Page 31 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“Is there something you want to get off your chest, Galen?” he says, his voice cold and dripping with challenge.
Galen flicks a quick glance around the room, but he stands his ground as Draven prowls up to him.
Ruthless power pulses from Draven’s entire body as he comes to a halt in front of Galen. “You know what to do. If you think Azaroth chose wrong when he made me clan leader, youneed to challenge me for it. You need to kill me and release the magic so that Azaroth can choose someone else.”
I don’t think anyone in the entire room is breathing.
Lyra casts a worried glance between Draven and Galen, looking like she’s trying to decide whether to pull Galen back into his seat or to stand up next to him and help him fight.
Draven spreads his massive black wings wide in a clear display of power as he holds Galen’s gaze. “So, I’ll ask again. Is there something you want to get off your chest, Galen?”
Tension crackles through the room like lightning. Galen grinds his teeth and flexes his hand. And for a moment, I think he might actually do it.
But then he drops his eyes and bows his head in submission. “No, sir.”
“Good.” Draven stabs a commanding hand towards Galen’s empty chair. “Then sit back down.”
Everyone in the room lowers their chin in submission as well while Galen sinks back down on his chair. A muscle flickers in Draven’s jaw, and for a moment, he just stands there and stares out at the sea of silent soldiers.
Then he snaps, “The hunt for the Red Hand begins at sunrise.”
His clan members bow their heads lower in acknowledgement of the order. Draven watches them for a second. Then he abruptly spins on his heel and stalks towards the door.
“Selena,” he says, his voice still cold and clipped, as he strides past me. “Let’s go. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”
I’m one second away from telling him to stop treating me like a dog who is expected to follow him around, but the words die on my tongue when I see the expression on his face. It’s only for a fraction of a second, and he probably thought that no one could see it from that angle. But because I was standing right by thewall, I could see his face for that one brief moment before his back is fully to me and everyone else as he stalks out the door.
And the sheer heart-wrenching pain that flickered in his eyes during that fraction of a second is so strong that it snatches the breath from my lungs.
I glance back towards the room full of silent dragon shifters as I follow Draven out.
Hatred once again pulses on their faces as they stare daggers at Draven’s disappearing back.
I always thought that he didn’t care that his own people hated him. But maybe this all bothers him more than he admits.
CHAPTER TEN
The one good thing about Draven’s hunt for the Red Hand is that it gives me a lot of unsupervised time. Since Draven is gone most of the day, and sometimes at night too, I have been able to sneak out a lot. By climbing off the balcony and then in through other windows, I have searched through parts of the Ice Palace that would otherwise have been inaccessible. Like the highly guarded wing that I’m currently in.
My heart patters in my chest as I draw myself up along the white ice wall and peek around the corner. A jolt shoots through me.
Farther down the hall, two guards in silver armor are positioned on either side of a doorway. They’re wearing ornate silver helmets and are holding tall spears.
I yank my head back.
Unfortunately, just because I can sneak in through a window doesn’t mean that I can roam freely once inside. Especially not here. In Bane and Jessina’s private wing.
While cursing silently, I hurry back down the corridor and towards the deserted and unlocked room that I climbed in through.
In the week since I was recruited by the human resistance, I have managed to provide them with precious little information of value. The Ice Palace is huge, and I don’t even know which floor the treasury is supposed to be located on. That has made it difficult to concentrate my efforts. Well, that and the fact that I can’t let anyone recognize me. If someone saw me and realized who I was and reported me to Draven, I would be in a world of trouble.
Stopping outside the deserted room, I reach for the handle. But then I hesitate.
The smart thing would be to climb back out the window and return to Draven’s rooms before any of the no doubt numerous guards in the Icehearts’ royal wing catch me. This place is most likely more well-guarded than any other part of the castle, and trying to sneak into it blind is both dangerous and stupid. But at the same time, I can’t let this opportunity slip through my fingers.
I know for a fact that both Bane and Jessina are occupied elsewhere all night. Apparently, there is some kind of banquet for the court tonight. Which I know because a servant tried to get Draven to attend, but he just told the servant that he was too busy planning the hunt for the Red Hand. And with both Draven and the Icehearts busy in other parts of the palace, I can’t waste this opportunity to search the royal wing.
The only problem is of course how to get in there.
