He’d been nothing but kind, but did she trust him? If it were her village she’d be offending her host by carrying her weapons in his house, but this wasn’t her village. And Cairngloss was definitely no one’s house.
She picked up her knapsack and put it on, strapping the sword on the top. Ignoring his small smile, she followed him to the ornately carved door. Kind he might be, but he was a stranger. And right now she couldn’t afford to trust anyone.
Chapter Four
Siobhan followed Doyle out into the hallway, through the narrow door. “So, the walls down here are rock, but the door looks like it was built by a master craftsman.”
“We’re at the secret back door to the palace.” He waved a hand. Lights sprang to life all along the short corridor illuminating three more doors and a hallway that curved out of sight. “To your left and around that bend is the dragon’s lair. I’d stay away from there if I were you. He’s grumpy when he’s sleeping.” He pointed to the other way. “The rooms along this corridor were built by the gnomes in case of an emergency. When I got here they were mostly filled with weapons and moldering supplies, but I’ve made it more comfortable by moving some of the furniture from upstairs here.”
“How long have you been here? How long have you been with the dragon?”
He seemed to almost skip a step. “Let’s see. I—I mean we—moved in a few hundred years ago.” He stopped at the next door. It was carved with a scene of a gnome taking on a six-legged insect four times his size. Doyle lifted the latch and opened it. Inside, the lights flickered on. “Library, work room, etcetera.”
This room was smaller than the bedroom and furnished with a large high work table, covered with books and scrolls. A high stool was pulled up to the table. Along the walls was a ragged collection of shelves of various heights, all lined with books.
“I’ve never seen so many books.” She walked in and touched a gold-leafed leather binding. “There’s more there than I ever thought even existed.”
“There was a prince here for a while. I didn’t socialize with him. He was imprisoned in the upper palace with the ogres and the Black Queen placed a wicked protection spell over his section of the palace. No need to piss off any of the Underhill queens for no good reason. After he finally broke free of her spells, I stripped his library and brought some of the more interesting books down here to add to my collection.”
“There are more?”
He smiled. “There are more. If you can’t find something to read here, I’ll head up and see what else is left in the main part of the palace.” He backed out of the room and she followed, trailing her fingers along the backs of the books, reluctant to leave. “The next room has weapons. I only kept a few of what was here to begin with, and of course I’ve added to the pile over the years.”
He opened the door. She couldn’t even see into this room because of the racks of glittering swords and axes and knives that ran floor to ceiling, and covered nearly every inch of the floor.
“You kept just a few?” She rolled her eyes. “Can you even get in here?”
He peered into the room. “I can. I don’t need to very often. I have my own weapons.” He shut the door and led her to the last room he used as cold storage. This one was nearly empty, just a covered pot with what she assumed was her soup, some bags and boxes, and half a deer carcass hanging from the ceiling. It was also freezing.
She backed out of it fast. “Where did the gnomes go? I know they left a long time ago, but my parents never talk about it.” In fact her parents discouraged discussion of anything to do with Cairngloss as if even talking about the place would attract ghosts. Or the dragon.
“They fled down south when Maeve took over up here.”
She did a double take and shot a look over her shoulder. “Do you mean the queen?”
“Yes.”
Her voice dropped. “We never call her by her first name.” A chill ran down her spine and she wrapped her arms tight around her body. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get rid of the cold. She, who had always loved the winter, now feared the touch of ice in her veins.
“Hey.” He reached out and took her hand. His hand was so hot it almost burned her icy cold one. “You’re here now. With me. I will protect you as long as you are under my roof.”
“But you’re just a manservant.”
He squeezed her hand. “Atavantador will make sure none under his protection come to harm.”
He seemed sincere, but the dragon hadn’t pledged his protection, only that she must stay and serve him and hide from the queen. But what happened when she left this place?
And she had to leave. Bosco was still out there. And while a hundred years had passed and he must have grown to be an adult, to her he was still the boy with the squeaky voice who had stepped in front of her with the fortitude of a man.
She had to find him. And if he couldn’t be found? That only left her one choice. Revenge against the queen. None of which would please the dragon.
DOYLE WAS SURPRISED how much he enjoyed showing Siobhan around his lair. He’d been here by himself for so long, he’d forgotten what it was like to talk to someone on a regular basis. And the fact that she was a beautiful woman wasn’t lost on him. Not at all, especially in this shape.
Even though she’d just come out of hibernieth, every move she made—bending over to look at a weapon, brushing against him through a tight doorway, walking in front of him with her hips swaying—reminded him he’d been alone a long time. Perhaps too long.
At the end of the steep passage deep beneath the mountain, they drew close to an outcropping of rocks. Magic prickled along his skin and he resisted raising his shields and attracting the attention of the ancient guardians sleeping in the next cave. “Can you feel it?” He kept his voice low.
“There’s so much magic, it presses down on you.” Her eyes were wide in the glow of the lantern.
“The passage to the upper portions of Cairngloss lies just through here, but it’s not safe. You’d have to pass through the crystal cavern. Beautiful to behold, but full of dark gnome magic.”
“Is that where the library is?” She moved to squeeze into the narrow passage, but he touched her shoulder, to hold her back. A tingle of sexual energy passed into his hand. She glanced back at him, lowering her long lashes over her eyes. Finally, reluctantly, he released her, wanting nothing more than to keep touching her, stroking down her arm to the exposed skin of her wrist. Take her hand in his and show her how arousing it could be to—
“Doyle?” She was staring at him, a small line crinkling the skin of her forehead.
Draco’s claws, he was horny if this woman barely out of her icy prison had this effect on him. How long had it been since he’d gone out and found a female companion in one of the local villages or on one of the other worlds he used to visit? A year? Two? He shook off his preoccupation with his lack of a sex life. “There’s nothing up there anymore but miles of empty rooms, hobgoblins, and the bones of Prince Kian’s companions.”
She turned to him. “Why are you trying to scare me from going there?”