Page 32 of Throne of Ice and Blood
I stare at the door before me for another few seconds, weighing the risks and the gains. Then I blow out a determined breath and straighten my spine. I need to at least try.
Leaving the door behind, I sneak down the corridor in the other direction. If I can’t get past the guards protecting the entrance, I need to find another way in. There can’t possibly be only one way into the royal wing. There has to be some kind of servants’ entrance. Or an emergency exit or something.
If only Isera was here. She could probably just split one of these ice walls with her magic, and then we’d be through. Or even Alistair. He could melt a hole in one.
My heart squeezes at the thought of Isera and Alistair. I haven’t seen them since I blacked out in that throne room after Draven and the Icehearts collared us all. When Draven received the orders to hunt down the Red Hand, Jessina said that Isera and Alistair hadn’t woken up yet because of how much magic she and Bane drained from them. But that was a week ago. They must surely have woken up by now.
I wonder how they’re doing. I can’t imagine that the Icehearts are removing their collars the way that Draven does for me. I need to find a way to get to them. To talk to them. To tell them that I’m working with the human resistance. That we have a plan. And to tell them to just hold on a little longer.
But for now, I need to stay focused. So I block out my worry for Isera and Alistair and instead focus on my current problem. Getting into the royal wing without being arrested or killed.
The faelights that are set into the ceiling glimmer above me like stars as I make my way through the corridor. Outside the windows, the sky is dark. Dinner has already come and gone, and we’re halfway to midnight already.
I keep my steps soft as I sneak along the ice corridor and towards the next corner. Technically, I’m heading away from the royal wing. But if I’m right, there might be another entrance somewhere on the other side. I just need to?—
“Why did we have to get the boring shift?”
My heart leaps into my throat.
Just around the corner up ahead, another voice answers, “It’s not the boring shift. Guarding the royal wing is a great honor.”
“But guarding the banquet hall is so much more fun. This is the time of night when things always start getting really interesting.”
Oh shit.
Those two guards are coming to relieve the ones who are already stationed at the entrance to the royal wing. And to get there, they must pass through this corridor. The corridor that I’m currently in. The one corridor that I’m really not supposed to be in.
Alarm bells blare inside my skull as I whip my head from side to side. I’m too far away to make it back to the deserted room before the guards can spot me. And there is nothing to hide behind in this corridor. The only thing in it is the faelight gems in the ceiling. No tables. No decorations. Not even a carpet.
My gaze snags on a closed door farther down the corridor. If it’s unlocked, I might be able to make it there and get inside the room right before the guards round the corner. If it’s not, I’m dead.
I sprint towards it.
“I’ll take an uneventful night guarding the royal wing over getting killed by the Red Hand any day,” the second guard says.
Their footsteps are getting closer.
They’re almost at the corner now.
My heart slams against my ribs as I hurtle down the corridor in their direction. It’s all or nothing now. If I can’t make it through the door, I will be too close to them to escape. The door has to be unlocked. Please, Mabona, the door has to be unlocked.
“You really think the Red Hand is gonna sneak into a crowded banquet and start killing people?” the first guard replies.
He’s right around the corner.
I throw myself the final distance to the door.
“I think there have been too many throats slit inside the palace, and I don’t want the next one to be mine.”
My hand closes around the handle, and I shove it down in the same breath as I yank it open.
Relief crashes through me when I meet no resistance.
Leaping across the threshold, I yank the door shut as quietly as I can.
And come face to face with a pair of golden eyes.
My heart stops.
