Page 129 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Panic shoots through me.
Yanking up a second flame of fear, I shove it into his chest.
He gasps. Terror crashes over his features, and the hand that was reaching for his sword instead flies up towards his heart.
Then his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses down on the ground.
“What was that?” another male voice calls from farther down the hallway.
From my last visit to this place, I know that the guards have a room down there where they play cards to pass the time. Apparently, the guy I just killed wasn’t alone down here.
I suck in short shallow breaths as I leap over the guard on the floor and skid into the section that houses the cells. Running from one side to the other, I search them all for Lavendera.
“Dude, did you hear me?” the second guard calls. “Was someone coming?”
My pulse thrums in my ears as I cast a panicked look in his direction.
Snapping my gaze back to the iron bars in front, I search the final cells for Lavendera.
She isn’t there.
But someone else is.
Shock and confusion hit me like a slap as I reach the final cell and find a stately man in elegant green robes sitting against the rough stone wall inside the iron bars. His turquoise eyes are wide, and he just keeps raking his hands through his blond hair while shaking his head. He is looking in my direction, but it’s as if he’s staring straight through me.
“No, no, no,” he repeats, his voice hoarse, as if he has been screaming.
For a moment, all I can do is to stare at him in disbelief.
Because this is Kander von Graf. Leader of the Green Dragon Clan.
What in Mabona’s name is he doing here?
Then I suck in a sharp breath as I remember what happened outside the Green Clan’s mountain a few weeks ago. Lavendera showed up with all of those elite soldiers. And Kander refused to open the door. Is this how they punished him for that insubordination?
“Hey, did you hear me?” the second guard calls again. “Is it von Graf again? I swear if he starts screaming again, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”
His voice snaps me out of my stupor, and I whirl back towards the guard I killed. After closing the distance to him in two quick strides, I crouch down and unhook his keys from his belt.
“Do we need to come out and help you?” the guard yells.
I sprint back to Kander’s cell and shove the key into the keyhole before grabbing the bar so that I can yank it open.
A hiss rips from my lips as my naked palm meets the iron bars. It immediately cuts off the flow of my magic and almostsends me to my knees. Ripping open the door, I yank my hand away from the iron as fast as possible.
Magic flows back into me, but even that brief contact added to the already building exhaustion inside me. I need to get out of here. Now. If I have to fight two more guards, I might not make it out of here at all.
But if I can rescue the leader of the Green Dragon Clan, he will be in my debt. And that is going to be crucial to winning this war.
“Let’s go,” I hiss at Kander.
“No, no, no,” he just keeps mumbling while staring right through me. “I felt it. I felt it fall. It’s all over.”
Horror washes through me as I stare at him. The Icehearts must have tortured him extensively to turn him into this blabbering mess. Fear suddenly grips my heart. What if he won’t be able to help us anymore? What if they’ve tortured him so much that his mind has snapped? Then he might not even remember how that partnership between fae and dragon shifters works anymore. Goddess above, we need that information.
“I felt it,” he continues mumbling. “It’s?—”
“Kander!” I snap, dread still gripping my chest.
