Flipping beneath him, she swung at him again, shattering his nose.
He squealed, falling back as blood spurted forth. Aria crab crawled backward, trying to regain her feet as the man leveled her with a glare that was not only lustful but also murderous. A roar of fury suddenly reverberated throughout the massive cavern.
The man's head snapped up, his eyes widened. Aria hadn't been sure there was much reason left to him, but apparently his survival instinct was still intact as he reeled backward. She was well aware of just how terrifying Braith could be, just how deadly and inhuman, and all of that was being honed in on the man before her. The man leapt up, a wild cry escaping him as he raced down the tunnel.
Aria scooted away, clinging to her shredded shirt as she tried uselessly to cover herself up. Braith raced past her, barely a blur as the loud clang of metal echoed through the cave. The man had succeeded in retreating into the storage room and slamming the door shut. "Are you ok?" Ashby demanded as he fell beside her.
She wasn't frightened of Ashby, but when he reached for her, she shied away from him. "I wouldn't," Xavier cautioned.
Ashby looked torn and horrified as his eyes skimmed over her. "Fine," she managed to breathe as she clung to her shirt. "I'm fine, really."
Aria's attention was distracted from Ashby as a loud wrenching sound filled the cave. Xavier stepped forward as Braith ripped the gate from the walls of the cave. The gate was solid steel, without bars to prevent rodents from entering the storage room. The only hole in it had been a slit near the top to allow some air to flow through the room. Aria didn't know how Braith had managed to wrench the heavy door free. The door flew down the tunnel, causing Xavier to dart out of the way as it bounced swiftly off the rock walls, nearly taking him out in the process.
Xavier's mouth dropped, his gaze darted wildly to the door now lying at the opening of the tunnel. Aria knew it weighed a good five hundred pounds and it had taken seven men to get it in place. Xavier stared at Aria for a moment before turning to Ashby.
"I told you he could take the king," Ashby murmured so faintly that Aria wasn't even certain she'd heard him right.
Xavier's gaze came slowly back to her as she tried to lurch to her feet. Inhuman squeals echoed from the storage room as Braith disappeared inside. "Wait no!" she cried, falling back against the tunnel wall as a wave of dizziness rocked her.
Ashby grasped her shoulders to steady her but she shrugged him off as silence suddenly enshrouded the tunnel. Horror pooled in Aria, her hand fell against the wall helping to keep her up as Braith emerged from the storage room. She knew the sudden silence had not been because he was injured, but relief still filled her.
The man was dead. She didn't have to ask, she knew Braith would not leave him alive. She thought she should be more upset, she wasn't. What had been in that room had no longer been a man, there had been no saving him.
Braith was before her suddenly. She did not shrink from him, did not shy away from his frantic, yet tender touch. "Are you ok?" he demanded, his voice hoarse and raw.
"Yes."
His hands moved steadily lower, stopping at the tattered remains of her shirt. "Get out of here!" he snarled at Ashby and Xavier.
They stood for a brief moment before slipping out of the tunnel. His hands trembled as he tugged the pieces from her hand and pulled them slowly apart. He was stiff before her, barely moving as he gazed upon her. While in the palace she had been forced to wear some of the silliest and most uncomfortable undergarments she had ever seen in her life. Once free of the palace she had resumed her habit of wearing an undershirt, sometimes a slip.
The slip she wore now had also been torn, but unlike the ruined shirt it was still intact enough to cover her breasts. It was nearly see through, even in the dim light of the tunnel, and especially to the acute vision of a vampire but she wasn't embarrassed. Her breath froze, her heart hammered as he remained still as stone before her.
"You're bleeding."
The words were grated through his teeth. And then, before she knew what was