Page 118 of Clash of Storms
They'd sent Tormund and Elin to rescue Andri. Elin had discovered where the prince was being kept, and Tormund was large enough to carry him if need be. Sigurd was working his way through the drekling anddrekiwho wished to overthrow the queen, setting plans into motion for the uprising.
Which left her and Freyja to break Sirius's chains.
She met her queen's odd-colored eyes and held up a finger.One guard.
Freyja gave her a fierce smile that said,let us do this.
She'd never seen her queen's powers in action, but Prince Rurik assured her Freyja could handle adrekiby herself. She'd been responsible for protecting the prince when Magnus almost killed him.
Gathering her tray in her hands, Malin swallowed the hard lump in her throat, and then wiped all the horror and fear off her face as she stepped around the corner.
The guard's head turned toward her, but he ignored her face and focused on the tray.
Malin bowed her head before him, though she doubted he would recognize her. "Good Ivor, we were sent to fetch Prince Sirius a meal," she said, vastly aware of Freyja at her back.
Ivor scowled. "One last meal? The queen said naught about that."
One last meal?Malin's heart kicked faster. "Perhaps she overlooked the detail," she soothed. "It is just to prepare him for the Goddess."
Reaching out, Ivor picked at the napkin on the tray, his interest dimming when he saw the bread roll and splay of cheeses. His attention turned to the meats and ham. Rolling a slice of ham within his meaty fingers, he stuffed it in his mouth.
"Ivor," she breathed, in faint protest. "This is for the prince."
"Fuck the prince," he said, through a mouthful of ham. "He won't need it where he's going."
Malin tried to protest, but thedrekiguard was having none of it. He devoured the roast chicken leg, and reached for the goblet of wine. As he tipped it to his lips and drained it, she set the tray aside.
"Three, two, one...." she muttered under her breath.
Ivor blinked at her, his eyes meeting in the middle as he staggered.
He looked down at the empty goblet in his fingers. "What did...?"
Eyes rolling up in his head, he slammed back against the wall with a metallic crash. Malin caught the goblet before it could hit the floor, and both she and Freyja strained under his weight as they eased him to the marble.
"Greed will be your downfall, Ivor," Malin muttered. A few drops of lindwurm tears in the wine, and Ivor would be napping for hours.
"You were right. Utterly predictable," Freyja muttered, nudging the throne room doors open and peaking inside. "It's clear."
Together they hauled Ivor inside. Malin rifled through his pockets until she found the keys that would unlock Sirius's chains.
"Guard the doors," Malin whispered, as she turned to face the dais.
An enormousdrekislumped in chains beside the throne, his head bowed forward and his hair tumbling in a dark curtain over his face. Blood lashed across his chest in gouges, and thin slices of skin showed through the tears in his leather trousers. The entire left side of his chest and ribs were a stormy purple.
The sheer relief at seeing him again—and alive—flooded through her. She'd been so frightened she wouldn't make it in time.
"Sirius," she called softly.
His head jerked up, the chains jangling.
"Malin?" he whispered in a horrified voice, searching for her in the gloom.
"It's me." She slid to her knees in front of him, capturing his face between her hands. She couldn't help herself. She kissed his lips, thumb rasping over his stubble.Alive. He was alive, and that was all that mattered. "You foolish male. You could have been killed. Why did you not tell me the consequences of joining the battle?"
She had a bone to pick with Árdís over that too. The princess had made it clear Sirius would fight if Malin was there to sway him, but Árdís had never mentioned the price he might pay for such a choice.
"What are you doing here?" he gasped, half-congealed blood dripping down his face, the entire left side of his face swollen and—
