Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) by Erica Stevens Page B

it pierced through the skull of the
creature that had just sprung up to grab hold of him. The thing
squealed; horrible sounds of distress tore from its throat as it
reeled back. Able to get in a better shot, the second arrow pierced
through its heart, effectively putting the thing out of its
misery.
    Braith turned slowly; relief filled him
as he spotted Aria. She was standing on the roof of a bar, her bow
raised as she released another arrow that soared past Braith’s
shoulder with a sharp whistle and dull thud that indicated it had
hit its target. He was given only a brief moment to savor in the
sight of her though as another creature came at him and he had to
destroy it.
    Ashby was shoving his way toward them;
he had never been much of a fighter and he’d been doing more of it
than he liked recently, that was made obvious by the grim set of
his shoulders and the clench of his jaw. The remaining creatures
began to scatter, sensing a shift in the tide as more of Gideon’s
vampires emerged. Braith and Gideon managed to grab hold of a few
more, but the rest were fleeing, escaping beyond the town. Gideon
gestured to some of his men, pointing down the road as he ordered
them to follow and bring back any survivors.
    Another arrow knocked a straggling
creature over as it jumped toward him. Gideon had worked his way
free of the group surrounding him, he was bloody and his clothes
were torn, but otherwise unscathed. The whistle of another arrow
pierced a creature that had been lurching awkwardly at Gideon.
Gideon didn’t flinch at the sound again, but his head fell back as
he looked toward where Aria stood. Surprise and amazement filtered
over his features.
    “Let’s hope she never aims that thing
at you,” Gideon muttered.
    “She already has,” Braith
admitted.
    Gideon’s eyes widened and then he burst
into laughter. “Ah, it is amazing what life throws your way, is it
not?”
    Braith pondered the truth of those
words. Life had been so different just a few months ago, he had
been blind, alone and content to simply go through the motions of
what he now realized was an empty life. Then he’d seen her standing
on that stage, filthy and proud, and forcing him to see in more
ways than one. “It is.”
    Braith took in the destruction
littering the street, the mess of bodies surrounding them. Not all
were those of the strange creatures, nor were they all human, some
vampires had fallen here too.
    He turned bracing himself as he looked
up at Aria. Her bow was at her side, she had tucked the long ends
of her hair into the collar of her dress. The hem of her dress was
still tucked within her belt, revealing her legs to her knees. She
looked wild, almost savage, but beneath it all he sensed her
sadness as she stared at the carnage of the streets.
    His remaining annoyance with her faded
as her eyes met his. He had said once that he would not chase her
into the trees she moved through with the ease of a monkey, he had
assumed that would extend to rooftops as well, he’d been
wrong.
    He grabbed hold of a ladder, pulling it
down with a clatter of metal. She was standing at the edge of the
roof when he arrived at the top. He clutched her against him as he
sought to ease her sorrow.

    ***

    “Is she sleeping?”
    “Finally,” Braith answered in response
to William’s question.
    William nodded slowly as he ran a hand
through his disheveled hair. “She’s been through so much that I
sometimes forget she’s not as tough as she acts.” His eyes were so
similar to his sisters, but they were also harsher. “She’s always
hated to kill things, she’d do it, but she hated it. I should have
been there.”
    Braith bit back on the retort that
William was right, he should have been there. Hell he could smell
the alcohol, and the woman on him, but this hadn’t been William’s
fault. None of them had expected the events of this
night.
    “How often does this happen?” Braith
inquired as he accepted a glass of whiskey from