Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (11 page)

Chapter 11:

Uninvited
Guests

The boys returned to the fire and she heard someone
moving about cooking. She hoped they’d put some clothes on. Since she wasn’t
invited to turn around again, she doubted it. Men were impossible.

She talked about nothing with Garen for a while until
a plate of food suddenly appeared over her shoulder.

"Thanks," she managed. Not looking. Not
looking. "You boys almost dried off yet?"

"Soon, pup," Bo answered with a chuckle.

She picked at her food. Though the nausea had finally
settled, she feared it would return. She hated being sick to her stomach and
preferred to avoid it. Eating slowly helped to pass the time as well. Once she
did finally finish, long after everyone else, she set her plate to the side.

"The leathers are mostly dry," Kei called.

Waiting patiently, she listened to the sounds of
leather pants being slipped on. Garen chuckled in her mind, watching her
flaming cheeks. "You’re not helping," she muttered.

His ears flicked back and forth.
It is safe now.

"Finally! You all decent?" She wasn’t sure she
wanted to trust the Were. Hearing assent from them all, she turned and wiggled
closer to the fire.

Prince sat next to her spot, watching her carefully.

She stared back at him, watching the firelight flicker
across his face. "What is it?" She ran a hand over her chin. "Do
I have food on my face?"

He smiled faintly and looked away. "No."

Pain lanced through her head and she closed her eyes.
Her stomach rolled and she clenched her teeth, taking shallow, even breaths. She
shouldn’t have eaten so much.

Kei settled down next to her on the other side. "Head
still hurt?"

"Yes," she grumbled. "I think I ate too
much, too."

"You should get some sleep."

"No. She shouldn’t sleep," Prince snapped.

They all looked over at him, surprised at the
vehemence in his voice.

"Why shouldn’t I sleep?"

"You hit your head very hard."

"She’s in pain. Rest will help," Kei said.

"What do you know? No. She might not wake up
again if she does."

Her eyes widened. "I might not wake up?"

"You’re scaring her!"

"I’m trying to protect her! What will you do if she
goes to sleep and won’t wake? Bind her again?"

Bind her?

The fighting stopped abruptly at Garen’s question.

Prince sighed and shook his head. "Kei and Aro
are bound together with one of the Fey bindings."

Garen looked from Prince to Kei and back again.
She
is human. It’s not done. Why would you allow this?

"She was sick. It was the only way to save her.
We’d already lost Avery and…" Prince pressed his lips together angrily. "Kei
offered. It was the only way to save her."

Aro stared worriedly at Prince. Did he realize he was
repeating himself? Was he trying to convince Garen or himself?

Garen turned his gaze to her and Kei.
That explains
much. Do you know what you’ve done?

"Yes, and I’d do it again," Kei answered
firmly.

I don’t think we should mention that was the second
time,
she said only to Kei.

His faint smile was slightly pained.
No. I told you
no one would understand.
His fingers found hers and curled around them.

I do. That’s enough.

Yes. It is.

"Can I sleep or not? I’m exhausted and my head is
killing me."

"If we check on her often, that should do,"
Bo said into the silence. "She’ll have to sleep sometime."

Prince relented and she thankfully drifted off quickly
into a deep sleep. It seemed like someone woke her constantly. They’d make her
speak for a moment and then, apparently satisfied she still had her wits about
her, would let her sleep again.

The next day the storm continued and she spent most of
it sleeping, waking up fully only a few times to dress, eat and do the
necessary.

The absence of sound woke her. Staring up at the
ceiling of the cave, she listened carefully as her mind struggled to wake up.
The storm had stopped raging. Yes, that was it. She could hear dripping, but
the wind had calmed as well. The fire crackled. One of the horses shifted.
Panic tickled up her spine for a moment until she felt the warmth of a body to
either side of her. They hadn’t left her alone. From across the fire, Bo let
out a loud snore.

Rolling carefully onto her stomach, she looked out the
cave mouth. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her blurry vision. It
wasn’t dark out, but the sky remained grey. Perhaps the boys had decided to get
rest while they could, or boredom had gotten the better of them.

The pain in her head hadn’t gone away. Gingerly she
reached up and touched where she’d hit. Her fingers found a huge raised lump.
No wonder her head hurt so much. Wine or ale certainly started to sound good. She’d
rarely been allowed to drink much, but she knew it could dull pain good enough.

The clattering of rocks outside caught her attention
and she turned toward the cave mouth again. A giant wolf bounded inside.

Garen?

Another followed, and then another. Either that or she
was seeing double…triple. No, there was another.

"Wither me."

The Were had found them.

She hunched back into the furs as they lined up in
front of her, hackles raised and teeth bared. Fear froze her in spot. All she
could do was stare at the horrifying scene before her.

Garen bounded over her, landing lightly before her,
facing the other Were. Kei and Prince scrambled out of the furs to either side
of her, instantly alert and grabbing weapons.

She sat up, furs sliding off her shoulders, and
immediately fell to the side. Catching herself on her forearm she grunted in
surprise. Apparently her balance was still off.

Using her arms, she pulled herself around and saw her
weapons by her feet. With a push, she got closer and reached, but her hands
couldn’t find what her eyes saw. With a curse, she tried to pull herself
forward.

"Aro!"

She turned her head to see Kei glaring at her.

"Stay back."

Shaking her head sent a lance of pain through her
brain and she groaned, lowering her head to her arms. This wasn’t happening.
They needed her!

If the Were spoke she didn’t hear them. If the boys
spoke through their pack bond she didn’t hear that either. The thought choked
the breath out of her and she forced her head up to look over at them all
again. Searching her mind, she couldn’t find the link. What was going on? A
whimper slipped through her lips. Why was it gone? She needed it! How would she
talk to Garen?

Everything blurred and she blinked her eyes
frantically. They had started fighting, the cave filling with echoing shouts
and growls. The horses panicked. Their terrified whinnies and the clacks of their
prancing hooves on the stone added to the clamor.

The chaos of sound sent painful vibrations through her
head. Squeezing her eyes closed, she gritted her teeth. Sweat beaded on her
forehead and trickled down her back. Someone shouted in pain.

She needed to get up. She needed to help them.

"Rot it all," she muttered and tried to push
herself up again. Her arms refused to work and she flopped back down onto her
stomach.

The noise of snarls, snapping teeth and claws on stone
and metal overwhelmed her senses. She made it up onto her forearms and looked
up again…right into a snarling face. The Were stood so close she could feel
each breath on her skin.

Eyes widening in terror, she could only stare at the
massive teeth dripping spittle onto the stone.

As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. With a blink
of surprise she watched it fly to the side and crash into a wall, Kei, in full
fury, attached to its side.

Prince dropped down beside her. "Get up, Aro."
He yanked the fur still over her legs off in one swift motion and then held out
his hand.

She reached for it, or tried to. Her arms and eyes
still didn’t seem to agree. Embarrassment heated her cheeks and she glanced up
at Prince. "I…I…can’t seem to…"

He stared at her, his eyes widening in shock. With a
slight shake of his head, his brows drew down in worry as he tried to catch her
flailing hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but before words left his lips one
of the Were let out an ear piercing howl.

Aro gasped as the sound blasted through her head. Her
body jerked and–

She opened her eyes, surprised to find herself in
Prince’s arms, her body across his lap. The taste of blood filled her mouth.
Blinking she turned her head. Everyone still fought.

"Waz hap?" What happened? But those words
hadn’t come out of her mouth. Her eyes grew wide in horror and fear.

"You had a seizure." Prince choked and held
her tightly, rocking her gently back and forth. "I am sorry. I am so sorry.
Please forgive me. Forgive me."

She didn’t understand. "Rince?" Her lips
trembled and she blinked as he became blurry and then back into focus.

"I am sorry." He continued his quiet litany,
bowing his head over her.

She remembered then, he thought her injury was his
fault. Somehow she managed to raise her hand. Grasping wildly, it found one of
his. He looked down at it as she squeezed it tightly and drew it up to her
chest. She tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault but the sounds that came out
made no sense.

A tear slipped down his cheek as he shook his head.
His whole body trembled. "Arowyn, Arowyn…"

Pain of a different kind overcame her. Her sight
blurred again, this time from tears. She tried to raise her hand to wipe his
tears away. She’d broken her prince.

A blast of wind wiped through the cave. The ground
rumbled beneath them. Dirt and small rocks fell from the ceiling. Prince
quickly bent over her, shielding her from them.

Turning her head, she watched a monstrous head enter
the cave and let out a bellowing roar. The fighting stopped, the force of the
sound sending everyone scattering to the cave sides.

Prince gripped her tighter as she stared. She knew that
head, that roar. "’aym! N-n-n. D-d-d…" It was impossible.

"Damon," Prince whispered.

She blinked, amazed he’d understood her. Yet he wasn’t
looking at her, he watched the dragon. Perhaps he knew what Damon looked like
in dragon form, too.

The head retreated. Damon walked into the cave a
moment later, looking extremely displeased. The Were backed away, coming
together near the cave entrance, but not leaving.

She watched them closely. Whatever was being said, she
couldn’t hear it. Until it was gone, she hadn’t realized how much she would
miss the mind speech.

The Were apparently dealt with, he regarded the rest
of them. Again, if more was said she couldn’t hear it. When his eyes found her she
felt nothing. His brows drew together. A laugh almost twisted her lips. Had she
entirely lost her mind? Was there nothing there for him to find and invade? He
took a step toward her and the others sprang into action.

They didn’t attack…they ran to her side, taking up
positions around her and Prince.

She held out her free arm, grimacing as it flopped in
the air. "K-k…" Though she could barely make the first sound of his
name, her eyes found him and pulled him to her. Kei took her hand and crouched
by her head, his arm reaching around her shoulder.

"I’m here," he whispered.

For some reason his voice brought a strange calm and
her rising panic began to subside.

Damon knelt before them.

"Will she get better? Will she…" Prince’s
voice trailed off.

Her eyes locked on Damon’s face as he regarded her
thoughtfully. His hand came up and she flinched as it rested on the top of her
head. No pain came. She felt…nothing. If he tried to speak to her, she couldn’t
hear him.

"No," he said finally. "There has been
damage to the brain. There is bleeding and swelling inside."

Prince’s cry startled her, almost as much as the
sudden clutching of his arms around her. "Can you do anything," he
choked out. "Please, I am responsible. I cannot…I will pay–"

Damon chuckled. "It is not your life that needs
saving." He stared at Prince for a long moment. "I see." He
shook his head. "Perhaps I was wrong and she isn’t the one. I read so few
pages of the book." He turned to Kei.

"No," the Fey said. "I don’t remember."

"Pity."

"Dragos, I beg of you," Prince began again.

"The Elven prince begs, and for a human. How very
far you have fallen." He looked down at her again.