Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) Read Free

No, she couldn't let them cut it. "Don't you dare,"
she said suddenly, pulling away again.
    "Aro! Sit still," Sammy jerked her back into
place by her hair.
    "Ow! You idiot! That hurt!"
    Paul slammed his fist on the table. "Stop. Now."
He looked at her. "We're leaving the city. We will be traveling and it
will be easier if you're a boy. Understand?"
    Her mouth opened and closed again. Everything he said
was too much to take in. While her mind tried to figure out what was going on,
Sammy started hacking away at her waist-length hair.
    Once the first locks fell she gave up. Clenching her
teeth, she tried to keep the tears away.
    "I'm sorry," Sammy whispered.
    She raised her chin. "Go rot."
    By the time he was done her head felt funny. Sammy
hadn't cut it very short, some pieces fell almost to her shoulders. Others hung
around her ears and over her eyes. By the way her brothers wouldn't look at
her, she figured he'd done a rather terrible job. She glared at Sammy, she'd
get him back. Yes, she would.
    She fingered her hair and made a face. "Gah."
    Paul frowned over at her. "You're not five."
    He always said that, so had father. Tears stung her
eyes and she blinked them away.
    "Go get dressed now," Paul said quietly.
    Pressing her lips tightly together, she nodded. She'd
have been angrier, but knew he hadn't done it out of spite. "How long do
we have?"
    Paul shook his head. "I don't know yet. Don't
take too long."
    She looked at Sammy, but he was avoiding her. Picking
up the pile of clothes she headed up the stairs without a word.
    Once in her room, she tossed the pile on the bed and
started rifling through it. Everything was old and smelled musty. Castoffs from
when the boys had first joined the army. She slipped off her nightdress and
into the old clothes. The pants were too big, but no surprise there. With a
grumble she went back downstairs. "This isn't going to work."
    Paul actually chuckled. Sammy had gone off somewhere,
but Ryan and Danny had returned. They stared at her and then looked to Paul. "What
did you do?"
    She reached up to touch her hair and her pants almost
fell down. The boys started laughing and she glared at them. "This wasn't
my idea! Now fix it!"
    Ryan ran upstairs and brought her a belt, while Danny
rolled up her pants and gave her a pair of boots. By the time her clothes were
mostly staying in place Sammy came back in from the side door, arms full once
more.
    "Now what?"
    The pile he dumped on the table made her smile this
time though. Armor and weapons.She ran
her finger gingerly along the blade of the nearest knife and grinned up at her
brothers. "I forgive you."
    Danny and Ryan sorted through the pile and fitted her
out, cursing under their breaths as they tried to adjust everything to fit her.
She smiled over at Sammy, her hands on her knives. At least he'd brought them
for her and she was allowed to wear them out.
    Everyone froze at the deep resonating bell sounding through
the city. She gripped her knives tightly and looked to Paul, hoping he'd have
another explanation than the one in her head.
    "The port is under attack," he said,
answering her unasked question.
    She looked down, trying to push the sudden fear away
and wondering where the Gelanians had gotten boats, or who they'd allied with.
    "We need to move. Sammy check on Elliott and
Joel. Danny see if you can find Aaron."
    "Where'd he go?"
    Paul started gathering up all his papers quickly and
packing them into a leather pouch.
    "He went to see what the word was," Ryan
answered. He lowered his voice. "We're heading out shortly. If there is
anything you want to take, there's a little room."
    Aro nodded and darted up the stairs to her room. What
to take? She knew better than to try to drag down a bag full of stuff. Little
things. The most important things . She went straight to the small carved
box on her dresser. It wasn't large or heavy, but held her most valued
possessions. Well other than her weapons. She glanced around the room, checking
to see