Scorched by Darkness (29 page)

“It’s still hard to believe that my father had a true mate.” She altered her course as the ground moved beneath them, keeping her senses fixed on her mother’s scent. They were getting closer. Even if it did feel as if they were struggling through molasses. “It seems so out of character.”

Perhaps realizing that she needed to keep her mind off the danger that surrounded them, Torque gave a short laugh.

“Yeah, he’s not really a romantic sort of male.”

Her lips twitched. She’d heard her father described as a beast and a savage and a ruthless predator.

But never, ever as a romantic.

Then her amusement faded as she remembered the achingly terrible loss he’d suffered. Was it any wonder he’d become so vicious?

“It must have devastated him to lose his mate and daughter,” she said.

“True.” The sapphire eyes darkened. “I never thought I would say this, but I actually feel sorry for the ill-tempered brute. I don’t know how he endured the pain.”

Neither did Rya. And worse, she hadn’t even realized the burden he carried.

“Hopefully my mother can keep Blayze asleep long enough for them to find a way to break her curse.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

She turned her head to meet Torque’s curious gaze. “The curse?”

“Your father’s happiness in discovering his full-blooded daughter,” he clarified.

She was baffled by the question. How could she be anything but overjoyed for Synge?

“Of course not,” she breathed. “I’m delighted he has Ravel and Blayze back in his life. Plus, I have a new sister.” She wrinkled her nose. “Or at least I will once the curse is broken.”

Torque reached to run a finger down her cheek. “You’re an amazing female.”

She shook her head. As a half-breed she’d been treated with far more care than most.

In truth, she’d been pampered and adored her entire life.

“Not really. I accept that Blayze will hold a special place in Synge’s heart, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me,” she said, sending Torque a smile. “And now I have you. That’s all I need.”

Fire smoldered in his eyes. “True.”

She turned back toward the swirling mist. It was becoming almost impossible to breathe as the compression nearly took her to her knees.

Time for another distraction.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Hundreds.” He shrugged. “Possibly thousands.”

The number wasn’t shocking. Dragons were capable of impregnating a wide variety of demons. And most males kept vast harems filled with willing females.

But she hadn’t missed the disdain in Torque’s voice when he spoke of his father.

“Pyre wasn’t very paternal?”

Torque snorted. “As far as Pyre is concerned, his children are nothing more than assets to be bartered to the highest bidder.”

She reached to grasp his hand. Instantly his warmth jolted up her arm, arrowing straight for her heart.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Anger simmered deep inside her. Torque had been shortchanged when it came to family. His mother had done a disappearing act, and his father was a typical dragon.

But that was all about to change. She intended to offer him all the love he could possibly need.

Clearly reading her mind, he sent her a rare smile. “I’m not. If my father wasn’t a greedy bastard, he wouldn’t have given me to Synge and your mother might not have had her vision.” He squeezed her fingers. “We would never have become betrothed.”

Rya shook her head. She’d wasted so much time resenting her mother’s vision. Now she couldn’t imagine a future without Torque.

“Fate works in mysterious ways,” she murmured.

Torque’s smile faded to a grimace as he gave a low grunt of pain. Every step was a misery.

“Rya.” He tried to pull her to a halt. “We have to go back.”

“No.” She pointed toward the thinning mist. “They’re right there.”

Yanking free of his grasp, she stepped through the edge of the mist to discover Kai bending near the ground along with Finn and an unknown female cradled in his arms. The three of them were covered by a thin dome of ice. Or at least they were until it abruptly shattered in a spray of frost.

Rya rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her mother as soon as the older woman managed to rise to her feet. “Oh, thank the goddess,” she breathed.

“Rya.” Her mother fiercely returned her hug.

“I was so worried,” Rya muttered, pulling back to study her mother’s pale face.

She couldn’t see any visual injuries, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt.

Kai reached up to pat her cheek. “I’m fine, but we need to get out of here.”

“My thought exactly,” Torque muttered.

Kai glanced toward the prince of frost sprites as he straightened, the pretty young fey tightly clutched in his arms. “Finn, you go first with Adair.”

Torque scowled. “You’re taking the Sylvermyst?”

Finn instantly bristled, a fine cloud of frost swirling through the air. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Rya arched a startled brow.
Hmm.
She’d seen Finn flirt with every female in his vicinity. Including herself. It was never serious.

But this time…

He was clearly territorial when it came to his Sylvermyst.

“Did you forget it was the dark fey who trapped us here in the first place?” Torque demanded.

Finn stepped forward, and Rya swiftly moved to stand between the two males.
Yeesh.
Could two alphas ever be in the same space without trying to start a fight?

She laid her hand on Torque’s chest. “Later,” she murmured softly.

Fire smoldered in his eyes, but he gave a grudging nod of his head. “Fine.”

Thankfully, the frost sprite was smart enough not to press the issue, and with a nod toward Rya, he darted through the mist, following the trail they’d created to the waiting portal.

“Mother, you next,” she said.

The older woman briefly hesitated, but no doubt sensed that Rya wasn’t going to budge. With a kiss on Rya’s cheek she disappeared into the mist.

“Let’s go,” Torque muttered, grabbing her hand to follow the others.

Moving as fast as the thick fog would allow, they concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. A task that was becoming increasingly difficult.

Up ahead she could sense when Finn managed to escape through the portal. And then her mother.

They were only steps away when there was a violent quake that sent them both sprawling onto the spongy ground. Torque cursed, jumping back to his feet and pulling her up beside him.

But the momentary delay was too much.

Even as they stepped forward, the portal collapsed with explosive force.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Torque cursed, wrapping his arms around Rya as the floor shuddered and the mist tightened around them like a vise.

The air was being crushed from his lungs, even as his bones began to throb. Soon they would begin to snap beneath the pressure.

It was agonizing.

And promised to get worse.

“We’re trapped,” Rya choked out, burying her face against his chest.

He absently ran his hand over her hair. “I’ve got you,” he muttered in distracted tones. He was desperately trying to come up with a plan of escape.

“I’m sorry.” She wound her arms around his waist, tears trickling down her cheek. “I should have insisted on coming here alone.”

He surrounded them in his fire. He couldn’t halt the crushing compression, but he could damned well battle back the lethal cold.

“Yeah, like that was ever going to happen,” he muttered.

She sniffed. “This was my duty, not yours.”

He kept his expression stoic even as pain sliced through his heart.

She was already blaming herself. He wasn’t about to add to her misery.

“We’re partners now.” He insisted. “Right?”

She shivered, her fiery spirit muted by the mist. “I don’t want you hurt.”

“Rya.” He cupped her chin in his hand, tilting back her head so he could capture her gaze. “I would rather die holding you in my arms than live an eternity without you.”

The amber eyes darkened, and with a choked sound she pressed her head back against his chest. With a sigh, Torque rested his cheek on top of her head.

He hadn’t lied. If he had to face death, he wanted to do it with Rya in his arms.

And if he had any true regret, it was the fact that he’d never found his mother.

He should never have allowed his hurt pride to keep him from searching for her.

So much time wasted…

Lost in his dark thoughts, he absently noticed the tiny sparks that suddenly began to dance in the air.

Was the ruthless pain making him hallucinate?

Lifting his head, he tried to think past the sensation of being flattened into a pancake.

More sparks gathered, moving to whirl directly in front of his face before dancing away.

What the hell?

“Torque,” Rya muttered, her gaze locked on the tiny bits of fire.

“I see them,” he assured her.

“Are you doing that?”

Torque frowned. Was he?

It was possible he was losing control of his magic.

“Not intentionally,” he said, then gave a shake of his head as the sparks danced away. If it was his power, they wouldn’t be traveling farther into the mist. He barely had enough strength left to stand upright. “No, it’s not mine.”

She pulled back, her face strained from the torturous pressure.

“I think they want us to follow.”

Torque was getting the same feeling. Still, he wasn’t super excited to be led deeper into the fog that was killing them.

“I’m not sure we should trust strange sparks of light that appear out of nowhere.”

She sent him a startled glance. “What’s the option?”

Okay. She had a point.

“Fine,” he muttered, “but stay—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “Stay behind you.”

“You’re learning,” he said, savoring the heat that warmed her amber eyes.

He hated the sight of her defeated. This was the fiery mate he loved.

“Careful, dragon,” she warned.

Brushing a soft kiss across her furrowed brow, he grabbed her hand. Then, turning, he forced his heavy feet to follow the sparks that looked like they were quivering with impatience.

One step. Two. Each more difficult than the next. Only the refusal to allow Rya to give up kept him battling through the pain.

He didn’t know how far they traveled. The mist and the pain clouded his senses. But he did have enough awareness to feel when the mist began to part, and the brutal pain eased.

“It feels different,” Rya said, her voice shaky with relief.

On cue the fog disappeared, leaving them in a thick darkness.

“Stop,” Torque muttered.

They were out of the collapsing dimension, but as the sparks swirled around them faster and faster, he sensed them being pulled into an opening portal.

Shit.
Holding Rya’s hand in a tight grip, Torque felt them being ripped out of the darkness. Seconds later they dropped through the air to land on a rough stone floor.

Jolted by the impact, Torque fell to his knees, barely managing to catch Rya in his arms.

Holding her against his chest, he cast a swift glance around.

Not that there was much to see.

Stone floor. Stone walls. A low ceiling. And a steel door with a small slit.

“Where are we?” Rya asked, pulling out of his arms to study their cramped surroundings.

“I don’t know,” Torque admitted, slowly rising. A stab of relief shot through him as the stone beneath his feet remained stationary. “At least it feels solid.”

“And warm,” Rya muttered, pushing herself upright.

Torque slowly nodded. He’d been so focused on the fact they were no longer about to be squashed like bugs, he hadn’t really paid attention to the heat that radiated through the stone.

“Really warm,” he muttered, his inner dragon purring in pleasure, along with…

Hmm.
He wasn’t sure.

But a part of him tingled with a glorious sense of power he’d never felt before.

Baffled by the sensation, he crossed the short distance to grab the doorknob. They needed to discover where they were. And just as importantly, who’d brought them there.

Giving the handle a turn, he wasn’t at all surprised when it wouldn’t budge.

“Locked?” Rya demanded.

He rolled his eyes. “Of course it is.” Debating whether or not to risk pissing off their captors by trying to break down the door, he stiffened. “Someone’s coming,” he said in harsh tones.

Rya moved to stand at his side. “I smell…” She wrinkled her nose. “Lava?”

Torque blinked in surprise. She was right. It was lava.

So. Was the scent coming from a nearby volcano or the approaching stranger?

Maybe both.

Leaning forward, Torque peered through the small slit in the door. Outside their cramped cell he could see more stone. Floor. Walls. Ceiling. As if a tunnel had been carved into a mountain.

His attention, however, was captured by the sight of a short female with her dark hair pulled into a knot at the nape of her neck and her broad form covered by a simple brown robe.

Torque stepped back, ensuring that he was standing between the door and Rya. The female looked harmless enough, but he wasn’t taking any chances.