How the hell had he forgotten for even a moment that he had given his ring to Anna for her to wear around her throat? Dios, he must be losing his mind. The ancient ring might not claim the same magic as her emerald, but it possessed the one thing he needed to find her.
He ignored their questioning glances as he glared into the imp’s wide eyes. “You’re going to take me to Anna,” he growled.
Troy swallowed the lump in his throat. “I told you it’s not possible.”
“Can you make a portal or not?”
“Of course I can make a portal. I am fey.”
“Then do it.”
Troy rolled his eyes. “I have to know where I’m going and no one, no one, knows where Avalon is located. Only Morgana can create a portal there.”
Cezar couldn’t allow the thought of Anna alone on the isle with Morgana to enter his mind. He was too close to the edge. Suddenly Styx was at his side, his hand landing on Cezar’s shoulder to keep him steady.
“You can use a person to anchor your portal,” he said to Troy, his voice edged with his barely contained fury.
“I may be the Prince of Imps, but I don’t have the sort of power to latch on to a woman I’ve met on two occasions, through the protective mists that surround the isle,” Troy retorted, his expression hardening with impatience. “It’s like randomly dialing numbers on the telephone in the hope you hit the person you want to talk to. I don’t have enough of her essence to call her to my mind.”
“You won’t have to. You can dial my number.”
Troy blinked, and then blinked again. “Forgive me, Conde, but I don’t think it’s going to be a lot of help if I make a portal leading to you.”
“No.” Cezar gave the imp a small shake. It was that or choke him. “Anna is not only my mate, but she was wearing my ring. A ring that has been an intimate part of me for the past five centuries. You search for an echo of me and you will find her.”
A silence filled the room as Troy considered his words. “I suppose it might work,” he at last conceded.
“It will work,” Cezar said grimly, not willing to allow any doubt that he would soon have Anna in his arms. “Now do it.”
Troy frowned, a hint of reluctance flashing through his eyes. “Before I do this, I want your promise that you will protect me from the queen. Morgana’s not particularly happy with me right now and…”
Cezar growled low in his throat. “Troy, you test my patience.”
“Fine,” Troy huffed. “Release me and I’ll make your damn portal.”
Stepping back, Cezar kept a close watch on the imp as he smoothed his long mane of crimson hair before moving to the small clearing in the center of the kitchen. At Cezar’s side, Styx snorted in disgust as Troy held out his slender hands, waving them in a fluttering motion, as if searching for the best location for his portal. Like one spot on the cracked, filthy linoleum was better than another.
Ridiculous poof.
Impatiently awaiting the portal to appear, Cezar was caught off-guard when Troy abruptly reached back and grasped his wrist in a tight grip.
“Careful, imp,” he hissed.
“The more strongly I have the sense of you, the easier it will be to locate Anna,” Troy retorted, his eyes trained straight ahead. “Besides, a vampire can’t travel through a magical source unless he is connected to a fey. You’re nothing more than a passenger on this ride.”
Styx abruptly moved to Cezar’s side, growling deep in his throat. “Cezar, take care. I do not trust this fey. It could be a trap.”
“Don’t worry, Styx.” With a swift movement he turned his hand, taking command of the imp’s grip with a painful squeeze. “Troy knows what will happen if he disappoints me.”
Giving a squawk of pain, Troy glared at Cezar over his shoulder. “I really, really hate vampires.”
“Not as much as you’re going to if you fail me,” Cezar warned.
Muttering under his breath, Troy lifted his free hand and the shimmer of a portal began to form. Instinctively the vampires backed away, their distaste for magic clearly etched on their faces.
Cezar didn’t so much as flinch. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than magic to keep him away from Anna.
Coiled and prepared to strike, Cezar waited as Troy closed his eyes and did whatever it was the fey did to reach out and sense others. His muscles were trembling by the time Troy sucked in a sharp breath and stiffened in fear.
“Damn my luck,” he muttered. “I found her.”
Cezar didn’t allow himself to feel relief. Not yet. Not until Anna was away from Avalon and Morgana was dead. “Let’s go.”
Troy hesitated for a heartbeat before he muttered another foul curse and stepped into the portal, dragging Cezar in his wake.
In the blink of an eye the kitchen dissolved, to be replaced by an impenetrable blackness. He’d heard that most portal travelers saw flashing lights and experienced electrical charges that pulsed over their skin but as a vampire he could sense nothing. That didn’t mean he enjoyed the trip. Actually he’d rather have his fangs pulled than plunge himself in the middle of so much magic.
Keeping a crushing grip on Troy, Cezar closed his mind to the disturbing mode of transportation and instead concentrated on his bond with Anna. Soon, he soothed his ravaged nerves. Soon he would be at her side and he would destroy anyone or anything that was trying to harm her.
In the end it was soon, although it seemed like an eternity. Troy led him out of the portal and into a vast, marble room that was in the process of falling in on their heads.
“Shit,” Troy breathed as he was hit by a flying piece of marble. “This doesn’t look right.”
Cezar ignored the debris that battered his body, his senses leaping with stark relief at the unmistakable sense of Anna.
“She’s here.” He swiftly scanned the room, seeking his mate among the piles of rubble. “Anna!” he shouted, moving forward without concern for the dangers that might be hidden. He would deal with anything that sought to keep him from his woman.
“Damn, it looks like World War Three just arrived,” Troy muttered, grimacing at the layer of powdered marble that was coating his spandex pants. He cowardly remained close to the portal he had left open for a quick escape. “Where’s Morgana?”
Ignoring the pest, Cezar stiffened in fear as he caught sight of the slender body lying in a broken heap near the ornate throne.