Dragons Of Eternity: Scorched By Darkness Part 37

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 crus.h.i.+ng compression, but he could d.a.m.ned 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 s.h.i.+vered, 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 h.e.l.l?

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

"I see them," he a.s.sured 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.

Brus.h.i.+ng 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.

s.h.i.+t. 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, pus.h.i.+ng 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 doork.n.o.b. 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 p.i.s.sing 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.

Not after all they'd managed to survive.

There was the sc.r.a.pe of metal against metal. As if the female was sliding a key into the lock. Then, slowly, the door opened.

Torque winced at the loud creak. h.e.l.l, how long had it been since the door had been used?

Stepping into the cell, the female regarded them with a pleased smile.

"Ah, you're awake," she murmured.

Torque exchanged a puzzled glance with Rya. The stranger was fey, although he wasn't sure if she was fairy or sprite or imp. And old enough to have gained a look of maturity in her round face.

It was the seemingly genuine joy in her dark eyes that was confusing.

Usually people who were happy to see you didn't lock you in a cell.

"Why have you imprisoned us?"

The female blinked, as if startled by the question. "It was for your own protection."

Torque scowled. "Protection?"

"Truly." The fey waved a hand toward the open door. "This lair is s.h.i.+elded by runes that would have killed the s.h.i.+nto," she explained. "This is the only place we could bring her that she wouldn't be injured."

There was a sincerity in the female's voice that was hard to dismiss.

Instead, Torque sent a suspicious glance toward the tunnel outside the cell. "What is this place?"

"Tofua," the female answered without hesitation. "The primary home of the fire imps."