Page 40 of Trapped to Tame
Drax rubbed his face. ‘Keep their horses fed and watered, pray to the gods that Priest didn’t get separated from the female, and that he can get them to the Underhill by the time we get there.’
‘But where—?’
‘There’s no way of knowing,’ Drax interrupted. ‘They could be in any realm, but if anyone can get them back, it's Priest. Come. Let’s keep moving before we start to freeze.’
Chapter 7
Priest
Priest threw himself towards the female, realizing what the foolish girl had done a split second too late to stop her and wondering if they were going to survive to tell the tale of this catastrophe.
He felt the portal she had opened inside the other pull him in as his arms wrapped around her and they fell out of the air just far enough off the ground for Priest to groan as he hit the hard surface of the rock, cushioning the female's fall. At least he knew, firstly, that she was now strong enough to access her magick and, secondly, how it was triggered.
Sheer terror.
She got up, scrambling away from him, her head darting this way and that like a cornered mouse. Priest looked around, getting his bearings, and ensuring he had his weapons. He did, thank the gods, but little else besides the amulet around his neck. He could see that she had hers as well. Well, that was something at least.
‘You foolish bitch,’ he ground out.
Her eyes narrowed in anger.
‘Me?’ she exploded. ‘You didn't even tell me what we were doing until it was happening.’
‘You didn’t need to know,’ he said.
‘Clearly I did,’ she blustered.
He stepped towards her, and she did the same, standing in front of him and tilting her head up to glare into his face.
‘You are the most bothersome female,’ he muttered.
‘Where are we?’ she asked, ignoring him.
‘In a dark realm,’ he said. ‘Look around you.’
He followed his own advice again, taking in the barren ground, the black rocks littering the landscape, the twin suns that were setting slowly in the sky, and the scraggly bushes that gave them next to no cover should they be attacked.
‘Which one remains to be seen,’ he muttered, but he had a feeling he’d been here before.
‘Do you know all the Dark Realms,’ she asked, a timidness in her voice making him remember that she’d never been outside her own realm and that making her afraid at the moment might have unpredictable consequences.
‘There are too many to know them all,’ he said. ‘Come on. I think I know where we are and if I’m right, we’re very, very lucky.’
He grabbed her by the arm, keeping her close and moving her with him as he walked briskly down the slight slope towards the valley in the distance.
He glanced at her. ‘Well, at least we know Drax was correct. You have magick.
‘But–but,’ she stuttered. ‘How do you—’
‘Youopened that portal inside the other one.’ He made a sound of disgust. ‘Even the barest novice knows not to try something like that.’
‘I didn’t do it on purpose! Perhaps if you had told me what was happening,’ she stated again, and he snorted.
‘As if it would have made any difference in your tiny, human mind,’ he taunted.
She made a sound deep in her throat at his latest insult and Priest felt her slam into him from behind. She tackled him to the ground, and he realized that she had indeed become much stronger since they’d been taking care of her. But she was still no match for him. Her fighting style, if it could even be called that, was rough where his movements were calculated, elegant, and sophisticated.
In a swift move, he used her strength against her, throwing her off him and onto the ground some paces away. She lay on her back, winded as he stood over her. He grasped her by the throat and was gratified to see her eyes widen just a fraction. He couldn't feel her as Drax could, but she was afraid. He had to ensure she didn’t gettooscared though, or else there’d be another portal to gods only knew where.
