Part 2 (1/2)

A h.e.l.l of a feat, considering he was half dragon.

Baine lifted his brows. ”Do you want to spend the next few centuries with the trolls?”

This time Torque managed to bite back his words. He was well aware the dragon was simply trying to rid himself of the annoying gargoyle, but unless he wanted to be stuck with dozens of smelly trolls in a dark hole...

”Fine,” he ground out.

Like he could say anything else.

Levet held out a clawed hand, his gray eyes sparkling with smug satisfaction.

”I will need an object that has a connection to the female,” he commanded.

Acutely aware of Baine's warning gaze, Torque reluctantly pulled the pewter ring from his finger. It'd been handcrafted by Rya and held a portion of her magic.

”This was her betrothal gift,” he said, dropping it into Levet's outstretched hand.

There was a tiny burst of magic and the ring disappeared.

Torque felt an odd flare of panic. Not that he was attached to the ring, he hastily a.s.sured himself. It was just... h.e.l.l, he didn't know what it was. All he understood was that he was going to rip off the gargoyle's wings if he lost the betrothal gift.

”Come.” Levet abruptly turned to waddle toward the door. ”We need to find a witch.”

Torque forced himself to follow. ”What do you need with a witch?”

Levet continued to waddle toward the door. ”Like any great artist I must make use of tools. Do you ask why Renoir needs a brush?”

Torque glanced over his shoulder, meeting his master's amused gaze.

”How long would I have to stay with the trolls?”

Baine pointed a finger toward the door. ”Go.”

Torque stomped forward, wondering if he'd even make it out of the lair before he torched the tiny demon.

They'd almost reached the door leading out of the throne room when the sound of Tayla's voice floated softly through the air.

”Torque.”

Once again he glanced back. ”Yes?”

”Be gentle when you find her.”

He scowled. The female had publicly humiliated him.

”Gentle?”

Tayla offered a sympathetic smile. ”You don't know why she left.”

Torque snorted, heading out of the throne room.

He didn't give a s.h.i.+t why she'd left. He only knew that when he found her...

Well, he didn't actually have a plan. But once he got his hands on her, he intended to make d.a.m.ned sure she didn't escape again.

CHAPTER TWO.

March was definitely coming in like a lion on the Vatnajkull glacier in Iceland. The temperature hovered below freezing with a fierce wind that cut through the air with a brutal chill.

The terrain was inhospitable to humans, with narrow ridges of snow separated by deep gullies that occasionally dropped the unwary onto shards of razor-sharp ice below. And then there was Grimsvotn, the active volcano that was belching out toxic gases and ash.

The perfect place for a small colony of frost sprites to hide.

The creatures were nearly as rare as the s.h.i.+nto fey, and just as wary of the predatory species.

Not that they were helpless. They had warriors who were trained to fight with swords as well as their magical ability to form ice around their enemies.

They should have been safe in their frozen part of the world, but of course, no one could ever truly isolate themselves enough to avoid danger.

Four weeks ago the first frost sprite disappeared. They a.s.sumed in the beginning that the young male had been struck with the urge to travel to one of the distant villages to enjoy a few nights with the human women. It was something the more adventurous males enjoyed. But when he didn't return they started to become concerned. Then another frost sprite disappeared. And another.

By the time five had gone missing they knew they had a problem they couldn't solve on their own. Desperate, they reached out to Rya's mother, Kai. Her skill at creating a shadow included being able to use her projected image to find missing people.

Unfortunately, she'd been deep in the caves, touching the spot where the last sprite had gone missing, when she'd vanished.

Rya had received the garbled message from the frost sprites several days later and had rushed to organize her journey to Iceland.

First up had been creating a portal that would prevent her father's guards from realizing she was leaving. She was allowed the freedom to come and go from the harem, but only with an armed guard to supposedly provide her protection. On this occasion she wanted to travel unnoticed. Something that would be impossible with a dragon creating chaos around her.

Then, packing a small bag, she'd slipped out of the lair and traveled to the glacier.

By the time she'd arrived the sprite colony had been removed to a hidden location far from their homeland, and only Finn remained behind to continue the search for the missing fey.

The male frost sprite was not only a prince, but he was their most powerful warrior.

Now she watched as the prince pulled himself out of the frigid sea and strolled in her direction. The male had been searching beneath the ice floes for any hint of portals, while Rya had been searching the lava tunnels.

Her dragon blood was violently opposed to the brutally cold water that Finn tried to a.s.sure her was invigorating.

”Any luck?” she demanded as Finn wrapped a blue robe around his tall, leanly muscular form.

He reached up to push back his hair that was a pale silver and long enough to brush his wide shoulders. His features were delicately carved, but there was no mistaking he was all male. His eyes s.h.i.+mmered like faceted diamonds in the fading sunlight, and his skin had the l.u.s.ter of a pearl.

The male moved forward, holding out his hand. ”This.”

Rya frowned as she studied the small golden object that was scored with hex marks.