News of our escape and what Reaper could do stretched far and wide. Everyone was looking for us…EVERYONE. The Legion wanted him euthanized because they were afraid he’d fall into the wrong hands.
Aria and I spent weeks looking over our shoulders while we tried to figure out what to do. Eventually we ended up on the English Country Side. An old man found us clinging to each other in the woods near his home and invited us to his place to stay. We had to work for food, lodging and anything else we needed, but we were free to come and go as we pleased. The old man didn’t pry and we didn’t divulge. It was an unspoken mutual agreement.
Aria’s phone went off incessantly. This was the hardest on her because her family was practically begging her to come back home. Well…everyone except Thien. For the most part things remained quiet on his end, but I think she preferred it that way.
“So how long have the two of you been together?” The old man asked. Percy, that’s his name.
“We-”
“Four years.” I lied.
“Was it a shotgun wedding?” Percy motions to Reaper.
“Yeah.” Aria answers, following my lead.
Aria’s phone goes off for the millionth time and she sends the caller to voicemail. “You going to answer that? Seems like somebody is trying really hard to get hold of you all.” Percy asks.
“No, and they aren’t important.” She swallows hard.
“Normally I don’t pry, but-”
“Then don’t.” I cut him off.
No one can know where we are, which means I can never go home, I can never contact my friends or my associates…we are alone.
“I don’t want this.” Reaper takes the meat from his plate and sets it on the table.
“Just eat your fruit and vegetables.” Aria smiles. She’s taken the role of being his mother quite well, and over the short period of time since we’ve had him, our bond has grown stronger. Not just my bond with Reaper either…the bond between Aria and I. We’ve become a family…the family I wanted before she went off and pledged her life to Havoc.
After dinner we bathed Reaper and put him to bed. He slept between Aria and I on the bed we shared…our bed. At night we’d lay in each other’s arms to keep warm, but she made it more than clear she had no intentions of ever sleeping with me again. She didn’t want to sleep with any man for that matter.
“I heard about what Thien did to you.” I told her.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She rolled over, turning her back to me.
“Aria, I would never hurt you like that.”
I waited for her to turn back around, but she didn’t. Instead, she began to cry. I made sure Reaper was tucked neatly into bed and then I went around to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to her, holding her in my arms. She fell apart.
For the first time since the night we spent together, she embraced me. She’s hurt, vulnerable and she’s alone. I want to take her with me…I want her by my side, but part of me fears what will happen if I reveal the truth to her.
Testing the waters, I kiss her lips, fully expecting to be slapped or feel the cold steel of her blade against my throat. What I get back instead sends all the blood rushing to one particular organ. Not only does she kiss me back, but also, she does so with the passion and heat of a thousand suns.
Not wanting to wake Reaper, I make a place for us on the bearskin rug on the floor. Aria is hesitant now, but I refuse to give up. I kiss her lips and she backs away from me.
“I can’t.” She shakes her head.
“Aria, we can make this work. You, Reaper and I…we can be a family.”
“No, we can’t. I betrayed him once and I won’t do it again.” She declares.
“He beat you to the brink of death.”
“He did what he had to do. He wasn’t thinking clearly.” She easily dismisses his actions.
“And that makes it okay?”
“You don’t understand…this isn’t the first time we’ve had to fight each other. Bleak has always had us spar against each other. We’re the strongest of our kind. We both hated it, but we did it anyway…we beat on each other until either he was near death or I was.” She explains. “Its not the bruises or the fact that he hit me that hurts so much. It’s that I was an option for him when clearly he could have chosen differently. I saw the flaw in Bleak’s plan right away, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to see it. He was so…angry with me and I felt that anger every time his fists made contact. So you see…I’m not upset with him for hitting me…I’m upset because it was then that I realized how much he hates me.”
Pensive and quiet, Aria turns away from me and begins to cry again. “I love him so much and he hates me. He hates me for sleeping with you and falling for you the way I did, he hates me for carrying your child, and he hates me for taking his position.” She drops to her knees. “He hasn’t even called me…not once. My father has called, my teammates…everyone…everyone but him.”
“Then let me love you. You, Reaper and I…we have the chance to be a family. A real family Aria, can’t you see that? We can go back to Kaalen and together we can build an empire. No one would dare come near us with Reaper at our side. We’d be unstoppable.”
“Except…Noah, I’m not in love with you. I love you…but I’m not IN love with you. Not to mention the fact that Reaper wielding so much power is why the Legion is so afraid of him. We should teach him that with his power comes great responsibility. That he can’t just kill and resurrect at will. That he has a higher purpose and therefore he must allow himself to be taught and balanced.”
“Taught by whom? By the Republic?” I glare at her.
“Taught by someone with a pure heart Noah. Someone without an agenda other than ensuring he has balance.”
“No.” I put my foot down. “He will be taught by me.”
“You have so much malice and hatred in your heart. It will rub off on him and it will corrupt him, can’t you see that?”
“Then rule at my side. Stay with us. You’re inherently good and with you in our lives, he’ll have a balance.” I plead with her. “Don’t leave me. I know I pledged myself to Qi, but I have AWLAYS been yours. Don’t push me away.”
“Even if I wanted to be with you I couldn’t. When we were united, Thien had my virtue restored and sealed to only him. We could never be together the way you want to.”
“We’ll figure out a way. I always figure out a way.” I assure her. “Just tell me its what you want.”
Aria hesitates at first, pacing back and forth. When she finally stops, she nods and I smile, but I know I’m not out of the woods with her yet. I still have one last thing I want to reveal to her and I’m not sure how she’s going to feel about it.
“Thank you.” I take her bottom lip into mine. She kisses me back, and although I can’t enter her, we spend our time going through the motions with our clothes on.
As soon as the sun peaks out from the sky the next morning, she and I spring into action. We leave Percy a note thanking him for his hospitality and then we set off on foot. When we’re far enough away from the house, I create a Vortex that takes us deep into the heart of Louisiana. There’s a neighborhood that was abandoned during the floods. It was slowly being rebuilt, but the city ran out of funding. Together with the help of my team, we rebuilt the largest plantation home and began using it as one of our locations.
I’m afraid of what Aria’s reaction might be and hope she doesn’t hate me for keeping her in the dark for so long.
Please Chi let her understand…
“Before we go inside, I want you to please walk in with an open mind. Let me explain before you make any judgments.”
“Okay.” She nods.
It’s now or never. I push open the French doors to the plantation and we both walk in. There are two spiral staircases that lead up to the second and third level of this beautiful, large estate. There are two halls…one to our left and the other to our right. I can hear voices coming from the hall to the left and I take her in that direction.
When we walk into the room my army stands to greet me, and Aria tenses up. “What the fuck is this?” She asks.
“This is a family reunion.” Gavin steps out into the open. Aria immediately unsheathes her blades ready to attack.
“No mommy.” Reaper reaches out to touch her. The moment they touch her eyes roll into the back of her head and I have to catch her in my arms to keep her from hitting the ground.
“Did you?”
“No. Mommy’s sleeping.” Reaper assures me.
I carry Aria up to my room and lay her down on my bed. She’ll probably wake up swinging, so I take her weapons and hand them to Grey, Gavin’s right hand man. For extra precaution I have the entire room sealed so Aria can’t leave. I need a chance to explain.
“What the hell are you thinking bringing her here!” Gavin shouts, slamming me up against the wall.
“Pain.” I whisper and immediately he falls to the floor writhing and screaming in pain. “Don’t ever touch me or question my motives again, am I clear?”
“Yes. Yes.” He nods emphatically.
I release him and he stands up to face me. “Until I have his complete trust, her presence is necessary. He can kill and resurrect at will, and without her he is unstable. Need I say more?” I ask.
“No.” He shakes his head. “But what happens if she refuses to comply? What if she manages to turn him against us?”
“She won’t.”
“How do you know that?
“Because I plan to take preventative measures.” I reply. “Have you figured out a way to activate the weapons yet?”
“No. We’ve searched high and low but we’ve come up empty handed.”
“We’re running out of time. Find the fourth weapon and give the green light to start abducting members of the Republic and the Magistrate.” I order. “But first, send word to father and make sure he gets back to Kaalen safely. He’ll know what to do.”
ns 15.158.7.73da2
