Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) Read Online Free PDF Page A

they realized
she wasn't a boy? She couldn't do this. She didn't know how, she had no one to
help her.
    She cringed at another tormented scream.
    The men started talking quietly again and she raised
her head a little, peeking over her knees. Not all of them. Five of the men sat
close together in the center of the small cell. Another sat over in the other
corner, hiding in the shadows like her. She knew he was a man, just from what
she could see of him. He looked tall and built wiry, like her brothers.
    She looked back to the other men. Three were burly,
broad of shoulder, and had big muscles. All were obviously fighters. Another
looked thinner, but that might have been due to his youth. The last one was
shorter, smaller.
    She suddenly noticed one of the burly ones staring at
her again and she ducked her head quickly, hoping they'd ignore her.
    "Boy. Boy. Boy."
    The man kept repeating himself, getting angrier each
time. Rot it . She didn't want to talk. She peeked up again. Yes. He was
glaring at her now.
    "Don't frighten the young pup," one of the
others muttered. She didn't know which one.
    "Boy," the man said again. "What
regiment were you in?"
    She stared. They actually thought her old enough to be
in the army? Or did they just want to see what she would say or if she could be
trusted? "I'm not." She flushed, relieved the dim light hid that she
did so. "Wasn't." Gah! She couldn't speak. If only her head
would stop pounding and her stomach would stop lurching about.
    They were all staring at her again, even the one in
the corner. She tried to get her mind in order while wishing the cell wasn't so
small. A bigger cell she could disappear in, hide in the shadows. "I'm not
in the army," she finally managed, trying to keep her voice low.
    One with dirty blond hair raised his eyebrows. "You're
wearing army issue." He said it calmly, but she knew from the slight cock
of his head he didn't like the fact.
    She wasn't surprised. It was against regulation for
someone not enlisted to wear army issue. She looked at her knees, at the dyed
leather covering them. Her brother's pants. Her hand went to her chest and she
grimaced at the absence of the leather armor. Only the thick cotton undershirt
remained. The slavers had also taken her weapons. She couldn't feel the
familiar weight of her knives at her sides. It seemed the only thing they'd
left had been her greaves, probably because they were so small and not in very
good shape.
    "Boy…" The first man spoke again, clearly
losing patience with her by his tone.
    "My brothers," she said quickly. Saying the
words brought a sudden pain to her chest. "They were trying to get me out
of the city."
    Silence met her comment and she looked up again. They
all continued to look at her, but at least they didn't look angry.
    One with black hair hanging just past his shoulders,
the one who'd spoken to her first, began looking at her very intently though.
She looked back at him. He looked a little familiar. Had she seen him somewhere
before? It was possible. Her brothers had been popular and had a number of
friends in most of the regiments.
    He spoke next, a faint wry smile coming to his lips. "And
we are waiting for you to tell us who they are."
    She blinked rapidly. Oh. Yes, of course they were. "The
Masons. Paul, Elliott…"
    The blond choked. "The seven Mason brothers?"
    A bit of pride welled within her and she nodded
quickly. Of course, if these brutes were in the army they'd know of her
brothers. They'd been well known throughout the country, famous from all their
exploits and successes in battles.
    "You're Commander Mason's son," the smallest
one said and she nodded again, wishing she could see his face. However, where
he sat she could only see a shadow in the faint light.
    The dark haired one stared at her, eyes wide. Before
she could react he scrambled over to her side, putting his face right before
hers, his hand tilting her chin up. Fear froze her in place.
    "Aro?" He stared incredulously at