Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (20 page)

"Yes, you would be my pet. I would buy you a
beautiful collar and you could kneel at my feet in court. Would you like that?"

Her fury rose so swiftly she felt like her skin was on
fire. The flames burned through her, a roaring furnace of anger at his
betrayal.

"And when the Elves learn of your special mind
gifts, they will enjoy playing so many games with you. Likely they would
destroy your mind. Perhaps for the best, as life at court, even for pets, is
neither easy or safe."

She barely managed to mute the cry of denial that tore
up her throat. Her fingers clawed into his shoulders and she pushed, throwing
up her hip as she rolled him off of her.

A startled oath rumbled out of him as he hit the
ground. Following her momentum she rolled on top of him and then flung herself
to the side.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

He caught her ankle and jerked her back to him. Her
fury flowed around her, whipping her anger as she fought with him in the dirt
until he finally pinned her beneath him once more.

Pressing his body down against hers, he caught her
wrists and pinned them next to her head. "I can not seem to stop." He
kissed her. "Despite knowing better, I am attracted to you. Lust, desire,
is a powerful thing it seems." He kissed her again and then trailed kisses
along her jaw and down her neck as he spoke. "This power you have given
me, this fury, is not helping. I am so angry with you, for so many reasons. Yet
the worst, is the anger toward myself for wanting you so much." His lips
left her neck as she froze and he raised his head to gaze down at her.

She stared up at him, his words shocking her more than
he could possibly know. They hurt her, more than she expected.

He wanted her.

He wanted her and right now. In this moment, she had
him.

Thoughts of fighting him fled and she raised her head
to tentatively kiss him before dropping back to the ground and waiting. She had
to try.

Their red eyes burned into each other for a long
moment. A slight smile curved his lips and then they descended to hers once
more.

Surrendering to him, she pushed a scattering of
thoughts and doubts aside and simply…felt. The weight of his body over hers.
The pleasure his touch and kiss sent through every part of her. The warmth and
pressure of his lips on hers, the feel of his tongue searching her mouth and
warring with her own. It wasn’t as she’d imagined it would be. Fueled by their
fury, it was rough and wild, but it sent her senses reeling and her heart raced
so quickly she feared it would suddenly stop altogether.

She could feel the power within him, within her. Their
fury mixed and twinned around them both, pulling them closer. She didn’t
understand why it wasn’t pushing her to attack and fight. It seemed to want him
closer, to be pulling them together.

A hand slid down her side and she shivered against
him. Cool fingers slipped under the edge of her shirt and hit her burning skin.
Gasping against his mouth, she arched her back and moaned as his hand slid up
along her side, caressed her ribs and–

He was simply gone, torn from her. Starring up at the
canopy of the trees she gasped in shock before pushing up on her elbows.

She saw the last thing she expected.

Kei had him by the back of the neck, but only for a
moment. Prince twisted away and snarled, swinging at the Fey. As she scrambled
to her feet, Garen sprang forward, snapping at Prince. Bo caught him by
surprise from behind, catching his arms and holding him immobile.

"What are you doing!" Kei’s eyes glowed red
and he lunged toward Prince.

"No!"

Everyone turned toward her and she jerked back under
their angry stares. Her fury rose once more and she crossed her arms in
annoyance.

"What have you done, Aro?" Bo grimaced as
Prince struggled against him.

Her brain struggled for an acceptable answer. "Saved
his life. Again."

Prince threw back his head and laughed. "And I
merely repaid her for it," he said bitterly.

She sucked in a startled breath. His words suddenly
came back to her, all of them. Striding forward, she slammed her palm on his
chest and ripped the fury from him.

His eyes quickly returned to normal. By the time she was
done, he sagged back against Bo.

Stepping closer, she tried to reign in her sudden
anger. "You do not play games with me," she whispered furiously. "Ever."

Raising his head, his beautiful blue eyes laughed into
hers. "Learn not to be played with then, little one."

"You rotting bastard." She pushed him in the
chest. "If you don’t love me, then do not ever kiss me again. Understand?"

"Oh, I do," he snapped. "And you never
give me Fey power again. Understand?"

She growled in response. Kei grabbed her arm, pulling
her back when she moved to spring at Prince.

"Aro?"

"Leave me alone." Fighting to contain the
overwhelming anger and disgust she felt for herself, she turned her back on
them all and fled into the trees.

Chapter 23:

Letting Go

Her whole body trembled in anger as she
walked. It felt as though some violent, living thing tried to burst free from
within her. Clenching her fists and teeth, she focused on staying in control.

Eventually she stopped, dropping to her
knees. Each breath came frantic and quick. Her heart beat just as fast, almost
a roar in her ears.

Prince’s words repeated themselves over and
over in her head. He didn’t love her. She’d only ever be a pet. A pet! She
couldn’t control the anger she felt toward him. Or toward herself for allowing
things to come to this. She should have let things be. She knew how he felt, or
thought she did. Now she had confusion on top of the anger. Now everything
they’d had was ruined.

She couldn’t relax, couldn’t let the power
and the fury go like she had in the past.

It overwhelmed her, consumed her from the
inside. She rocked back and forth, trying and failing to calm down and let the
power go. She wanted to scream, to roar out her fury so it echoed from one end
of the forest to the other. She didn’t. She’d been trained well enough on the
importance of being quiet in unknown territory.

Leaves crackled behind her and she stopped
her rocking. The light step told her it was Kei. He stopped behind her and
crouched down.

"Leave," she whispered, her voice
hoarse as if she truly had been screaming.

A hand touched her shoulder and she jerked
it off.

"Relax. Let it go," he said
quietly.

"I can’t!" She spun on him then,
raising her hands to hit or push him away.

He caught her wrists. She fought against
him, but knew she wouldn’t win. He was faster than her, stronger than her. He was
Fey. She wasn’t.

He jerked her forward, catching her by
surprise. A moment later his arms were around her, holding her close, her head
tucked under his chin.

She tilted her head back but could only see
his neck. "I want to rip your throat out," she whispered. Her words
shocked her, so too did the fact she meant what she said. The additional fury
from Prince certainly made a difference.

"I know."

She lowered her head and clenched her teeth
together. He understood. Of course he did. He was Fey. She wasn’t, but Fey
power currently ran through her.

He held her, tightly yet gently, pressing
his cheek against her hair.

"I asked you not to do this," he
finally said.

"I didn’t take yours, did I?"

"We don’t know what it’s doing to you.
You know that. But you did it again. Four times." His arms tightened
around her. "Why?"

"They reminded me of you. When you were
caught in the fury. Would you have had us kill them? I know it’s not their
fault. I wanted to help them."

He sighed against her hair. "You have
to stop."

"I…I don’t think I’m supposed to."
She paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "When I saw them, the urge to
help them came on so strong. When the last one ran, I had to follow. Something inside
pushed me to do it. I think I’m supposed to do this, Kei. I might not be your
Queen, but I think I’m supposed to help your people."

"Aro…" A low growl of frustration
rumbled from his chest. "You are more important to me."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
and realized her breathing and heart had calmed while Kei held her. The fury
still boiled within her and before it took control again she quickly
concentrated on letting it go.

As it seeped away her body relaxed against
Kei. She hadn’t realized she’d been so rigid against him.

"Better?"

She nodded and shifted in his arms so she
could look up at him.

He frowned, his gaze flicking back and
forth between her eyes.

"What is it? Are they still red?"

"No. There are flecks of gold in them."

Her eyebrows went up. "No there isn’t.
They’re brown."

"There is now."

Her tongue flicked over her teeth as her
hands went to her ears. Everything else seemed normal at least. "Brown was
boring anyway," she muttered. "We should go back."

They stood silently and headed back.

"There’s blood on your hand."

Kei looked down, shrugged, and then wiped
it on the back of his pants.

Her eyes narrowed. She was quite certain it
hadn’t been there before she’d run off. "What did you do?"

"He deserved it."

Her feet planted themselves in the ground. "Kei!"

He stopped and turned to face her, crossing
his arms over his chest. "I didn’t kill him," he muttered.

She gaped at him, not sure what to say.

"He disrespected you. Doing that to
you," he snapped, his voice rising in anger. "You aren’t some whore! You’re
a lady."

"What…but…" She shook her head in
confusion.

"I know," he continued more
quietly. "The fury didn’t help. But he’s an Elf. He should not have
treated you like that."

"I’m not a lady. I never was."

His eyes brightened in renewed anger. "You
are! You’re our lady. My lady. You don’t see yourself like we do. Your
strength. Your loyalty and honesty and beauty. You don’t need a title to be a
lady, Aro."

She shook her head. He didn’t understand. "He
didn’t make me. It’s fine."

"No. It’s not. Did you want it to be
like that? That isn’t courting."

"I wanted him! I want him and I can’t
have him!" She took a deep breath, realizing her voice was getting quite
loud. "For a moment he wanted me. He was mine."

Sorrow crashed down on his face and he took
a step toward her, hands outstretched pleadingly. "Don’t let him do this
to you."

Biting her lip, she shook her head and
looked away. "You don’t understand," she whispered.

"No. I don’t. You deserve to be
treated better than this."

"What am I supposed to do?" She
pleaded with him.

He bridged the distance between them and
wrapped his arms around her. "Let him go."

Somehow, closing her eyes against the tears
actually kept them away. Maybe she’d cried enough over Prince already. Kei was
right. She had to let him go. A few more days and he’d be gone. Maybe it was
enough time for her to salvage their friendship. Anything else…it would never
happen. Not now. Not in this time and place. Not ever.

Chapter 24:

Back for More

She avoided looking at Prince as she joined
the others. Bo and Garen had found the horses like she’d asked, so they were
able to set out immediately.

For a time, she kept to herself and the
others let her be. Space and the shadows of the trees hid how she kept bringing
her fingers to her lips. They were tender to the touch and a little swollen.
He’d kissed her and said such terrible things and kissed her some more. Trying
to understand only made her head ache.

At the sound of a horse drawing close she
jerked her fingers away. Glancing up, she saw with relief it was Bo and not
Prince.

"How are you doing, pup?"

The concerned look on his face made her
force a small smile. "Good enough. I’ve been better. I’ve also been worse."
She shrugged and looked away, pretending to watch her footing.

"You worried us. When we returned with
the horses you were both gone. We called, but you never answered."

"I didn’t hear you." She frowned.
"I don’t know why."

"Be careful, pup. I don’t know what
you did with the Fey. But I know the others are worried. I am, too." He
raised a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "But, I also recall the
prophecy. You don’t believe in it, but perhaps there is some truth to it. You
took their fury. Perhaps this is what you are meant to do and if so, then that
is the way of it. There are some things you can’t fight and some things you shouldn’t.
Healing the Fey is a noble cause and I support you in that."

Blinking up at him in disbelief, she
finally shook her head, not sure what to say. "Thank you," she
eventually managed.

"Now as for you and Prince…" Bo
let out a loud sigh. "I’m sorry, if we overreacted."

Her head jerked up and she looked back at
him in surprise. His words made her think, and after a moment she smiled
softly. "It’s what my brothers would have done, I think."

He chuckled. "Yes, they would have. Or
perhaps something even worse. We know you can take care of yourself, Aro. It’s
just hard sometimes. We want to protect you."

"I know." Thinking of her
brothers made her chest suddenly ache. "After we get Prince home…do you
think…" She stumbled over what to say. "Maybe we could try to find
out what happened?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "I don’t know
if any word will have reached over here, but we can ask around."

"Do you…do you want to go home?"

Looking off into the distance he shook his
head slightly. "I don’t know if there is even a home to go back to."

"True," she said quietly.

"We’ll figure everything out, no
worries."

Straightening her shoulders, she nodded
sharply. "Yes, we will. Together."

"Of course," he agreed.

* * *

She didn’t avoid Prince for the rest of the
day, but she didn’t seek him out either. He kept to himself, following behind
them all on his horse and not speaking a word to anyone.

A few times she thought of speaking to him
through the pack bond, but she couldn’t think of what to say. The idea of
apologizing irritated her. This time, she hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d
kissed
her
after all. She refused to apologize for saving his life.

Most of the day she kept herself occupied
thinking of scenarios. What he might say, how she would reply. However she
didn’t understand how men thought. Even worse, he was royalty and an Elf. Who
knew what might be going through his arrogant skull.

As the afternoon wore on she kept playing
what had happened over and over in her mind. Yet already the details, the exact
feelings, were beginning to fade. She stopped suddenly, as something finally
occurred to her. Blinking rapidly in surprise, a smile slowly formed on her
lips and then she darted through the woods.

Approaching Prince warily, she watched him
closely before trotting up to walk next to his horse. For a few moments she
said nothing, but kept shooting glances at his face. The side facing her showed
a swollen lip and a black eye. She winced. Kei must have hit him more than
once. His face remained a stony mask and her confidence began to fade.

"H-how is your back," she finally
stuttered out.

"Well enough," he answered
stiffly, not looking at her. She chewed her lower lip, trying to pick out her
words. "You just keep coming back for more."

Her head jerked up at his scathing words. "What?"

"Like a puppy that has been kicked.
You just keep coming back, hoping the next time you will get some affection
instead."

Lips trembling, she turned her attention
back to the ground and struggled to remain calm and not say something that
would make things worse. "I…I…"

"I…I…," he mocked. "Go away,
Arowyn. I do not want to deal with you right now."

Her feet planted themselves to the ground.
Staring at them, she clenched her fists and sucked in a number of deep breaths
as his horse walked on. Finally she raised her head. "I just wanted to
thank you," she called out. "I realized, you had me pinned beneath
you. You…you touched me."

The horse stopped.

"But I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t scared
at all. I didn’t even think about them and what they did to me." She
raised her chin, even though he hadn’t turned around. "I wasn’t scared. So…
maybe there is some hope for me. One day I’ll find someone who does want me and
I’ll be able to be with them. Now I know that, so…thank you."

His head turned slightly but she didn’t
wait to hear what horrible words would come from his mouth this time. Her
escape worked, the only thing she heard was him call her name.

* * *

By the time they made camp exhaustion
weighed heavily over her whole body. Dinner wasn’t very good, she being too
tired to put much effort into it. Ignoring Prince, she gave faint smiles to the
others when they fussed over her.

Before settling down to bed she shouldn’t
have been surprised when she turned and bounced off of Prince’s chest. Taking a
startled step back, she frowned up at him. "Sorry, I didn’t see you there."

Clearing his throat, he looked off to the
side. "I would like to speak with you a moment." Her lips pressed
into an angry line as she raised her eyebrows. "If you would walk with me?"
He gestured to his left, off into the trees.

She laughed and shook her head. "No. I
don’t want to hear any more of your rotting comments on how everything is my
fault. You can go and shove–"

"Arowyn, please." Clamping her
lips closed on what else she’d like to say, she shook her head again and
crossed her arms. "Please," he said again.

"Fine," she snapped. "If you
start, I’m gone."

He nodded and held out his hand. She
ignored it and stomped past him. After a while she stopped in a slightly open
area where at least some moonlight shone down and spun to face him.

Uncertainly crossed his face for a moment
before it disappeared and he frowned.

"Well? I’m tired. What do you want to
say?"

"You seem to have a strange affinity
for magic."

She raised her eyebrows, trying to decide
if she should be offended or not.

"It concerns me, that you took the
Fey’s power and fury."

"Bo thinks that is what the prophecy
meant. How I’d help them."

"You are human, Arowyn."

"I am?"

He frowned and shook his head in annoyance.
"Just, please be careful. You were…a bit out of control."

"So were you," she muttered.

"Yes, and on to that…"

She winced.

"I would like to ask," he
stressed, "that you not do such a thing again. I am almost home, having
magic of Were or Fey on me will not go unnoticed and would prove…troublesome."

"Then don’t almost die anymore."

"You do not understand the
implications–"

"No," she snapped loudly. "You
don’t seem to understand I prefer you being furious with me, or never speaking
to me again, to being dead."

His entire body jerked in surprise.

"Rot," she muttered in
exasperation. "Have you ever actually been
in
love, Prince? Because
you don’t seem to understand my feelings for you, or why I act the way I do."

With a grimace he looked away. "I
have…not," he said quietly.

Her shock actually kept her silent.

He shifted uncomfortable. "I love my
family, though I know that is not what you mean. Other women…I have desired
some, but there has never been one I would even consider spending forever with."
He raised his eyes to hers. "Do you see the difference between us? You do not
have to consider forever, your lives are so short. We do, and forever is a very
long time. It can take Elves centuries to find a mate, some never do."

She cleared her throat, but couldn’t meet
his eyes. "Well, I hope you find yours one day."

"You have distracted me," he said
after a moment of awkward silence. "Please, no more magic. I do not want
it."

Anger bubbled up inside of her. He didn’t
seem to understand.
"Magic is magic!
Stupid elf, have you thought how this could make you stronger?"

"Once I am home, I will be strong
enough. I do not need your help. I do not want it." Throwing up her hands,
she turned away in frustration. "I am not finished, please." She
turned back, pressing her lips together to keep from snapping at him.

"I would," he hesitated a moment,
his brows drawing together. "I apologize, for all that I said earlier. You
are not deserving of it. I was…confused. And angry. The fury, I believe,
reacted strangely within me." He looked off to the side. "I have
never felt such intense emotion before."

"Are you going to apologize for
kissing me now?"

His head snapped around to look at her, yet
he didn’t say a word.

"I don’t want you to. So don’t."

With a sigh, he shook his head. "Arowyn,
child–"

She held up a hand, silencing him. "Do
not, ever, call me a child again." Before he could respond, she turned
angrily on her heel and headed back to camp.

Kei settled down next to her as they
readied for sleep. Prince kept his distance. Upon his return he’d sat and
stared vacantly into the fire, ignoring everyone.

She turned to face Kei and raised her hand.
Taking it in his own, his golden eyes searched hers. Closing her eyes, she gave
his hand a squeeze.

I’m fine,
she told him.

Are you sure?

Yes. He doesn’t even know what love is.

I’m sorry.
His hand squeezed hers again.

Don’t be. I’m done.

She had trouble falling asleep. Despite her desire to
let everything go, she couldn’t stop thinking about Prince. As she tossed and
turned and spent forever staring up through tree branches she finally squeezed
her eyes closed and concentrated. Once, she’d locked her love for Prince away,
trying to hide it from him, from everyone, from herself. She did so again,
cutting it away and forcing into the deepest part of her fortress. It hurt, oh,
how it hurt. She locked the pain away as well.

Finally she was able to sleep. Her dreams were full of
blood and death instead of him.

Everything had returned to normal.