Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (21 page)

Chapter 25:

Back and Forth

Prince looked like he hadn’t slept at all and stumbled
about the camp as they packed up. She helped and smiled and treated him exactly
like she did the others.

Throughout the day she returned to her old routine of
running with Kei, who didn’t say a word about her change in behavior. She
laughed and joked with him and when they would occasionally circle back to the
others she did the same with Bo and Prince.

Prince, on the other hand, watched her warily at
first, and then seemed to wilt under her happiness.

For the first time in weeks she felt free, like a
great weight had lifted from her shoulders…and her heart. It gave her hope she
would get over him, knowing she’d be able to survive without him when he left.

She and Kei found a spot to camp for the night and she
ran back to guide the others while he began work on the fire pit.

When she found them she stopped and waited for Bo and
then walked beside him as he rode, pointing out the direction to go.

They talked for a moment of the campsite and then he
paused and looked down at her. "What did you say to Prince?"

She frowned. "Nothing. We came to an
understanding."

"I don’t think he understands," Bo muttered.

She raised her eyebrows, but then looked away and
shrugged.

"He seems very…conflicted," Bo continued.

"I don’t know about what. He made things very
clear. I didn’t say anything that should confuse him."

"He’s been watching you and–"

"I don’t care, Bo," she said wearily. "I’m
done. I’m not playing his games anymore and I’m not going to pretend I’m his
little child to coddle and take care of. I’m not a child. I’ll be his friend. I’ve
been acting like his friend. That’s all he’s getting."

Bo let out a deep sigh and rubbed at his scar. "You’re
right. Forget I said anything."

She nodded and brought up the topic of what they’d
have for dinner. His words bounced around in her head though and she cursed
under her breath.

Once dinner plans were settled she stopped and waited
for Prince to catch up.

"The camp's not far," she told him. He
nodded, but didn’t reply. Letting out an irritated breath, she continued, "It’s
by another small stream. So we can all get cleaned up a bit."

Walking beside his horse silently, she lowered her
head and scowled. Why did he have to make things so difficult?

"I have been thinking," he said.

"That can’t be good." She eased the harsh
words by looking up at him and smiling. Her smile faltered at the look on his
face.

Sunlight shone down on his dark hair. His head bowed,
he stared at his fingers as he fiddled with the reins. Dark brows drew together
as he held his lower lip between his teeth, clearly uncertain.

She turned her attention back to the woods and gave
him time to sort out what he wanted to say. Part of her wanted to run. Whenever
he spoke, it never ended well. He didn’t speak for a long time, so she sucked
in a breath and smiled. "Garen says another two days and we’ll reach the
wardwall, then maybe a day to get to the gates of Rivenward." He nodded
absently, still lost in his own thoughts. "Don’t lose sight of Bo," she
said finally and started jogging ahead.

"Aro, wait!" She stopped and let him catch
up again. "I think," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on the reins. "I
need you, more than I thought." He turned his gaze up to the sky. "I
thought you needed me, but you take care of me as much as I take care of you."

"Glad you noticed," she said wryly. "That’s
what friends do," she added.

With a sigh he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I
think you have always done more for me than I thought. What you do with your
magic, I think you have kept me alive. You have been with me almost since the
slavers took my amulet. When I think back, I should have died long ago, before
you even started giving me the power of Were and Fey."

She shook her head in confusion. "I don’t–"

"It is disturbing, I know. I do not understand
it. Or you."

"That makes two of us."

He smiled weakly. "You are the only woman I have
ever met who made me think so much."

She laughed. "That doesn’t say much for you."

He smiled softly but it died quickly.
"I find myself so often confused when
it comes to you." He pulled the horse to a stop, and she stopped as well. "You
bind me to a pack and you fill me with Fey power. You are changing the very
essence of who I am, and now I find I do not care. You have changed who I am,
what I believe in." He shook his head as she stared up at him in shock.
"That first simple kiss, such an innocent thing,
destroyed me. It tore apart the walls I had built, the rules I have lived by, that
had been bred into me. It sent my thoughts down paths they should never have
gone. Would never have, if not for you.

"I should have ignored it, made nothing of it.
Yet I could not. Something within me will not let the memory go."

Her heart stuttered in her chest as her
mouth worked, trying to find words. Instead she reached out and stroked his
horse’s neck. "What are you saying," she asked quietly, forcing her
words to come out evenly.

With a shake of his head, he sighed. "I
wish I knew."

His words sent the spark of hope rising
within her back into the darkness. "I wish you did, too." Giving the
horse a pat, she set her shoulders and raised her chin to look up at him. He
wasn’t playing games this time, she could easily see that from the tortured
look on his face as his eyes searched hers. For what, she had no idea. "Let’s
get to camp. I’m hungry."

Glancing away, he smiled sadly and nodded.

Men. She would never, ever, understand
them.

* * *

Aro put the few small game animals Garen
and Kei had caught turning the day on the fire while the boys unloaded and
finished setting up camp. It never took them long. They didn’t have much.

Once the animals were roasting she started
digging through the packs, grinning in triumph when she finally found what she was
looking for.

Still smiling, she walked over to where
Prince sat and crouched down next to him.

He looked up at her, his head tilting
sideways curiously at her smile.

"Take off your shirt," she
demanded.

A rare wry smile crossed his lips before he
did as she asked. "A little forward this evening, are we?"

She snorted and moved behind him. "I
wanted to check your back…" Her words trailed off as she stared at his
skin.

He turned his head slightly, trying to look
at her. "I think it is healing well, yes?"

She nodded, her fingers reaching out to
trace a pink line of new skin. "It’s…wither me. You healed so fast." Her
fingers continued to trail across his warm skin. She cleared her throat and
jerked her hand back. "There are a few areas with scabs still. Most of it
is fully healed though." She laughed suddenly, her eyes tracing across his
back. "You have scars, but you don’t."

His brow furrowed. "I should not. Not
from this."

"Yes, but…" She couldn’t stop her
fingers from reaching out again, tracing a claw mark down across his back. "It’s
healed over the old scars, so you can still see the claw marks."

"Ah, I see."

She leaned back, her brows drawing
together. “It wasn’t a Fey.” Spreading her fingers, she rested her hand against
his back. “Turn a bit, so the others can see.”

He did, craning his head trying to look
himself.

“Did you see what attacked you?”

“No.”

Kei walked over and only looked briefly
before he shook his head. “Not Fey,” he agreed as he went back to the horses.

It isn’t Were either, before you ask.

Prince tensed under her hand and she
removed it quickly. No one offered what it could have been. The only other
answer being their new enemy, the Vor.

The silence quickly became uncomfortable. She
shifted and then stood, holding out her hand. "Go get cleaned up in the
stream." She held up her other hand. "I found the needle and thread.
I’ll mend your shirt."

His eyes searched hers until she looked
away. He stood and placed his shirt in her hand. "Thank you," he said
quietly.

She watched him leave, her heart pounding
in her chest. "Rot it all," she whispered. Closing her eyes tightly, she
pushed her feelings back into her fortress, adding extra locks and a chain.

She turned and scowled at the boys when she
found them all staring at her. Finding a spot near the fire so she could keep
an eye on dinner, she sat and put all of her concentration into sewing the
tears with small neat stitches. It was a little chore. Something a friend would
do.

"You two…" Bo started.

"Be quiet," she snapped.

He chuckled.

Kei plopped down next to her, making her
poke her finger. She swatted him, sucked her finger for a moment, and then
decided more blood stains on the shirt wouldn’t be noticed anyway and went back
to sewing.

"Turn the meat for me," she asked
absently.

Kei did and she flashed him a grin.

"It’s good to see you smile again,"
he said softly.

She shrugged. "It feels better, too."
She grinned again. "Not as much work."

"Everything will get sorted out."

"I know. One way or the other."

She sewed as quickly as she could, but
still wasn’t done by the time Prince returned. It was a challenge to keep her
eyes averted from his half naked dripping form. "I’m not done yet, sorry."

"Your turn. It can wait."

With a brief nod, she fled for the stream,
happy the suns descent added more shadows in the trees. The water was shallow,
but she still stripped and scrubbed herself and her clothes.

Once finished, she wrung her clothes out as
much as she could before putting them back on. Sitting around the fire next to
Prince in her underclothes didn’t seem like a good idea. While walking back to
the fire she struggled to finger comb the knots from her hair. At least the
dirt was out of it.

Muted voices made her pause, but she
couldn’t make out who was talking. Drawing nearer, she saw the boys all sitting
around Prince, seeming to be in deep discussion.

Kei turned and smiled but they stopped
whatever they were talking about.

Checking the meat, she cast a glance over
at Prince. Once again, he seemed lost in thought.

Finding the meat done, she handed it out
and then sat next to Kei.
What were you talking about?

You.

She grimaced over at him.
Anything good?

I believe Prince is the most confused Elf
in history.

Wonderful.

I find it amusing,
he admitted.

She laughed out loud, choking on a piece of
meat. The others looked over at her but she just shook her head and regained
control of her mirth.

Her smile died as a beautiful voice entered
her head.

Keep watch tonight. Vor have been sighted.

"What is it?"

She cleared her throat and answered Kei. "Rhee-En.
He said to keep watch tonight. Vor have been sighted."

"Ask him how far west of the
mountains," Prince said.

How close are they?

Close enough. We are tracking two groups
now. Call me if you come across any.

We will. Thank you.

Aro rubbed at her forehead, her appetite
gone.

"Well?"

"They’re close. Rhee-En said they are
tracking two groups of them. We’re to call him if we see any."

"If we see any, calling him will be
the last thing on our minds."

Handing the rest of her meat to Kei, she
wrapped her arms around her legs and stared into the fire. They were almost
there. Why did there have to be monsters?

Aro drew last watch. She grumbled at her
bad luck. She didn’t know how she could possibly sleep.

She curled into a ball by the fire, Kei
sitting close on one side. Someone sat on the other side of her and she turned,
frowning to see it was Prince.

He glanced down at her and gave her a small
smile. "Go to sleep. They will not make it this far east."

Biting her lip, she managed a nod and
turned over again. For once, she wouldn’t argue on having him close.

The sound of whetstone on metal as Prince
sharpened his sword lulled her to sleep.

Chapter 26:

Time

Bo woke her up for her turn at watch. It
actually surprised her that he didn’t pretend to forget just to let her sleep.

Pacing the edge of camp, she rubbed at her
gritty eyes. Though she’d fallen asleep quickly, she hadn’t slept well. The
night had been clear and quiet, until the growls and snarls of wolves in the
distance carried to them. She wished she knew how far away they’d been.

Keeping busy, she checked the low fire and
then sat and cleaned her daggers. She always kept them sharpened, but took the
time to go over each one carefully.

She quickly ran out of things to do and
found herself staring blankly into the flickering flames of the fire. Blinking
rapidly, she looked around the camp, wondering how much time had passed.

With a start, her eyes locked onto Prince.
His blue eyes stared steadily into hers. A shiver ran up her spine and she held
her breath at the intensity in his gaze. How could he affect her so strongly?
He had some strange hold over her heart, constantly stealing it from her just
when she thought she’d managed to get it back and lock it away. She knew he
would never be hers, but her heart didn’t seem to understand how things worked.

He blinked and she tore her gaze away,
turning back to the fire. The flames reminded her of the feelings rushing through
her; hot, wild, intense, burning. If she didn’t control them, she would get
hurt. Closing her eyes, she took a breath to steady herself.

She heard Prince move and glanced over to
see he’d sat up, arms around his raised knees. He watched her still, his head
tilted slightly to one side as if trying to figure her out. Perhaps he felt just
as confused as she did. Her lips twitched at the thought. Would serve him
right.

What are you thinking, Aro?

His voice startled her.
I…nothing
really.
She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, or tried to. They
got stuck in her tangles. She grimaced in irritation.

Do you still have your comb?

I think so.

Go and get it.

She hesitated a moment, but then got up and
dug through her pack. Finding it buried in the bottom, her fingers clutched it
tightly as she walked back, her steps growing slower as she approached.

Prince spread his legs and patted the
ground between them. "Sit."

She did, trying not to sit too stiffly. He
held her hair, starting to comb at the bottom. He’d done her hair before, but
that seemed like so long ago. He worked silently and she began to relax,
keeping her eyes on the fire and trying not to notice how close he was, his
hands in her hair, the way his arms would occasionally brush against her.

All too soon he stopped. "Finished."

She turned and smiled softly, not meeting
his eyes. "Thanks." Carefully, she glanced up at him. "Do you
want me to do yours?"

He didn’t speak, just nodded. She scrambled
up and moved to kneel behind him. His hair flowed softly between her fingers.
It hardly even needed combing. "Your hair is so nice," she murmured.

He chuckled. "It is just hair."

"Well, it doesn’t get tied up in knots
like mine."

"You have beautiful hair."

Smiling a little, she didn’t bother
arguing. She didn’t want to fight with him. Instead she enjoyed the quiet
pleasure of being near him and doing something so…domestic. Pulling the comb
through one last time, she reluctantly sat back. "Done."

He turned around to face her, his back to
the fire. "Thank you." Tilting his head, he looked into her eyes and
smiled. "This is better."

Her brows drew together in confusion. "Better?"

"You have been acting strange."

She sighed and looked down at the comb in
her hand.

"Talk to me, Aro. Please."

"I just…I’ve been trying to keep our
friendship. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to fight with you. I don’t
want you to be angry with me when you go. To have your last memories of me
being like that."

When he didn’t say anything she glanced up.
"You have to talk, too," she whispered.

"I dislike our fighting as well."
His lips twisted into a grimace. "It has been difficult for me to
understand your feelings." He took a deep breath, and she held hers,
waiting to finally hear what he had been thinking, how he felt. "Before I
left Rivenward, the seer spoke to me, and told me what she saw. She spoke of me
finding a child that I would love with all of my heart. I know that is you.
What she said came to pass."

"What else did she say?"

"Not much that made any sense,"
he said ruefully. "A lot of babbling about choices and how often she saw
the possibility of my death."

"That is…worrisome."

"I didn’t think much of it. She was a
child, barely come into her powers. She didn’t know how to speak of what she
saw."

Aro paused, gathering her thoughts and
wondering if she should speak them at all. "How do you know she didn’t
mean you would fall in love with me? Not just love me as a child?"

He blinked at her in surprise. "I…I…"

Shaking her head, she forced an apologetic
smile. She had to just…stop. She couldn’t force him to love her. "I’m
sorry. Forget I said that." Straightening, she forced a brighter smile. "We’re
friends. We love each other in our own ways. That’s enough."

"What I feel for you…" He paused,
struggling for words, and then reached out and rested his hand over hers. "I
care for you as if you were my own child."

Pain lanced through her, but she nodded. "I
know."

"But…children grow up. You have grown
up. I…I am conflicted about that. I…" He shook his head, at a loss for
words. "I think of you sometimes," he whispered, not looking at her. "And
it is…" He shook his head again and pulled his hand away from hers. "I
am sorry. When it comes to you, there are times I cannot make sense of my
thoughts."

"I understand," she said, even
though she didn’t. She just didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

"We do not fall in love easily,
Arowyn. For us, it is something that occurs over a very long time."

Clearing her throat, she wrinkled her nose
and looked up through the branches at the fading stars. It didn’t escape her
notice they didn’t have a very long time. She didn’t. She was human, not an
immortal. "So, did the seer girl say anything about fighting the Vor?"

His sad smile returned, letting her know he
was quite aware she changed the subject. "No. But that does not mean we
will not. Aro–"

"Time to get everyone up, I think."
Jumping to her feet, she turned, tucking her hair behind her ears when it fell
into her face. How long had it been since she’d brushed her hair?

"If the one she loves will return it,
then she will give him time. If he does not, then time will go on."

Aro jerked around, hand going to the dagger
at her side. "Kei?"

He stood by the fire, staring down into the
flames. She couldn’t tell if they glowed a faint yellow or if it was just the
reflection of the fire in them.

"Kei?"

Prince stood and stepped up next to her. "Kei,"
he said sharply.

The Fey started. His brow furrowed as he
looked up at them.

She rushed around the fire, panic stealing
her breath away. "What’s wrong? Why did you say that?"

"Say what?"

"You said… I don’t know. Something
about time." She looked over at Prince. "Did you hear?"

From his intense stare she assumed so, but
he didn’t answer.

Kei shook his head in confusion. "I
don’t…" He looked down at her, his eyes wide and panicked. "I don’t
know." He glanced over at Prince.
Talk later.

Biting her lip, she looked down and took
his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "Let’s get Bo up. We should get
moving."

Prince remained silent for a moment, his
gaze still riveted on Kei. Finally he turned, heading for the packs.
He
spoke prophecy, Arowyn.

I know. But where did he hear it?

His grandmother was a seer. He may be as
well.

She bit her lip. The way things tended to
go, it shouldn’t surprise her Kei might be a seer. But it did, and it worried
her too.

* * *

"Ride with me."

Aro shook her head as Prince mounted. "Not
now." She glanced over at Kei. "Later."

His gaze followed hers and he nodded. "Very
well. But we must stick close together today."

As he and Bo rode toward the treeline she
chased after Kei as he darted into the trees.

Stay close,
Garen said, following the horses.

We’ll be back soon.

It wasn’t hard to catch up with Kei, but he
didn’t stop when she did reach him. She followed, matching his pace, trying to
stay as close to him as possible. Finally she reached out and grabbed his arm,
pulling him to a stop.

His hair stood up wildly as always, but it was
the wildness in his eyes that made her pull him close and wrap him in her arms.
"Talk to me."

Fingers gripped her tightly as his head
pressed into her neck. A shudder ran through him and then he pulled back.

Her arms held him fast, not letting him go
far. "Kei, I’m here."

With a sigh he gave in, relaxing in her
arms and touching his forehead to hers for a moment. "What’s happening to
me?"

"I don’t know," she whispered. "But
I’m here. Tell me what’s wrong."

"I have strange thoughts in my head.
Now I’m speaking them. They don’t make sense."

Worry knotted her stomach. She forced
herself to stay calm and not let her feelings show. "For how long?"

He shook his head. "I don’t know. A little
while."

Feeling him begin to tense up again, she
raised her hands to cup his face. "We’ll figure it out. Together."

Closing his eyes, he nodded. "Together."

"So…is it just words? Do you see
anything?"

"Just words. Why?"

"Prince said it sounded like prophecy.
But seers, they see things, right? I think," she said slowly. "What
you’re saying is what was in your mother’s book."

He shook his head, hair falling into his
face. "But I don’t remember ever reading it."

"Could you just not remember?"

"I don’t know." His lips pressed
together in frustration. "Maybe."

She lowered her hands, taking one of his in
her own. "So, let’s walk and think." For a while they walked
silently, heading back toward the others. "The book was important," she
finally said.

"Yes. Mother never let me even touch
it."

"Damon wants it. Is there some magic she
could have used to hide it? In you?"

Kei stopped abruptly. "Bindings."

When he didn’t elaborate she tugged on his
hand impatiently.

"It’s our magic. Bindings. I only know
a few." He ran his fingers through his hair. "She could have."

"Perhaps she wanted you to remember
when you were older."

"Or the magic is fading."

They regarded each other, mulling the ideas
over. They made more sense than him suddenly becoming a seer.

“So?” She knocked shoulders with him. "At
least you aren’t a seer."

He smiled, relief flooding his face. "True."

"Let’s go back."

He didn’t move, pulling her back when she
stepped away. "Thank you," he said softly.

"Always by your side," she
reminded him.

His arms wrapped around her, holding her
tightly for a long moment. "You always make me sane."

She laughed and squeezed him back. "Glad
I’m good for something."