Page 119 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Draven clenches his jaw. “Just do as I say.”
Galen bows his head in a way that is just the tiniest bit mocking. “Yes, sir.”
While Galen strides away to obey, Draven forces out a long and highly controlled breath.
I glance up at him. “Why are you sending them away?”
Draven draws in another breath and turns to me. To my surprise, there is no frustration left on his face. Not one trace. By Mabona, he really is an excellent actor.
“I might be the Commander of the Dread Legion,” he begins. “But I’m also the leader of the Black Dragon Clan.” He flicks a glance towards the two ice thrones and the smug monarchs seated on them. “Which means that at the end of the night, I need to get down on my knees and swear allegiance too.”
Understanding washes through me.
“And you would rather your people didn’t see that,” I finish for him.
He just slides his gaze back to me, but the look in his eyes is confirmation enough. My heart suddenly aches again. Draven clears his throat.
“I need to go and deal with this,” he says, and nods towards the open doors to the patio. “I have a feeling that it’s going to take almost the entire hour. The stubbornness of the Brown Clan is legendary.” Then a hint of light returns to his eyes as he adds, “If you flirt with anyone while I’m gone…”
Despite it all, a small chuckle escapes my lips. “You’ll cut out their tongue. Or their hands. Or both. Yes, yes, I know.”
“See? You really are learning.”
I have to suppress another smile and an eye roll. Draven just flashes me a knowing smirk and strides away.
So as to not draw attention, I remain standing there with my head slightly bowed like a good little life slave for at least tenminutes. It works like a charm as people continue talking quietly amongst themselves while forgetting that I’m even there.
Once I’m sure that I have become more or less invisible, I quickly sweep my gaze over the room. People are still talking in hushed voices where they’re standing throughout the large room. A messenger hurries across the floor and whispers something to Bane and Jessina, who smile like satisfied cats. While they’re distracted, I begin slowly moving around the room and towards where Isera and Alistair are standing close to the dais.
While getting dressed, I managed to hide my climbing gear underneath my dress. So once the humans start the distraction, we should all be able to use it to get out of here. The only problem is that we need to take turns climbing and then drop the climbing gear back down for the next person. And we also need to somehow get Lavendera out of the kennels.
Anxious worry pulses through me. There are so many things that can go wrong. What if the distraction isn’t enough to draw the Icehearts away from the ballroom? What if we’re spotted while climbing up the wall? Indecision slices through my chest. Maybe we should just try to make a run for it through the side gate instead of using the secret tunnel? That way, we’ll be closer to where Nysara is waiting with her glamour.
But can we really make it out that way without the guard raising the alarm? I might have manipulated his emotions so that he’s terrified of me, but will that be enough when I have three other fae with me? And I won’t even be able to use my magic this time. And neither will Isera, Alistair, or Lavendera, since we’re all wearing iron collars. Goddess above, I wish there had been a way for us to get the collars off before we escape. But this is it. This is our one chance. And we have to take it.
Tension crackles through my every nerve like lightning as I try to move as casually as possible on my way through the ballroom. I flick another glance at Isera and Alistair.
The air is yanked straight out of my lungs as I find both Isera and Alistair staring at me with full-blown panic in their eyes. My heart rate picks up until I can practically feel it thrumming in my chest. Moving as quickly as I can without drawing attention, I adjust my course and instead make my way straight towards my two partners in crime. The crowd around me continues talking softly, as if my mind isn’t suddenly screaming in alarm.
Why are they looking so panicked? Don’t tell me that Lavendera was taken somewhere else before the others left the kennels. Or that Draven has somehow figured out what I’m doing.
While Jessina and Bane are preoccupied with grinning and congratulating each other about something, I come to a halt as close to Isera as I can without drawing the Icehearts’ attention.
“What is it?” I whisper, hoping that she can hear me.
She keeps her gaze focused on the wall across the room, and her mouth is barely moving when she replies, “Bane just said that the trap worked.”
My heart stops beating. There is a sudden rushing sound in my ears, and I feel as if the whole room is tilting to the side.
“What trap?” I breathe, my mouth suddenly dry as sand.
“They have caught the human resistance.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Wind rips at my dress as I scale the wall of the castle at breakneck speed. Panic and dread clang inside my skull like giant bells. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. My hair flutters behind me as I climb desperately to reach the windows of the corridor that is between the door to the secret tunnel and the one that continues towards the treasury.
Isera said that she overheard the messenger tell the Icehearts that their soldiers successfully cornered the humans from both sides the moment they stepped out of the door, and that they are now trapped there in the corridor. It can’t be true. It can’t possibly be true. How would they have found out? We were so careful. We have been planning for so long. It simply cannot be true.
