Page 131 of Realm of Wind and Vines
His sword wavers in the air.
And my dagger sinks right into his eye.
Another cry of pure agony tears from his lungs. The sound echoes between the cold stone walls so loudly that my ears hurt.
Ripping the knife out of his eye socket, I kick my knee up hard. He rolls to the side, still screaming in pain while reaching for his bleeding eye. I knee him in the face and then haul the rest of my body out from underneath his with a cry of desperation.
Screams of pain echo between the walls from the guard on the steps as well as the guy on the floor down below, who now has a massive flame of pain stuck in his chest for the rest of his life.
I drag in deep breaths while my vision swims from exhaustion.
Staggering to my feet, I wipe the blood from my dagger and ram it back into its sheath.
The guard throws his other hand out, aiming for my ankle.
I increase the pain in his chest in one massive burst that makes him scream his lungs out.
Then I cut off my magic and hurtle up the steps.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Throwing the door to the dungeon stairs shut behind me, I sprint down the corridor and towards the side door. My heart slams against my ribs. I don’t know how much time has passed since we went inside. The others might have already left at this point. With or without Lavendera.
A messenger jumps out of the way as I skid around the corner. Her blue eyes widen in surprise, but before she can get a closer look at me, I take off down the hall and sprint towards the next intersection.
“Hey!” she calls after me. “Are you?—”
I slam right into Jessina Iceheart.
Air explodes from my lungs as I run straight into the two people who just came charging out of the hallway on my right. Dragging in a deep breath, I leap back and snap my gaze between them.
“Watch it,” Jessina says, and then casts a sharp look at the gaping messenger. “And get to work!”
With a small shriek of panic, the messenger darts away.
For a moment, my brain is still screaming at me to attack the person in front of me. But I know that it’s not actually Jessina.It’s Isera. And more importantly, she has another person with her.
Lavendera Dawnwalker.
“Let’s go,” Isera says in Jessina’s voice.
Without waiting for a reply, she takes off down the corridor with Lavendera next to her. I scramble to catch up and then dart along the glittering ice halls with them. My gaze slides to Lavendera as we run. I have no idea what Isera said to her to trick her into this, but it appears to be working. She is barely even looking at me. All she does is whatever Isera tells her.
Air that tastes of mountains and ice fills my lungs when we burst out through the side door and out onto the castle grounds. Orion, who still looks like Bane, and Alistair jump out of the way to avoid getting mowed down when we sprint out onto the flat stone ground outside.
Surprise and relief flashes across Alistair’s face when he sees Lavendera, but he quickly wipes the expression off his features and snaps his mouth shut. We can’t risk saying anything that will tip her off to the fact that she is being tricked.
“Let’s go,” Isera repeats, her own naturally authoritative tone blending with Jessina’s voice perfectly.
Lurching into motion, we race back towards the side gate. Isera and Orion lead the charge while Alistair and I bring up the rear. Lavendera stays in the middle, and she continues keeping her mouth shut.
Chaos is spreading rapidly across the palace grounds. Someone has found the guard that I killed, and servants are now running towards the castle to raise the alarm. Everywhere I look, people are yelling and darting across the ground with panic in their eyes. Most of them are probably remembering the human uprising a few months ago, which must have been very frightening for the ordinary civilians who work here.
“Clear the way!” Orion bellows in Bane’s voice as we close the distance to the side gate.
The panicked servants who had gathered there leap back at the sound of their emperor’s voice and immediately start stammering apologies. As if they are somehow responsible for the guard that I killed or the fact that his corpse is now blocking the way.
We simply leap over it as we run through the open gate and back out onto the sloping mountainside outside the high defensive walls. I suck in a deep breath of relief as we leave the Ice Palace behind and continue down the path that leads down towards the city.
