Page 37 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“Good,” he says, that smirk still on his lips as he takes a step closer. “There’s that sharp tongue and that fire I’ve been looking for. You looked so desolate when we walked back in here that I was worried it might have gone out for good.” Lifting a hand, he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “Glad to see it’s still there.”
I blink in shock, and for a few seconds, all I can do is to stare at him. Was he just baiting me? Was this whole conversation just an act to get me to snap out of the panic and dread that I felt after seeing Isera and Alistair? I hate to admit it, but if it was, it certainly worked.
A ripple of forbidden desire courses through me when he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip again.
I slap his hand away.
His eyes glint and that devilish smirk widens. “Good. Hate me. Fight me. Take it all out on me.”
Grabbing the collar of his armor, I yank his face down closer to mine while a matching smirk full of challenge spreads across my own mouth. “You’re going to regret that wish. Because inside these walls, I’m going to become your worst nightmare, and I won’t stop until you bow down before your own personal Queen of Hell.”
He slides his fingers down from my lips to instead circle my throat. A shudder ripples through my body as he slants his mouth over mine, just shy of touching. And when he speaks, hisbreath caresses my lips in a way that makes pleasure curl around my spine.
“As long as you act like I’m your Godoutsidethese walls, I welcome your hell in here, little rebel.”
“Deal.”
He smiles against my lips. “Deal.”
But I made no promise to actually stay in here while he is out hunting the Red Hand. Because I have a resistance to help.
He wants me to fight? Fine. I’ll fight. I will help the human resistance pull off this heist and cripple the Iceheart Dynasty.
And then, I am going to get Isera and Alistair and get as far away from here as possible.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It took two days before I finally got a chance to sneak out while the rest of the castle is sleeping. Draven disappeared in the middle of the night, presumably something to do with the hunt for the Red Hand, and he left our rooms an hour ago. I left soon after, but through the window in my room rather than the door.
My heart patters in my chest as I close the final distance to the section known asthe kennels. I had to use my magic to persuade one of the servants to tell me where it was, but now that I’m here, I still don’t understand why it’s called the kennels. It’s located on the ground floor, right next to the outer wall of the palace, so I had to climb down the side of the castle and then in through a window in the corridor a short distance away.
I flick my gaze back and forth as I make my way towards the door. But to my surprise, there are no guards here. They might be on the inside though, and there is no other way for me to check than by simply opening the door.
Stopping in front of the plain door, I draw in a bracing breath. Then I push the handle down. Slowly.
My pulse thrums in my ears.
But no alarm is raised.
I carefully edge the door open wider and peer inside. No guards. After casting one last look over my shoulder, I slip in through the door and close it behind me.
A room full of cages meets me on the other side.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Cages. Not cells.Cages. None of them are big enough for an adult to stand upright. I stare at them while dread and rage sear through my veins.
There is only one torch in the entire room, and it’s located close to the door, so the rest of the room is left in murky shadows. But if I squint, I’m fairly certain that I can make out two people sitting in the two closest cages straight ahead.
Swallowing down the storm of emotions inside me, I move towards them. As I get closer, the man in the first cage snaps his head up.
A pair of orange and green eyes and a mop of curly blond hair meet me.
Alistair.
He jerks back in shock when he sees me, and he blinks several times as if he’s trying to figure out if he’s hallucinating or not.
“Selena?” he presses out, his voice hoarse. His eyes are wide as he stares at me. “How are you here? Where is Draven?” Then suspicion flashes across his face, and he narrows his eyes at me. “Is this a setup?”
