Scorched by Darkness (15 page)

Torque’s gaze jerked toward the doorway, half expecting a blast of dragon-fire.

“Perhaps you could call her crazy a little louder?” he snarled. “I’m not sure she heard you.”

“Enough.” Rya sent them a mutual glare of impatience. “I believe the dragon is trying to protect us.”

Levet turned toward Rya, deliberately flicking his tail in Torque’s direction.

“Protect us from what?” the tiny demon demanded.

Rya grimaced. “That’s the question we’re still trying to answer.”

Levet muttered something beneath his breath, his claws scraping against the stone floor as he paced toward the fireplace. Abruptly he whirled back around, pointing toward Torque. “You must do something.”

“Do what?” Torque snapped.

“Discover who has captured us.” The gargoyle sent him a smug smile. “You are a warrior, are you not?”

Torque snorted. “I seem to remember your incessant chatter about being some sort knight in shining armor.”

The gargoyle grabbed his tail and busily started to polish the tip. “It is true that I am a hero.”

“So why don’t you do something to rescue us?”

“I told you,” he muttered. “I do not like the cold.”

Torque stepped forward, his dragon-fire dancing over his skin. Before he could reach the aggravating pest, however, Rya was once again moving to stand between them.

“The female dragon requested we wait,” she said in stern tones. “For now, that’s what we’ll do.”

Levet gave a small sniff. “And then?”

“Then we’ll toss you out the door and see if the crazed dragon desires gargoyle for dinner,” Torque snarled, pivoting on his heel to storm toward the nearest doorway.

He might as well spend his time lifting weights.

It wasn’t like he was going to have an opportunity to relieve his frustration by more pleasurable means.

***

Finn folded his arms over his chest.

Absently he was aware of the call of a finch, and closer, the rustle of leaves in a nearby tree, but his focus remained locked on the female Sylvermyst who had lowered her head to hide her expressive features.

The movement allowed the sunlight to pick up the copper highlights in her hair that spilled over her shoulders and down her back.

His fingers suddenly itched to reach out and discover if it was as silky soft as it looked.

Muttering a curse at his treacherous fascination with the female, he clenched his hands into tight fists.

Dammit.

The female had just revealed her brothers intended to kill him. The last thing he should be thinking about was threading his fingers in that glorious mane of hair so he could yank her against his body.

“How many entrances are there into the cavern?” he demanded, his voice sharper than necessary.

Adair abruptly jerked her head up to study him with a horrified gaze.

“You can’t go there,” she protested. “It’s too dangerous.”

His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “You’ve just told me I’m a dead sprite regardless of what I do. I’m not going to wait and be led like a lamb to the slaughter.”

She stretched her hand toward him, her expression pleading. “I can try to return you to your homeland.”

He stiffened, outraged by the mere suggestion he would allow her to take him home while his tribe remained enslaved.

“And leave behind my people?”

She hunched a shoulder. “You would be alive.”

“Not for long.”

“I don’t understand.”

He glanced toward the wildflowers that swayed beneath a soft breeze. The illusion truly was remarkable. The pretty view, however, wasn’t the reason he’d turned his head from Adair. No. It was the sincere concern shimmering in the platinum eyes that he was trying to avoid.

“If some frost sprite didn’t track me down and destroy me for being a coward, I would kill myself,” he muttered. “A prince does not abandon his people.”

“So you’ll die trying to rescue them?”

His answer came without hesitation. “If necessary.”

“That makes no sense.”

“It does to me.”

There was a tense silence before she heaved an audible sigh. “I won’t help you if you’re determined to get yourself killed.”

“Fine.” He didn’t bother to glance at her as he swiveled around to head toward the narrow crevice that would lead them back to the icy labyrinth. “I’ll do it on my own.”

“Finn.” She muttered a curse as he continued forward, then without warning she was quickly darting around him to stand directly in his path. “Wait,” she pleaded.

He scowled. “Wait for what?”

There was another pause, as if she waged some sort of inner battle.

“I can try to create a portal that will open in the cavern,” she at last offered, the words a mere whisper that floated on the breeze. “It might allow us to bypass the magical security system.”

A flicker of hope eased the black dread that was lodged in the pit of his stomach. “Now?”

She gave a grudging nod. “Yes, but I can’t guarantee that I can hold it open long enough to allow your people to escape.”

He waved aside her warning. There was no way in hell she was going to be around when it came time for him to bust out of the labyrinth.

“Just get me to them. I’ll worry about escaping once I have them unchained.”

“This is crazy.” An indefinable emotion rippled over her lovely face, but squaring her shoulders, she reached out to grab his hand. “Hold on.”

Finn felt the surroundings melt away as she tugged him forward. There was a familiar sensation of traveling through a portal along with a disorienting sense of floating in nothingness. It was almost as if they were standing still and the world was moving around them.

He didn’t know if it was because Adair was a Sylvermyst, or as a result of the strange magic in the labyrinth. All he did know was that it was making his stomach lurch. And not in a good way.

Battling the urge to puke, Finn wasn’t ready for the weird motion to come to an abrupt halt. Stumbling forward, he would have fallen on his face if Adair hadn’t grabbed his arm and held him upright until he regained his balance.

“Thanks,” he muttered, pulling free of her grasp.

He was a prince. It was downright embarrassing to lurch around like a drunken dew fairy.

Perhaps sensing his discomfort, Adair turned her attention toward the small, icy cave that surrounded them.

“We’re at the backside of the cavern,” she murmured. “The gems have all been taken from this area, so there shouldn’t be anyone around.”

Once again in control as the ground stopped shifting and his stomach settled, Finn moved across the slippery floor. Reaching the ice wall, he peered through a narrow crack.

He easily determined that they were indeed at the bottom of the cavern, but the bulk of his view was blocked by the mass of ice that bulged from the center of the floor.

He didn’t need to see, however, to know that his people were close.

The crisp scent of frost sprites filled the air.

Barely leashing his impulse to rush toward them, he turned his head to watch as Adair moved to join him at the opening.

“Are there guards down here?” he murmured, his voice pitched low enough it wouldn’t carry into the cavern.

“At the top,” she said, her voice equally soft. “They only come down here when my brothers have the sprites released so they can work.”

He grimaced. One day very, very soon he intended to have a chat with the male Sylvermysts. It was a chat that would no doubt lead to death and dismemberment. And not necessarily in that order. In this moment, however, he was hoping to avoid them.

“Where is your charming family?”

A shamed blush touched her cheek at his sneering tone.

“I don’t sense them nearby. They’ve probably returned to our lair in Alaska to hide the latest gems. That’s what they usually do when they’re forced to allow the sprites to rest, but they won’t be gone long.” She took a step forward, clearly intending to head through the fissure. “We have to hurry.”

“We?” With lightning speed, Finn was grabbing her upper arm. “Hold on,” he growled, tugging her backward.

She sent him a startled frown. “What’s wrong?”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She looked confused. “To help you release your people, of course.”

He shook his head. “There is no ‘of course’ about it.”

“What do you mean?”

He absently loosened his grip on her arm, allowing his fingers to trail up to her shoulder. Her hair brushed the back of his hand. Yep. It was just as soft as he’d imagined.

“Why are you helping me?” he abruptly demanded.

She flinched, as if his words hurt her.

“It’s not a trap, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she muttered.

Was that what he was thinking? In truth, he didn’t know.

“Just answer the question,” he commanded.

Her lips flattened, as if annoyed by his tone. “I love my family, I truly do. But…”

“But?”

“I’m not like them.”

Finn gave a short laugh. “No shit.”

She arched a brow. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged. He wasn’t about to admit that he refused to believe he could be attracted to a female who was truly evil.

That was just lame.

“Why are you different?” he instead demanded.

She lowered her head. Did she know that her face revealed her every emotion?

“I don’t care about power or wealth or being a ruler of a tribe of Sylvermyst,” she muttered.

She trembled, and Finn slid his hand down her back before he could halt the soothing gesture. Hell, he didn’t want to halt it.

He wanted to feel the heat of her body that seeped through the loose robe. And savor the scent of rosemary that suddenly spiced the air.

“There’s more than that,” he said in a husky voice.

She gave a slow nod, unconsciously swaying toward him.

“It’s wrong to turn the sprites into slaves,” she said, slowly lifting her head to meet his searching gaze. “Just as it was wrong for us to be enslaved. I can’t stand aside and let that happen.”

His hand splayed across her lower back, urging her even closer. “If you felt that way then why did you help them?”

“They’re my family. Without them I have nothing.”

“You have your honor.”

Anger at his soft reprimand darkened her platinum eyes. “And how long would I survive alone in a world surrounded by my enemies with just my honor?”

She was right, of course. A lone Sylvermyst needed the protection of a tribe to survive. Finn, however, didn’t want her to think she had to remain at the mercy of her family.

“Perhaps you aren’t as alone as you fear,” he murmured.

Their gazes locked, a strange sizzle of anticipation zapping through Finn.

Something had just happened. Something big.

But before he could actually define what it was, she was taking a step backward, her heart pounding so loudly he could hear the frantic beat.

“We should go,” she rasped.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her captive. “Not you.”

She blinked in surprise at his fierce tone before her lips were flattening in frustration. “You don’t trust me.”

He ignored her accusation.

“What will happen if your family discovers you’ve helped me?” he demanded.

“I…”

His lips twisted as her words trailed away. She didn’t have to tell him. He was well aware that her brothers would treat her as a traitor.

She would be punished. Perhaps even killed.

A stark, mystifying stab of pain sliced through his heart.

“Exactly,” he snapped in harsh tones. “Return to your rooms, Adair.”

She narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. “You’ll never get out of here without my powers.”

“I have my own magic.”

“I know, but creating a portal in this place is extremely difficult.”

He stuck out his jaw. “Dammit, female. I won’t be responsible for putting you in danger,” he snapped.

She blinked. Then blinked again.

“You’re worried about me?”

Unable to resist temptation, he lowered his head and kissed her with all the frustration that bubbled deep inside him.

He sensed her shock before she released a small sigh, her lips parting in silent invitation. Finn dipped his tongue into the warm welcome of her mouth. He groaned. She tasted of sweet herbs and earthy desire.

A combination that made his head swim.

The air misted around them, tiny snowflakes floating on the air as his chilled powers meshed with her dark, evocative magic.

Glorious
…

The word drifted through his stunned mind even as he was sharply pulling away. What the hell was wrong with him?

Infuriated by his inability to think clearly when Adair was near, he moved with a blinding speed into the cavern. Then, turning, he gave a wave of his hands, unleashing his magic to fill the fissure with a thick layer of ice.

With her path blocked, the female had to accept that this wasn’t her battle. Right?

She could return to the safety of her private rooms. And he could concentrate on the only thing that mattered.

Rescuing his people.

CHAPTER TEN

Rya watched Torque march out of the room, his spine ramrod straight and trails of smoke following in his wake.