“Get off me!” She shoved him.
He grinned as she wiped his saliva off her skin, and heat spread through her, chasing away the deathly chill. He let go. Ugh! The urge to roll in the snow gripped her. She didn’t care if she froze, she just wanted to clean his vile touch and spit off her—
The sounds of thuds echoed, and grunts followed. Her heart leaped, her gaze darting to the cave mouth.
“About time,” he muttered.
Aerén?
God, she hoped so. She wanted him to incinerate the asses and didn’t care if she sounded bloodthirsty. These bastards used women they abducted for whatever they wanted. They deserved death.
The jerk grabbed her by her throat, dragging her in front of him again.
Aerén appeared at the cave entrance, grabbing onto the edge of the opening, chest rising and falling. He seemed far too pale beneath his lightly tanned skin, and he was bleeding profusely from a gash to his brow. His eyes flashed to her, then to the rebel holding her like a shield.
“Let. Her. Go.” He was wildness edged with violence. No longer the proper man she knew.
“Ishkhen, did you crash into obstacles trying to get here?” Skinhead laughed, but the hatred in his voice was palpable. “Not sure which asshole you are, with you all having the same fekking hair color, but use your abilities, and she dies. But, judging from your poor physical state, you aren’t in any shape to do much protecting, are you?” His expression hardened. “Youin exchange for her.”
“What?” Leya squeaked. “No!” Aerén could barely stand and seemed seconds from keeling over. The jerk would kill him.
Aerén remained silent, his icy stare pinned on the skinhead.
“Oh, don’t worry, human, you’re mere collateral,” her captor retorted.
Bastard!
He snapped the twine securing her to the wall, yanked the rope, and she tripped, falling to her knees. “Get up!” he fisted her braid, and she cried out, scalp pain amplifying the discomfort in her cheek—
A chilling roar broke free. Fragments of rocks and debris rained down.
For someone so grievously injured, Aerén moved like the lightning she’d seen him wield. He dove for the rebel, sending him crashing into the wall.
Her heart hammering, Leya dragged herself to the side on all fours, out of the way of the fighting men.
“You dare touch her!” Aerén smashed his fist into Skinhead’s face. “You will die for that alone!”
The rebel hissed and lunged for him. Aerén tripped and hit the wall with a loud thud.
Terror spiking with every panicked heartbeat, Leya crawled to her feet. Keeping close to the wall, she edged away, then scurried for the entrance. Grunts and snarls ricocheted behind her. The long twine tied to her wrist tangled around her feet, and she pitched forward—
Oh, shit! She slapped her hand on the edge of the cave opening and steadied herself before she careened off the narrow ledge. An icy cold pierced her, but it didn’t stop her from scouring the shelf, searching for anything she could use as a weapon.
Nothing. Just snow. Everywhere.
The looming granite peaks of immense mountains surrounded them, and a blinding whiteness covered everything. Not to be thwarted, she scooped up some of the powdery stuff, packed it into a hard ball, then spun back to the mouth and waited. The bald cretin slammed his fist into Aerén’s belly, and he stumbled—
The cur! Leya hurled her missile, hitting the ass dead in the face, snow flying everywhere.
He leaped back and sputtered, his head snapping her way. Snarling, he lunged at her. “I will kill you,lupa!”
“No, you fuckin’ won’t!” Aerén flung out a hand, and a sizzling rope of lightning flew out of his fingers, whipping Skinhead across the chest.
With a shriek of pain, he vanished, his threat echoing in the stinky air of charred flesh,“I will hunt her down and make her wish for death!”
Cursing a blue streak, Aerén spun back to her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” she rasped. “Christ, those jerks are off their ever-loving rockers.”
