Broken Aro (The Broken Ones)

by Wylie, Jen

  It did not take him long to break her.

  She whimpered as she suffered him again going through her memories. He muttered little comments as he none to gently rifled through them. Their winter in the city. The sickness.

  A choked wail quietly escaped her. She knew what came next. She didn't want to remember.

  Avery's death.

  His death was hard on you. Did it hurt you?

  Tears ran down her face as she fought again to force him from her mind. She couldn't take anymore. She didn't want to remember. And he must not know...

  His mind-voice ripped through her. What are you hiding?

  He jerked forward the memory of the magic and binding Kei had done to save her.

  I see.

  The black rolling pain began to overwhelm her. Get out! Get out! Get out!

  Is that all?

  It wasn't. There were still the complicated feelings she had for Prince. But she would not even think them. She refused to feel them, to even admit them to herself. It helped she couldn't make sense of them and had never had the time to try to sort them out. The past months she had managed to keep them buried within her, to even bury them deeper.

  He tore through her recent memories, searching, his presence ripping and shredding and burning its way through her mind. Stop fighting! What are you hiding? Show–

  His hand ripped away from her as something barreled into them. The shock of his departure startled her. The sting of his nails scratching across her forehead made her gasp, then he disappeared and she started slipping down the wall.

  The deserted alley echoed with voices.

  She opened her eyes to see Damon on the ground, Kei on top of him.

  Kei in a full wild fury, blazing red eyes, talons, teeth and all.

  She wanted to call out to him. Whether to stop him or urge him on she wasn't sure. She didn't. Couldn't. All she could do was sit in a daze. Her body shook and shuddered in painful spasms. Her mind roiled in shambles, her walls torn down, her memories raped and raw. She couldn't gather her thoughts enough to think. She only felt the pain.

  Call off your Fey, or he will die.

  She closed her eyes, wishing his voice would just go away. His words slowly sank in and her eyes snapped open. Kei still fought, but Damon now stood.

  He didn't have a mark on him.

  Prince had told her Dragos were the most powerful creatures in these lands. Kei was strong, but she didn't know if he was strong enough. She couldn't take the chance he wasn't. She couldn't lose him.

  "Kei!" He ignored her. She tried to rise and failed. Leaning her head back against the stone behind her she called him again, not only with words, but with her heart, "Kei! Back off!"

  He stepped back from Damon, claws clicking at his side. He didn't come to her, but did look over, eyes blazing a furious red.

  Hearing the pounding sound of footsteps she turned her head and saw the others running up the alley, Prince in the lead.

  She sucked in a deep breath as he dropped to a knee at her side. She didn't want him to worry. She just wanted it to be over. She wanted Damon to leave.

  "Are you hurt?"

  He cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away tears she hadn't known she'd shed.

  "I'm fine," she lied. She didn't want him to fight Damon. If Kei couldn't hurt the Dragos then Prince certainly wouldn't be able to do anything either.

  Her body shuddered again, pain ripping through her head as if the dragon was still inside. Was he? Was he still inside?

  Prince froze. He turned to face Damon. "What have you done?"

  She rested a hand on his arm as he began to rise. "It's fine."

  He cupped her cheek again, wiping away more tears. "No. It is not." He rose in one fluid motion, drawing his sword as he did.

  "Prince..."

  He ignored her quiet plea, angrily striding forward, pausing only a moment at Kei's side. "See to Arowyn."

  Kei came to her and helped her rise. She looked behind him and saw Bo and Cain standing a short distance away, weapons drawn. She didn't blame them for keeping back, not with a Fey in a fury and a Dragos.

  She allowed Kei to pull her close. She wasn't afraid of the razor sharp claws that wrapped around her. Kei rested his cheek on her head for a moment and then leaned back. She looked up at him, and her heart started beating even more furiously. His eyes still blazed red, his teeth too long. She wasn't afraid of him, but for him. What if the city people saw him like this?

  She glanced over at Prince. He and Damon had moved further down the alley. They spoke either mind to mind or too quietly for her to hear. Damon looked amused. Prince stood stiff and angry. Rot it, she couldn't deal with both problems at once. However, Prince had at least stopped attacking, for the moment he was safe.

  She looked back to Kei. One thing at a time. She rested a hand on his cheek and pushing slightly, forced him to look at her. "Give it to me," she whispered. Kei's back was turned to Bo and Cain, they wouldn't see, not at the moment at least. "Hurry. It's not safe here."

  He didn't answer, she wasn't even sure he agreed, before she felt the power of the fury flowing into her. As a test she closed her eyes. The power still came. Good to know. She rested her face against him and allowed him to hold her there while the power continued to quickly drain from him.

  His fury swirled around within her, giving her strength, taking some of the pain away. She tried to hold on to some, and succeeded. She directed it through her mind, easing some more of the pain. However the fury enveloped her and threatened to overcome her with its anger and rage.

  She sucked in a deep breath, trying to control it. Somehow she managed to regain control, to turn the reckless fury into barely bridled anger.

  Kei relaxed against her, the claws around her body receded and disappeared.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

  The anger began to drain away. She didn't know what he was sorry for. "Silly Fey."

  "Your Fey."

  "Yes." She smiled slightly at his words and looked up at him. She blinked rapidly a few times. "How are my eyes?"

  "Good."

  "You should not interfere," Damon said. "It is not your place."

  "Nor is it yours," Prince replied.

  Aro bit her lip. What were they talking about?

  Damon raised a hand at Prince, though his attention had returned to her and Kei.

  Something whipped her mind again. The ruins of her walls collapsed further as the dragon suddenly dug deeper, pushing through older memories, learning who she was.

  His eye's widened, their strange iridescence whirling with color. "And you are Aro. Are you made of stone?" He laughed, as if he'd made a great joke. He stopped suddenly and leaned forward, regarding her thoughtfully. "Is it possible the son succeeded where the parents did not?" He looked to Kei.

  "Dragos," Prince said warningly. "You will stop. Now."

  Damon ignored him. He pushed her through her mind again. Her lips trembled at the pain and she closed her eyes tightly.

  His strange eyes opened wide and he took a step toward her. "Arowyn Mason."

  She looked up at him again. She didn't like the tone of his voice, or the way he'd said her name, like it meant something.

  He looked surprised, more than surprised...truly shocked. His gaze traveled around the group. He turned back to her. "Do you know what a Mason does?" He kept talking before she could even answer. "They work with stone."

  Kei's arms tightened around her. She had no idea what Damon was talking about. However, the pressure on her mind lessened and she let out a soft sigh of relief. Prince looked back at her, and took a few steps backward toward her.

  Damon smiled, clearly pleased, and perhaps a bit amused. "It seems the prophecy spoke not of an artifact at all."

  The prophecy again? He truly was insane. Even so, she did not like the way he was looking at her, not at all. Fear skittered up her spine. "What are you talking about?"

  "The original prophecy of course. T
he one Kei's parents were so intent on. 'Find the broken arrow carved of stone, stolen from across the sea. It will heal the Fey and they will rise again.'"

  She choked, unable to speak.

  "You, my lovely, are Aro Mason. Masons work with stone. You were stolen from across the sea. Interesting isn't it?" He grew thoughtful. "The only question is whether you are broken or not."

  She knew the answer without even having to think about it. Looking up at Kei's brilliant red eyes she saw he did as well and wasn't at all happy about it. She looked back at Damon, afraid he might try to go in her head to find out. "I was, maybe." She looked the boys. "But not anymore."

  "Perhaps," Damon agreed. "But that is unimportant. You were when Kei found you. Until recently, you have been. You still fit the prophecy."

  "So you say. An old prophecy no one knows anything about."

  "The Fey do." He smiled over at Kei. "You have done well, Kei. Very well." He looked back at her. "I wonder how you will do it. It will be interesting, watching you."

  She grimaced. "I'd rather you didn't."

  He laughed suddenly, the loudness of it startling her it was so unexpected. Kei pulled her closer. The man stood and looked at her again, tilting his head slightly and looking thoughtful. "I wonder..."

  "That is enough," Prince said quietly.

  Aro snapped her head up to look at him. Prince was furious, nearly trembling with the force of his anger. Why?

  She didn't have a chance to ask. Damon laughed and Prince suddenly lunged for him.

  "Prince! Don't!" He didn't hear her, he was so furious, perhaps he couldn't. She cursed under her breath. She didn't want him to fight.

  Damon laughed as they stepped around the alley in an intricate dance.

  She jumped suddenly as Prince's voice rang sharply through the alley.

  "You will not!"

  "Rot it," she muttered. She winced as the sound sent spikes of pain ripping through her skull again. Kei's power had helped, but her mind remained a painful broken jumble. She motioned Bo and Cain over, only a little surprised they actually came.

  Bo carefully looked her over. "How bad is it?"

  She forced a fake smile, pushing the anger caused by his worry away. "He was just in my head again. I'm fine."

  "So he's the man you saw before," Cain commented.

  "Yes, that's Damon." She frowned as she turned back to look at him and Prince. Prince fought, Damon avoided or blocked. He had a sword in his hand now. Where he had that come from?

  She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing the pain in her head would go away. She just wanted to find somewhere to go and curl up and sleep for a week. Anger continued to swirl around within her. Damon had hurt her. He could have hurt Kei, he might still hurt Prince.

  She wanted the fighting to stop.

  Bo stepped forward and to the side, one of his knives drawn. Cain moved the other way, both ready to join the fighting.

  "Enough!" She pulled away from Kei. "Damon, leave!"

  Damon stiffened. His iridescent eyes whirled as he turned to stare at her incredulously.

  "Rot it," she muttered.

  Prince lunged but Damon still blocked him easily.

  "Little girl, you do not tell me what to do," Damon snarled. "All you creatures are powerless against me." He jabbed his sword in her direction "Pitiful little powerless humans! You are nothing!"

  Gah! She raised her hands to push her fingers into her temples. She'd only made things worse.

  Damon continued to rant, jabbing his sword again. "Even your tame little Fey cannot touch me! Nor can your weak little Elf! Nothing can stand against me! Do you understand? I am a Dragos. You do not tell me what to do!"

  Elf? "What?"

  Bo and Cain muttered curses.

  Prince flung himself recklessly at Damon. "Bastard Dragos! They did not need to know!"

  "You should know better." Damon turned on him and his sword flashed. Prince's blade went sailing through the air, clanging against stone before falling to the ground. "Of all of them, you should know to show respect." Damon moved again, so quickly it was difficult to follow his blade.

  Prince fell backward to the ground, a hand rising to the slash through his dirty worn shirt.

  "Prince!" Not caring about what danger she might be putting herself into, she rushed to drop to her knees by his side.

  Damon strode toward them, sheathing his sword. "Your darling Prince is nothing but a weak little Elf. He can't protect you."

  She looked over at Prince and reached a hand out to him. He shrugged it away, not looking at her. She didn't know who was telling the truth.

  "He's not an Elf," she said in confusion. All of the old stories she'd heard told of their magic and beauty. He looked human, and he certainly didn't have any magic.

  Damon swore and before she could react he bent, jerking Prince up and wrapping an arm around him as he flipped him over. "You need to learn to see, Arowyn."

  Prince struggled against him, cursing loudly, but she knew the strength of the Dragos grip and wasn't surprised when he didn't break free.

  "And you," Damon said sharply to Prince. "You need a reminder."

  "Stop, please," she begged quietly. She wanted to reach out the short distance and pull Prince away, but didn't dare. Damon was furious enough already.

  The Dragos held Prince helpless with one arm and reached up with the other to roughly push his long black hair aside. "Look."

  She stared at the mark on the back of Prince's neck. She'd never seen it before. She barely had time to try to figure out what the strange dark markings meant before Damon brushed his fingers over it.

  Prince froze and stiffened. "Don't," he pleaded, his voice weak and cracking.

  Damon completely ignored him. "This is an Elven rune," he explained to her, his voice suddenly calm. "It keeps his glamor in place. If you remove it…" His fingers dug in, and then he pulled, somehow ripping the mark away. "You see what he truly is."

  She stared in shock as Prince cried out in pain and convulsed within Damon's arms. Suddenly he shimmered and Damon moved, dropping him nearly in her lap.

  Prince curled up and shuddered on the ground as everyone watched in complete silence.

  She wasn't sure what she expected, but nothing really happened. She looked up at Damon, eyebrows raised.

  The Dragos grimaced and reached down, turning Prince's head to the side.

  Her mouth dropped open at the long pointed ear he revealed. Trying to gather her wits she shook her head vehemently. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what he is."

  Both Prince and Damon looked at her in surprise.

  "It doesn't." She smiled. "My best friend is a Fey. I'm used to pointed ears." She rested a hand on Prince's shoulder. "Can you stand?"

  He nodded slightly and pushed himself up, first to his knees, then to his feet. She scrambled to her feet, a hand out in case he needed assistance. He ignored it.

  She looked at him, he seemed mostly the same. She had been expecting more. Yes, his ears were now pointed. They were longer than Kei's. His features remained the same, just a little more perfect. Each line and plane had lost any roughness. His skin however, continued to look pale. Dark rings still smudged beneath his eyes. The dust and dirt of their travels didn't help. Not much had changed. He was still Prince.

  His eyes met hers, still their bright sparkling blue. No, they were brighter...more blue.

  She smiled a little and reached a hand out to him. "It doesn't matter."

  "Were you aware," Damon said. "That Elves, like the Were, are mind readers?"

  She looked from Damon to Prince and back again. "What?"

  "He is weak, yet he can still read your mind."

  She looked down at their joined hands.

  I would never hurt you.

  Fear rushed through her and she gasped. Prince's voice, though quiet, had sent echoes of pain through her battered mind. Someone else in her mind…she couldn't...

  "No…"

  "Every time y
ou touch," Damon continued, "he can wander through your thoughts. Learn your secrets."

  She jerked her hand away. Panic rippled through her. She raised a hand to her forehead, her heart pounding away. She couldn't look at Prince. He had been in her mind? All this time...

  She closed her eyes and shuddered.

  "Aro...," Prince whispered.

  She shook her head and took a step backward. She wasn't surprised to feel Kei wrap his arms around her and she turned into them, hiding. She buried her face against Kei, drowning out all the words that came next. All she could think about was how Prince had been in her head, like Damon. He knew her secrets, her thoughts. He knew... She squeezed her eyes tightly together as new tears formed.

  Kei remained silent, merely holding her tightly while she tried to push away the pain and sort out what was going on.

  "Arowyn."

  She turned when Prince called her name, though she had trouble meeting his eyes.

  He gave her a graceful, formal bow. "I apologize...for my secrets. For hurting you. It has been an honor traveling with you. I wish you well."

  She gaped at him and watched in stunned silence as he retrieved his sword and walked stiffly away. "No…wait…I…" She couldn't get her thoughts to form coherent words.

  "It is for the best," Damon said.

  She jerked her head around to glare at him. "Why would you say that?" Kei pulled her tightly against him again before she could say something else that would get her in trouble.

  "Build your walls again," Damon said to her. "You still have much to learn." He looked at Kei, the power of his gaze forcing the Fey to meet his eyes. "Will you continue to protect her? She will need it now, before she grows into her destiny."

  Kei held her more tightly, but he nodded.

  "Take care of your future queen."

  She turned in Kei's arms and pressed her face against him again, squeezing her lips tightly together to keep from telling Damon was an insane monster. Blighting idiot, did Damon really believe all of that? She didn't want to ask. She didn't even want to think about it.