Dragons Of Eternity: Scorched By Darkness Part 11

Biting her lower lip, she was searching for some way to change the conversation to a less painful subject when she was struck by an astonis.h.i.+ng suspicion.

"Dear G.o.ddess, that's it," she impulsively muttered.

He looked predictably puzzled. "What's it?"

"Why she disappeared."

"Why who disappeared?"

"Your mother, of course."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you delirious?"

"No." She released a rough sigh. She was making a mess of this. "I just remembered something my mother told me."

"Rya-"

"Please just listen."

"Fine," he muttered, his tone flat.

Rya ignored his less than encouraging att.i.tude. She was beginning to suspect that beneath all his grim control was a male who harbored intense emotions.

"Fire imps live deep in volcanoes. Many spend their entire life never traveling away from their home," she said, trying to recall as many details as she could about the elusive fey. "That's why so few people know about them."

Torque snorted. "Obviously my father did."

"Yes." She gave a lift of her shoulder. There was one obvious reason a fey would have attracted the attention of a dragon. "They must have pet.i.tioned for a favor."

"And I was the payment." The sapphire eyes darkened. "I'd already figured out that much."

She slid her hand up to lightly touch his throat. "But you a.s.sumed that your mother abandoned you."

Smoke curled from his nose. "She did."

"She didn't have any choice," she told him. "A fire imp has to be near lava to survive."

He scowled. "What?"

"From what my mother managed to discover, the creatures have a magical dependency on the lava."

Torque looked far from impressed by her revelation. "If that was true she would have died in the harem," he scoffed. "The last time I checked there was no lava there."

"Any fey can survive for a short length of time even if they are separated from the source of their magic."

"Just as they can easily be separated from their child."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn't blame Torque for being reluctant to consider the idea that his mother might have a legitimate reason for leaving. Hope could be a dangerous thing.

Still, she wasn't going to let him turn his back on a potential explanation. It was important to her. Why? Hmm. Not because she was coming to care about him. Of course not. But...she simply couldn't bear the thought of anyone living with the belief his mother had never loved him.

Yeah. That was it.

"Don't you see? That would explain why your mother had to leave so quickly after your birth," she insisted. "She must have been desperate to get home."

His expression remained hard. "Even if that is true, she could have returned to visit me."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure about what?"

She clicked her tongue. He was being deliberately obtuse.

There were times when he was so...male.

"Are you sure she didn't try to see you?" she said in slow, concise tones. "You would have been the property of your father, which meant he would decide who could or couldn't visit the nursery. She might have returned only to be denied entrance into Pyre's lair."

Something flared through his sapphire eyes before he was giving a sharp shake of his head.

"I don't want to discuss my mother."

"But-"

He rudely overrode her protest. "I want to discuss your suicidal tendencies."

"Stop saying that," she snapped, wondering if he was deliberately trying to p.i.s.s her off. What better way to distract her? "I'm not trying to kill myself. I was just trying to find a way out of here. I didn't expect to be caught in a maze."

"That's why you don't rush into unknown places without making sure you won't be trapped."

He had a point. She'd impulsively used her shadow without a full understanding of the prison surrounding them.

That didn't mean, however, she was going to admit she had been reckless. Not when he was doing his best to annoy her.

"Since when did you become my father?" she instead muttered.

"Father?" he snarled, horrified shock rippling over his lean face.

She sent him a chiding frown. "You scold like one."

There was an explosive silence as Torque glared at her with eyes that smoldered with sapphire fire.

"You scared the h.e.l.l out of me," he at last burst out. "Again." Another glare. "My nerves can't take any more."

Once again he managed to steal her righteous outrage. Aggravating creature.

Rya heaved a resigned sigh. Maybe they should discuss more important things. Like how to find her mother and the others so they could get the h.e.l.l out of there.

"Could you recognize the magic of the maze?" she demanded.

He continued to glare at her, no doubt anxious to continue with his sermon. She was reckless, she was foolish, she was...yadda, yadda, yadda. Then, no doubt sensing he was wasting his breath, he leashed his desire to lash out and forced himself to concentrate on her question.

"It smells of dragon-magic," he said grimly.

She blinked in surprise. "Dragon?"

"Yes, but it's strange."

"Everything about this place is strange," she said in dry tones.

"True."

She glanced toward thick ice walls, a shudder racing through her. It would be a long time before she forgot the terrifying sensation of being trapped in the frozen barrier. "How are we going to get out of here?"

He shrugged. "For now, we remain patient."

She grimaced. "I'm not very good at that."

His humorless laugh echoed through the small s.p.a.ce. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"Hey," she protested. "Anything is better than just waiting around."

He studied her flushed face for a long, unnerving moment.

"I could offer a distraction," he finally murmured, the heat in the air notching up several degrees.

A strange, electric jolt of antic.i.p.ation arrowed down her spine.

"What sort of distraction?" she demanded.

He lowered his head without warning, stealing her protest with a kiss that sent pleasure searing through her body. She made a sound deep in her throat, her toes curling.

Intoxicating excitement bubbled through her blood, making her lightheaded.

That was the only reason her fingers were curling into the fabric of his T-s.h.i.+rt to pull him closer to her trembling body. Right?

Of course, that didn't explain why her lips were parting as his tongue stroked into her mouth. Or why she was arching upward in a silent invitation.

But at the moment, she couldn't make herself care.

Not when he was tugging on her hair to tilt back her head. And his roaming lips were taking advantage of her exposed neck to plant dozens of kisses down to the pulse that thundered at the base of her throat.

Oh...lord.

She s.h.i.+vered as his heat danced over her skin. She could smell his dragon in the air. Taste him lingering on her tongue.

Such raw, ruthless power.

It was enough to make any female melt into a puddle of gooey need.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, Rya's lashes were fluttering downward when she caught sight of a gathering darkness out of the corner of her mind.

She stiffened, turning her head as the darkness spread, heading toward them at a frightening speed.

"Torque," she cried in warning.

His arms tightened around her. "I've got you," he muttered, cloaking them both in the power of his dragon.

Rya released her own inner dragon. It wasn't as strong as Torque's, but the two easily melded together, creating a blaze of magic as the darkness washed over them.

CHAPTER SIX.

Torque held Rya in his arms, protecting her with his larger body as the blackness swept over them. There was the sensation of being whisked through dimensions. Not a portal.

Just pure magic.

Heat p.r.i.c.kled over his skin. It didn't feel like a threat. It was more a brush of curiosity. Then slowly the darkness receded and a soft glow of light revealed a large room that looked like it'd been carved out of stone.

With a muttered curse, he set Rya on her feet and stepped back. He didn't want to let go of her, but he needed s.p.a.ce to fight.

Spinning in a circle, he searched for a hidden enemy, flames dancing over his skin.

When nothing leaped out of the shadows, he returned his attention to his companion even as his senses remained on high alert. Nothing would be allowed to sneak up on them.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She pushed her hair from her face, her own power thick in the air. As fragile as she might look, she was still a dragon-s.h.i.+fter. She was far from helpless. "What happened?"

"I..." His words faltered as he allowed himself to truly take in their surroundings. "s.h.i.+t," he breathed.

"Torque?" Rya murmured in confusion.

He shook his head, studying the familiar black leather couch and matching chair that was set near a large, stone fireplace.

"It's not possible," he muttered, crossing the barren floor to touch the leather-bound books that filled the wooden shelves on one wall.

"What's not possible?"

He pivoted back to meet Rya's worried gaze.

"These are my private quarters," he told her. "Or at least the illusion of my lair."

Widening her eyes, she glanced around with blatant curiosity.