Page 128 of Realm of Wind and Vines
“Look at that. I think I’m rubbing off on you all.”
“Focus,” Isera growls from the front.
“Then I have another question,” Orion continues. “This is a big castle. How are we going to find one little fae in it?”
“We should split up.” She casts a glance at us over her shoulder. “Agreed?”
“Agreed,” I reply. “But Alistair and I won’t be able to make it far once we’re indoors. Even if there is chaos inside, there will be guards around the Icehearts’ private quarters.”
“I’ll handle those.” She shifts her gaze to Orion. “You’re not familiar with the layout of the castle, but I trust you can find the throne room at least?”
“Of course.” He gives her a look full of challenge. “I’m a king.”
“I’ll take the kennels,” Alistair says. “That’s where they kept her last time we were here. Mabona knows they don’t treat her very well, so they might be keeping her locked up there now as well.”
“Good point.” I drag in another deep breath before I can manage to say, “There’s a dungeon underneath the castle too. I was locked up in it at one point, so I know where to find it. I’ll check that.”
“We don’t have much time, though,” Orion says, his voice now dead serious.
“I know. Draven and?—”
“It’s not just that. These glamours that Nysara created are so complex and detailed that it is draining a lot of her magic. I’d say we have less than thirty minutes before it runs out.”
Alarm shoots up my spine. Without these glamours, we will never get Lavendera to come with us. Let alone get out of the city without being killed.
“Alright.” Isera sweeps her gaze over us. “So we meet back here outside this door in fifteen minutes. No matter what.”
We all nod in agreement.
Yanking open one of the side doors, we barrel into the Ice Palace and immediately take off in separate directions.
My heart pounds so loudly that I can’t even hear the thudding of my own boots against the ice floor. The entire palace is in chaos. Servants and messengers are running up and down the hallways, barely glancing at the people they meet. I still keep my head down and my hair covering my ears so that they won’t realize what I am.
Skidding around the corner, I have to throw out a hand and brace myself against the cool ice wall to stop myself from crashing right into a side table. My pulse thrums as I push off from the wall and take off along the corridor.
There should only be three more corridors between this one and the stairs to the dungeons. The dungeons are situated far below, inside the roots of the mountain, but I should be able to make it down there and back up again before fifteen minutes have passed. Unless there are still guards down there.
My breath saws through my throat as I sprint the final distance to the door that leads down into the dungeons. It’s not guarded up here at least. So far so good.
Yanking it open, I start down the stairs with quick steps while shoving my magic out in rapid bursts. I aim at different emotions each time in an effort to estimate how many people are down there. As far as I can tell, there appears to be four people down there. However, I have no idea if they are prisoners or guards. And since my magic doesn’t appear to work properly on Lavendera, I can’t know for certain if she is down there or not.
Since I don’t have time to sneak, I jog down the steps as fast as I can without tripping. My boots thud with each stride, and the sound echoes between the stone walls. The temperature plummets with every step. This deep under the mountain, the air is cool even though it’s summer.
“Who’s there?” a male voice calls up from the dungeons.
A jolt shoots through me.Oh, shit.There is at least one guard down there then. While drawing in short tense breaths, Isummon a massive flame of fear as I continue running down the steps. This will only work if I’m fast enough.
I still don’t know if it’s because it’s impossible for the body to handle two flames of the same emotion or if it’s because the heart simply cannot handle being hit with that much fear that fast. But every time I have done this, it has worked.
However, if the guard manages to attack before I can hit him again, I’m screwed.
With tension crackling inside me like a storm, I run down the final distance while searching desperately for any sign of the guard who yelled earlier.
Once I reach the final ten steps, a dragon shifter in silver armor suddenly becomes visible on the ground below.
I slam the fear into his chest.
His eyes widen, and he opens his mouth as if to scream.
