Part 18 (2/2)
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 s.h.i.+mmering 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 bypa.s.s 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 h.e.l.l 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 embarra.s.sing 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 s.h.i.+fting 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 ma.s.s 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 leas.h.i.+ng 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.
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