Page 108 of Throne of Ice and Blood
All around us, dragon shifters in beautiful clothes of all colors are standing tense by the thick ice walls. The dance floor in the middle of the small ballroom is completely deserted. Everyone is just watching each other, and us, warily.
Bane lets out a low and vicious chuckle. “Yes, look at them squirm. Wondering why they’re here.”
“Whyarethey here?” Draven asks in a casual voice.
Jessina lets out a smug huff of amusement. “So that we can make them nervous, of course.”
“The attack on you by the Purple Clan last week was unacceptable,” Emperor Bane picks up. I can’t see his face since I’m still looking at the floor, but he sounds furious. “It’s time to remind the other clans of their subservience to us.”
“Next week, we will host a grand ball, which all the clan leaders will be required to attend,” Empress Jessina continues. “And during it, they will all kneel and re-swear their oaths to us.”
“And we will deliver those summons directly to their people tonight,” Bane finishes. “Let’s go.”
Without another word, Jessina and Bane start striding towards the closest courtier. Isera and Alistair don’t follow. They remain standing in the exact same position that they have been in this whole time.
Draven turns to me. “Behave.”
I suppress the urge to roll my eyes, even though he wouldn’t be able to see it.
While the three of them stalk away to intimidate people, I discreetly move so that I’m standing next to Isera and Alistair instead.
“We have the information,” Isera whispers without preamble.
“Yeah, and I should win a fucking award for the stellar acting I’ve pulled off these past few days,” Alistair adds.
“Shut it,” Isera snaps. “And stay on topic.”
I memorize all the details as Isera explains what the layout and guard situation look like around the treasury. It’s not… encouraging. There are eight guards in the three corridors between the hidden door and the treasury. And there are no windows and no hiding spaces at all in the final two hallways. Just long corridors filled with guards.
“All in all, way too many guards,” Alistair summarizes rather superfluously at the end.
“Unless someone kills them all,” Isera adds, her voice now once more laced with that cold ruthless edge.
“And who would that be?” Alistair huffs under his breath. “You’re still collared, ice lady. And we’re talking eight dragon shifters. With swords. And probably elite training. Who would be dumb enough to try to assassinate them?”
A wicked smirk spreads across my mouth. “Actually, I think I know exactly who.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
While Draven and the Icehearts continue moving through the room, delivering orders and intimidating people, I drift away from Isera and Alistair. I need to figure out how to get word to the Red Hand, and I don’t know when I will be left unsupervised like this again. My gaze darts between the main door and the one that leads out to some kind of patio. Can I make it to the drop point and back before Draven notices that I’m missing?
“Look at him follow them like a fucking dog on a leash,” a man growls quietly from somewhere behind me. “It makes me sick.”
“Well, to be fair, this is literally his job,” a woman replies.
“No, it’s not. His job is to lead our clan.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I find two dragon shifters in black armor standing side by side. A man and a woman. I immediately recognize them as Galen, Draven’s former best friend, and that usually so cheerful soldier Lyra. However, Lyra doesn’t look particularly happy right now. Though it’s nothing compared to the scorching glare that Galen is shooting in Draven’s direction.
Both of them start slightly when they realize that I’m looking at them, but then they relax again when they see that it’s just me.
“Wanna join?” Galen offers, a humorless smile blowing across his lips. “I’m sure you hate him too.”
I move so that I’m standing close to them, but not right next to them, just in case that would look suspicious. Then I follow their gazes towards where Draven is now standing on the other side of the room. Since the dance floor in the middle of the silver-sparkling room is still empty, I can see the other side clearly.
Empress Jessina and Emperor Bane are speaking to a man in a dark blue suit. Worry shines on his whole face as he looks at them while nodding fervently. Draven is standing on the man’s other side, which means that he can’t see what Draven is doing unless he takes his eyes off the Icehearts. Which I’m sure is a very deliberate power play. Draven’s massive black wings are spread wide as he looms there like the Shadow of Death that he is.
“Pathetic,” Galen scoffs next to me.
