by Zoe Chant
As soon as she stepped through, a wall of white hit her.
She was blind. Snow was blown into her eyes, the wind roaring as it tore at her clothes and hair.
For one moment she thought she’d been sent back to the beginning of it all—that she was lost out there by the gate once more. Then reason took over once more.
I’m still in the maze. This is one of Alistair’s tricks. Or perhaps the same protective system Henrik used to keep visitors away…
At the thought of Henrik, the golden necklace seemed to grow heavier, pulsing with a subtle warmth. With one hand, she tried to shield her eyes from the storm, with the other, she clutched at her chest where the diamond was resting against her skin.
Little by little, the storm died down, as suddenly as it had sprung up.
Had something recognized her? Had this ice maze sensed that she was Henrik’s mate? Dara couldn’t say, but whatever it was, she was grateful for it. Her cheeks were still stinging from the painful bite of the icy wind, but now that the storm had died away and the snow had settled on the ground, the place where she had ended up felt almost peaceful.
She looked around, studying the corridor that opened before her. She was still inside the maze, but something had changed. This part seemed… older, somehow. Where the paths she had stumbled along before had seemed like an ordinary maze built from snow and ice to amuse the castle’s visitors, this part of the maze was quite unmistakably made for a different purpose.
Perhaps the storm she had walked into had indeed been designed long ago to keep curious tourists away from the heart of the maze—for that was where Dara was now, even though she couldn’t say how she knew.
The walls surrounding her were much higher. They were built from thick slabs of ice that seemed to glow a subtle blue—or had they even been built by human hands at all?
Dara shivered as she turned and looked at the walls that rose up high all around her. For some reason, she couldn’t shake the conviction that these that risen straight from the ground…
Was this a part of the maze that was reserved for dragons? Was Alistair still around, waiting around a corner to kill her?
But he could have killed her long ago. He’d meant to trap her in the maze. He’d meant to trap her and force Henrik to come to her, so that he could finish them both at once.
I’m not going to wait, she thought, shivering as she stared at the endless, silent corridors before her. If I can’t make my way out, I’ll just have to go forward. And hope that Alistair still believes that I’m lost in that storm, calling for Henrik to come to me.
She reached for the necklace again. Gently, she closed her fingers around the golden chain, drawing in a deep breath as she concentrated on the warmth of the metal.
Could Henrik really feel what she thought? She felt a little embarrassed—but all the same, she’d seen how the strange storm had reacted to his gold. There was some dragon power at work here, and even if she didn’t understand it, maybe she could work with it. She’d always been proud of her ability to turn chaos to order—surely a magical dragon maze wasn’t so different from the daily chaos of her boss’s office and her inbox?
The thought brought a small smile to her lips. Then she focused.
Danger, she thought, trying to think as clearly as possible as she tightened her fingers around the gold. Danger! Be careful. A trap!
She had no idea if, or how much, of the message would reach Henrik. But perhaps it was enough to cause him to be careful instead of coming running to her in a rage, as Alistair had to be expecting.
After all, Alistair’s evil plans all seemed to hinge on the fact that he thought that Henrik was predictable. But Henrik had thwarted his plans before—by falling in love with her. No, Henrik wasn’t as predictable as Alistair thought. And together—together they’d find a way to pay Alistair back for all the terrible things he’d done.
Dara swallowed and released the gold, feeling strangely reassured, as though there really was a connection between Henrik and her. Then she began to eye the space in front of her.
The path led forward, and she followed it carefully, her boots making no sound in the freshly fallen snow. When she reached the end of the corridor, she saw that it turned a corner, leading into a small opening. There was no snow here, as though the storm she’d experienced had really been contained to the small entrance area.
That proves it; it was meant to turn me away, she thought, trying to gather her courage. The maze doesn’t want to kill me, it probably just wants to make lost tourists leave. It’s Alistair who wants me dead.
That thought wasn’t quite as encouraging, since for all she knew Alistair could show up again any minute. Still, if this was the heart of the maze, and if it was built for dragons, perhaps Henrik would know if Alistair was in here.
And if he does, we’ll be able to avoid him. If Henrik finds me first. If Alistair isn’t already watching.
So many ifs. But Henrik’s life was at stake, there was no time to worry. She had no choice but continue forward, in the hope that Alistair hadn’t expected that she’d make it to whatever was hidden at the heart of the maze.
With careful steps, she walked into the center of what almost looked like a room made of ice. Big walls of translucent blue and white surrounded her. It was cold, but with adrenaline flooding her blood, she no longer felt it.
The path she’d come in on was behind her. To her left and right, there were the walls too high to climb.
And in front of her, there were three openings in the ice wall.
They were unmarked. There was a darkness beyond, as if they were leading into a tunnel. Even when Dara slowly moved closer, she couldn’t make out anything inside them.
She’d have to blindly choose one of them.
Dara swallowed. She didn’t like the thought of that. What if Alistair was waiting in the darkness beyond?
And if dragon shifters were real, what about werewolves? Alistair could have planted all sorts of terrible traps…
Again she reached out for the necklace as if to calm herself. The gold was still warm; more, this time the metal was pulsing gently against her skin, releasing soft waves of heat that calmed her a little.
This is Henrik’s maze. Even if he doesn’t yet know that I’m here, something he built wouldn’t harm me, she told herself.
The chain’s warmth seemed to increase against her skin.
With a frown, Dara walked along the openings in the wall. She was close enough that all it would take was a step or two to enter them, but she still couldn’t make out what was beyond. All she could see was darkness.
She stopped in front of the final door, the one furthest to the left. She shivered a little. Apparently the adrenaline was wearing off enough that the cold air was beginning to bite at her exposed hands again.
Dara pursed her lips. No. It wasn’t that. Something else had changed…
With a start, she realized that the necklace she was still clutching no longer gave off any warmth.
What did this mean? Had something happened to Henrik?
Suddenly terrified, she took a step back—and the necklace pulsed with gentle heat once more.
Dara stared at the entrance she was now standing in front of. This was the opening in the middle. Through the doorway of ice, all she could see was the same darkness.
Experimentally, she moved on to her right, until she was standing in front of the first door.
Again the gold seemed to have lost all warmth.
“Interesting,” she murmured, her heart beating faster as she moved back to the middle door. As if on command, the golden chain released a gentle touch of warmth against her skin.
It’s pretty obvious where you want me to go, she thought, taking a deep breath.
Once more she reminded herself that no matter what Alistair might think, this land belonged to Henrik.
A dragon takes good care of his land, and in return, the land takes good care of its dragon. And hopefully also of the dragon�
�s mate!
Determined, she took a step forward, entering the darkness of the second door before she could change her mind.
Everything was dark. She couldn’t see or feel anything. She swallowed against her fear. The necklace was still pulsing comfortingly against her skin.
Blindly, she took another step forward, praying that she wouldn’t end up running straight against a wall or into the jaws of a waiting dragon—and suddenly she was in a room filled with light.
The change was so abrupt and the view so stunning that she gasped out loud.
She was in what looked like a cave made out of crystal—only she was pretty sure that the walls glistening and gleaming all around her were actually made of ice. The walls sparkled like diamonds, breaking and reflecting the light in a hundred ways. When she looked up, she saw that the walls rose high above her. It felt like standing in a cathedral.
She could not see the sky above—she supposed that somewhere above, there had to be a roof of ice as well. But through that ice, sunlight fell in, and it illuminated everything around her until she had to close her eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by the impossible beauty of it all.
Dragons, she thought, biting back tears of wonder. Can’t do anything halfway.
Through her tears, she had to laugh, and the sound echoed through the large, empty space.
When she opened her eyes again, wondering if she’d already reached whatever was at the heart of the maze, she saw that she was standing on a path of blueish ice, gleaming in the sunlight. And this path led straight towards—
“Oh no!” Dara gasped when she became aware of just what was barring her path.
It wasn’t a hungry dragon or an angry werewolf. This was worse.
There was a deep chasm in front of her, far too wide to jump. When she carefully made her way closer, her heart started pounding in her chest again.
The gorge was deep. So deep she couldn’t see the bottom. If she fell into this abyss, she’d be dead, and there’d be nothing Henrik or his necklace could do about it.
She swallowed, her mouth dry as she carefully tested the ice she was standing on. It wasn’t slippery, but if a wind sprung up again, she’d slide right into it…
Suddenly, Dara felt faint. Before her knees could give out, she carefully settled down onto the ground. The ice was cold even through her jeans—but catching a cold was the least of her worries now.
Maybe Alistair hoped that I’d fall into this. It’s probably made to weed out non-dragon visitors. A dragon could fly over it. But there’s no way that I could jump this!
Slowly, Dara moved as close as she dared, staying on her hands and knees. This close, she could feel a faint wind: cold air playing inside the chasm. Once she was close enough to be able to look down, she shuddered, her stomach turning.
No, there was no way she could make it past this. She didn’t have wings. She couldn’t turn into a dragon, or even into a simple bird.
This was the end. She’d tried as best she could, but she couldn’t make it any further. She’d have to wait for Henrik, and hope that Alistair hadn’t planned on cornering them in here—
Her necklace pulsed against her skin once more, the golden chain as warm as Henrik’s fingers had been when they’d last been together.
Desperate, Dara shook her head. What did the gold want from her? She might be a dragon’s mate, but she was no dragon. What it was asking from her was impossible!
“I can’t cross!” she said, shuddering as she looked at the chasm and tried to calculate the distance.
Impossible. Even an Olympic athlete can’t jump that far!
“Look, I’m an ordinary human! I can’t do it!”
She felt remarkably silly, sitting here talking to her necklace—but all the same, it wasn’t as if there was anything else to do, trapped as she was between walls of ice and a bottomless abyss.
To prove to the necklace that she wasn’t just being a coward, she grabbed hold of a small piece of ice next to her and threw it into the chasm, to show that the fall was so deep she couldn’t survive—
Only the little piece of ice didn’t fall. It seemed to hover in the air, right in front of her.
“What the…?” Dara slowly pushed herself another inch forward. The ice was still hovering.
More dragon magic? Or maybe…
Daringly, she reached out into thin air. And met with an obstacle.
There, right in front of her, a bridge of ice was stretching across the chasm. The ice was perfectly translucent so that it had looked like there was nothing between her and the abyss at all. But in truth, the path she was standing on didn’t just cut off.
A bridge. A bridge of ice.
She could make it across. If the ice would carry her weight. If she dared to step onto it…
The necklace was still a comforting warmth against her skin. With a sigh, Dara closed her fingers around the small diamond that hung from it.
“You really want me to go on, huh?”
Arguing with a dragon’s treasure wasn’t very productive, as she’d already found out. All the necklace did was release gentle waves of warmth against her skin, until Dara closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I’ve got to be insane. This is crazy.”
But Henrik’s life was at stake. Henrik’s and her own. Alistair was banking on them acting in exactly the ways he’d predicted in order for his plan to come off. And what was the most unpredictable thing she could do?
Crossing a bridge of ice while trusting the pull of the dragon’s gold. Alistair probably hadn’t even expected her to get this far.
With a deep breath, Dara straightened, and then stepped forward.
The bridge was wide enough for several people to cross side-by-side, and sturdy enough for an entire herd of elephants. Nevertheless, it was the scariest thing Dara had ever done. Her stomach was churning the entire time. She kept one hand twisted around the golden chain, and her eyes firmly trained on the other end of the bridge, where firm ground was waiting for her once more.
Don’t look down. Whatever you do, don’t look down.
When she’d finally made it across, she sank to her knees. Her legs were trembling. She felt so sick she thought she’d have to throw up.
But she’d made it. She’d really made it.
Slowly, her breath calmed. At last she managed to stand, although her legs still felt shaky. She had to go on. There was really no time to lose.
Be careful, she thought again, clenching her fingers so tightly around the golden chain that it hurt. Please be careful. And find me!
There was only one path before her now. Here, at the other end, it opened into a tunnel. This one wasn’t filled with darkness, at least. Dara could see ice beyond it.
“What else would it be but more ice,” she muttered to herself, rubbing her hands together. She really wished she’d brought gloves.
Or a flashlight…
When she entered the tunnel, it quickly became gloomy. She could still make out the reflecting walls of ice to either side of her, but the further she moved into the tunnel, the more the light died away until all she could make out were dim shapes. As she moved forward, she kept one hand on the wall to her left, praying that there wouldn’t be yet another maze. It had been bad enough to get stuck in one before, but to get lost in an underground maze, and without a light…!
Suddenly the ground gave way beneath her. Dara cried out in terror, but already she was falling, sliding down a steep incline of ice, faster and faster with nothing to cling to to stop her fall.
Everything was dark.
I’m going to die here, she thought in terror—and then even the ice beneath her was gone, and she was falling freely.
Suddenly, there was light.
She was no longer falling, but instead seemed to be—soaring?
When she looked down, there was a giant claw wrapped around her. Her heart was nearly giving out in terror.
Alistair, she thought dizzily, but then she looked up.
Henrik!
I’ve got you, his voice whispered in her head.
It was unmistakably Henrik’s voice, but the dragon’s power was behind it, so that she shivered at the sensation.
I’ve got you, he said again. Don’t let go.
Chapter Eight: Henrik
Carefully, Henrik set Dara down on a rocky ledge, which overlooked this large antechamber to his treasury. Then he changed back and pulled her tightly into his arms.
For one moment, he could feel her trembling against him, her fingers digging into his skin as though she still feared she’d fall. But then she pushed him back so that they were facing each other. Dara was pale and her eyes red-rimmed, but there was a fury and determination in them which Henrik had never seen before in his mate.
“Your uncle,” Dara said. “He kidnapped me and dropped me in your maze. You’ve got to be careful, he—”
Henrik gave her a stunned look. “But… why would Alistair do such a thing?”
Dara’s words didn’t make sense. But even so—there was no way she’d be in here if there wasn’t a dragon involved. Henrik realized his expression as he looked down at Dara was doubtful, but at the same time, something about her words rang clearly, horrifyingly true.
“He told me,” Dara gasped, even as she gave the cave a fearful look. “This is probably a trap. He wants you to die. He told me he killed your parents—mixed a drug into their drink after he talked you into going flying where you weren’t allowed!”
Henrik staggered back as though hit by a bullet.
“My uncle?” he asked, his mind reeling. It made no sense… Alistair had always been there for him!
But on the other hand… hadn’t Alistair been all too willing to take over the family business, oh-so-helpfully dealing with all the decisions and investments that Henrik had no longer cared about after his parents’ death?