Page 23 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“—can’t believe you!” a woman’s voice snaps. “What if I hadn’t come to check up on you right this very moment? You would’ve handed her over to Draven fucking Ryat without even telling me about her!”
A jolt shoots through me. It’s followed by a tiny sprout of hope. This woman sounds like she’s very against the idea of giving me back to Draven.
“Told you already, I have,” the man from before replies. “Don’t want nothing to do with your little rebellion.”
“It’s notlittle, Dad. And if you actually have one of the fae from the palace in there, our resistance is going to make more progress in the coming weeks than we’ve done for the past decade.”
My heart jerks in my chest. This woman is part of the rebellion. And it sounds like she wants my help.
Quickly summoning my magic, I throw it out in search of the burgundy spark of courage. I only find one, which must belongto the woman. That grumpy man didn’t seem very courageous to me. Pouring my magic into that lone spark of courage, I increase it so that the woman will feel brave and determined.
“She’s fae, alright,” the man replies with a huff. “Got them pointy ears and everything.”
“And you just locked her in there?” his daughter replies, her voice full of exasperation. “How am I supposed to get her to trust me now?”
“Not my problem.”
She heaves a frustrated sigh. “Is she armed?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t check.”
Another deep sigh. “Father Almighty, I really hope she doesn’t stab me.”
Then a heavy click sounds from the lock and the door is pulled open.
I blink against the sudden torchlight that streams in through the doorway and hits me right in the face. When my eyes have adjusted, I come face to face with a woman dressed in a beige shirt, brown pants, and a nondescript brown cloak. Her red hair falls a little past her collarbones, and it brushes against the fabric of the cloak when she cocks her head.
“Is that…?” Her dark blue eyes are wide with surprise as she stares at my hand. “Were you planning to stab me with acarrot?”
I start slightly and glance down at the sturdy vegetable that I had forgotten that I was still holding. Looking up from my improvised weapon, I meet her eyes again and shrug. “Well, the turnips were a bit too soft, so…”
She bursts out laughing.
The sound is so full of genuine merriment that it stuns me for a second. Her father, who is still lurking in the main room, draws his eyebrows down and scowls at both me and his daughter. But he doesn’t say anything.
“I like you already,” the woman presses out while refilling her lungs after the burst of laughter.
Before the final word has even left her lips, I lurch into action. Cutting off the flow of magic to her courage, I instead push towards the deep blue spark of trust. It’s small. But it’s there. I latch on to it and pour my magic into it with a steady stream, increasing it until it’s burning steadily.
Guilt twists in my stomach and nausea crawls up my throat. I have spent my life trying to prove to everyone that I am not this kind of person. That I am not someone who would manipulate people’s emotions without their permission. That I would never use my magic to make people like me. And yet, here I am, doing exactly that.
Swallowing, I try to force the nausea and guilt back down. Because this is too important to leave to chance. I need to get this woman to welcome me into their resistance, and I don’t have time to make her trust me the normal way. I learned my lesson during the Atonement Trials. I can’t keep playing the game the way I did before. Trying not to lose is not a strategy. I need to play to win.
“I’m Kath,” she continues, and gives me a little wave. Then she motions towards the man who is still scowling at us from behind her back. “Sorry about my dad. He’s?—”
“The only sane person in this bloody family,” he interrupts with a huff.
Kath shoots him a glare over her shoulder.
Several different plans flash through my mind. Because I overheard their conversation outside the door, I already know that she is part of the resistance. So I want to tell her straight away that Draven is hunting the Red Hand, and I want to make her take me to their resistance so that I can begin helping them plot and scheme and take down the Iceheart Dynasty. But in the end, I decide to pretend as if I didn’t hear anything through thedoor. If I know too much or push too hard this soon, it might trigger a flare of suspicion.
“So you’re not planning to give me back to Draven Ryat?” I ask instead. And I make my voice tremble slightly, as if I’m as terrified of Draven as everyone here appears to be.
She snaps her head back to me, looking aghast. “God no!”
I let out a calculated breath of relief. And I keep feeding the deep blue spark of trust in her chest until it’s burning so strong that I know it will remain even when I pull back my magic.
“In fact,” Kath continues. “There are some people I would love for you to meet.” I open my mouth to respond, but before any words can make it out, Kath hurriedly adds, “Look, I know that you have no reason to trust me.” She winces apologetically. “Especially after my dad locked you in here. But I promise you, we’re on the same side. We hate the Icehearts and Draven Ryat just as much as you do, and I promise, if you just hear us out, you’ll see that you can trust us.”
