace?” he asked Aria.
She glanced at him, her dark eyebrows arching up. “Because I have to.” He stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate as they continued through the snow-covered forest. “I can do good there, I am doing good there, and Braith gets me out often enough that I don’t go insane.” The smile at the mention of her husband made William roll his eyes. “We’re not people who do well inside.”
He shifted his hold on the stag. “We’re uncivilized.”
Aria laughed and Daniel snorted. “Speak for yourself,” his older brother said as he ran a hand through his wheat blond hair. His blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the trees. “I actually like it in the palace.”
“You like the artwork,” Max replied.
“I do,” Daniel confirmed. “There’s so much of it, who wouldn’t love it all?”
“Me,” William murmured.
Aria pushed against his arm. “You’re such a cranky vampire.” William shot her a disgruntled look. “You don’t have to live there, but you better visit us, often.”
She tried to hide it, but he heard the uneasiness in her voice. Grabbing the deer’s legs, he balanced it on his shoulders as he squeezed her arm. “All the time.”
She gave him a half-hearted smile but her crystalline blue eyes remained troubled. He released her arm and let his own fall back to his side. The small town of Chippman came into view as they emerged from the woods. His eyes went to the freshly rebuilt tavern Hannah owned with her family. They’d finished the construction on the tavern and reopened it before he’d decided to return to the palace.