The blackness shifted. If felt as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room. Her lungs ached. She clutched at her throat. Just when she was certain she was going to pass out, a man stepped out of the darkness, and air returned to the room.
“I suppose I should have warned you. I am so used to it, I do not even think about it.” He paused. “I thought you might like me better this way.” The man standing before her was every bit as gorgeous as Perrikus or D’Chel. He had gleaming black hair, dark blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a strong jaw. A cream-colored linen shirt clung to the muscled lines of his chest and shoulders. A pair of crisply pressed black slacks snugged around slender hips. He wore expensive-looking leather loafers. A pale blue sweater was slung over one shoulder. He could have passed for a male model or a movie star.
Dewi was right. I should have stayed with her. Aislinn waited for a jolt of sexual energy, for the lust that would bring her to her knees, but it didn’t come.
“Well,” she stared defiantly at the man before her, “aren’t you going to try to seduce me where I stand, like Perrikus and D’Chel?”
He smiled. It was a beautiful smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle with delight. “Oh no, my dear. What would be the sport in that? I prefer my women to beg for me. It ruins things if I have cheated. They spread their legs, but I know they did not really want to.” Something feral gleamed in the back of his eyes, but it extinguished itself so fast that she wasn’t certain she’d seen it.
He held out a hand. “Coming?”
“That depends. Where are you taking me?”
“It will be a surprise.”
Aislinn shook her head. “I’m not into surprises.”
Something rippled across those perfect features, but Slototh got control of himself. “I could take you anywhere I wanted, with or without your permission.”
“Okay.” She stared right at him. “I’m waiting.” Aislinn fanned magic around herself. She reached for Dewi and felt the dragon link to her, seeing through her eyes. Shock and outrage surged from the dragon, and then power poured into her so fast that Aislinn wasn’t sure what to do with it all. She raised her hands, surprised to see flames shoot from the tips of her fingers. Then she realized the link to Dewi was a two-way street. Secrets roiled through the dragon’s mind. Aislinn wanted to dig deep, to know what Devi knew. Instead, she borrowed the dragon’s power to reinforce her warding.
She danced from side to side on the balls of her feet, taking in her adversary. “Come and get me,” she snarled.
“Never forget you asked.” The voice was silky smooth, radiating danger. “Before we are through, you will discard a few more things for my collection.”
The air shifted again. Slototh, back in his light-sucking form, closed the distance between them. Fire didn’t faze him. She threw all the magic she had at him. It bounced off and sizzled when it hit the stone floor. She tried to dart behind him, to run outside to Dewi and freedom.
He grabbed her as she ran past, plucked her off the ground, and raised her so his red eyes could bore into her. “Your wards are a joke. So is that thing out there. You are coming with me. Enough games.”
Fire roared through the arched doorway where Dewi tried to cram her bulk inside. The flames just danced around Slototh, as if they were afraid to touch him. Filled with helpless rage that twisted her stomach into knots, Aislinn ground her teeth together. There’s got to be a way out of this. But what?
A pressure differential made her ears hurt. Her skin burned with icy heat where Slototh held her. They came out in a large room. She saw an enormous bed next to one wall and an array of things that looked like medieval torture devices along another. In places, the floor was splattered red. Before she could take in any more, he dropped her. She tried to tuck her body together, but landed wrong. Pain shot up one arm. Aislinn curled onto her side, wondering if she’d broken anything. Her gaze lit on a rack, complete with pawls and bars. She shuddered.
“Get up.”
“What if I refuse?”
Pain ratcheted through her. It felt as if her skull was about to explode. She staggered to her feet. When she hunted for the link to Dewi, it was gone.
“That’s better. Your dragon pest cannot penetrate the wards around this room. By the time I am through with you, the little war you foisted off on me should be over.”
“How? You’re not there to run it, and the Bal’ta aren’t smart enough.” Maybe if I can keep him talking, I’ll think of something I can do.
“Remember the labyrinth?”