Page 137 of Throne of Ice and Blood
My heart jerks as Alistair sprints down the corridor with Isera on his heels. Panic is written all over his face.
“They’re coming!”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Blood runs down Draven’s arm from the wound, but he just snatches out a bandage from the medical cabinet and wraps it around his forearm before slamming the pieces of armor back in place.
“Outside!” Draven yells across the barracks. “Now!”
Alistair and Isera skid to a halt in front of us, glancing in confusion at the blood on the floor but asking no questions. I grab another couple of bandages and wrap them around the piece of dragon steel. Then I tie it to my belt. There is no way in hell that I’m leaving it here for the Icehearts to use against someone else.
“Get ready,” Draven says to Galen and Lyra. “We’re going to have to fight our way out.” His gaze shifts to Alistair and Isera. “And you’re going to help us.”
Alistair jerks back in alarm as Draven grabs him by the throat. But before Alistair can so much as try to fight him off, Draven yanks him closer. And then removes his collar.
A gasp of relief rips from Alistair’s lungs.
Isera, who probably thought that he was going to drain Alistair’s magic, blinks in shock.
The iron collar clangs against the stone floor as Draven tosses it aside and whirls towards Isera. With a few quick moves, he removes her collar as well and throws it down on the ground.
For a second, and for the first time since she snapped out of her stupor, there is a hint of something other than ruthless ice in Isera’s eyes. Something almost like gratitude. Or hope.
Draven gives the two of them a commanding stare. “You’re the two strongest magic users in the entire Seelie Court. Prove it.”
Then he’s striding towards the door.
The rest of us lurch into motion as well. My pulse thrums in my ears as the six of us hurry down the corridor and back into the night outside. All the soldiers from the Black Dragon Clan are already waiting out there on the stones. I whip my head towards the castle as I jog out the door.
My heart leaps into my throat as I spot two people in silver clothes striding towards us. Their massive silver wings are spread wide, but they’re walking. As if they want to make Draven tremble in fear at seeing their approach. They’re not in any hurry since they think that he is still wearing the dragon steel and therefore can’t leave. I watch them for another second. This is going to get violent. Fast.
“Fly straight for the Western Isles,” Draven calls to his people. “Don’t stop. Don’t slow down. Don’t look back. Now, shift!”
The ranks of soldiers sprint across the mountainside, putting distance between each other. Then the first people start shifting. Smoke billows across the stones as the soldiers shift into their dragon forms. Black dragons shoot up from the smoke and soar up towards the sky.
Alarm bells blare from the ice walls.
“Lyra, take Alistair,” Draven orders. “Galen, you take Isera. We need to buy the others time.”
“Take?” Alistair blurts out. “What the hell do you meantake?”
“It means climb on, hold on tight, and use your fucking magic to help us fight,” Draven snaps. Then his gaze shifts to me. “You’re with me. Get on.”
Before I can even open my mouth to reply, let alone actually process what he’s saying, he shifts into a dragon.
Smoke explodes around us as Lyra and Galen do the same. Massive wings flap, blowing the smoke away. I gape at Draven, who lowers himself to the ground next to me. Isera and Alistair remain equally frozen. Draven roars at us.
Snapping out of my stupor, I flick a quick glance at my fellow fae. They meet my gaze for one single second. Then the three of us are climbing up on the dragons before us.
Disbelief clangs inside my whole skull as I settle myself in the space where Draven’s neck meets the rest of his body. It’s shaped almost as if it’s made for someone to sit there. With my heart pounding in my chest, I grip the spikes on his neck and clench my thighs tightly to stay in place.
Draven swings his head towards the Icehearts, roars a challenge, and then shoots into the sky.
My stomach drops and a surge goes through my body as we shoot upwards. Winds rip at my clothes and hair. On either side of us, Galen and Lyra, with Isera and Alistair seated on their backs, fly up from the ground as well.
Silver dragons surge over the castle’s defensive walls. Then smoke explodes across the mountainside again as Empress Jessina and Emperor Bane shift into dragons as well. Their massive silver bodies gleam in the moonlight as they roar in fury. Then they shoot straight towards us.
I gasp as Draven veers sharply to the left. Galen and Lyra bank hard in the other direction.
