Page 115 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Both anticipation and dread pulse through my veins as I sneak down the deserted street.
For weeks, I have felt as if I have all the time in the world to do this. To get it right. To think things through before I make any big decisions. And now, I’m suddenly out of time. In four days, the heist is happening. In four days, I’m escaping with Isera, Alistair, and Lavendera. In four days, I will destroy everything that Draven is working for and then leave him to be tortured by the Icehearts.
A cold hand grips my heart, squeezing hard.
But there is no other way. We need to do this during the ball, because it’s the only time when all the clan leaders, as well as Draven and the Icehearts, will all be occupied elsewhere. No one will be thinking about what the humans in the city are doing. All of their attention will be on each other. It’s the perfect opportunity.
It’s also so dreadfully soon.
Shaking my head, I try to push those uncomfortable feelings aside. I have already decided that I need to stop feeling guilty. That I need to start being a little ruthless. So I force out a determined breath and block out the doubt in my heart as I continue towards Nysara’s house.
Just like last time, the wide street is dark and deserted since it’s the middle of the night. Only the barren trees watch me as I sneak towards the grand house with the dark blue door. When I pass her neighbor’s house, I stop for a second and scan the windows. The last thing I need is him showing up again. Especially tonight.
But no candles are burning in the windows, so I hurry past his house and towards the gate in the low stone wall around Nysara’s property. It swings open on silent hinges as I sneak through.
The back of my neck prickles. My heart leaps, and I quickly cast a glance over my shoulder. But Draven isn’t there. He left our bedroom an hour ago, sneaking out to no doubt hunt the Red Hand while he thought I was sleeping. Which, admittedly, means that he is most likely somewhere here in the city. But I seriously doubt that he would be searching for the Red Hand in a fancy neighborhood like Ember Hill.
Still, I scan the empty street behind me twice more before I return my gaze to the house ahead.
Shaking my head, I skulk along the path and towards Nysara’s front door. I don’t know what it is about this street, this whole place, but I somehow always feel as if I’m being watched.
While I knock on Nysara’s carved wooden door, I can’t help but wonder if that is because of Nysara herself. She said that her mission here is to spy on the dragon shifters, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she has some kind of secret Unseelie power set up over this street.
Candlelight flickers to life in the same upstairs window as last time. I watch as it moves from room to room before it reaches the hallway. Then the door is opened and a blond dragon shifter looks out at me in confusion.
The moment her blue eyes lock on my face, that fake confusion disappears and a sly feline smile spreads across her lips instead. However, she doesn’t drop her glamour.
“Well, do you have a date?” she asks, getting straight to the point.
“Yes,” I reply. “During the ball in four days.”
She raises her eyebrows at me. “Which just so happens to be the exact same day and time that the human resistance will pull off their heist.” She gives me a knowing smile. “I’m sure that’s no coincidence.”
My heart jerks, and I blink at her in shock. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve already told you. It’s my job to know what is happening in this city.”
“Fair enough. We will be using a secret tunnel to get in and out. It leads to the east side of the mountain. Is there any chance that you could meet us there?”
“No.” She raises her chin and looks down at me. “If you want my help, you have to come to me.”
Disappointment washes over me. Though I can’t say that I’m surprised. During our brief interactions, I’ve gotten the sense that Nysara is an incredibly proud woman. Still, it was worth a shot. Getting four fae across the city unseen after the heist won’t be easy. But we apparently don’t have much of a choice.
“Fine,” I reply. “We’ll come to you.”
She gives me another one of those cat-like smiles. “Good luck.”
Then she shuts the door in my face.
I shake my head at the dark blue door and the Unseelie fae in disguise who is now heading back to her bedroom. She might be strange, and a little rude, but we will never make it out of Frostfell without her help.
After giving her a nod that she can’t see, I turn back towards the street.
And nearly leap out of my skin.
For one single second, I swear that I see a person standing behind me. But once the sudden panic has stopped screaming in my mind, I realize that it’s only a cluster of branches from the thick tree by the window.
Tilting my head up, I shoot a glare up towards Nysara’s bedroom. I swear I can almost hear her laughing at me. With a huff, I shake my head again. I really wonder what other abilities this odd Unseelie woman has.
