“Then let’s go.”
Aislinn staggered into a waning day. Fionn had jumped them to where they’d started, a mile or so from the prison. Humans milled about, leaving in groups of twos, threes, and fives, presumably going home. Arawn and Bran gestured from where they sat, sheltered by the same rock walls they’d chosen earlier. When Aislinn got there, she noted they were checking each human soldier out, much as they’d checked them in.
“How many did we lose?” she asked.
Arawn looked up. “So far, one hundred fifty-three have not passed through here.” He glanced at the line queuing behind her. “We will see. My estimate is not more than fifty or sixty.”
“Excellent.” Bran smiled. “I had thought we would suffer far more losses.”
Aislinn lowered her gaze. She wanted to share their enthusiasm, but to her, the loss of even one more human life, on top of all those forced through the vortex, was too many.
Movement caught her attention out of the corner of one eye. Aislinn groaned as Dewi settled to earth, folding blood red wings behind her.
“Daughter.”
Aislinn ignored her.
Fionn grabbed one of her hands. “Dewi is calling you. Ye canna ignore her.”
“Oh yes, I can.”
His forehead creased. For a minute, she thought he was going to censure her and girded herself to ignore him, too. “What happened, lass? Did she injure you?”
The gentleness in his voice was almost more than she could bear. She didn’t trust herself to talk, so she just nodded. Fionn’s face darkened. His brows drew together into a thick, furious line. With Bella on his shoulder, he strode toward Dewi, planted himself in front of her, and crossed his arms over his chest. “What did ye do to her?” he demanded.
“Included her in an adventure,” Dewi trumpeted defiantly.
“What kind of adventure?” Suspicion thrummed beneath his words, but apparently Dewi didn’t hear it.
“Well...” The dragon lowered her head conspiratorially. “After we’d done an astral search and not found anything, we linked minds when she went inside looking for you. It was terribly exciting. She came across an old friend of mine—”
Fionn held up a hand. “Ye can stop right there. This tale has a familiar ring to it. ’Twas the Minotaur, was it not? I havena seen that particular gleam in those ancient eyes for any other creature, except perhaps my kinsman, Uther Pendragon. Or your mate, Nidhogg, when he still walked the Earth.”
“Yes,” Dewi gushed. “Smart of you to guess. Of course it was the Minotaur. And he was just as powerful as ever. Why, do you know…?” The dragon must have seen a warning flash from Fionn’s eyes, because her voice ran down.
“You didn’t force her, did you?” he ground out.
“I thought she’d like it.” Dewi’s jaws parted in a lascivious grin. “What woman wouldn’t? A cock of steel that can go almost forever.”
Fionn dropped his arms to his sides and balled his hands into fists. Aislinn saw his jaw clench. “She is my woman.” He spat the words through gritted teeth. “Ye will never force her into another sexual encounter without her express permission—and mine. Do ye understand me?”
Dewi bared her teeth in a snarl. Apparently, being chastised wasn’t an experience she’d had often. Fire belched from her mouth. It came close to Fionn, missing by scant inches. The dragon turned away.
Relief swept through Aislinn. Fionn had defended her. Against a creature he’d told her was sacred. He does love me. He really does.
“Of course I do,” he muttered and made his way back to her side. “And doona get all pissy because I was inside your head.” He still looked angry enough to spit nails. “Why dinna ye tell me what she’d done to you? I’m going down there to get rid of that damned atrocity once and for all. He’s been nothing but a nuisance ever since Pasiphaë fell in love with her husband’s Cretan bull, fucked it, and created him.” Fionn rolled his eyes. “All those children he ate. I doona understand why someone else dinna kill him long since.”
The air crackled as Fionn summoned magic.
Aislinn made a grab for him. “I didn’t tell you because I’ve hardly had a chance to tell you anything. Leave him be. I don’t think he can find his own way out of the labyrinth. Besides, killing him won’t undo what happened. The dragon’s just as guilty as he is.”
Fionn met her gaze, his blue eyes dark as midnight. “He would have raped you, lass, dragon or no, and killed you if Dewi hadn’t shown up.”
She nodded. “I know that.” A knife-like smile split her face. “I’m pretty good at getting to men while they’re lost in lust. Somehow, I would have been fine. The real problem was Dewi. She blocked me from my magic.”