Page 21 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

“It’s real, little one. Very real,” he assured her. His gaze hardened as he watched her struggle with that truth.

Her eyes widened. “If this is real, and not some fever dream, then I really do have to go home. Ihaveto. I can’t leave Caden.”

He paused. Now he understood what must be driving her need to get free. He’d already violated the ancient treaty about mortals once. What more could he suffer if he did it a second time?

“If you wish to be with your brother?—”

She stopped fighting. “You’ll let me go home?”

Roan closed his eyes. “That is not what I promised you.”

An instant later, he and Kate appeared in the palace dungeons. The cells were empty at the moment. He set her down on her feet, and she glanced about in bewilderment. The dungeons were made of cold iron, one of the few places in the palace to have the wretched metal because it kept most of the Fae imprisoned and weakened, except Roan, who was too strong to be contained by iron. Lit wall sconces illuminated the grim place. It was empty and clean, but not at all welcoming.

“What is this place?” She glanced around the large iron-barred cell they stood in, clearly confused.

“My dungeons. Since you cannot be trusted to sit still in my bedchamber, you will wait here until I return.” He stepped back a few paces and then waved his hand, sending the iron door slamming shut between them, containing Kate in one of the large cells.

“Roan... Wait, what are you doing? Don’t leave me here!” she called out as he turned his back on her and walked up the stairs to exit the dungeons. Once he was outside, he traveled back to Kate’s realm and retrieved the child she seemed to care so much about. It was an easy enough thing for him now that he was healed, and the child would not be missed because time passed far more quickly in his world than the mortal world. Ten years could pass here before even a minute would pass for Kate’s human realm.

Roan reappeared once more in the dungeons, the child at his side in the cell next to Kate’s.

“Caden!” Kate gasped and ran to her brother and caught his arms through the bars where their cells connected. The boy, still wearing his red-and-black checkered pajamas, looked around, confused and scared. Roan wanted to tell the child he had nothing to fear, that this was only to motivate his sister to acquiesce to Roan’s wishes, but he held his tongue for now. Kate had to learn that he was in command of her future now. This was his realm, and he was no hero to rescue her. He was the king of the dark woods and lord of the Twilight Court.

“Kate? What is this place? I’m scared.”

Kate held her brother through the bars and shot a furious look at Roan that almost made him smile. Her fire was a thing of beauty. He opened the door to her cell, ready for her to comply now with his desires, but his little human glared at him.

“Send him home!” she demanded. “Can’t you see he’s terrified?”

Roan crossed his arms and shook his head. “Not until I have what I want.”

“You—” She charged him, fists raised. Roan grabbed her wrists, pinning them easily behind her back, holding her still so he could clasp her chin with his other hand, forcing her head to tilt back to look up at him.

“I suspect asking you to wait naked in my bed for me is an order that you will never obey. So perhaps I need to play a game that will help you understand the rules of this land?” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. Fury flashed beautifully in her eyes.

“Just let us go home,” she begged, contrasting with the defiance in her expression. “Please, Roan.”

He didn’t grant her request, no matter how wonderfully erotic it was to hear her beg and say his name like that. Instead, he leaned down, feathering his lips over hers in the ghost of a kiss.

“You wished to bargain with me, little mortal, remember? Here is your bargain. Starting at dawn in an hour’s time you will have a month to solve my labyrinth. If you do, you and your brother may leave. But each night, I shall come for you at twilight and you will give a part of yourself to me in whatever way I desire. And if you do not solve the labyrinth by the month’s end, I will own you...forever.”

Then he slammed his mouth over hers in a fierce kiss to seal their bargain as he sought to conquer that wild spirit that challenged him in a way that made him feel alive, made him feel changed in the land wherenothingever changed.

When their lips parted, he smiled softly at the dazed look on her face. At least his kisses had some effect on her. Yet something was missing... like a piece of an intricate clock out of place. If all the cogs and wheels weren’t where they should be, the clock would not chime the midnight hour. The kiss he’d taken had left him wanting... aching... empty. And still, as he held her in his arms, he could feel that warmth, that promise of something yet untamed, unconquered within this human woman that drew him like the warmth of a fire on a winter’s night.

How can I have her, yet not have her?

The desire in her eyes didn’t fade, but he saw steel in her expression. This was a mortal who possessed the determination of a Fae queen.

“Thirty days?” Kate said. “I’ll finish in a week.”

He sighed softly. “Ah, to have the unfounded confidence of mortals.” Roan chuckled. “You are no match for the labyrinth.”And no match for me,he silently added.

But the labyrinth was dangerous, and he didn’t want her to face the nightmares within. He simply wanted her to agree to be his, to let him show her what pleasures she could have as the love thrall of a Fae king. What mortal wouldn’t wish for such a thing?

Her brown eyes hardened. “I may not be able to reorder the planets or turn into an owl, but I can solve your labyrinth.”

He quirked one dark brow at her. “Be careful to presume you know what something is. Remember, to you I was merely an injured owl, and now you know I am far more. You must trust nothing in the labyrinth, not even yourself.”

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