One of them was the same, small creature with long red hair and pale eyes with flecks of color who had appeared earlier. This time, however, she wasn't alone. She had a young female with her with dark hair, although the same opal-like eyes.

A daughter?

Certainly they were both dragons. There was no missing the power that was now thundering through the cavern.

They were both wearing robes that shimmered with iridescent beads, as they stood facing one another, neither seeming to notice they were no longer alone.

"Torque." Rya pressed against his side, her gaze locked on the two dragons. "What's going on?"

Torque grimaced. That was the question. Although the two forms looked solid, and the power was very real, there was something about them that warned they weren't actually standing in front of them.

It was almost as if they were watching a projection of the females.

"I don't know. The older female is the dragon who I met earlier, but she doesn't feel the same," he muttered, glancing toward the gargoyle. "Is it an illusion?"

Levet slowly shook his head. "Not exactly. I believe it is..." He paused, as if trying to decide what he was seeing. "A memory."

"Yes," Torque abruptly agreed. That would explain why it felt like he was watching a movie. "The dragon is creating this."

Rya watched with a weird fascination as the last of the mist cleared around the females.

The older female was lovely, with hair that looked like a cascade of crimson silk, and pale, delicate features. And those eyes...glorious opals. And her power...good G.o.ddess, it made the floor pulse beneath her feet.

But looking closer, Rya thought she could see an expression of profound sadness on the dragon's face.

Something terrible was about to happen.

Rya could feel it in her bones.

Pressing against Torque's side, she watched in silence as the older dragon reached to touch her companion's face. At first Rya thought the younger female was a mere child. She had black hair pulled into a simple braid, with pale eyes flecked with the colors of a rainbow. Her features were delicate and she stood barely five foot.

Of course, a full dragon could take any form they wanted.

But as Rya continued to study the finely chiseled features, she sensed that the female was older than she first a.s.sumed.

"I think she's trying to show us something," she said, her gaze never wavering from the dragons.

"Yeah, I think so too," Torque muttered. "But what?"

Rya hunched a shoulder as she watched the older dragon step closer to the smaller female, her lips moving as if she was speaking. They could hear nothing, however, only emphasizing the realization this wasn't real.

Without warning, the young dragon suddenly slumped forward, as if she'd pa.s.sed out.

Did dragons faint? Rya had never seen one appear less than indestructible.

Easily catching the female in her arms, the older dragon bent down, stretching the limp form on the ground. Then, with tender care, she straightened the female's beaded robe before she lifted her hand and started to wave it in an elegant pattern.

Rya frowned. Was she trying to wake the unconscious female?

The question drifted through her mind just as a thin layer of ice coated the form on the floor. The dragon gave another wave of her hand, and yet another layer of ice appeared.

"What the-" Torque bit off his words as the image began to fade, replaced by the sight of a ma.s.sive dragon curled in the middle of the floor.

This time there was no sensation of an illusion.

The dragon was real.

Very, very real.

Even at a distance Rya could make out the iridescent shimmer in the crimson scales that covered the long, powerful body. The ma.s.sive wings were folded tight to her back, but they would no doubt span over ten feet. Her legs were curled beneath her, but Rya caught a glimpse of hooked claws that could slice her in half. The female had a narrow snout with razor-sharp teeth, and even in her sleep there were puffs of smoke escaping her flared nostrils.

Rya's mouth went dry, her heart missing a painful beat. She'd grown up around dragons. Which meant she knew it was a bad idea to intrude into their private lair.

When she'd told Torque they needed to locate the female, she'd a.s.sumed they'd have plenty of warning before they stumbled across her. That way they could try and talk to her from a distance.

Now...

h.e.l.l, now all she wanted to do was turn and make a run for it.

"Ma belle, I am not so certain this is a wise notion," Levet muttered.

"No s.h.i.t," Torque breathed, his arm tightening around her. As if he was having the same urge to flee.

But before any of them could actually get their frozen feet to move, the dragon abruptly lifted her head, white-hot fire burning in her eyes.

"What have you done?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Torque swallowed a curse, instinctively moving to stand in front of Rya. Not that he could battle against a full-blooded dragon and survive. But he might be able to give his female time to escape.

Better yet, he hoped to soothe the annoyed creature before she decided to scorch them into crispy critters.

Or at least that was the thought before the tiny gargoyle waddled forward to perform a small bow.

"Forgive us, your Graciousness," he said, his wings spread wide. "We come in peace."

With a roll of his eyes, Torque moved to grab the creature by one horn, dragging him away from the angry dragon.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" he muttered.

Without warning there was a blast of magic. Torque recoiled as the sizzling power buffeted against him, nearly sending him to his knees. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Rya hadn't been hurt before he was returning his attention to the female who was now standing in the place of the humongous leviathan.

Once again she was the beautiful female with bright red hair and opal eyes. On this occasion, however, her manner wasn't befuddled, or confused.

Belatedly he realized that when he'd met her before, she'd been in a deep, hibernating sleep. Only a tiny fraction of her mind had been awake enough to realize her lair had been invaded.

Now she was fully conscious and was even more dangerous.

"Who dares to-" She abruptly bit off her angry words, her brows drawing together. "Wait. I know you."

"Torque." He gave a cautious nod of his head. "We met earlier."

"Yes." She smoothed her hand down her beaded robe, her eyes still glowing with her inner fire. "And I told you to remain in the safety of the s.p.a.ce I created for you."

He chose his words with care. "We received a warning that you were in danger. We tracked you down to try and keep you safe."

"Danger?" She glanced around the cavern, as if searching for any hidden enemy. "There's nothing that can harm me here."

Torque would normally agree. What the h.e.l.l could hurt a dragon?

Still, he couldn't dismiss the gathering sense of doom that seemed to fill the air.

"I don't doubt your skills in protecting your lair," he said with careful respect for her powers. "But there's an enemy who managed to kidnap several frost sprites as well as a Shinto female and bring them here. We were following them when we became trapped," he reminded her.

The dragon tilted her head to the side, her eyes closing as she presumably used her powers to search through her lair for intruders.

"They are a nuisance, but they will eventually concede defeat and leave," she at last murmured.

Okay. If the big, bad dragon didn't think there was any reason to worry, Torque wasn't going to force the issue.

Instead he turned his attention to their most pressing problem.

"I'm happy to hear that," he said. "Unfortunately we don't have their skill with opening portals. We must ask for your a.s.sistance in allowing us to leave your lair."

The female's eyes snapped open. "That's not possible."

"But-"

She slashed her hand through the air, cutting off his protest. "This isn't my lair."

Torque paused. Was this some sort of quiz?

"Then what is it?" he asked.

Her features softened. "A refuge."

"A refuge for you?"

"No."

He felt a brush of heat along his arm as Rya moved to stand at his side.

"It's for the young dragon, isn't it?" she asked in soft tones.

"My daughter," the dragon revealed, her gaze suddenly locked on Rya. "And your sister."

Torque heard Rya suck in a startled breath. Without thought, he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, tugging her close.

"Sister?" she breathed in baffled tones.

The dragon nodded, taking in Rya's confused expression with a hint of satisfaction.

"Blayze is also the daughter of Synge."

"Oh." Rya took a moment to consider the revelation. Then stunned disbelief was slowly replaced by a tentative smile. Clearly she was pleased by the thought of having a sister. "How wonderful."

"I am Ravel, mate to Synge," the dragon continued.

"Mate?" Rya blinked. Then blinked again. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. My father has never spoken of a consort or a full-blooded daughter."

"I left him a very, very long time ago," Ravel told her. "Before you were born."

Rya looked as amazed as Torque felt. When dragons mated it was for eternity.

"Were you driven away?"

"No. Synge has always been quite devoted to me," Ravel admitted. "I left to protect my daughter."

Her explanation only deepened Torque's confusion. Pureblooded dragons were exceedingly rare. And female offspring were...priceless. There was no worse sin than harming a child.

"Who would dare to hurt a baby dragon?" he demanded.

Ravel abruptly turned to pace across the barren cavern, her features tightening with a fierce emotion. "Synge has made enemies over the years," she muttered.

Torque rolled his eyes. Synge was a brutal, insatiable predator who ruled his vast kingdom with an iron fist. There was a good chance the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had made thousands and thousands of enemies. Torque was wise enough, however, to keep his thoughts to himself.

Turning back to face them, Ravel clenched her hands at her sides. "One of them managed to penetrate the lair shortly after the birth of Blayze and cursed her."

Torque hissed in horror. "What sort of curse?"

"Eternal madness."

"Oh dear G.o.ddess," Rya breathed. "That's horrible."

Torque shuddered. It was indeed horrible. He'd never actually met anyone who was cursed, but he knew they rarely survived.

But it wasn't his thought of Blayze's unfortunate fate that was making his skin crawl. It was the thickening malice that swirled through the air.

He desperately wanted to be out of the strange cavern, but he sensed that Rya wasn't going to budge until she heard the full story of her sister.