Page 76 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Standing there on the porch, I watch that flickering candlelight move to another room. Then it disappears for a littlewhile before it appears again on the ground floor as the person who is carrying it walks towards the door.
Please be real, please be real, please be real, I beg silently in my mind.
The lock clicks.
I hold my breath.
Warm candlelight spills out into the darkness as the door opens. I blink against it while quickly trying to assess the person now standing before me in the hallway inside.
A blond woman frowns at me from the other side of the threshold. She looks to be somewhere between twenty-five and thirty, and she has that ethereal essence that both we and the dragon shifters have. Which means that she’s not human, at least. Though I could probably have guessed that from the size of this house. No humans live in places like this in Frostfell.
“Yes?” the woman asks, sounding confused.
Her flowing hair covers her ears, so the moment that my vision has adjusted somewhat to the light from the small candelabra that she is holding, I quickly study her eyes.
They look… dark blue. But they could also be a mix of dark blue and another similar color, like violet or black. It’s impossible to tell because of the murky darkness around us and the flickering light from the candles.
Worry pulses through me. I can’t tell if she’s fae or a dragon shifter.
The second stretches on.
Goddess damn it, I need to make a decision. Should I risk it?
The woman opens her mouth again to say something else, since I still haven’t replied.
“I’m looking for a fae woman who is supposed to live here,” I blurt out before she can get another word out.
She furrows her brows in even deeper confusion, and then lets out a small laugh while shaking her head. “A fae woman? The only fae I know are the ones who live in the Ice Palace.”
Defeat and disappointment sink into my stomach like a block of ice. Of course it was too good to be true.
“Oh,” I say, and begin turning away before she can realize that I am one of those fae she just mentioned. “Sorry, I must have?—”
Her hand shoots out and grabs my arm in a shockingly strong grip. I whip my head back to stare at her. She has moved the candelabra up higher, and now that the light is more directly in her face, I can tell that her eyes are indeed only one color. Dark blue.
“Your eyes,” she says, her voice suddenly sharp, as she moves the candelabra closer to my face.
For one brief second, I consider using my magic to lower the suspicion that must surely be burning inside her now. But I quickly discard that idea since it would only make my eyes glow, which would be clear proof that I am indeed fae.
“Yeah, sorry, I have pretty terrible eyesight,” I say instead while I try to discreetly pull my arm out of her grip. “I must have read the address wrong when?—”
“Lower your hood,” the woman demands.
Alarm spikes through me. “I really?—”
“You have five seconds to lower your hood before I scream like a banshee that you’re trying to rob me. And how do you think that will end for you?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I stare into her blue eyes, which are now filled with such merciless steel that I almost forget to breathe. She’s right. If she screams, it will wake the whole neighborhood. And I can’t fight my way out of here against this whole street of dragon shifters. But as long as it’sonly this one woman, I still have a chance. So I decide to do as she says.
Slowly raising my hands, I lower my hood enough to show her my pointed ears.
She cocks her head, a sharp glint now present in her eyes. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
My stomach lurches as she suddenly yanks me towards her. I stumble across the threshold and into the hallway, almost toppling over when she releases her grip on my arm. While I quickly straighten again, she slams the front door shut behind us and locks it.
Dread pulses through my body. This cannot be good.
Reaching for my magic, I spin around to face the blond woman again.
