Leading her companion toward the small clearing, Marika ignored Sergei as he trailed behind them, tripping over the underbrush as he struggled through the dark.
“Marika, wait,” he urged as she linked her hand with the Sylvermyst and prepared to travel through his portal. “I thought I saw that idiotic gargoyle …”
At the end of her patience, Marika turned to grab him by the hair, yanking him close as a shimmering hole formed in front of them.
“Another word and I’ll rip out your tongue.”
Chapter 20
Tane didn’t have memories of his life before waking up as a vampire.
His body, however, had retained an instinctive love for the warm beaches and tropical scents of the South Pacific. Who wouldn’t prefer to swim in a moon-drenched ocean than huddle by a fire in a damp lair?
Which made the arrival at the frozen cavern in the Kamchatka Peninsula all the more unpleasant.
Gods. He thought nothing could be worse than traveling through the strange mists between worlds. Until Laylah had tugged his hand, and they’d landed on the narrow ledge of a mountain that overlooked …
A frozen wasteland.
That smelled of sulfur.
His nose wrinkled at the pungent aroma of distant geysers that warned of volcanic activity. It would be just his luck one of the damned things would blow while they were there.
At least he was impervious to the cold.
Unlike Laylah who had wrapped herself in a dark cloak that provided cover for the baby she held in her arms. She’d also pulled on fur-lined boots that protected her feet from the ice-covered ground.
Tane’s only concession was a T-shirt that was tight enough not to impede his movements and khaki pants that covered the daggers he had holstered at both ankles, one at his side, and another at his lower back. He’d also strapped the Sylvermyst sword to his back and had a handgun tucked in his pocket.
He hated to be underdressed when he came to a fight.
Of course, there was always the tiny hope that he could convince Laylah to return to Styx’s lair before they were attacked yet again.
His lips twisted.
Naw.
His luck wasn’t that good.
A blast of frigid air slammed into them, whipping at Laylah’s cloak and nearly tumbling her over the edge of the sharp cliff.
Cursing the godforsaken mountain, the cold, and the stubbornness of Jinn mongrels, he grabbed her shoulders and hauled her backward, careful not to disturb the bundle in her arms.
“Are you sure you didn’t take us into a hell dimension,” he accused directly into her ear.
Pulling free of his grasp, she turned with a wry smile. “It’s bleak, but there’s a harsh beauty if you look for it.”
Much like him. She didn’t have to say the words out loud.
“And you’re an expert at finding beauty in the most unlikely places, are you not, my sweet?”
She flashed a smug smile. “I know a good thing when I see it.”
“Only after I held you captive and forced you to accept that I was destined to be yours.”
Her magnificent eyes sparkled with a teasing glow. “How do you know I wasn’t playing hard to get?”
A poignant warmth tugged at his heart. When he’d first encountered Laylah she’d been filled with a bitter resentment and a fear that was grinding her into a mere shell of herself.
A portion of the fear remained, of course. It wouldn’t go away until the child was safe.
But the bitterness had faded, replaced with a contentment that made Tane preen with a smug pleasure.
He was willing to take full credit for her budding happiness.
“Because what I admire most about you is your refusal to be anything or anyone but who you are. Your honesty is…” He shuddered at the endless years of lies and deceptions that had marked his relationship with Sung Li. “A blessing.”
“Really?” Her expression was wicked. “I have other blessings to offer.”
He growled low in his throat. “Haven’t you learned that it’s dangerous to tease a vampire?”
“But it’s so much fun.”
He captured her lips in a fierce, painfully brief kiss before pulling back and glancing toward the narrow opening of the cave.
Beyond the entrance, he could sense several tunnels that zigzagged down into the depths of the mountain.
“We have to do this?”
“Yes.”
“There’s nothing for miles not even a frost fairy.” With a grimace she headed toward the cave, slipping through the entrance. “This is where I’m supposed to be.”
Staying close to her side, Tane pulled his sword free, prepared for the inevitable attack. “I don’t like it.”
“I can’t say I’m crazy to be back here either, but I have to find the truth of Maluhia.” “And then what?”
She headed straight for the nearest tunnel, leading him down the roughly carved steps.
“If it’s safe I intend to find someone to release him from the stasis spell.”
Tane stumbled to a halt as they entered another small cavern. This one just as bleak and frigidly unwelcoming as the one above.
“Hell,” he muttered.
Laylah turned to regard him with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“I just realized I’m going to be a …” His tongue faltered over the unfamiliar word. “Dad.” He scowled as her laughter broke the ominous atmosphere that shrouded the long forgotten caves. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m trying to imagine you coaching the T-ball team.”
He smiled, tugging open Laylah’s cloak to reveal the child she held in her arms.
Vampires could procreate in their own way. Some even felt a parent/child bond with the “offspring” they created, but Tane had never considered creating a foundling.
Hell, he hadn’t wanted a mate.
He’d already royally screwed up one relationship; he didn’t feel the need for a repeat performance.
Until Laylah.
And now Maluhia.
They were a family.
His family.
And he would die to protect them.
“Perhaps not T-ball,” he grudgingly admitted. What was T-ball? “But, I can teach him to hide his presence when he’s stalking his prey and how to kill with his bare hands and …”
“Enough,” she laughingly protested, shaking her head.
“What?”
She glanced down at the child. “We might have to seek assistance in our parenting skills.”
He moved to gently press his lips to her forehead. “So long as we love and protect the child, what else matters?”