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Ruslan’s only reply was a sharp whistle and quick jerk on the reins, halting our progress to the mountains. “Make camp,” he ordered, and heavy boots thudded against the ground, metal armor clanged, and hushed conversation fell across the soldiers behind us.
Instead of allowing us to dismount, Ruslan yanked on the reins, carving a wide arc around the clearing where his soldiers busied themselves pitching tents and building fires. His pace was lazy, slow, and leisurely, while my mind screamed for something, anything to happen. Yet I remained silent, waiting for his next move.
“What do you know of the other continents?” he inquired.
Was my brain broken, or did his responses to normal questions make zero sense?
I answered anyway. “Only that there are other continents. I can see trading ships coming and going from the windows in my room at Este Castle.”
“There are four continents, plus many outlying islands, each with its own people who have different magical abilities. Déli is filled with Shifters, whose magic allows them to take the shape of different animals. There are powerful Mages who harness magic using spells and potions on the continent Nugati. Keleti is filled with Angels and Demons who are nearly immortal, some living for thousands of years.”
My curiosity begged me to ask questions about the other continents, but I silenced my inner voice, instead firing back with a sliver of information I already possessed. “And the Iron Fae traffic females from these other continents, selling them for slaves in Északi.”
Ruslan stiffened at my back, sending my already tense shoulders even higher as his anger rolled off of him in waves that knocked me off balance. “They are not slaves,” he gritted out, hisknuckles white around the black leather reins. “Nor do we sell them.”
That struck a nerve.
In one swift movement, he leaped off his horse, spinning to face me while he gripped his stallion’s bridle. His smoky gray eyes flashed as he stared at me, struggling to regain a semblance of control of our conversation. I studied him in turn, taking in the dark lashes fanning against his pale skin as he blinked through an array of emotions. His dark hair was close cropped on the sides but longer and slicked back atop his head. Sharp cheekbones contrasted with a strong jaw dusted in stubble.
His horse was massive, yet he held his own against the beast, legs thick as tree trunks holding his broad shoulders straight. Metal armor fit snugly over his body, leaving no doubt that he could break your spine across his knee and not even blink. The smallest hint of a tattoo peeked through his armor near the nape of his neck, the rest covered by the leather collar of his undershirt. Another tattoo peeked between his sleeves and wrists as he clenched and unclenched his fists, attempting to rein in his wild emotions.
His inner turmoil mirrored my own, and if I weren’t trying to survive this kidnapping and return to my mate, I might have sympathized with the male. That wall behind which I hid my intense emotions was too cracked to repair, and I needed every bit of control over them to make it out of his clutches alive. There was no room for mistakes or pity. My only focus was me. Reaching inside, I stoked the white flames that had become my comfort in moments of turmoil, relieved when they flared to life alongside the spear of crystal, both ready to fuel my magic should I need to fight and flee.
Ruslan circled his neck, once, twice, three times, before releasing a breath, seeming to relax once again. “Will you pleasedismount and walk with me?” he asked, his voice strained as if it pained him to play nice.
“Do I get to walk on my own, or will you chain me like a slave?” I retorted, looking down my nose at him.
His eyes flashed with violent black flames again, and his teeth clacked with how hard he snapped them shut. Through those gritted teeth he seethed, “You may walk beside me, without chains.”
Keeping him in view, I slipped off his mount’s broad back, landing lightly on my toes. I braced myself against the horse’s furry hide, wanting something to ground me as I faced off with the male who towered over me. The familiar musky scent and the rippling muscle beneath my fingers was enough for the moment. Tossing me the reins, Ruslan allowed me to lead his horse as we traipsed through the dead grass toward the camp.
“So, the continents? Were you going anywhere with that story?” I prodded, wanting to shift the dangerous air that lay between us.
“The Iron Realm is the smallest in Északi. My father has long searched for ways to expand his power and bring wealth to Iron Fae. The other continents are how he has accomplished that. We bring rare metals, jewels, and people to the Iron Realm, creating beautiful new items like none have seen before. Like me,” he explained.
He thought he was rare and beautiful?
He was like every asshole who had abused me for the twenty-one years he had me chained in a cave.
“My father is King Azim of the Iron Realm, but my mother was the result of careful selection in a breeding program designed to create Fae with superior power. You see, the other realms think that blood purity is the way to build and maintain magic power, but they are wrong. Their prejudices have made them weak, and I intend to show them the error of their ways.The Félvér – what we call those with mixed blood – will rule this continent, with me as the king of all realms.”
Breeding program? As in, they forced those they brought from the other continents to fuck and produce offspring?
My brows pinched together, but I forced myself to refocus as he continued.
“Rares – King Azim’s director of the breeding program – selected my grandfather, a Mage, to breed with my grandmother, who was half Demon, half Dragon Shifter. And then my mother was born, with a mix of all races except Angel and Fae. My father bred with her, and then I came into the world.” He stopped so suddenly that his mount nearly crushed me beneath his hooves in my attempt to slow him. With his back to the camp, Ruslan leveled a look at me that sent chills skittering down my spine. “I have magical abilities far beyond what any Fae on this continent can manage, and I can partially shift into a Dragon. But the best part is that I can bend space with a simple spell. So, my sprite, you were only out for a night. But I moved us three fourths of the way out of the Night Realm in that time.”
Holy fuck.
My breath caught in my chest as panic clawed its way up my throat, threatening to suffocate me as the weight of his words crashed over me.
Ruslan was bred to have abilities beyond what most imagined possible.
In a short time, he could move massive distances.
How was I supposed to escape if he could follow me like he was leaping from one stone to another along a river?
I was trapped with no escape yet again – not on this continent, and not on any other. I was powerless in the face of an enemy who carried the prowess of every race behind him.
