Page 105 of Clash of Storms
Only Freyja seemed to note her discomfort. The prince's mate crossed to a chair and picked up a shawl, returning to drape it over Malin's shoulders.
"Thank you," she murmured.
Freyja knelt beside her. "I was watching the battle too, Malin. If Sirius didn't fight, then I would not be able to hold my mate in my arms right now. Árdís would have lost Haakon before she could get to him. We'll get him back. I promise."
"But how?"
Loud voices echoed in the background. Rurik gestured fiercely as he paced in front of the fireplace. "I need time. We need allies. We cannot storm the court and expect to win. And if we bargain, then we can only expect betrayal."
"King Harald?" Árdís asked. "His daughter, Solveig, is his war-marshal and I daresay she'd enjoy cutting Roar's throat."
"Maybe. I'd be grateful if we had any sort of idea where Marduk was. Together, the three of us might stand a chance."
"I've tried reaching out to him," Árdís replied. "He's ignoring me."
"Younger brothers," Tormund said, with a huff of breath.
Allies. An idea came to Malin, one so preposterous it stole her breath.
"What is it?" Freyja whispered.
The otherdrekicontinued arguing.
Did she dare?
If you don't raise your voice now, Sirius will die.
Malin rose to her feet, putting her hands on the table, and their words died off as everybody looked at her.
"The queen will be expecting your demands," she said, finding herself the sudden center of attention. "As you said, you cannot trust her. Any offer of treaty will be granted with ill faith. If you demand Andri's return—or Sirius's—then the second the queen has that bracelet off, someone will put an arrow through their back."
Rurik exchanged a glance with his sister. "Yes, but—"
"So we use the exchange as a distraction," Malin said. "Iknowwhere Andri is being kept. I can discover where they're keeping Sirius"—if he's still alive—"and I can organize the rebellion within the court. Youhaveallies, my prince. The entire court waits for you to claim your throne. When the queen and her guard go to parlay with you, I can free both of them from within the court. If you stall her, we can escape with both princes, and then you don't have to give the queen anything."
Silence.
She might as well have dropped one of Finn's alchemical bombs in the room. Would they help her? It seemed the only way she had any chance of rescuing Sirius.
Haakon let out a long, slow breath and kicked back in his chair. "I like it," he told Rurik.
Malin's breath burst out of her.
The prince's golden brows drew together. "There's just one little problem.... If we meet my mother on neutral ground close to the court, then there's a strong chance my mother will prepare a trap. We'll need a show of strength." He focused on Malin. "You would be alone in there."
"I knew that. Neither you nor Árdís can enter the court for fear of being discovered," Malin said, her heart beating hard behind her ribs as she circled the table. "We cannot smuggle you inside. The resonance of your magic is too powerful. Otherdrekiwould sense you, and then there would be bloodshed within Hekla. But me? Nobody will sense me. My magic is too small."
She'd never been so relieved for her lack of power.
"And once inside, I can rouse the rebellion."
He frowned. "I do not wish to get my people killed. If you rouse them, then this will be war."
"You underestimate them, my prince," she whispered, meeting Rurik's amber eyes. "And it is already war within the court. All the rebellion has ever wanted is for you to lead them against the queen and her brother."
The prince exchanged a glance with his sister. "They are drekling, Malin. And a handful ofdrekiwho served my father loyally all those years. They're no match for thedrekimercenaries that have flooded the court since my father was murdered."
"There are weapons in place: both swords and arrows dipped in leviathan blood; alchemical globes that explode on impact; svartálfar-forged weapons.... Your people are not helpless. Individually, they cannot stand againstdrekiwarriors, but together? Don't doubt them."
