Page 62 of Blood Singer

"Rhucard!" My voice echoed off the glacier walls, amplified by rage. "Show yourself!"

The courtyard went silent. Warriors froze mid-strike, servants dropped whatever they'd been carrying, and every eye turned toward me. I could feel their fear, smell it sharp and acrid on the air. Good. They should be afraid.

Sanyra landed beside me with considerably more grace, shifting smoothly and immediately moving to flank my right side. The guards landed moments later, forming a semicircle at my back. We were outnumbered—Rhucard had at least fifty warriors in his compound, but I didn't care. If they tried to stop me from getting my mate, I'd burn through every single one of them.

"Kavan." Rhucard's voice came from the main entrance to the fortress. He stepped into the courtyard with the casual confidence of a male on his own territory, his massive frame filling the doorway. His dark hair was pulled back in its usual braid, and he wore the leather and furs typical of the northern clans. "This is unexpected. I don't recall extending an invitation."

"Where is she?" I didn't bother with pleasantries or political niceties. Every second I wasted talking was another second Leila remained missing. "Where's Leila?"

Rhucard's expression shifted from casual to confused. "The Alliance diplomat? How the hell would I know where she is?"

"You were in the village yesterday." I took a step forward, and several of his warriors tensed. "You were seen. And now she's missing."

Understanding dawned in Rhucard's golden eyes, followed immediately by anger. "You think I took her? You flew all the way to the northern wastes to accuse me of kidnapping your diplomat?"

"She's not just a diplomat." The words came out as a growl, my dragon pushing against my skin, demanding release. "And you're going to tell me where she is, or I'll tear this compound apart stone by stone until I find her."

"I don't have her," Rhucard said, his expression shifting as his own anger rose to match mine. "I haven't seen her since that dinner at your castle. And I sure as hell wouldn't be stupid enough to kidnap an Alliance diplomat and start an interstellar incident."

"Liar." I launched myself at him before the word fully left my mouth.

We collided in the center of the courtyard with enough force to shake the ground. Rhucard was strong, one of the strongest warriors in the northern wastes, but I had rage on my side, and terror, and the desperate need to find Leila before it was too late.

My fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head to the side. He recovered quickly, driving his shoulder into my midsection and sending us both crashing into the frozen earth. We rolled, each fighting for the advantage, our movements too fast for the watching warriors to follow.

"I don't have her!" Rhucard roared, blocking a strike aimed at his throat. "Why won't you listen?"

"Because you wanted her!" I got my hands around his neck and squeezed. "I saw the way you looked at her. Watched you scenting her. You wanted a human mate, and you decided to take mine!"

Rhucard's eyes widened at that last word, but he didn't have time to respond. He drove his knee up hard into my ribs, breaking my grip, and we separated long enough to circle each other like the predators we were.

"Your mate?" Rhucard's voice was rough from where I'd been choking him. "You claimed her?"

"She's mine," I said, and the certainty in those words resonated through my entire being. "And if you've hurt her—"

"I haven't touched her!" Rhucard's frustration was palpable now, bleeding into his anger. "Kavan, use your fucking brain. If I'd taken her, would I be here? Would I be standing in my own compound waiting for you to show up and accuse me?"

I wanted to ignore the logic in his words. Wanted to keep fighting until he told me where Leila was. But something in his tone—the genuine confusion and anger radiating from him—made me pause.

That's when I realized what was missing.

Her scent.

If Leila had been here, if Rhucard had brought her to his compound, if he'd laid a hand on her, I would smell it. The wildflowers and sunshine that had become as familiar to me as my own scent would be lingering in the air, clinging to Rhucard's skin, marking this place as somewhere she'd been.

But there was nothing. Just ice and stone and the musk of dragons.

"Where were you yesterday?" I demanded, though some of the rage had drained from my voice. "The guard saw you in the village."

"I was buying a gift." Rhucard straightened from his fighting stance. "For Elara, the village healer. She's been treating some of my warriors who got injured in a training accident, and I wanted to thank her."

"Convenient story."

"It's the truth." Rhucard gestured toward one of his warriors. "Fetch Elara. Now."

The warrior took off at a run, disappearing into the fortress. The silence that fell over the courtyard was heavy with tension and unspoken questions. I could feel Sanyra's gaze on me, sense her concern along with her own confusion about what we'd find here.

Minutes passed like hours. I stood there in the frozen courtyard, my fists still clenched, my dragon still demanding blood. But doubt had crept in now, cold and insidious. If Rhucard didn't have Leila, then where was she? Who had taken her?