Part 7 (1/2)

She flinched. ”They're safe.”

Finn slammed his hand against the ice. ”Where?”

”Shh.” She glanced over her shoulder, pretending she was terrified of some unseen enemy lurking behind her. ”I told you-”

”Don't screw with me,” he interrupted, his anger sending plumes of frost through the air. ”I want to be taken to them.”

She jerked her head around to send him a horrified glance. ”No. That's impossible.”

Finn narrowed his eyes even as he tried to rea.s.sure himself with the knowledge that his people must be near.

”Why?”

She reached out to lightly touch the wall that stood between them.

”The labyrinth is preparing to change. It won't be safe to try and open a portal until after it settles.”

Finn made a sound of impatience. What labyrinth? And why would it change?

Giving a shake of his head, he glared at the female who regarded him with a tragic expression. As if he was stupid enough to believe she was actually disturbed by his fury. ”I'm willing to take the risk.”

She shook her head, taking a step backward. ”They're calling for me.” She sent him a warning frown. ”You must be quiet. The next time, it will be one of my siblings who will come.” She bit her bottom lip. ”Trust me. You don't want them angry.”

Panic flared through him as she continued to back away. ”Will you return?” he demanded.

She shook her head. ”I don't dare.”

”Please.”

”I have to go.” The ice began to cloud, turning her slender form into a shadowed silhouette.

”Adair.” He pounded his hand against the wall. ”Don't go.”

She disappeared as the scent of rosemary began to fade. Finn clenched his jaw, refusing to give in to defeat.

His position as prince wasn't an honorary t.i.tle. He had actual royal blood running through his veins. Which gave him gifts few other fey could claim.

The only problem was that using them meant he would be dangerously weakened.

At the moment, however, it didn't seem he had much choice. He couldn't wait in the cell. Not when his people needed him.

Laying his hands flat on the wall, Finn emptied his mind of everything but the ice beneath his palms.

His magic s.h.i.+mmered around him. It didn't try to bang against the barrier. He'd already discovered that was a losing battle. Instead, he called his most ancient powers to alter his body, allowing him to change his very cellular structure.

Slowly and surely, he sank into the wall, becoming one with the ice.

Torque ignored the painful cold as he sat on the floor of their frozen prison.

Any other time he would be furious.

Not only had they walked directly into a trap, but his most powerful weapons were ineffective in breaking through the thick ice walls that surrounded him.

But at the moment nothing mattered but the slender woman he had cradled in his lap.

Gently his fingers slid over her cheek, testing the warmth of her golden skin.

She'd been struck unconscious only seconds after entering the portal behind him. He'd a.s.sumed it was caused by the sudden wrench as they'd stepped between dimensions. With a low hiss, he'd managed to turn and scoop her in his arms before she could fall and hurt herself.

As a guard for Baine, he'd trained to endure the backlash of magic that could happen when forced through a portal. Finn and Levet had clearly been sucked inside by an unknown enemy and the potent vacuum had remained when they'd entered.

Thankfully he'd recognized the familiar dizziness as they were jerked through the void and he'd managed to brace himself. Rya, however, hadn't been expecting the recoil. Which meant she was susceptible to the disorienting sensations.

But even knowing why she was lying unconscious in his lap didn't ease the fear that was twisting his stomach into a tight knot.

He didn't understand his intense reaction.

He'd never worried about Rya before she'd left the harem. Of course, there was no safer place in the world than a dragon's lair, a voice whispered in the back of his mind.

But now...

s.h.i.+t. He was suddenly terrified that something might happen to her.

Instinctively his arms tightened around her delicate form, his gaze locked on the steady pulse that beat at the base of her throat.

Her warm, exotic scent teased at his nose, stirring something deep inside him.

Not l.u.s.t. Or at least not entirely. It was raw and profound and unnamed.

Keeping them both wrapped in a bubble of heat, he grimly waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Just when he feared his dragon might go apes.h.i.+t crazy and do something desperate to try and get them out of the prison, Rya softly stirred against him.

”Torque?” she breathed.

”I have you.” His hand gently cupped her cheek. ”Are you hurt?”

Her lashes fluttered upward, her amber eyes still dazed as she tried to make sense of where she was.

”No, I'm fine.” Her brows tugged together. ”There must have been something in the portal that made me pa.s.s out.” She studied his concerned expression. ”It didn't affect you?”

Torque shook his head. ”I've traveled through a void before.”

”Void?” She blinked in confusion. ”What does that mean?”