Page 67 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“No.Mine. In every sense of the word.”
A shudder of pleasure and forbidden desire ripples down my spine.
The way he is looking at me right now is making me want to bare my whole soul to him. He sees me. All sides of me. He knows exactly what kind of person I am. Knows exactly whatI can do. That I could try to manipulate him with my magic when he takes my collar off in his rooms. That I hate everything he stands for. That I will continue to fight him in private. And helikesit. In his eyes, I am enough. And not just enough. I’m somehow… more.
I suddenly can’t breathe. Why did it have to be my most dangerous enemy? Why did he have to be the one to make me feel like this? Make me feel alive and seen and strong and powerful in a way that no one ever has.
With a firm grip on my throat, Draven leans down until his lips are right in front of mine. And for one single second, I don’t know if he’s going to kiss me or drain me of magic.
He does neither of those things.
“Now, put your clothes back on,” he says, speaking the words directly against my mouth.
Pleasure rolls through me when his breath caresses my lips.
And before I can get my wits back, he releases me and abruptly spins on his heel. I watch as he strides back to the door. But he pauses with his hand on the handle.
Looking back over his shoulder, he meets my gaze while a smile that is pure villain spreads across his face. “Oh and, Selena?”
It takes me a second to remember how to speak, and when I do, the word comes out in an embarrassing croak. “Yes?”
His eyes glint. “You will pay for this little stunt tonight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Furniture crashes on the street. Sitting on a wooden planter a short distance away, I watch as Draven’s soldiers throw chairs and side tables and books and decorations out of the windows of the houses before me. Wood cracks and ceramic shatters as the humans’ treasured possessions hit the stone street below.
Apparently, the different strategy that Draven mentioned in the barracks earlier today involves destroying people’s homes as much as possible while they search the buildings for the Red Hand.
Curling my fingers, I grip the edge of the wooden planter hard and grind my teeth as I watch Draven. He is standing in front of a row of silent humans. All of them have their heads bowed while he stares them down with merciless eyes.
“If you just tell me where the Red Hand is, we won’t need to keep searching through your homes,” Draven says.
Sounds of crashing furniture punctuate his words.
The humans standing in the row before him say nothing. But they squeeze their hands into fists and grit their teeth. Even from my position, I can practically feel the anger radiating from them.
I shake my head at Draven, even though he can’t see it.
This is all so unnecessary. These people know nothing about the Red Hand. They’re just ordinary people.
Forcing out a long breath, I unclench my hands from the edge of the planter and flex them to relieve the tension that had started to build up. While Draven continues threatening the humans in front of their homes, I tilt my head back and look up at the sky.
Orange and pink streaks line the heavens and paint the soft clouds in vibrant colors. It’s almost sunset. Draven and his clan members have been at this all day. Barging into people’s homes to check if they’re hiding the Red Hand in there and destroying their possessions while Draven rounds them up outside and threatens them.
It’s almost as if he is going out of his way to be as cruel and ruthless as possible. And I can’t help but wonder if part of it is because of how the Icehearts are treating him. I still remember the way they berated him and threatened him in that corridor where the latest dead body was. Maybe that’s why he does the same thing to the humans. As a way to take back control. To not feel so powerless.
I study the burning anger that is visible on all the humans’ faces as they are forced to stand there and watch their homes be destroyed.
It’s cruel. But, as much as I hate to admit it, there is one positive side effect of what Draven is doing. It’s making the humans angrier. Which will make it easier for me to fan the flames of rebellion by heightening their outrage and fury even more with my magic. I need the spark of anger to already be there so that I can manipulate it. And after this, a large portion of the city will already be boiling with rage.
“Don’t turn around.”
I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth.
Fortunately, a bookcase hits the street right at the same time, which drowns out the sound.
It takes all of my willpower to force my features back into a normal expression and to keep my eyes on the buildings ahead as I whisper, “Kath?”
