Page 136 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Placing the tip of the knife at the top of his forearm, right below the elbow, I press down and cut a deep gash.
Draven sucks in a sharp breath between his teeth.
I immediately summon my magic and slam it at the violet flame of pain in his chest. While decreasing it, I draw the blade down his forearm.
Nausea crawls up my throat as the skin splits open.
But then I see it.
Something hard, the color of steel, becomes visible right above the bone. It shimmers faintly, as if it’s glowing from within.
Next to me, Lyra gasps.
“How long?” Galen stammers. “How long have you had this inside you?”
But Draven still can’t answer. I flick my gaze up to his face. He just looks back at me, his gaze steady.
Handing the blade to the stunned Galen, I reach towards that shimmering metal at the bottom of the cut. Pain flares up inside Draven as my fingers dig into the wound, but I pour more magic down the connection to drown it out. Blood coats my fingers. I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Then I finally get my fingers around the long piece of shimmering metal. It’s strangely warm to the touch. I look up at Draven. He gives me a nod.
Gripping it tightly, I yank upwards.
It comes free with a sickeningsnap, as if it was stuck to the bone.
The pain in Draven’s chest spikes again, but I immediately lower it with my magic once more.
And in my hand, I hold a long piece of shimmering dragon steel. The moment it loses contact with Draven’s body, thatglowing shimmer disappears. And so does that strange warmth that was in the metal before.
Draven heaves a sigh of relief from the very depths of his soul.
Raw emotions swirl in his beautiful golden eyes as he meets my gaze again.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
My heart almost shatters, and all I manage is a nod.
He turns to Galen and Lyra, who stand there next to me, still staring at Draven in shock and desperation.
“Since before they even landed on our island,” Draven replies, finally answering Galen’s question. “An entire horde of them ambushed me when I was out training. They tied me up and used Lavendera to put the dragon steel in. Then they made her order me in advance to publicly surrender when they came back days later.”
Galen draws in an unsteady breath.
“They also made sure that I couldn’t tell anyone about the dragon steel. Or Lavendera.” His gaze flits to me. “That’s why I couldn’t warn you that she worked for them. In fact, that’s why I couldn’t do a lot of things. I tried to escape once, so they made Lavendera order me that if I leave, even if it’s on a sanctioned mission, I always have to return to the Icehearts within three days. And I tried to tell some of the fae during the last Atonement Trials that it was a sham. So they made Lavendera kill the fae I had told and then order me to never reveal the truth to another fae.” Pain flashes across his face. “And once a fae has channeled magic through the dragon steel and given an order, it remains active until the fae cancels it.”
My heart aches, and pain twists inside my chest. For him. For what he has had to endure. For all the anger I have directed against him. Anger over things that he had no control over.
That terrible hurt in his eyes deepens as he turns to Galen. “I thought you, of all people, would figure it out. Two fucking centuries ago. You were my best friend. You knew me better than anyone. How could you ever believe that I would just sell out our clan like that?”
Galen flinches. Pain and guilt pulse across his whole face as he stares helplessly at Draven. “I just… I don’t…”
Draven lets out a humorless huff of laughter. “Once I realized that all of you thought that I had simply become a… What was it you called me? A spineless coward? A worthless traitor? Well, regardless, after that, it was easier to just let you all hate me.”
Galen looks as if Draven has just ripped his heart out.
Next to him, Lyra opens her mouth. “Draven, I?—”
The door bangs open.
