Page 124 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“We’re trapped,” I blurt out.
Goddess above, there is no other way out of here. We are trapped in here. And they are coming.
My mind spins out of control as those thoughts clang through me like death knells.
Then one single breath of clarity pushes through the screaming panic.
Whirling back towards Hector, I stab a hand towards the open door to the treasury. Glowing golden reflections, as if light is shining down on mountains of gold, spill out of the gap in the door.
“Hide!” I snap at the Red Hand while bending down to snatch up a sword from one of the dead guards. “I’ll pretend that it was me who did it. Once they take me away, run back to the window and get the hell out of here.”
Spinning around, I face the corridor again and adjust the sword in my hand.
The sound of pounding boots echoes from around the corner, beating in tune with my hammering pulse.
A gloved hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back around. I blink, coming face to face with the Red Hand, who is shaking his head furiously.
“Stop trying to be a hero!” I snarl at him, panic and frustration thrashing inside me like a storm. “This is the only way! Draven won’t let them kill me. But he will killyou. He hasbeen hunting you day and night for months! You are the face of the rebellion. I’m not. They need you. We all need you.” Raising the sword, I stab it in the direction of the treasury again. “So hide in there and let me take the damn fall for this!”
“The midway guards are down as well!” someone yells from the corridor right before this one. “They have reached the treasury.”
Boots pound against the floor as they race towards us.
I try to spin towards them, but Hector grabs my arm and yanks me back to face him again.
“Stop being so fucking stubborn!” he snaps as he reaches up and yanks his mask off.
I jerk back in shock.
And then the world just… stops.
Because it’s not Hector who stares back at me from underneath the mask.
It’s Draven Ryat.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
“You…” I stammer.
It feels as if my head is an empty shell, echoing after a violent explosion. I stare up into Draven’s golden eyes, but my mind refuses to process what I’m seeing.
This has to be some kind of trick. A ruse. Draven has dressed up as the Red Hand in an effort to catch him.
But blood-filled images quickly flash through my mind, disproving that theory. I literally watched Draven slaughter these guards. He wouldn’t have done that if he was only pretending. Which can only mean…
“Youare the Red Hand,” I gasp out.
I feel like someone just smashed the floor beneath my feet and sent me plummeting down into the unknown abyss below.
“Yes,” Draven replies, shoving his daggers back in their sheaths.
“What—”
“Not the time for this conversation, little rebel.”
Shouts and pounding footsteps echo from right around the corner.
Draven grabs me by the throat and yanks me closer. I suck in another gasp as he quickly removes the iron collar from mythroat and throws it down on the floor. It hits the ice with a clanking sound while Draven rips off his dark gray cloak and snatches up the remaining sword from the ground.
