Her Savior (Book Two Of The Brave Series)

28-This is

28-This Is It

Aria dropped the paper and watched it flutter onto the bed. Then she looked up, noticing the window was open, the curtains fluttering out as the window blew. He was going to do the same thing to Xepher as he did to her mother. Walking to the window, she looked out to the forest's edge, squinting because of the darkening sky. Then she saw it. Rather, she saw him. He was watching her, a hood over his face, shielded by the brush. Rage filled her then. He was so close. She wasn't going to let him slip away again. Quickly, before Xepher came back, she went to the closet and changed. Winter boots, jeans, and gray hoodie over a black long sleeve turtleneck. Digging into the suitcase of clothing she'd put in his closet, she pulled out the pocketknife she'd brought with her. It didn't hold its own against a gun, but it was something at least.

She went to the door but froze at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She cursed mentally and went to the window, noticing he still stood there. The ground had a fresh layer of snow on it, and she braced herself. Before she could talk herself out of it, she jumped, tucking and rolling as she landed. The fall jarred her bones, but she shrugged it off and looked back to where he stood, the fury inside her amplifying as he turned and began to walk into the forest line. She followed.

She kept a distance from him, and soon they were consumed by the forest trees and snow. He kept walking, around fallen trees and large shrubs. She kept following. The forest was devoid of any sounds other than their feet crunching in the snow and before she knew it the trees were clearing. The muffled sounds of a river penetrated the silence as they stepped past the last line of trees. In front of her was an old railroad bridge, coated with snow, the river under it nearly a booming sound. His feet hit the wood of the bridge and hers soon followed, their steps echoing in the darkness.

He stopped in the middle of the bridge and she did the same, staying a few steps away, the pocketknife clenched in her fist. He wore dark jeans and black boots, standing out against the milky white snow in the rising moonlight. He turned, facing the river, his profile to her and he looked up to the sky.

"It didn't have to be this way Aria." He spoke, his voice sounding broken. Aria grit her teeth so hard her jaw ached.

"You're right, you didn't have to touch me. You didn't have to kill my mother." She said, her voice flat, leaving no hint of emotion. He sighed, a white cloud following and drifting into the air aimlessly.

"Yes, but I did warn you, didn't I? I told you what would happen, and you disobeyed me. If it weren't for you, she'd still be alive." The words pierced through her chest. She knew that, no matter what anyone said, he was right about that, but she wouldn't let those thoughts consume her. Her mother was gone, but Xepher wasn't. She could still protect him.

"Drop dead." She said. His jaw tightened and he turned his head to her. Even from the distance she could see the crazed look in his eyes.

"Now, my love, if that any way to treat your soulmate?" He tsked, as if he were scolding her. She began taking steps towards him, and that seemed to surprise him, his body pausing.

"You are no soulmate of mine. I came to end this." She said before opening the pocketknife's blade with a snick. She reached out, trying to stab him in torso, but he moved fast, the blade barely nicking his side, and gripped her throat, slamming her into the wooden beam of the bridge. Her back was nearly healed, but not entirely, and pain bloomed in her body, her hand dropping the knife silently into the snow. His free hand touched his stomach, coming back with blood.

"You'll regret your choice, Aria." He growled out. Lifting her arms, she slammed her elbow in the crease of his, knocking his hand away from her throat. Lifting her foot, she planted it into his stomach and pushed him away from her. She leaned down, grabbing the knife, and slashed at him before he recovered from her shove. It sliced through his shoulder and he cried out.