Page 129 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“I can handle it.”
He holds my gaze for a few seconds before giving me a slow nod. Then he turns back towards the supplies. Faint metallic rattling sounds as he picks up a small box and fishes out a needle. While he reaches for the spool of thread, something else he said finally makes it through my mind.
“Wait,” I begin, staring at him in confusion. “What do you mean, inthiscity, you never joined the rebellion?”
He threads the needle, avoiding my gaze. “Exactly what I said.”
It suddenly feels as if time itself stops. I can hear every beat of my heart. It pounds in my ears like giant bells. Sitting there on the chair, I stare at Draven while understanding washes through me like cold water.
“No,” I breathe.
Draven says nothing, only draws the thread through the eye of the needle and then leans forward.
“The mask is white,” I say, speaking the first half of the code phrase that we use back in the Seelie Court to secretly communicate that we are members of the fae resistance.
Draven looks up and meets my gaze.
My heart thumps in my chest.
“And very hard to take off,” he replies, speaking the second half of the code phrase that signals that he is also a member of the resistance and that it’s safe to talk.
Something between a gasp and an unsteady breath rips from my lungs. My head is pounding.
“This is going to sting,” Draven says, and then without waiting for me to reply, pushes the needle through my skin.
The pulse of pain jolts me out of my shock and snaps me back to the present.
Gripping the edge of the desk hard, I try to keep my wits about me as I stare at Draven in open-mouthed shock. “You’re a member of our resistance.”
“Yes,” he confirms. Then his gaze flicks up to me for a second before he continues stitching my wound. “Why do you think I was there that day?”
My mind spins as I stare at him. “What day?”
“That day when you threw your drink in my face.” His gaze remains focused on the needle, but I can hear the truth clang in every word as he says, “I was one of the people in masks runningdown the stairs. After ditching the mask and cloak, I came back in through the side door to stall the patrol. And then I found you there.”
“No,” I breathe again, even though I know that he is telling the truth.
A small smile tugs at his lips as he meets my gaze again and shakes his head at me as if in disbelief. “Why else would I have been there? I’m the fucking Commander of the Dread Legion. What would I be doing in a random tavern in the Seelie Court on a random afternoon?”
Pain pulses through my side as Draven continues stitching, but I can barely feel it. I can barely feel anything other than shock. And fury at my own stupidity. How could I not have seen it earlier? How could I not have figured it out sooner?
“And then there you were, already trying to distract the patrol,” Draven picks up. “But I couldn’t let the squad leader punish you for that, so I had to intervene.” A short laugh escapes his lips. “And then you threw your drink in my face.” He shakes his head. “Azaroth’s flame, little rebel, it has been decades since someone managed to surprise me like that.”
Little rebel. He has been calling melittle rebelall this time, for Mabona’s sake. How could I not have figured it out?
Then his expression turns serious as he meets my gaze again. “I have watched you for years. Seen the way you always try to help and always put everyone else first. And seen how people distrust you and hate you for something that isn’t your fault. And I felt a connection. I knew that I had found someone who understood what it’s like to be hated for something that you haven’t chosen.”
My heart squeezes tight.
Draven holds my gaze with those intense eyes of his. I feel like he is waiting for me to say something, but I can’t make mylips move. He lets out a small sigh and continues stitching. But he keeps speaking.
“I tried to get you promoted,” he says. “To move you up the chain and into more important positions in the resistance. But the other leaders didn’t trust you. They refused. And because I can’t be there all the time, I needed them to work efficiently without me so that I could get you all to finally launch your rebellion to bring down the Icehearts. So I had to let you remain a lookout.” He ties off the thread and then puts the needle back on the table. “But I watched you.”
Emotions twist inside my chest like strangling vines.
Draven stands up from the chair. I scramble to my feet as well.
“And then I found you kneeling on that field and realized that you had signed up for this farce of a trial,” he continues. “I did everything I could to make you drop out without blowing my cover.”
