Page 107 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Once dinner is finally ready, we can start focusing on what we actually need to discuss.
How to get Lavendera.
But just as I suspected, figuring out how to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved is not easy.
“If she won’t come willingly, we’ll just knock her out,” Isera says, and shoots an impatient look at Orion, who yet again pointed out our target’s unwillingness to be saved. “The important part ishowwe get to her. If she’s not trailing the Icehearts themselves, she’s followed by elite guards.”
“We can handle the guards,” Draven says. “As long as Bane and Jessina aren’t there. So what we need is a way to draw them out while leaving Lavendera behind.”
Sitting on the grass next to him, I swallow another piece of fried fish, which tastes surprisingly good, and then tap my fingers against my thigh in thought. “Do they always bring Lavendera with them when they leave?”
“No. She doesn’t leave the Ice Palace that often, so my guess is that they only bring her when they need her to control someone with dragon steel.”
“Alright,” Isera picks up, shifting her gaze between Draven and the rest of us. “So what about the Purple Clan?”
“What about them?” Galen asks from where he is sitting next to Lyra.
“We need to create some kind of problem that the Icehearts need to fly out and handle. Artemesia said that she was willing to help us earlier. What if we ask her to create some kind of problem close to her clan’s homeland? It would force the Icehearts to fly out there, but since they’re not controlling her with dragon steel the way they’re controlling Tanaka, there would be no reason for them to bring Lavendera.”
Silence falls over the deep forest as we all consider her suggestion. For a while, only the gentle rippling of the river disturbs the quiet.
“I don’t think it will be enough,” I admit, and flick an apologetic look in Isera’s direction. “Jessina and Bane have outsmarted us time and again. Even if they fly out, we won’t just be able to stroll into the Ice Palace and take Lavendera. She’s too important. Without her, they can’t use dragon steel. So they’ll make sure she’s thoroughly guarded.”
Isera sucks her teeth and then nods in acknowledgment.
“What if we just overwhelm their senses?” Lyra says. Raising her eyebrows, she looks from face to face. “It’s what I do when I need to get away with something I shouldn’t be doing. Create enough chaos in the same place at the same time, and no one will notice what I’m doing in the middle of all of that.”
“Smart,” Alistair agrees with an impressed nod.
Draven just arches an eyebrow at her. “Done that a lot in the barracks, have you?”
She just gives him a sheepish grin that is most definitely ayes.
“Okay, so what if after the Icehearts have left,” I begin, nudging the conversation back on track, “we make it seem like all of the other clans are attacking Frostfell?”
“How?” Galen asks. “They have patrols all across the grasslands outside the city. If there’s a legion of dragons flying towards them, the scouts would know.”
I shift my gaze to Draven. “The commander in charge of all those scouts, do you know who it is?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “His name is Ferver Osteria.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“Yes.” Confusion pulls at his brows. “Why?”
A smirk slides home on my lips as I explain what I had in mind.
The others nod in approval.
“We still need to actually locate Lavendera, though,” Alistair reminds us. “She might be strolling through the city or hiding in a bedroom while going through one of her crazy-pants moments, for all we know.”
“The elite guards who are responsible for watching her will know where she is,” Draven replies. “Even the ones who aren’t actively watching her. So as long as we get to one of them, we’ll know her current location.”
Isera nods, her intelligent eyes full of schemes. “That just leaves one problem. How do we get her out of the city without being seen?”
Silence falls over our group again. I eat some more fried fish while I ponder the problem. If Lavendera turns out to be inside the Ice Palace, we can’t just walk inside and get her. Everyone in there knows exactly what we look like and that we’re traitors who should be captured or killed on sight.
To my surprise, the one who offers a solution is Orion.
