Page 5 of Court of Lies and Deceit

“What happened to your clothes?”

Once again, the words are out of my mouth before I even know what I’m doing. That pain killer potion sure has loosened my tongue.

Alistair’s expression darkens. “They burned them. The first day we woke up, Jessina and Bane cut our clothes off our bodies and burned them in front of us. Then they tossed us those ridiculous silver undergarments and told us to wear those or nothing at all.”

My heart squeezes. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Dark clouds start gathering in the sky above us. Storm winds rush through the night, making the clouds spin and ripple violently, as Draven gathers his magic. A bolt of lightning splits the air. It cracks into the transparent barrier ahead, but the wards merely ripple, as if it had no effect at all.

Draven lets out a deafening roar. I wince, clenching my chattering teeth. My body keeps shaking from the intense cold that now feels like a permanent part of my soul.

Without a word, Alistair and Isera shift closer to me. Even though it does nothing to chase the coldness away, I still appreciate the gesture.

“Is it true?” Alistair eventually asks.

Dragon fire and lightning and winds crash against the wards before us, turning the night into a raging storm of flames and white lightning.

Turning my head with some difficulty, I meet Alistair’s gaze. “Is what true?”

“That Draven planned to make you leave without us and that you forced him to buy you time to get us out.”

I turn my head back so that I’m watching the dark forest before us instead. “Yes.”

For a moment, only the roaring of fire and zaps of lightning from above break the silence.

Then Alistair asks, “Why?”

“I promised that I would get you out.”

“That’s not reason enough. You wasted several minutes you didn’t have getting us out, which caused the Icehearts to catch up, which led to the fight, which in turn is why you’re dying right now.”

I lick my numb lips, trying to figure out how to contradict him. But the truth is that he is right. If we had left straight away instead of spending several minutes sneaking Isera and Alistair out of the ballroom and then going by foot to the Black Dragon Clan’s barracks instead of simply flying there, we would have been able to leave before they figured out where we were.

“I would have left you,” Isera suddenly says from my other side. Her voice is calm. Simply stating a fact. “If it had been me, I would have left you without looking back.”

Alistair flicks a glance at her before returning his attention to me and lifting his toned shoulders in a shrug. “Me too.”

I laugh. It comes out sounding weirdly genuine. Because for some reason, I really can’t find it in myself to be offended.

“So why didn’tyou?” Alistair presses.

And once again, those damn drugs make me answer before I even know what I’m saying. “Because you’re the first friends I ever made. The only friends I’ve ever had.”

Alistair jerks back, his mouth dropping open, as he stares at me with wide eyes. Even Isera blinks in what looks like stunned shock.

“Why are you—” I begin, but pain suddenly spikes through the back of my skull.

I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth, and the forest sways before me. That searing coldness burns through the back of my head.

And a sudden realization pulses through my whole soul. As clear as day and as natural as the rising sun.

I am going to die.

There is no way that Draven is going to be able to break through the wards around the Unseelie Court before the ice has frozen my body. This was a desperate hope. A stupid hope. I knew it the moment that they suggested it back in that small nameless village. No matter what we do, I will never reach a healer in time.

A steady sort of resignation settles inside me. Because at least this is better than Draven and all of them dying while trying to fight their way back into the Ice Palace.

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