Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (27 page)

Chapter 33:

Fury of Five

"How could you do that to me!" Kei barely stopped
her as she tried to fling herself off the bed. His hands caught her shoulders
as he twisted and shoved, pushing her back onto the bed.

She spit curses, snarling and fighting beneath him.
The fury of the Fey reared up within her, demanding battle, death.

"Arowyn," Prince began, his voice slightly
strangled.

"Out!" Kei struggled to hold her down as she
fought furiously against him. His head turned slightly and he jerked it toward
the open door. "I can handle this. Out!"

A screech of frustration and anger sprang out of her,
drowning out whatever the others said. They left though, and quickly, the door
banging closed behind them.

"Let me go!"

"Easy, Aro," Kei whispered, his voice
frighteningly calm.

With a surge of strength, she bucked and pushed,
throwing him off of her. As he stumbled back against the wall she sprang to her
feet on the bed and crouched, one hand out to steady her on the soft surface.

Kei raised his hands defensively. "You have the
fury of five Fey in you."

"I know," she snapped. She did know. She
knew this wasn’t her, but she couldn’t control it. The knowledge further fed
the fury within her.

The desire to fight trembled through her. She shifted,
ready to spring even though she knew it wasn’t Kei she wanted to fight. Her
enemy was the Vor, yet there were none here.

Kei gestured to her. "Come."

With such an invitation she couldn’t resist. Her
muscles bunched and then propelled her forward, off the bed and onto him. Her
wild launch sent his back crashing into the wall.

The breath whooshed out of him and he…chuckled.

The strange reaction froze her for a moment as her
eyes shot to his face in confusion.

He took advantage of her surprise to wrap his arms
around her, pinning her upper arms and holding her tightly to his chest. A hand
cupped the back of her head, pushing it down into the curve of his neck.

His strength amazed her, yet she fought against it,
kicking and twisting, striking him as she could with the limited use of her
hands.

"My vicious one," he murmured into her hair.

She lifted her head, and found herself face to face
with him. His nose brushed hers, but she could only stare at the lips a mere
breath away from her own. Their ragged breathes mingled. For a moment they both
became perfectly still.

Her eyes flicked up to his and she sucked in a sharp
breath to find them no longer golden, but glowing faintly yellow.

A low, sultry growl rumbled from his chest.

Red eyes narrowing, she growled in return.

His growing fury swirled with hers, pulling her
tighter to him, joining them together. Something else abruptly pulled at her.
For a moment she sensed it and understood the forces wrapping tighter and
tighter around them. Their bindings.

With a heart wrenching cry she turned her head away,
struggling against his hold. When her head nearly collided with his, he once
again pressed it to his shoulder.

Fighting harder produced only a few growls now and
then from him. He continued to hold her, firmly, as if he’d never let her go. She
found it hard to breath, both from his tight embrace and her face being pressed
into his neck.

Slowly, the fight bled out of her. The fury retreated,
giving her back control.

Trembling against him, she relaxed into his arms,
letting out a tired and relieved sigh. How did he have the power to calm her
madness? She didn’t know, didn’t care really. Perhaps it was their bindings.
Perhaps it was just him.

Turning his head slightly, he pressed a kiss to her
hair and relaxed his hold. His hands stroked down her hair and back.

"Let it go."

Keeping her eyes closed, she concentrated on being
calm, on being safe. She didn’t need to fight. The fury could go. Slowly, the
red and black swirls of furious flame dissipated within her.

"We need to work on that," she said quietly.
"I can’t keep losing control of it."

He nodded against her hair. "I know. We will.
Together."

"Together," she whispered back. A breath
shuddered out of her. "What was…I felt…" Her voice trailed off. She
didn’t know how to describe the strange feelings or the even stranger magical
pulls she’d just experienced.

He took a moment to reply. "Us."

She didn’t understand, but didn’t have the energy to
question him further.

His hold on her shifted. "Come, you should rest
now."

Leaning back, she looked up at his tired face. "Thank
you, Kei."

His sudden smile brightened the entire room. "You’re
still with me. Thank
you
."

The door opened and she turned, smiling to see it full
of her boys. Seeing her no longer in a fury, they piled into the room. It
wasn’t until Bo held out an oversized shirt she realized she stood around in
her underclothes. Slipping it on quickly, she paused only a moment to look at
the scar on her side. The part curving up by her ribs was fairly thin. However
the strip from her side to almost her belly button was thick and mangled. It
reminded her of Prince’s back. No, it looked worse.

A small smile tugged at her lips. Her first battle
scar from the Vor. She realized then she truly did plan to help the Fey, to
heal and fight alongside them.

Weariness built as she hugged everyone and they all
spoke excitedly about her being healed. Kei quickly changed the sheet on the
bed again as she got passed around.

"Aro needs to rest," he finally said.

Before she could do anything, Prince stepped forward
and scooped her up into his arms. She squeaked in alarm, her eyes wide as she
looked up at him. "I can walk."

"Yes, you can. But I want to carry you."

She didn’t know what to say to that. Instead she
returned goodbyes to the others as they left once again. From the few irritated
looks at Prince, she thought he must have mind spoke to them. Sometimes she
forgot she didn’t always hear every conversation going on around her.

Prince set her down gently, spread a sheet over her,
and tucked her in.

"You should get some sleep, too."

Pulling a chair over, he shrugged one shoulder. "I
will."

"Thank you," she said after a moment of
awkward silence.

He winced and wouldn’t look at her. "I am sorry, that
it caused you such pain."

"But I’m alive."

"I would have taken your pain for you, if I could
have."

"I know," she answered truthfully. "Right
now, I’m just trying to forget it." She grinned. "Us mortals have a
wonderfully bad memory for some things, like pain."

"I hope you do," he answered quietly, still
refusing to look at her face.

She bit her lower lip, uncertainty rising within her.
Had she done something wrong? Maybe she’d said something bad she didn’t
remember?

He stood suddenly, startling her. "Get some rest."

Before she could answer, he strode to the door and
left.

Confused and hurt, she stared at the door, wondering
what she’d done.

A thump on the windowsill above her startled her
again. Tilting her head back, she saw Kei perched on the sill.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for him to leave." He sprang down
to the side, landing beside the bed. "I thought you might have trouble
sleeping." He made shooing motions at her. "Move over."

"Then why did you leave," she grumbled,
turning on her side and wiggling as close to the edge of the bed as she could.

"Prince wanted to talk to you." He climbed
in and curled up to face her. The bed was small and his knees pressed against
hers. Taking her hands in his, he gave them a tight squeeze.

"He didn’t say much. He wouldn’t even look at me."

Kei sighed. "Don’t worry, Aro. You didn’t do
anything. You almost dying broke him apart. He thinks too much."

Sadness made her breath catch and she lowered her
eyes. She never wanted to hurt any of them.

Kei leaned his head forward and thumped his forehead
against hers. "Guess what."

She raised her eyes to look at him, a smile turning
her lips at his playful mood. It was hard to be upset when he acted so very
happy.

"Our eyes match now."

She blinked rapidly. "They do?" Maybe that was
why Prince looked so upset.

He nodded and grinned again, clearly pleased.

"I didn’t grow claws or teeth did I? Are my ears
pointy?"

He laughed and grinned again. "Not yet."

"Kei!"

"Sleep now," Kei said softly, yet a smile
still lighting his face. "I’ll watch over you."

With a huff she closed her eyes. Even as she drifted
quickly to sleep, a smile still softly rested on her face.

* * *

"How are you feeling, pup?"

When she’d awoke Kei had gone, but Bo and Garen were
back. Sitting up, she yawned into the back of her hand. "Not awake. Stiff.
Hungry."

Bo chuckled. "That’s a good sign."

"Where is everyone?"

"Kei is speaking with Rhee-En about everything that
happened."

She raised her eyebrows. "That should be
interesting. Kei being so talkative."

Bo’s loud laugh filled the room. "True. The other
Fey are helping the Were prepare dinner. Apparently it will be ready soon.
Prince and Kei got into a fight on whether to wake you up or not."

"He’s still in a mood?"

"Seems so." He shrugged. "He’s gone for
a walk to ‘think’. Whatever that means."

"No idea," she admitted.

The door opened and the Were woman who’d tended her
before came in. "Arowyn! Good, you are awake." She smiled as she
approached, setting something on the chair as she passed. "Lie down a
moment. I just want to give you a final check over."

Aro did as asked, watching as the woman examined her
scar.

"Fascinating. You will need to watch the muscles.
Do some stretching exercises a few times a day. You’ve been through a traumatic
ordeal. Try not to exert yourself for a while."

Aro grinned. "I’ll try."

"Come. Let’s get you to the bath house before the
food is ready. I’ve some new clothes set aside for you. I’ll have them sent
over."

Sitting up, she smiled again. "Thank you."
The thought of a bath made her giddy. "I’m sorry, but I don’t remember
your name."

"Cassia," she answered with another smile. "Here."
She turned and picked up what she’d left on the chair, giving it a shake. "It’s
cool out this evening. This is for you."

Slipping off the bed, Aro eyed the beautiful heavy
cloak. It reminded her of the one Prince had worn. "For me?"

"Yes, now come. You’re wasting bathing time."

Slipping the cloak on quickly, Aro flashed a grin at
Bo, who shook his head and chuckled. A bounce affected her step as she followed
Cassia from the room. Bath time!

* * *

After scrubbing herself almost raw, making good use of
a variety of soaps, and then just soaking in the large tub of warm water, Aro
felt like an entirely new person.

Her new clothes consisted of dark leather pants and a
dark cloth shirt. They actually fit. That she matched her boys didn’t bother
her. Having new clean clothes meant more to them than the Were could possibly
know.

Dinner consisted of a deer roasted over a pit in the
center of the small settlement, bread with cheese, and baked corn. They ate until
they couldn’t fit another morsel in.

Sitting around the fire afterward, she couldn’t keep a
smile off her face.
Clean and fed and safe. What more could a person ask
for?

Her smiled slipped for a moment as she noticed Prince
had gone off again. She wished she knew what was wrong. Rhee-En walked up and
crouched by her side.

"I am pleased to see you so well."

"Thank you, for everything. I can’t thank you
enough."

He smiled, the firelight dancing across his scarred
face making him appear vicious. "I hope you will visit us again in the
future. I assume you wish to continue your journey."

She blinked at him in surprise. "Yes, we would."

"Kei had mentioned so. One of your horses did not
survive. I am not sure if they told you that yet. We can lend you another.
Tomorrow we will get everything organized, if that suits you."

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

With a nod he stood and moved on to talk to someone
else.