down to
hers. It took all she had not to leap to her feet, grab hold of his
arm, and drag him from the cavern and demand to know what the hell
he was thinking.
Aria glanced back down at the map,
swallowing heavily as Daniel poked the spot where the palace was.
She had always had the rudimentary knowledge to read a map, but
Braith had taught her how to read so much more. She did not share
this revelation with the people surrounding her; she didn’t think
they would appreciate it much, and no matter what she said or did
they wanted to continue to believe that she had been manipulated by
Braith. That one day she would realize that her feelings for him
were not real. She was tired of trying to convince them they were
wrong, it was wearing on her, beating her down, making her everyday
struggle to just survive even more tiresome.
“Is this how you remember
it?”
Aria didn’t realize her father was
talking to her at first, until she noticed that they were all
staring questioningly at her. She swallowed heavily, trying to wet
her suddenly parched throat. “I guess; I didn’t really pay much
attention. I didn’t get out much either,” she finished on a
whisper.
Though it wasn’t memories of being kept
as a blood slave that made her voice tremble, her father seemed to
think it was. He gave her a sympathetic look before resting his
hand lightly on her shoulder. He had been treating her like she was
breakable and fragile ever since she’d returned and she was
becoming frustrated with it.
“Max?”
Max was standing off to the side, his
arms folded over his chest as he stared at the far wall. His jaw
was locked tight, his forehead furrowed slightly. She hadn’t been
abused, but he had, and now her father was talking about going back
in there as if it were the simplest, easiest thing in the world.
About all of them going back in there. “From what I recall,
yes.”
Aria’s heart hammered and flipped, she
could barely breathe through the terror constricting her chest.
“You can’t do this,” she whispered. “It’s slaughter to go in there,
we can’t.”
Her father patted her shoulder again
before rising to his feet. He knew that this was reckless; he knew
that it was crazy, but he seemed hell bent on doing it anyway. And
she knew that it was because of her, because he believed that she
been hurt and mistreated during her time with Braith. It didn’t
matter how often she told him that she hadn’t been; he was
convinced she was lying in order to protect him.
He moved away from the map as William
and Daniel leaned closer to it. “We’ll send a small scouting team
in first, have them canvas the area. They will be able to discover
the weakest areas and the best places to establish our soldiers in.
We will need to take the palace swiftly.”
“Dad,” she whispered, clutching her
hands tightly before her. Her legs were shaking, her head was
spinning. “The last time someone tried to take the palace it was a
massacre.”
He wasn’t paying attention to her
though as he moved away. Panic was thrumming through her. She
couldn’t allow this to happen, she couldn’t allow people to die
because her father wanted revenge for things that had never even
occurred. At least not to her.
But they had happened to other people,
and they were continuing to happen right now.
However, the rebels had made an attempt
to take the palace when she was a child, and they had been
decimated. In retaliation for the rebel’s defiance, the king had
sent out thousands of troops that had razed, burned, and
slaughtered their way through villages and forests. It was how her
father had become the leader; the last one had been brutally
murdered and hung within the largest village as an example of what
would be done to others who tried to attack the palace.
“ We will have to be smarter
about it this time, go about it in a slower more methodical
way.”
“I would like to go in,” William said
softly.
Aria’s mouth dropped, she spun on
hers. It took all she had not to leap to her feet, grab hold of his
arm, and drag him from the cavern and demand to know what the hell
he was thinking.
Aria glanced back down at the map,
swallowing heavily as Daniel poked the spot where the palace was.
She had always had the rudimentary knowledge to read a map, but
Braith had taught her how to read so much more. She did not share
this revelation with the people surrounding her; she didn’t think
they would appreciate it much, and no matter what she said or did
they wanted to continue to believe that she had been manipulated by
Braith. That one day she would realize that her feelings for him
were not real. She was tired of trying to convince them they were
wrong, it was wearing on her, beating her down, making her everyday
struggle to just survive even more tiresome.
“Is this how you remember
it?”
Aria didn’t realize her father was
talking to her at first, until she noticed that they were all
staring questioningly at her. She swallowed heavily, trying to wet
her suddenly parched throat. “I guess; I didn’t really pay much
attention. I didn’t get out much either,” she finished on a
whisper.
Though it wasn’t memories of being kept
as a blood slave that made her voice tremble, her father seemed to
think it was. He gave her a sympathetic look before resting his
hand lightly on her shoulder. He had been treating her like she was
breakable and fragile ever since she’d returned and she was
becoming frustrated with it.
“Max?”
Max was standing off to the side, his
arms folded over his chest as he stared at the far wall. His jaw
was locked tight, his forehead furrowed slightly. She hadn’t been
abused, but he had, and now her father was talking about going back
in there as if it were the simplest, easiest thing in the world.
About all of them going back in there. “From what I recall,
yes.”
Aria’s heart hammered and flipped, she
could barely breathe through the terror constricting her chest.
“You can’t do this,” she whispered. “It’s slaughter to go in there,
we can’t.”
Her father patted her shoulder again
before rising to his feet. He knew that this was reckless; he knew
that it was crazy, but he seemed hell bent on doing it anyway. And
she knew that it was because of her, because he believed that she
been hurt and mistreated during her time with Braith. It didn’t
matter how often she told him that she hadn’t been; he was
convinced she was lying in order to protect him.
He moved away from the map as William
and Daniel leaned closer to it. “We’ll send a small scouting team
in first, have them canvas the area. They will be able to discover
the weakest areas and the best places to establish our soldiers in.
We will need to take the palace swiftly.”
“Dad,” she whispered, clutching her
hands tightly before her. Her legs were shaking, her head was
spinning. “The last time someone tried to take the palace it was a
massacre.”
He wasn’t paying attention to her
though as he moved away. Panic was thrumming through her. She
couldn’t allow this to happen, she couldn’t allow people to die
because her father wanted revenge for things that had never even
occurred. At least not to her.
But they had happened to other people,
and they were continuing to happen right now.
However, the rebels had made an attempt
to take the palace when she was a child, and they had been
decimated. In retaliation for the rebel’s defiance, the king had
sent out thousands of troops that had razed, burned, and
slaughtered their way through villages and forests. It was how her
father had become the leader; the last one had been brutally
murdered and hung within the largest village as an example of what
would be done to others who tried to attack the palace.
“ We will have to be smarter
about it this time, go about it in a slower more methodical
way.”
“I would like to go in,” William said
softly.
Aria’s mouth dropped, she spun on
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