Page 103 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Dread washes through me as horrifying images flash through my mind about the torture they are likely subjecting her to in order to break her and force her to use her tree magic for their benefit.
Squeezing my hand into a fist, I straighten my spine as steely determination pulses through me. Giving the humans the information about the tunnel was the right move. We need to pull off this heist and then get out of here. No more delaying and handwringing. I need to get Lavendera, Isera, and Alistair out of here as soon as possible.
A faint sound drifts through the room. Now that I’m standing completely still, I can hear it clearly. Tearing my gaze from Lavendera’s empty cage, I hurry the final distance across the floor to where Isera and Alistair are imprisoned.
Two figures are visible there in the murky darkness of their cages.
But the moment I can see them clearly, I stop dead in my tracks.
My mouth drops open as I realize what that sound is.
Alistair is crying.
He is on his hands and knees in the middle of the cage, with his head bowed forward and his fingers clenched into fistsagainst the pale ice floor. His lean muscular body trembles and convulses as desperate sobs rip from his throat.
For a few seconds, all I can do is to stand there, frozen on the floor, and stare at him in utter shock.
Alistair Geller, the biggest bully in the entire Seelie Court and the man who threatened to kill us all in the Atonement Trials if we got in his way, is bawling his eyes out.
I can’t process the concept. I thought I was the only one who broke down and cried like this.
“Do you have a plan?”
A jolt shoots through me, snapping me out of my stunned stupor, and I flick my gaze towards the sound of the commanding voice.
Isera is seated at the back of her cage. Just like last time, she has a blanket draped over her shoulders and back so that it protects her half-naked body from the iron bars that she is leaning back against. But other than that, nothing else about her is the same.
That blank and vacant expression is gone from her face. In its place is something that sends a chill down my spine.
During the Atonement Trials, Isera was always a no-nonsense kind of person. She never let people walk all over her and she didn’t care about anyone’s opinion. People called herice ladyfor a reason. But there was still a sense of warmth beneath that cool exterior. A sense that she wasn’t actually as cold-hearted as she pretended to be.
But now…
My breath catches as I stare at Isera.
There is nothing, no warmth, no compassion, no sense of a caring soul, on her face. Her silver and blue eyes are as cold as the space between the stars, and her expression is one of merciless vengeance and ruthless fury. She doesn’t even look fae anymore. She looks like a bloodthirsty goddess who hasrisen from the freezing pits of another world, come to claim her revenge on this land.
And it fucking terrifies me.
“Well?” she demands, her cold eyes locked on me. “Do you have a plan or not?”
“I… Yes.” I stare at her, still trying to process this change in her. Then I tentatively ask, “Your claustrophobia? How?—”
“As long as the walls aren’t solid and I can see out, I’m fine.” She gives me a pointed look and once again demands, “The plan?”
“It’s… uhm…” I cast an uncertain glance at Alistair, who is still bawling his eyes out. “Shouldn’t we…?”
Making a decision, I turn away from Isera and instead drop to my knees in front of Alistair’s cage. We might not be friends, but I hate seeing him like this.
“Alistair,” I begin, my voice gentle.
Isera clicks her tongue in annoyance. I ignore her.
Alistair sucks in a ragged breath and gasps out, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“There is nothing you can do,” Isera interjects before I can reply. “I did try to help him through it earlier.” That cool expression remains on her face as she slides her gaze to me. “In case you were wondering.” She shrugs. “But his emotions are fried after weeks of their psychological torture. It’s all bubbling over. And there is nothing you can do to help him.”
I cut her a hard stare and yank the top of my cloak away from my throat, showing her that I’m not wearing a collar. Her eyes widen in shock. It’s the first emotion I’ve seen that cracks through that icy fury on her face. Even if it’s just for a moment.
