William’s jaw clenched and unclenched, a muscle jumped furiously in his cheek. Please stay quiet, Jack pleaded silently. It wasn’t William that spoke though. “If you mean the girl that grabbed Aria, she’s not in the town anymore,” Max informed him.

Braith’s nostrils flared. “She grabbed Arianna?”

Jack swallowed heavily, he stepped forward, but he had no idea what he was going to do if Braith lost control again. He didn’t even know who Braith would go after first if he did go berserk. He certainly couldn’t stop him, and he would likely be killed in the process if he tried. Max nodded. “Yes, she seemed to know Aria from the palace. I don’t know how…”

Max broke off as Braith rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. The muscles in his forearms and biceps rippled beneath the simple, short brown tunic of the rebel people that he had taken to wearing in the woods. “Was she a blond?” he growled.

Max glanced anxiously at Jack, he nodded in response to Max’s unspoken question. Unfortunately, lying to Braith wasn’t going to help in this situation. “Yes.”

Jack felt a crack, a sizzle of power that shot through the air like a lightning bolt. He’d never experienced anything like it, not even when his father was at his deadliest had he radiated a destructive force as strong as the one that radiated from within Braith. Even the aristocrats took a step back as the hair on Jack’s arms stood on end. He’d known that Braith could destroy their father if it became necessary, but he realized now that he wasn’t entirely certain Braith would survive it. Jack wasn’t sure if Braith would be able to return from the depths he would delve into if he completely lost it and allowed the monster within him to rule.

Jack was completely immobile as Braith became as still as stone. He could feel the impending unraveling in the air but Braith somehow managed to keep himself restrained. Though, Jack suspected that a few more trees would be destroyed when this meeting was over.

“Lauren.” Jack had no idea who that was, but the name appeared to leave a bad taste in Braith’s mouth. “Where is she?”

“She went to the palace with your brother.”

The strange stiffness overtook Braith once more. “We’ll move on the palace tonight.”

“Not tonight,” Jack inserted quickly, half frightened he was going to have his head ripped off. “We require more time to plan, more time to maneuver Braith. Not all of the humans have weapons yet, we’re still working on carving the stones for arrowheads, and we have to gather supplies in order to be better prepared, and trained. Not all of the vampire’s we recruited from the outer villages have arrived. If we go in before we’re fully prepared we’ll lose.”

Jack was trying to ignore the crimson eyes glaring at him from behind those lenses. It was a disconcerting, awful spectacle that left him a little rattled. For the first time he truly realized the cruelty Braith was willing to unleash and inflict for her. Braith was holding onto control because he knew where she was, knew that she was still alive. Although they all suspected what might be happening to her, it wasn’t confirmed, and Braith was certain that he would get her back. If something were to happen to her before then…

There would be no control, and there would be many deaths before Braith was stopped.

Jack realized that he’d been completely wrong; his plan with Aria and Gideon never would have worked. Braith would hunt her to the ends of the earth and back, they never would have been able to get far enough away from the rampage Braith would go on. And when he found her, Jack shuddered at the thought. It wasn’t a side of Braith he ever wanted to encounter. Braith hadn’t killed him when he’d taken Aria before; he wasn’t fool enough to believe he would be so lucky a second time.

That was a problem for another time though. For now they had to keep Braith calm enough to see reason, to wait and organize, and to get them successfully into the palace. To get Aria back from Caleb.

“She’s my daughter.” Though David spoke, Braith’s gaze lingered on Jack before he turned away. To David’s credit he didn’t flinch when those glowing red orbs turned on him, but his eyes did widen slightly. “I want her back as much as you do. I can’t bear to think about what she’s going through, I’ve already imagined every horror known to man when she was in that palace before, and she was lucky that time. From the way you talk about this Caleb…”

He broke off as his voice hitched, his throat worked furiously as he fought back his tears. “She is my daughter, I created her, the circumstances of her life and her family have formed her, and one thing she understands and accepts is sacrifice. She knows that we won’t be coming for her, at least not right away, and she will forgive us for that. She won’t forgive us if we fail because of her.”

“You don’t know Caleb,” Braith grated.

“I don’t, but I know my daughter and she will put the greater good above herself.” Jack glanced at Gideon as he shifted nervously and lowered his head. “She would never forgive us if we rushed in and ruined everything. I want her back as badly as you do, but we will fail if we aren’t prepared. If we lose because we’re careless, what will they do to her after…?” It took a moment for him to regain his composure again. “I know you understand her; it’s why you let her go into that town in the first place. She won’t be caged, and she can’t be broken, no matter what they do to her. We must be organized, and fully equipped, if we’re going to have any hope of getting her back alive.”

Braith remained still for a moment, then faster than the human eye could see he picked up the table and heaved it. The heavy slab of oak flew through the air before shattering against a tree across the clearing. Daniel and William jumped back as papers and debris scattered about their feet. David closed his eyes as his head bowed. He had stated his opinion, but he’d still hoped that Braith might choose the course of action they all knew to be wrong.

“Get the supplies and make sure those vampires are here soon!” Braith snarled before he disappeared into the woods.

Chapter 2

Jack nervously glanced at the aristocrats gathered near the woods with Frank to the side of them. Their eyebrows were raised questioningly as they watched Braith fade into the woods with Xavier trailing behind. Jack didn’t know what the strange vamp expected to learn or see with Braith right now, but he thought Xavier may be the bravest of them all. He wasn’t going anywhere near his brother again for a while.

Gideon opened his mouth to spin some tale but closed it and threw his hands in the air. “Oh, what does it matter anymore?” He turned away from them and walked over to join Jack. “Cat’s pretty much out of the bag anyway.”

“The cat shredded that bag,” Jack muttered in return.

“He cares for the girl more than you let on.” Jack met Calista’s dark eyes but didn’t speak. As the oldest amongst the group of aristocrats surrounding her, she would speak for them. “How deep is their bond?”

“They are close,” Jack hedged.

Calista lifted a sleek eyebrow, her hands folded before her. In the dim glow of the moon her dark skin gleamed. “There are many that will not accept her, not as a human.”

“Braith is aware of that fact, as is the girl.” Jack ignored the startled looks from her father and Max. Daniel and William remained unspoken and expressionless.

“This information would have been useful before we agreed to join in this endeavor; before we threw our support behind a leader who is volatile, and attached to a human.”

Apprehension trickled through Jack, they couldn’t back out now. “The girl has agreed to leave when this is over,” Gideon inserted forcefully.

The aristocrats pondered this revelation as David and Max absorbed it. “Go where?” David demanded as he broke the heavy hush.

“She realizes that as a human, she will not be accepted as our queen, and she is also aware that most humans do not survive the change,” Gideon continued as if David hadn’t spoke.

“It doesn’t seem as if Braith would agree to let her go,” Calista said.

“As he has just proven, Braith will put the greater good, and our needs above his own. He may not like it, but he has agreed that it’s what must be done. He has chosen to lead us over his desire to rescue the girl, and the girl has also chosen the greater good over him.”

Jack winced at Gideon’s blunt words; he sometimes forgot what a cold bastard Gideon could be. The aristocrats turned to each other and began to talk in hushed whispers as Frank edged closer to Daniel and William. Jack’s hands twitched, it took all he had not to look at Gideon, not to reveal that what Gideon had just said was a blatant lie. He had a feeling Gideon knew that too, he had to after everything that had just happened.

“You knew about this?” David hissed at his sons.

“Yes.” William didn’t back down from the glare his father shot him. “I planned to go with her.”

“And when were you going to let me know about it?”

“We haven’t exactly had much of a chance to talk in private.”

The aristocrats split apart, their gazes focused on Gideon as they studied him keenly. “We have made it this far, we will see this through. But only if we have your word that the girl will leave after this is over,” Calista stated. “Or your word that she will not remain human if she chooses to stay and become queen.”

Jack didn’t look at the humans; he was terrified of what their reactions would be to this statement. Stay quiet, he pleaded, knowing that Max or William would be the first to erupt. “I agree to those terms,” Gideon murmured.

“It is not your agreement we care about,” Barnaby inserted. “It’s Braith’s. These terms will be met Gideon, one way or another.”

“They will be met,” Gideon assured them.

“How can you be so certain?” Calista demanded.

“I’ve spoken privately with the girl and we’ve arrived at a mutual agreement. She has agreed to forfeit her life, if it becomes necessary to separate them.”

Somehow Jack managed to keep his face impassive after Gideon’s revelation. David wasn’t so quick as his mouth dropped, but it was the stunning lack of surprise surrounding William and Daniel that rattled Jack the most. Jack seized hold of Max’s arm and squeezed forcefully as Max stepped forward. He would shatter the boys arm if it would silence whatever words Max was about to spew. Max’s mouth pursed but he wisely kept quiet.

The aristocrats exchanged another look before nodding. “Make sure this happens as you say Gideon, or we will hold you accountable,” Calista vowed, her eyes momentarily deepening to blood red in color.

Gideon’s face was serene as he nodded his agreement. “That is acceptable.”

“No child of theirs will be acknowledged as an heir if it is born while she is still human.”

“There will not be a child, I can guarantee that much. At least it will not be Braith’s child.”

Jack almost swung his fist into Gideon’s exposed face. It was only the fact that he had to snag William back and throw him at Daniel that stopped him from doing so. His stomach twisted as the implications behind Gideon’s words sank in. It would not be Braith’s child, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t belong to another member of his family. Jack shuddered; he had to forcefully loosen his grip on Max’s arm before he accidentally shattered it.

The proud thrust of Calista’s shoulders highlighted the length of her slender neck and elegant features as she leveled Gideon with an unwavering stare. “You sound awfully certain of that.”

“I am completely certain that it will not be Braith’s child.”

“This will only matter if Caleb doesn’t destroy her first,” Barnaby reminded them.

“Very true,” Saul agreed as he folded his hands into the sleeves of his robe.

“Would be a pity, I rather liked the girl.” Calista shrugged as she rolled her shoulders and stretched her back. “I am hungry now though.” The others nodded their heads in agreement. “Will the three of you be joining us?”

Jack shook his head not at all surprised by their abrupt change in discussion. “Not right now.”

“Suit yourselves.” Calista nodded to the others and they fell into step behind her.

Jack waited till they were out of earshot before he turned on Gideon. “What was that nonsense about an agreement between you and Aria?”

Gideon’s gaze didn’t waver; there wasn’t even a flicker of remorse in his hazel eyes. “Aria came to speak with me; she agreed that their bond was not to develop further. She was also aware of the fact that if we are unable to separate them, it may mean her death.”