The pain abruptly intensified. "Just do it."

Finn battled back a looming darkness. Holy s.h.i.t. He'd never endured such torture.

"I can't do anything if I'm unconscious," he snarled.

The pain began to ease, and Finn lifted his head to meet the glittering platinum gaze. It didn't take a mind reader to know that Micah enjoyed seeing him on his knees.

"One wrong move and I'll make sure you regret it," the Sylvermyst promised.

Finn rose to his feet, his knees threatening to collapse. Covertly he placed his hand behind his back, using the wall to keep himself upright.

"What's beneath the ice?" he demanded. Not that he gave a s.h.i.t, but he needed time to recover his strength.

Once he could conjure his magic, he intended to collapse the entire cavern. He'd see if the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds could crawl out of several tons of ice.

"Obviously that's what you're going to find out," Micah sneered.

Finn turned his attention toward the swell of ice that towered just a few feet away. Once again he was struck by the sense of...wrongness.

He asked the question that'd been preying on his mind. "Did it occur to you that someone went to a lot of trouble to cover it in so many layers?"

The scent of herbs deepened as Micah glanced toward the looming mound. Naked greed tightened his narrow features.

"Of course it did. Which is precisely why I want it uncovered." Micah stepped toward the mound, his body vibrating with excitement. "It must be priceless."

Finn frowned. The more he concentrated on the strange heap of ice, the more unnerved he was at the thought of messing with it. "Or dangerous," he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Jarvis demanded, his expression torn between his brother's l.u.s.t and a wary unease.

Could the younger Sylvermyst sense the menace that throbbed beneath the ice?

"Nothing," Micah snapped, his seething frustration p.r.i.c.kling through the air. "He's just playing for time."

That'd been the original intent. Now, however, he was genuinely concerned.

The more he concentrated on the ice, the more certain he was that it was there to keep something trapped.

Something they wanted to stay trapped.

"No. We shouldn't mess with it," he muttered in distracted tones.

Jarvis inched a step toward him. As if Finn could offer him protection from whatever was lurking just out of sight.

"Why not?" he asked Finn.

Finn shuddered. "Darkness."

"Micah," Jarvis muttered. "Maybe we should wait until-"

"What is wrong with you?" He whirled to glare at his brother. "The sprite is trying to screw with us."

"Listen to me," Finn insisted. "Whatever is under the ice isn't treasure."

"Liar," Micah rasped, his eyes glowing with a weird frenzy. Almost as if he'd already been touched by madness. "Remove the ice."

Finn took a deliberate step away, his back pressed against the frozen wall.

"No."

Micah's face flushed with fury. "Have you forgotten what I can do to you?"

Finn shook his head. "Then do it. I won't help you."

"You say that now." Micah lifted his hand, the air heating with his magic. "But eventually you'll do exactly what I want."

"When h.e.l.l freezes over," Finn said in wry tones. He was still weak, but he was fairly confident he had enough strength to pull down the ceiling.

Or at least that was the hope.

Micah blinked, caught off guard by Finn's response. Clearly he'd a.s.sumed Finn would do anything to avoid the pain.

"Do you think I won't kill you?" he growled.

Finn shrugged. "I don't care."

There was a tense battle of glares as Micah prepared to use his magic. Then, perhaps sensing that Finn wasn't going to budge, he released a sharp breath.

"Find the others," he snapped toward his brother.

Jarvis gave a grudging nod, but before he could move, the sound of the female sliced through the air.

"They're gone, but I have something better."

Finn turned his head to watch the tall, slender female Sylvermyst step into sight from the side of the cavern. He easily recognized the female he'd seen with Adair earlier.

What was her name? Lila? Yes, that was it.

"Where have you been?" Micah barked.

The female's bronzed eyes flashed with temper. "Solving your problems, as usual."

Micah curled his lip with disdain. "I don't need a female to solve my problems."

"Is that right?" Indifferent to her brother's scorn, Lila stepped around the curve of the icy mound, revealing that she wasn't alone. "Come along, dear sister."

Adair.

Finn sucked in a shocked breath. Not because she was in the company of Lila, but because it was obvious she'd been severely beaten.

Her copper hair was tangled around her pale face that was bruised and b.l.o.o.d.y. One eye was nearly swelled shut, and the arm her sister was holding was hanging at an awkward angle. It was either ripped out of joint or broken.

Her robe was torn in several places and she was limping, which meant that it wasn't just her face that had suffered from the tender hand of her sister.

Anger blasted through Finn.

The b.i.t.c.h. Finn had a natural aversion to hurting females, but Lila had just sealed her fate.

She was going to die along with her brothers.

Oblivious to the cloud of frost that filled the air, Micah stepped toward his sisters with a small frown.

"Adair?" His gaze flicked between the two women before landing on Lila. "What's going on?"

Lila glared at her sister. "I found her at the back of the cavern, helping the sprites escape through a portal."

Finn's heart clenched. He was suddenly certain she was the one who'd opened the portal. Dammit. She'd saved his people and now she'd put her own life at risk.

Confirming his worst fear, Micah stormed forward, lifting his hand to smack Adair across the face. Her head rolled backward, blood dripping down her jaw from a wide cut in her cheek.

"Treacherous b.i.t.c.h," Micah thundered, his hand lifting to hit her again.

"Stop," Finn rasped, his hands clenched at his side as he leashed the urge to attack the male.

He had to conserve his strength. Especially now.

He could no longer consider the idea of becoming a n.o.ble martyr, willing to die to take out his enemies.

Not when that would also mean the death of Adair.

He would sacrifice himself. But not her.

It didn't matter that she was related to his enemies. Or that he barely knew her.

He wasn't going to let her die.

Period.

Glancing over his shoulder, Micah took in Finn's grim expression, a slow smile curving his lips as he realized he had the perfect weapon in his hands.

"Ah," he drawled, moving to wrap his arm around Adair's shoulders. "Perhaps you're not as worthless as I always feared, sweet sister."

Adair shuddered, her expression pleading. "Micah, please."

"Don't worry, pet," he mocked, tugging her forward until they stood directly in front of Finn. "I don't intend to kill you. Not yet, anyway. First your prince is going to remove the ice for us."

Adair swayed and no doubt would have fallen on her face if her brother hadn't been holding her up. Her gaze, however, remained locked on Finn.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, as if any of this was her fault.

Frost coated Finn's skin as he glared at the smugly smiling Micah. "Hurt her and I'll destroy you."

"Isn't that sweet?" Micah roughly patted Adair's wounded cheek. "The pretty sprite is worried about you. Did you let him have a taste of your body to earn such concern?"

"Let her go," Finn commanded.

Micah's eyes narrowed, his expression already one of antic.i.p.ation. "Do as I ask and I promise I'll release her."

"Don't listen to him-" Adair's words broke off in a scream as Micah released his magic.

"s.h.i.t," Finn muttered, his gut twisting as Micah shoved Adair onto the ground. Still screaming, she writhed in pain, but reaching out a pleading hand she released a low groan.

"Don't, Finn," she managed to gasp. "They'll kill me either way."

Micah cursed, landing a vicious kick to the side of Adair's head. The female went limp, knocked unconscious by the blow.

Satisfied that Adair couldn't cause any further trouble, Micah glared toward Finn.

"Do it." He pointed at the icy mound. "Now."

Trying to ignore the fear that he was making a terrible mistake, Finn held out his hand. Then, with a sharp blast, he released the last of his magic.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

Torque scowled at Rya and the ridiculous gargoyle who were gazing at him with expectant expressions.

Did they think he had some sort of special magic that allowed him to locate missing dragons?

"How am I supposed to find the female?" he asked.

Levet clicked his tongue. "And you call yourself a hero?"

"No." He glared toward the miniature blight on gargoyles everywhere. "I have never called myself a hero."

Rya stepped forward, no doubt eager to halt yet another squabble. Torque swallowed a curse. The annoying creature provoked him into acting like a cranky hatchling.

"You're a much better tracker than I am," Rya pointed out in soothing tones. "Can you use your senses to find her?"

He grimaced. Even standing in a place that looked so familiar, he was eerily aware of the strangeness of their surroundings. The truth was that he had no idea how to go about picking up a trail.

"I might be able to if we weren't in the middle of an ice maze," he grudgingly confessed. "Once I leave these rooms there's a very real possibility that I'll become lost." A small shiver raced through his body. "Or worse, stuck in another cell."

Rya nodded, but her expression remained troubled. "We have to do something. My mother can be a bit bossy-"