Part 21 (2/2)
”Yes.” With a pained grimace, Daq rose to his feet. Then, with a choked cry, he grabbed Finn's hand to squeeze his fingers. ”Bless you, my prince.”
Finn offered a rueful smile. ”Don't thank me yet,” he warned. ”We still have to get out of here.”
As if the words had conjured his worst fear, there was a sudden movement on the ridge just above them. Finn cursed as a tall, thickly muscled male dressed in jeans and a long leather coat headed down the stairs carved into the ice. He had a bow angled across his back, along with a full quiver of arrows.
”Get to the back of the cavern and tell Tasko to get through the portal,” Finn commanded. He had to distract the approaching stranger or none of them were making it out of the labyrinth. ”Once you're back home I want you to head to Nome and lock yourselves in the safe house.”
Daq's lips parted to argue, then, meeting Finn's determined gaze, he gave a reluctant nod and turned to hurry away.
At the same time, Finn moved to block the path.
”There you are,” the male drawled from the edge of the ridge, the faint scent of herbs revealing he was a Sylvermyst.
Finn narrowed his gaze, studying the stranger. He had light red hair that was pulled into a braid that hung down his back. His face was narrow, with small eyes and a strange mark branded into the side of his neck. A gift from the Dark Lord? Impossible to say.
Finn was far more interested in the faint resemblance to Adair in the platinum eyes that warned him this wasn't just another Sylvermyst, but one of her brothers.
With a sudden leap, the male was landing directly in front of him.
Finn folded his arms over his chest. The longer he could keep the male preoccupied, the greater the chance his people could escape. ”I didn't realize you were looking for me.”
An ugly sneer touched the male's cruel mouth. ”I should have known you would try to escape. Royalty always has to be a pain in the a.s.s.”
Finn arched a brow, not missing the edge in the male's voice.
Clearly he had authority issues.
”You have no idea just how much of a pain I intend to be,” Finn a.s.sured him with a mocking smile.
Anger flared through the man's eyes before he was deliberately a.s.suming a nonchalant manner. ”Tsk. Tsk. You aren't in a position to be issuing threats,” he drawled, his gaze flicking to the side as another male abruptly stepped out of the ice.
Finn scowled, belatedly sensing the hidden tunnel. Dammit, this place was like a twisted funhouse.
”I see you found our prisoner, Micah,” the newest stranger said, his face almost a carbon copy of the first male, although his eyes were darker and his chin weaker.
Finn also had the sense that he was the younger of the two.
Micah frowned. ”Did you see the other prisoners?”
”No, but Lila is searching for them.”
”d.a.m.n.” Micah clenched his hands into tight fists before he was sucking in a deep breath. ”No matter. They can't have gone far.”
Finn silently prayed the male was wrong. With any luck, Tasko would have already opened a portal and whisked his people far away.
”Do you want me to take this one back to his cell?” the second male demanded.
”No, now that he's here we might as well put him to use,” Micah said, strolling forward to study Finn with a dismissive gaze. ”So, you're a prince.”
”And you aren't,” Finn mocked, knowing he was touching a raw nerve.
The male's nose flared, but he grimly held on to his temper. ”Smirk if you want, but I shall soon be a king,” he informed Finn.
”Really.” Finn deliberately glanced toward the male standing off to the side. ”And what about you?”
The Sylvermyst blinked in confusion. ”Me?”
”Do you get to be king?” he pressed, sensing he was the weaker of the two. ”Or does your brother get all the glory?”
”I-”
”That's none of your concern,” Micah interrupted.
The second male scowled. ”Micah.”
”s.h.i.+t, Jarvis, he's just trying to cause trouble,” the male snapped.
”But I get to be king,” Jarvis demanded. ”Don't I?”
Micah sliced his hand through the air. ”We'll discuss this later.”
”Later.” Finn chuckled, keeping his gaze on Jarvis. ”That's the code word for 'he doesn't intend to share the throne.'”
”Shut up,” Micah growled, abruptly slamming his fist into Finn's face. ”You will do as I say or you'll pay the consequences.”
Finn swallowed the blood from his split lip, his smile never fading. The punch had hurt like a b.i.t.c.h, but there was no way he was revealing any vulnerability in front of the Sylvermyst. ”I'm not afraid of you.”
”Then you're an idiot,” Micah a.s.sured him, lifting his hand. ”I learned how to inflict pain from a master.”
Prepared for another blow, or even an arrow through the heart, Finn was caught off guard when a blinding pain sliced through his head.
Dark magic.
A cry was ripped from his throat. It felt as if someone was carving a knife through his brain. Slice. Slice. Slice.
”Stop.” The word pa.s.sed his lips before he could halt it.
Micah chuckled, clearly tickled by his little trick. ”I have discovered that there are worse things than death,” he taunted.
Finn pressed his palms against his temples and squeezed. As if he could somehow halt the searing agony. ”What do you want from me?” he rasped.
The pain continued as the male leaned down to speak directly in his ear.
”Remove the ice from the center of the floor,” he told Finn. ”Simple.”
Finn's breath was released on a hiss. ”If it was so simple, you would do it.”
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