Read Scorched by Darkness for Free Online

with the treacherous image of his slender fingers sliding over her body with desire instead of annoyance.
    “Obviously I didn’t think you would be interested in helping to rescue my mother,” she said.
    A tendril of smoke curled from his flared nostrils. “If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me.”
    She made a sound of disbelief. “Since when?”
    “We’re soon to be mated.”
    “And?”
    The question seemed to stump him. “And it’s my duty to ensure that my consort is content,” he at last muttered.
    “Content?” she repeated as a stab of disappointment sliced through her. Stupid, of course. Did she expect him to say that he actually cared about her?
    “Yes.”
    “Then let me make this easy for you.” Taking an abrupt step backward, she broke free of his grasp, sending him a warning glare. “It would make me content if you would return to Baine and let me concentrate on locating my mother.”
    His hands clenched at his sides. She suspected it was the only way he kept himself from grabbing her and physically hauling her out of the cavern.
    “I’m not leaving without you,” he said between clenched teeth.
    “Well, I’m not going.”
    They were glaring at each other, neither willing to back down, when a shrill scream echoed through the air.
    Rya sucked in a startled gasp. “What was that?”
    Torque scowled. “That stupid gargoyle.”
    “They must be in trouble,” she muttered, a surge of fear clenching her heart as she ran out of the cavern.
    “Rya, wait. Dammit.”
    Rya ignored the angry male voice. Instead she hurried through the narrow tunnel that angled upward.
    She’d been so distracted by the arrival of Torque she’d forgotten the danger that stalked this isolated location. Now she skidded onto the icy glacier and searched for some sign of Finn and the tiny gargoyle.
    Darkness had fully claimed the bleak landscape, but she could see as easily at night as she could during the day. Which meant that she had no trouble realizing that there was no one around for miles.
    “They’re gone,” she breathed as Torque stopped next to her, his face tight with frustration.
    “Don’t move,” he commanded. “I’ll do a sweep of the area.”
    She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I’m not helpless.”
    A dark brow flicked upward. “Have you trained to be a warrior?”
    “Has anyone ever told you you’re an annoying ass?”
    “Yes.” He pointed a finger toward her feet. “Don’t. Move.”
    She remained in place as he melted into the darkness. Not because he’d ordered her stay. Nope. Since leaving the harem she’d decided she enjoyed making her own decisions.
    But on this occasion, Torque was right.
    His training meant he could do a far better job of ensuring there were no enemies hiding in the area. And since it was obvious that his dragon lurked closer to the surface than most half-breeds, he possessed a physical strength she couldn’t hope to match.
    Within a few minutes he returned. There weren’t many places to hide on the frozen wasteland.
    “Well?” she demanded.
    He grimaced. “Nothing.”
    Rya’s fear intensified. “Exactly like all the others,” she muttered, moving forward, hoping to catch some lingering sense of Finn.
    Torque walked at her side, his brow furrowed. “Explain to me exactly how the people have been disappearing.”
    “I truly don’t know, but I suspect it’s through portals.”
    Together they leaped across a sharp crevasse in the ice.
    Torque pointed out the obvious. “We should be able to detect where a portal was opened.”
    “I’ve tried, but they must have the magical ability to hide their spell.”
    Rya moved toward the flat area in the center of the glacier. It’s where Finn often stood to enjoy the panoramic sweep of the night sky. He said the stars looked close enough to reach up and pluck them from the heavens. Rya thought they looked cold. Like everything else in this goddess-forsaken land.
    Unable to pick up any trace of