Page 123 of Throne of Ice and Blood
My heart jerks.
Please let there still be time. Goddess above, please let there still be enough time to get back out again.
We got lucky that Draven was forced to deal with the stubborn leader of the Brown Dragon Clan. But the moment he comes back and finds out what has happened, he’s going to fly straight here. And the Red Hand might be skilled, but he has nothing on Draven.
At the end of the day, Hector is still just a human, even behind his larger-than-life persona of the Red Hand. And Draven is… Draven. Powerful, skilled, ruthless Draven with his massive wings and his storm magic and his skills with a sword. If he were to catch us, I don’t think even I would be able to convince him to let Hector go. Not after all of the pain and humiliation he has suffered because of his failure to capture him.
Cold hands wrap around my heart, squeezing hard, as I imagine the look of utter betrayal on Draven’s face when he finds out what I have done. What I tried to do. And what I was willing to leave him to be punished for.
Using every smidgen of willpower I have, I shove those thoughts to the back of my mind. I can’t think about that right now. I have to get us out of here. Right now. Before it’s too late.
I skid around the final corner, practically crashing into the ice wall on the opposite side.
And screech to a halt in the middle of a battle.
One dragon shifter in silver armor is already lying dead on the floor. The other two are fighting furiously against a tall and muscular man in a dark gray cloak and clothes. And on his face is that signature red devil’s mask that I saw in the drawing.
Relief crashes over me.
The Red Hand.
Hector.
He’s still alive.
Steel clangs as one of the guards slams his sword towards Hector’s neck while the other swings at him from the other side. Hector yanks up a pair of long daggers, blocking both strikes simultaneously. With a flick of his left wrist, he slides the sword off his blade and rams his dagger into the side of the guard’s neck.
A gasp rips from his throat, but it comes out like more of a wet gurgle, as he drops his sword and reaches for his throat. ButHector must have punctured his carotid artery, because blood gushes out of the wound and spills between his fingers in a torrent of red.
The other guard tries to leap back, but Hector was already moving.
Not even looking at the dying guard, he whips around and rams his other dagger straight into the remaining dragon shifter’s heart. I stare in shock. The amount of force it must have taken to pierce dragon scale armor like that is insane.
It has been less than five seconds since I skidded around the corner, but the insane level of fighting skills that the Red Hand has just displayed is incredible. No wonder Draven has been so obsessed with capturing him. He is going to be a real asset to the resistance I’m planning to rebuild.IfI can get him out before Draven gets here, that is.
“Hector!” I call as I shove myself away from the wall that I crashed into when I flew around the corner.
Hector whips towards me, and then jerks back in shock.
I wince, realizing that I probably shouldn’t have yelled his real name like that. But everyone in here is already dead, so there is no one left to hear it.
As if on cue, the two guards he just killed hit the floor with a thud. Blood quickly spreads across the pale floor around them.
“It’s a trap,” I continue as I hurry towards him, speaking so fast that I’m almost tripping over the words. “The Icehearts knew we were coming. Everyone else has already been captured. We need to get out. Now.”
I can’t see his face because of the mask, but a jolt of shock goes through his entire body, and he whips his head in the direction of the secret door three corridors away.
“We need to—” I begin.
“MAN DOWN!” a male voice bellows so loudly that it echoes down the halls all the way to us. “They’re heading for the treasury!”
Panic crackles up my spine with the force of a lightning bolt, and for a moment, I can’t make my brain work.
They have seen the dead bodies.
They know we’re here.
They are coming.