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admission. "I wish it had gone farther," she confessed.

He chuckled as he nuzzled her hair. "Do you know the constellations?" She shook her head as she turned her attention to the brilliant sky above them. She struggled to ignore the yearning that still thrummed through her body, but a deep ache remained. "That one, with the three stars at the end, and the four grouped together like a cup is the Big Dipper." Aria settled against him, comforted by the deep timbre of his voice as he pointed out the different constellations.

***

"Dad!" Aria squealed in delight as she raced across the clearing to the man standing in the middle of it. David's face came alive with pleasure; his smile lit his features as he braced himself for the impact of her body. He grasped hold of his daughter, laughing happily as he enfolded her in a big hug and spun her around.

Braith warily eyed the people surrounding them as he made his way forward. He wanted to grab Aria from her father, pull her back, nestle her at his side where she belonged, but he fought the urge as her father placed her down and cradled her cheeks with the palm of his hands. The humans studied him, shifting uncomfortably as they whispered among themselves. These were not the humans of The Barrens. These humans had been abused and terrorized by vampires. They knew only fear toward his kind.

"Are you ok?" Aria's father demanded.

"I'm fine," she replied with a brilliant grin that eased the knot in Braith's chest. He wanted her back, but her happiness was far more important at the moment.

"Where's William?" David asked worriedly when he realized his youngest son was not present.

"It was too tricky to move everyone through the forest, immortal or no, they're unbelievably loud," she informed him with a mischievous smile. "William stayed in the caves with them." David's hands tensed briefly on her face. "He'll be fine dad, I promise. We've been with them for awhile now."

Her father's gaze flickered toward him. Braith knew David disapproved of their relationship but he didn't care. The man was not going to tear them apart. "I see."

"Hellion!"

She released her father as her brother Daniel broke free of the crowd. "Daniel!"

She was laughing as she threw herself into his arms. Braith bristled, his fingers twitched as his jaw clenched. It was her brother, he reminded himself fiercely. Even so, it took everything he had not to pull her away from the slender man hugging her. Unlike his siblings, Daniel's hair was wheat colored but while he didn't share their coloring, he did have the same bright blue eyes that William and Aria possessed.

"Dear Lord you stink!" Daniel blurted.

Aria laughed loudly as she took a step back from him. "We've been wandering through swampland for the past three days."

"That would do it," Daniel agreed.

"I'm sure you're eager to clean up." Though her father said the words to her, his gaze was intent upon Braith.

"Very much so," Ashby agreed.

There was a shifting among the humans, and then Max stepped forward. Anger surged through Braith. Hope spread over Aria's face and lit her eyes as she took a small step toward him. Max held her gaze for a weighted moment before he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Aria's shoulders slumped as despair settled over her. No matter how much he didn't want her near Max, he hated to see her upset in any way. He would like to shake some sense into the selfish bastard, wanted to kill Max for making that crestfallen look appear on her face. Daniel watched him warily as Braith stepped forward, his arm brushing against hers as he offered as much comfort as he could right now. Aria turned to him; tears burned briefly in her eyes before she blinked them back and forced a smile.

"Perhaps we can go somewhere a little more private," Braith suggested.

"Yes, of course," Daniel said. "This is one of the few areas in the swamps that aren't just water and mud. It's not very hospitable but there are some homes here and we've erected temporary shelters."

The crowd parted as Aria's father led them down the street of the small town they had taken residence in. David led them into the ramshackle remains of a small house. Braith watched Aria carefully as she picked her way over some broken boards. He was braced to grab her if they happened to give out. David stopped to speak with a few younger men