Page 26 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

With my spine straight and my chin raised, I stride through the thinning crowd and towards Imar. I’ve already determined which types of emotions he will no doubt be feeling, especially after that stunt Maximus pulled, so this is going to be easy.

Stopping two strides away, I draw in another breath and reach for my magic.

“I’ll take this one,” a commanding voice suddenly declares.

Losing my grip on my magic, I whip my head up to find Draven stalking across the dais. On the floor, Imar frowns in confusion and looks up at the Icehearts. Jessina just waves a hand.

Behind me, a ripple goes through the gathered fae.

I open my mouth to protest, but Draven has already reached the edge of the dais. With one graceful step, he drops from the raised platform and lands on the floor before me with a thud. Imar takes a step to the side.

My heart jerks and then starts up a nervous pattering as I stare at Draven while trying to reformulate my strategy.

“Well,” Draven taunts, a smirk full of challenge lurking on his lips. “Get on with it then.”

I suppress the urge to scowl at him and instead simply reach for my magic. It doesn’t matter that it’s him. I can make this work anyway.

Magic surges through me as I study the ruthless commander in front of me while trying to figure out what he’s feeling right now.

Anger.

He’s probably angry that I’m still here.

I reach towards him with my magic and push at the pale red spark of anger that should be there.

Nothing.

The realization stuns me so much that I actually blink in surprise.

He’s not angry. At all.

While trying to wrap my head around that realization, I reach out again and push at the orange spark of smugness that must surely be there at least.

Once more, my magic meets only an empty void.

I stare at him in disbelief, and then push at the gray spark of boredom.

Nothing.

The Iceheart monarchs shift their weights and raise their eyebrows expectantly, as if wondering whether or not I have already started.

Panic pulses through me.

With desperation surging through my veins, I throw my magic at more emotions. Tiredness, joy, impatience, fear, hunger. Anything I can think of.

And every time, I’m met with nothing but a cold and dark void.

Disbelief crackles through me. How can he feel nothing? Almost everyone feels something at any given time. Only the people with extensive training can block out their emotions entirely like this. Why would he, of all people, prioritize learning such a skill?

The panic inside me grows into full-blown fear as Jessina clicks her tongue and announces, “You have ten seconds to make something happen.”

So I do something insane. I do the only thing that I think might be able to shock someone like Draven.

I grab the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head.

A gasp rips through the people around me, but I’m not paying them any attention. All of my focus is firmly on Draven as I yank my shirt off.

It startles him enough that he jerks back a little and blinks in shock.

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