Page 78 of Throne of Ice and Blood
“Still trapped in the castle. But I’m working on a way to get them out. I just need to know that we can get out of the city once we’re out of the palace.”
“I see.”
“So can you help? Please. I don’t really have any money or anything to give you in return, but…” Desperation leaks into my voice as I hold her gaze and pathetically repeat, “Please.”
Silence falls over the dining room. Nysara watches me with eyes I can’t read. Then she takes another sip of wine. Candlelight glitters in her yellow and violet eyes as she sets her glass down and cocks her head.
“Well, normally, I require something in return for my services.” She lifts her slender shoulders in a nonchalant shrug.“Or at least a little groveling.” Clicking her tongue, she brushes her long black hair back behind her shoulder. “But fortunately for you, my job is both to spy on the dragon shifters and to do everything I can to sabotage the Icehearts. And taking away all of their life slaves would certainly fall into that second category.”
Relief washes through me. Followed by confusion. “Wait, yourjob?”
“Yes.” She raises her chin, pride lacing her tone as she looks down at me. “I am here on a mission from the Unseelie King himself.”
I blink at her, my mouth dropping open a little.
That seems to have been the reaction she was hoping for, because one of those smug feline smiles spreads across her lips as she leans back in her chair.
“The Unseelie King is alive?” I breathe.
“Yes.”
“What happened? To your court? After they conquered us, what happened to you?”
“Nothing. The Unseelie Court is still the majestic independent fae realm that it always has and always will be.”
My heart is slamming so hard against my ribs that Nysara must surely hear it. The Unseelie Court is free. The dragon shifters never conquered it. During all these millennia, while we have been trapped in the forest of thorns, the Unseelie Court has been out there.
And done… nothing.
“Why?” It comes out as little more than a whisper.
“Because our court is both stronger and smarter than yours.”
I drag my gaze back up to her face. “No, I mean, why didn’t you help us? If you have been free all this time, why did you never try to help us?”
She frowns, as if she’s genuinely confused why I would even ask that. Narrowing her eyes, she studies my face intently. “You must not know a lot about our history.”
“I know nothing of our history. The dragon shifters burned everything and killed everyone but the children when they conquered us.”
Clicking her tongue, she traces her finger along the rim of her glass. “Yes, well, that is unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate?” I snap, anger crackling through me, as I sit forward in my chair. “We have?—”
“Let’s get something straight.” That merciless steel creeps back into her eyes as she locks them on me. “You are inmyhome, begging formyhelp, so you do not raise your voice at me. Is that clear?”
With great effort, I swallow down my anger and sit back in my seat again. Lowering my chin slightly, I force out, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s better.”
Under the table, I squeeze my hand into a fist. But I keep my mouth shut. Because by Mabona, I really do need Nysara’s help.
“So, to answer your question,” she begins. “There are two reasons for why we have never tried to help you. The first one is because relations between our two courts have always been strained, to say the least. And the second, and most important, reason is because we do not get involved in other people’s problems. We protect our own realm. What everyone else does outside of it is not our concern.”
The most infuriating part of it all is that I actually understand her reasoning. Staying out of other people’s problems is most likely the reason why their court was never conquered in the first place. It still pisses me off, though.
But I can’t tell her that, so I force that rage down and instead decide to ask another question. A question that will be crucialfor my plan to launch a successful rebellion and finally free our court too.
“I understand,” I reply in response to her explanation. Then I raise my gaze and meet her eyes again. “But since you know what actually happened back then, can you at least tell me how the dragon shifters managed to conquer us? If all of our ancestors were dragon riders who controlled them with dragon steel, then how did they manage to overthrow us? How did they manage to get the dragon steel off and kill us all?”
