"I can use my shadow to search for someone to help us."

He scowled. "What does that mean?"

"I've inherited a few Shinto talents," she said, her voice edged with impatience. "I can create a shadow."

"Like the one your mother used before she went missing?" he demanded.

She shrugged. "No one is sure what happened. The sprite who was with her disappeared at the same time."

He made a sound of disbelief. "And now you want to repeat her mistake?"

"We don't know if it was a mistake-" She bit off her words, giving a shake of her head. "We have to try something."

Torque narrowed his gaze. "Explain what happens when you create a shadow."

"It's actually a part of my essence that I release to travel through s.p.a.ce and-"

"No," Torque snapped.

He'd heard enough.

There was no part of her...essence that was going anywhere.

Not without him.

She scowled. "Is no your favorite word?"

Squatting down, he leaned forward until their noses were nearly touching.

"I spent the past hour holding you in my arms, unable to wake you," he growled. "At least give me a few minutes to recover before you try to get yourself killed again."

Her eyes widened, as if shocked by his accusation. "I'm not trying to get myself killed."

His gut twisted with...

He didn't know exactly what it was.

Anger. Betrayal. A terrible dread that he'd nearly lost something infinitely precious.

"Are you sure?" he muttered.

"Why would you think I'd want to die?"

He spoke his darkest fear before he could halt the words. "I a.s.sume death is preferable to the horrible fate of becoming my mate."

She pulled back, genuine confusion darkening her amber eyes.

"That's insane."

"Is it?" He reached to cup her chin in his hand, careful to keep his touch light. The last thing he would ever want to do was bruise her smooth, delicate skin. He might be a dragon-shifter, but he wasn't an animal. Okay, that wasn't true. He was an animal. But he could usually control his beast. "You accused me of not being properly excited about our betrothal, but I didn't disappear from my home on a reckless mission that put my life in danger."

She stuck out her chin. Stubborn female.

"I had to find my mother."

Her explanation only fueled his sense of injustice.

"And you trusted a frost sprite to help you instead of reaching out to me," he scolded.

"I told you, I didn't think you would care."

His fingers drifted down the curve of her throat, lingering on the rapid beat of her pulse.

"But you knew I cared when you insisted on opening a portal and entering it despite my protests," he muttered.

A part of his brain recognized he wasn't being entirely fair. But that didn't stop him. This female stirred the primitive side of him that didn't care about logic or justice.

With a frown, Rya reached up to smack his hand away. "Are you blaming me for us being trapped here?"

He heaved a rough sigh, grasping her shoulders as she tried to scoot away.

"No, I'm blaming you for scaring the s.h.i.t out of me," he rasped.

She blinked, as if startled by his revelation. "Torque."

"And if you dare claim that I would be happy if you were dead, I'll..."

"You'll what?" she demanded.

"This."

Torque didn't know what demon prompted him to swoop his head down to claim her lips in a stark kiss. At least not until he felt her mouth soften beneath his fierce demand.

Only then did he acknowledge that he'd been aching for any excuse, no matter how flimsy, to kiss her again.

He'd harbored a precise memory of her sweet taste. And the way her lips parted when he swept his tongue over their lush temptation.

Now he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her tight against his body.

She had heat, but not the scorching heat of his own dragon. Hers was a smoldering, exotic warmth that enticed his beast even as his fey blood bubbled with the intoxicating magic that sizzled between them.

Allowing his fingertips to touch the satiny smoothness of her cheek, he plundered her mouth. He wanted to drown in the sensations that thundered through him.

Why the h.e.l.l had he been so reluctant to claim this delectable female?

Reluctantly lifting his head, he watched as her fingers fluttered toward her reddened lips, her eyes still dazed.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I can't stop myself," he admitted in a gruff voice.

She blinked, her expression oddly wary. "You're just saying that to try and manipulate me."

He flinched, guilt blistering over his raw nerves. Of course she didn't trust him. He'd never given her any reason to believe he cared about her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his hands smoothing over her fragile shoulders.

He felt her tense, her tongue peeking out to lick her lips.

"For kissing me?"

He scowled. Was that supposed to be a joke? He rarely understood humor.

"h.e.l.l, no," he snapped. "That's the one thing in my life that I'll never regret."

"Then why are you apologizing?"

His skimmed his hands down her arms, grasping her hands in a tight grip.

"I allowed my reluctance to relinquish my life as a warrior to tarnish our betrothal," he admitted. "I never considered how my lack of attention was affecting you. It was selfish and unnecessarily cruel."

Something vulnerable flared through the amber eyes. "And now?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Now?"

"How do you feel about our mating?"

He didn't hesitate. "I'm fully prepared to do my duty."

The air cooled, her expression suddenly impossible to read.

"Duty?" she demanded.

"Yes."

"Awesome."

She tugged her hands free, closing her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Rya." Torque frowned, baffled by the scent of singed blossoms that filled the air. Rya was p.i.s.sed, but he didn't have a clue why. "What's wrong?"

"The fact that you even have to ask proves you know nothing about me," she muttered. "Or any other female."

Her eyes remained closed, as if she was trying to block him out. The sight made tiny flames dance over his skin.

Dammit. He'd just told her that he regretted not treating her with proper respect as his soon-to-be consort. And even told her that he was ready to complete their mating.

What more did she want?

"I have no talent for reading minds," he groused.

Her lips twisted. "What is your talent?"

"Killing things," he informed her in bleak tones, belatedly wondering if she'd hoped for a mate who was artistic or poetic or philosophical. He'd never had time for anything but training to protect his master. "It's all I've ever known."

She bit her lip, but she still refused to look at him. Instead she squared her shoulders as the feel of her magic swirled around him. "I'll be back."

Fear exploded through Torque.

s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t.

He grabbed her arms, roughly hauling her into his lap, but he instantly knew he was too late. She lay limp in his arms, her essence already leaving her body to travel beyond the walls of their prison.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Char felt...unsettled.

At first he a.s.sumed it was a result of his long s.e.xual drought. Despite his teasing with Torque, it'd actually been weeks since he'd visited the harem to enjoy the various females who were always eager to invite him to their beds.

Not since he'd seen his master with his beautiful mate, Tayla.

The sight had been a revelation.

Suddenly he was witnessing the relationship between a mated couple.

Not just l.u.s.t, although Baine could barely keep his hands off his lovely consort. But teasing and laughter and a soul-deep affection.

It made the thought of a fleeting night of pa.s.sion...

Hmm.

He wasn't sure.

He only knew that he wasn't as content with s.e.x as he had been before he'd seen what was possible.

But as the hours pa.s.sed, he accepted that his restlessness wasn't just s.e.xual frustration. Instead, it was directly connected to Torque.

His fellow guard had been gone for a few days, but it wasn't until that morning that Char had felt a jarring sense of loss as his mental connection to the younger male had been abruptly severed.

All of Baine's warriors shared a telepathic bond that allowed them to fight as a seamless unit during battle.

It should only have been broken if Torque...