Page 102 of Throne of Ice and Blood
I slide my hands along his sharp cheekbones and into his soft black hair. “I won’t be able to keep blocking out your pain the entire day. I will eventually run out of energy.” Leaning forward, I kiss that sensitive spot beneath his ear. “So I’m giving you another memory to hold on to until my energy has recharged.”
A shudder rolls down his spine as I kiss my way along his jaw. His strong hands appear on my hips and then slide up my sides, holding me firmly on his lap. I rake my fingers through his hair and then down the back of his neck as I brush my lips over the column of his throat.
He lets out a moan from deep within his chest.
While still pouring my magic into him, I push his armor down a little and kiss his collarbones. Another shiver courses through him. I kiss my way back up his throat while I trace teasing circles on the back of his neck.
Then I slide my hands up into his hair again and press my lips against his. While kissing him deeply, I roll my hips against him.
He moans into my mouth, and his fingers grip my sides tighter.
I tease the tip of my tongue along his bottom lip and roll my hips again. He drags in a shuddering breath and presses my body more firmly down on his lap. His mouth is greedy as he kisses me back with desperate need. I thread my fingers through his hair and meet that burning need as our tongues tangle.
While still blocking out all of his pain, I use my lips, my tongue, my fingers, and every part of my body to distract him from the memories of the bloody violence that the Icehearts inflicted on him. I kiss him and stroke his cheeks and play with his hair until all he can feel is pleasure thrumming through his whole soul.
Because the thought of him in pain makes my heart crack like brittle glass.
I don’t know if it’s because of the mate bond or because I do genuinely care about him, but I simply can’t bear the thought of him enduring that kind of blinding agony.
My heart aches and my entire chest feels like it’s filled with a tangled nest of emotions that don’t fit together. I care about Draven, but I don’t know if those feelings are real or if it’s just a side effect of the mate bond. And regardless of which it is, I’m not supposed to care about him at all. Because he’s the enemy.
The humans need to pull off their heist and I need to make the entire human population in Frostfell rise up and rebel against the Icehearts. It’s the only way to kickstart a revolution that will hopefully let me free the Seelie Court.
But now the thought of that also makes my heart clench in fear and panic.
Because if I help them successfully pull off the heist, make the entire city rebel, and then escape with Isera, Alistair, and Lavendera, then that will mean that Draven has failed. Epically.
And if this is how the Icehearts punish him just for the lack of quick results, what will they do to him if I actually complete my mission?
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Glancing over my shoulder, I check once again to make sure that the pale ice corridor behind me is clear. But just as the other times I’ve snuck down here, the hallway outside the kennels is unguarded. I quickly close the final distance to the door.
In the week that it took for Draven’s wings to heal completely, he never left in the middle of the night to hunt the Red Hand. For obvious reasons. So I didn’t have any opportunities to sneak out and leave the information about the tunnel at the drop-off point. But even if he had given me an opportunity, I wouldn’t have left. Because… I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t like the thought of leaving him vulnerable.
Once his wings had stopped bleeding, he shifted into his fully human form and then just went about his duties as if nothing was wrong. He commanded his clan, conducted searches for the Red Hand down in the city, updated the Icehearts on his progress. And all the while, he showed no signs of weakness. Even I, who knew that he was in pain, could read none of that on his face.
But every day when we returned to his rooms, he let that blank mask slip. My heart still aches at the memory of howexhausted he looked then. So the moment we were hidden behind closed doors and he finally took off my collar, I spent the entire evening, and as far into the night as I could manage before passing out, using my magic to block out his pain.
Today was the first time he used the half-shift since the whipping. His wings had healed completely, and when he spread them wide, they once again looked as powerful and imposing as before. As if nothing had happened. ButIknow what happened. And I do not forget.
Stopping outside the door to the kennels, I slowly push the handle down and edge the door open the tiniest of cracks. There have never been any guards inside the kennels before, but I still need to make sure. I sweep my gaze over the large room inside. But no guards leap out of the shadows. Only an empty floor and the cages cast in murky darkness by the walls await me in there.
I slip inside.
It took me this entire week to decide if I was even going to do this. An overwhelming sense of guilt would crash over me every time I thought about sneaking down to the drop-off point and sharing my information about the tunnel with the human resistance. Because when they pull off the heist, Draven will no doubt be punished for it. And I don’t want them to hurt him. But at the same time, can I really stop our entire rebellion?
In the end, I built as many stone walls around my heart as possible and decided that I couldn’t justify abandoning my mission to free my entire court, even if it means that Draven will be punished. We have suffered for too long in the Seelie Court. It needs to stop.
So after dropping off the information about the tunnel entrance, I decided to head over to the kennels to update Isera, Lavendera, and Alistair on what’s going on. And because I need their help with something.
A soft click comes from the door as I close it gently behind me. While sneaking deeper into the room, I glance towards Lavendera.
Except she’s not there.
Trailing to a halt, I blink at her empty cage in stunned surprise.
Then I remember what I overheard down in the city. That the Icehearts burned their own homeland. That must be why they took Lavendera. Goddess above, I wonder what they’re doing to her.
