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Someone snickered. Thane’s glare cut to somewhere over her right shoulder and the laughter stopped.

  He turned back to Taya. “They’re just pissy because you got a couple shots in when you came out of the stupor early.”

  Ah. That explained the hazy memory of fighting.

  “I don’t get pissy,” one of the men growled.

  She rolled her eyes and turned. “Let me guess. You just get even?”

  The man with the black eye snapped his mouth shut.

  The horse leaned forward, sniffed her hand and turned away disinterested. Maybe she should’ve waited until she had food to offer before she held her hand out like some wannabe horse-whisperer.

  “He likes you,” Thane said.

  “How can you tell?”

  “He didn’t head butt you.”

  Peachy. She ran her hand along the horse’s neck and walked to his side.

  “His name is Hades,” Thane said.

  Apparently, Arkavians also had Greek mythology. Or was it a reality for them? The unusual name couldn’t be a coincidence. What else did the two worlds share? “And what would happen if he didn’t like me? Other than head butting?”

  “He’d carry you anyway because that’s his job.”

  Taya nodded and fumbled for the saddle horn. She wasn’t short, but she wasn’t an Amazon, either. Standing at his side, she could just see over the horse’s withers.

  “Would you like a boost?”

  “Fuck off.” Abandoning the horn, she gripped the side of the saddle, placed a foot in the stirrup and hoisted her body higher. Once up, she gripped the horn with ease and swung her other leg around the horse’s broad back. She ran a hand through the coarse hair.

  Where were her swords? Would she ever see them again? Did Thane leave them on the ground like unwanted trash as the other Arkavian lord had?

  Before she could dwell more on her lost weapons, Thane swung into the saddle behind her and Hades pranced in the snow. Suddenly the Tarka was all around her, smelling of fresh soil, pine and metal. His armour pressed into her back. One vambrace-covered arm reached around her and clamped her body tightly against his while his free hand picked up the reins.

  He clucked and Hades stepped forward.

  She hadn’t thought about the physical proximity with her captor when she chose this option.

  Big mistake.

  “Why are you holding your breath?”

  Because you smell too good.

  Why did she have to notice something like that? What a totally inappropriate observation. And why did she like how strong he felt behind her? She should be scared. She should be planning when to drive a dagger through his chest.

  Take a deep breath.

  She forced the air from her lungs through her teeth and wrapped her hand in Hade’s flaxen mane.

  Thane’s chest rumbled against her back like a giant massage. Why was she suddenly hyper aware of him? This would end up being the longest ride known to man.

  Chapter Ten

  Not Again

  Taya gave up trying to hold herself ramrod straight in the saddle to avoid touching Thane and sagged against his brick-hard armour-plated chest.

  They moved along a narrow snow-packed trail in the woods, the horses quietly picking their footing over broken branches and overgrown brush. The late afternoon sun streaked through the canopy, but offered no warmth. Instead, the rays of light illuminated the path and reflected off armour, distorted only by the clouds of air escaping the horses and soldiers. The clinking of armour, the crunch of snow under hooves and the occasional snapping branch broke the otherwise eerie silence hanging over the evergreen forest.

  A man in worn leathers stepped in front of them without a sound. He had long brown hair and flat, dark eyes.

  Taya jerked back in the saddle. Thane’s arm tightened around her waist.

  “Bruno.” He didn’t sound surprised to see the man appear out of nowhere without warning.

  “There’s something you should see.” The man had a raspy voice that reminded her of a snake somehow. His dark gaze flicked to her. He frowned.

  “Lead on.”

  “It’s easier on foot.” Bruno frowned at her. “And not for the eyes of a lady.”

  One of the other men—Axel, from what the other men called him—snorted. “She’s earthen.”

  Well, thank you very much, asshole. Last time she checked, being one didn’t exclude the other. Maybe she could give him a second black eye to match his first. She always hated the “earthen” label. It made her think of dirt. Like she and her fellow survivors were the filth beneath Arkavian boots and not worthy of further contemplation or some cool sci-fi nickname like “terran.”

  Bruno’s eyebrows shot up. He grinned and this time his gaze held entitlement and contempt.

  Ewwwww. No. Taya’s skin crawled as if it wanted to slough off to escape Bruno’s attention.

  “Fine.” Thane released her, leaving an imprint of his gauntlet on her waist, and slipped from the saddle. He left her back cold and exposed.

  “I’ll be back.” Thane turned to the group. “Bruno and Axel with me. The rest stay with Taya. Lokni, you’re in charge.” He pointed at the large warrior with a scar running down his cheek.

  She gathered and clutched the reins. She scanned the forest and the tree branches weighed down by thick clumps of snow and ice. If she clucked like Thane and dug in her heels, would Hades run for her? Could she escape the men?

  The warrior with the split lip shook his head at her in warning.

  Okay, then. Maybe these guys read minds, or maybe she was super obvious with her plans. Damn it.

  Lokni pinned her with his violet gaze. “Don’t even think about it.” It’s the first time he’d spoken to her. He had one of those deep, almost growly voices. They all did. They sounded like how she imagined an alien warrior race wielding swords and riding demon-like horses would sound—like grizzly bears could talk.

  “Can you all read minds?”

  He shook his head. “No, but we don’t need to with you. You give away everything with your face.”

  “Don’t ever play cards,” Split Lip said. Taya didn’t know his name yet.

  “I’m fucking awesome at cards.”

  The men smirked in unison. With exception to Lokni’s scar, they looked a lot alike. Brothers? “Twins?”

  “Has anyone ever complimented you on your powers of observation?” Lokni asked.

  “No.”

  He smirked, the scar dimpling his cheek. “There’s a reason for that.”

  Oh, ha, ha, Asshole.

  Split Lip opened his mouth to say more, but froze at the sound of movement through the trees. Branches shook snow onto the forest floors. Plop, plop, thud.

  Thane stepped onto the path. The air moved around him, crackling with power. Every time she tried to focus on his magic, though, she saw nothing. Like the waves coming off heated pavement in the summer, or an illusion in a desert, the power was there, but not visible.

  One thing was clear, though. Thane was pissed.

  He stalked up to his horse, grabbed her wrist and tugged. He didn’t pull hard enough to make her fall to the ground, but enough to make her scramble to pull her leg over the saddle before she slipped off the horse.

  “Come with me.” The steel in his voice told her this was not the time to test boundaries.

  He pulled her through the forest on a worn deer path. His calloused hand became a warm clamp on her wrist. Snow crunched under their boots and no one made any effort to cover their progress. The air bit at her face, too cold to offer any comforting smells. Her toe caught on a branch and she tumbled forward.

  Thane’s iron-clad grip kept her upright. He didn’t pause and kept stalking forward as he held her up and she found her footing. A memory of her mom hauling her brother through the mall mid-tantrum rushed up and pierced her heart.

  What the hell was going on? Why was he so angry? She hadn’t done anything. Not recently, at least. Was this it? Had his promises of a
sacrifice-free existence all been a lie?

  Then the smell hit her.

  Death.

  Decay.

  The putrid smells cut through the cold and attempted to gouge her nose out. She dug her heels in. Backpedaling brought up frozen dirt and snow. Thane tugged her through the brush as if her resistance had zero impact, and stopped in a clearing.

  Axel, the warrior with the black eye, marched into the death camp, nonplused, and Bruno waited on the trail.

  Her stomach rolled. Snow-dusted, decomposing bodies lined the small clearing in a circle. Frozen body cavities ripped open. Her memories from a similar circle swirled in her head.

  She lurched to the side and heaved the entire contents of her stomach into the brush.

  Thane let her go, his solid presence unmistakable behind her.

  She straightened and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Ugh. She needed a change of clothes. The material stunk.

  Instead of turning to view the massacre, she faced the forest and Bruno’s smirking face. Her vision swam. Her world careened to the side. Thane stepped around her and inserted his gargantuan body into her field of view and steadied her with his warm iron-clad grip on her arm.

  Her head stopped spinning and Taya focused on the warrior.

  “When we first met, you said you didn’t want to be my next sacrifice.” He released her arm.

  She nodded. How could she forget? Her midsection clenched. Images bombarded her mind. The blood. The flies. The birds silently watching instead of making incessant noise. How long ago was that? Over four months now?

  “Is this what you meant?” he growled.

  What else could she have possibly meant?

  He took a menacing step forward, invading her personal space with the bulk of his giant armoured body, muscles tense, fists clenched.

  She flinched.

  Thane froze. He rocked back on his heels and visibly shook himself. He relaxed his hands.

  “Have you seen this before?”

  “Yes,” she hissed.

  Thane clamped his mouth shut. His jaw clenched and unclenched. His cheeks turned red for an instant before clearing to pale porcelain. “Is this what you thought I was capable of doing?”

  Why the fuck was he angry at her? “Of course it’s what I thought. Why wouldn’t I? You obliterated us and then rounded up the survivors to haul off as slaves or to massacre in some weird sacrifice circle.”

  His gaze blazed silvery white. Energy vibrated around him, tingling along her skin. “How many?”

  She stepped back. “What?”

  “How many sacrifices like this have you seen?”

  “Only one and it was…fresher.”

  Bruno shifted on the path, visibly apprehensive with the scene.

  Thane pointed to the dead, mutilated bodies. “This is not what we do.”

  She shrugged. “If you say so.”

  Thane glowered.

  They stood in silence. Even the birds shut up.

  “We should move.” Axel walked up to Thane’s side and leaned in. “What do you want to do with the bodies?”

  “Leave them,” Thane said. “We need to make camp soon and I don’t want to be near here.”

  At least they agreed on that. “So it’s not some crazy Arkavian monster that slipped through the gate to kill these people? We were right? It’s a who, not a what?”

  He nodded, grimly. “I need to know more about the other sacrifice you saw.”

  Cold shimmied along her skin. She rubbed her arms through her shirt sleeves, but they remained frozen. “Fine. Can we discuss it later? Away from here?” And in full daylight without the lurking shadows of the trees where the sun could scare away her nightmares.

  Thane’s stern expression softened, appearing less like a granite statue and more like an actual living person. He stepped back and waved at the path. “After you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I’ll Take My Chances

  The campfire crackled and metal clanked as the men pulled off their armour and set up camp while Taya watched from Hades’ back. The arrogant bastards left her, perched on the warhorse and turned their unconcerned backs to her to get to work.

  Her wet pants had dried and the chill seeping into her bones had fled. This was her chance. She had to go now.

  No amount of nudging or soft whispering encouraged Hades to take a step, let alone go for a walk. He tossed his flaxen mane at her before sniffing the frozen ground. She had to slip off this beast unnoticed and keep to the thick woods so their horses wouldn’t be an advantage. She waited. She gripped the leather reins in her hands and squeezed.

  The men continued to mill around her and the campsite. They didn’t look at her once. Why were they so unconcerned about her escape? Were they that arrogant they believed her already an obedient, good little slave?

  Split Lip called out and the men moved to set up a large tent.

  Now!

  She swung her leg over and slipped off Hades into a patch of soft snow. Without a glance back, she picked her way into the trees. Her heart thudded so hard, surely it would give her away—a biological alarm. She sped up. Cold sweat broke out along her hairline. She weaved around the trees and pushed forward on numb toes.

  Ten minutes into the woods, a man yelled out.

  No! Too soon! She didn’t have much of a lead. With the snow, they’d track her easily. Branches snapped behind her. She dropped her chin and surged forward. The cold air raked her throat and burned her lungs.

  Faster!

  Farther!

  Go!

  Wood snapped under her feet. Snow sprayed up behind her. She broke through the forest and nearly stumbled at the sight greeting her.

  The ocean curled into a long bay. Gaze wild, she scanned the treeline. It would take at least an hour to go around the frozen sea. The other side of the bay beckoned her over the glistening shards of ice, reflecting the last rays of the day. The temperature had dropped so low, the salt water had formed large chunks of ice over the surface. The bay must be very shallow.

  The men emerged from the forest as her feet took their first steps onto the ice.

  “Stop,” a deep voice boomed.

  Taya whirled around to face them. The three men. No sign of Thane.

  They stalked toward her. She backed onto the ice farther. She stepped over a large crack. The sheet of ice groaned but held. The smaller piece she now stood on rocked. The dark marine water moved underneath, taunting her with a lethal promise. If she fell into the icy depths, she’d die of hypothermia.

  “We’ll find you,” Axel snarled. “He’ll never let you go.”

  Split Lip stepped onto the icy surface. The small ice floes creaked and cracked under his weight. He glared at her.

  Taya lifted her chin, turned, and ran. If she kept running, the cold couldn’t get her. They couldn’t get her. She’d be free. She slipped and slid and crashed onto the ice. Her face scraped the cold, rough surface.

  Keep going!

  She pulled herself up, licked the blood from her bleeding lip and charged forward again, bounding from one floe to the next. Each sheet of ice swayed under her weight. Though the floes were tightly packed, some freezing together to form larger sheets of ice, one wrong step, one tumble, and she’d slip into the ocean. The far shore beckoned and grew closer and closer with each thumping stride. Her chest heaved. Cold air sheered its way through her body and burned her lungs. Her muscles ached.

  Her foot hit solid ground. She sprawled onto the snowy bank and panted. She’d made it. They were at least an hour behind her.

  She might just die here. It would be so easy. Giving up required no further action besides letting the cold get her. She could take the path of least resistance.

  Taya got up with snow caked to her body and stumbled farther up the beach to where waves had pushed snow crusted driftwood before it iced over.

  Thane stepped from the forest. The last shards of daylight streaked across the bay and illuminated the chiseled perfect
ion of his features.

  Her scalp prickled as if an invisible beast gripped her head in his hand. What the hell? How’d he get here so fast?

  “That was an impressive run,” he said.

  “I should say the same,” she wheezed. Why did he look so fresh? Had he taken Hades for a leisurely jaunt around the bay while his men chased her? Or had he used his magical powers to somehow teleport himself here.

  “I take it you will not come willingly?”

  Taya snarled. He might have powers, but he didn’t have his armour or sword. Maybe if she got a surprise attack in, or bolted before he could blast her with his magic, she’d make it to freedom. She refused to cower or bow to this man. She still had a chance.

  “And if I promised no harm will come to you?”

  She backed away and glanced behind her. One of his men, Lokni, the one with violet eyes and face scar, precariously made his way across the broken sheet of ice covering the bay. His scowl was clear, even at a distance.

  Damn it!

  She changed course and edged toward the trees.

  Thane moved with her and his smile broadened, revealing perfect, white teeth.

  Taya reached to the edge of the forest where the trees protected the forest floor from the majority of the snow. With her feet on firm ground, her confidence bolstered and her mind raced through possibilities. She’d never outrun him. She sucked at jogging on the best days and she was already exhausted. Even with her extensive training, she probably wouldn’t best him in hand-to-hand combat, either.

  She curled her hands into fists. No! She wouldn’t yield. If he wanted her to go with him, he’d have to fight for it.

  She didn’t give him the warning of squaring off. She turned and kicked snow into his face, before slamming the side of her foot into his jaw.

  He grunted and leaned back.

  She dashed for the trees. He snagged her damp sweater with his hand. The material ripped and sent her sprawling forward. She braced for the impact with her hands. Her teeth clamped together and rattled. Pain jarred its way up her arms. She grabbed a rock near her head and hurled it at Thane’s face. He swore.