Page 109 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Forcing the regret back, I instead breathe in the roaring fury and hatred inside me until I feel that merciless fire crackling through my whole soul.
I am not the weak link. I refuse to be the weak link.
So I will pull myself together.
And I will get my fucking revenge.
“She sure is pretty,” a sly voice suddenly says from my left.
I almost jump in surprise. Trying to compose myself, I givemy head a quick shake and then flick a glance in the direction of the voice. However, I am not the one who looks most startled.
Opposite me, Alistair snaps his head in the direction of the voice.
Orion Nightbane has glided out of the shadows unseen, as if he is a living breathing slice of the night itself. Sly amusement glitters in his eyes as he nods towards Lyra while meeting Alistair’s gaze.
“What?” Alistair replies. Blinking, he shifts his gaze between the Unseelie King and the three dragon shifters who are making their way towards us along the darkened road. “Lyra?”
Since Isera is leaning against the wall a little farther down behind us, and therefore isn’t even in the direction Orion nodded, the only person he could possibly have been referring to when he saidsheis Lyra.
Orion smirks at Alistair. “You blush a lot when you look at her.”
I flick a glance at him, and sure enough, our threatening fire wielder has a hint of red staining his cheeks.
“No, I don’t,” he splutters.
Orion arches an eyebrow. “So you don’t think she’s pretty?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean?—”
“That’s not what a woman wants to hear.”
“Of course I think she’s pretty! Look at her.” Alistair throws his arm out, pointing in her direction, while that adorably flustered look on his face intensifies. “She’s like the sun. All bright and warm and gorgeous and?—”
The sly smirk on Orion’s face deepens, and Alistair starts blushing again.
“You…” Alistair growls, and a ball of fire flares up in his palm. “I will fucking incinerate you.”
“Stop tormenting him,” Isera says from her place by the wall. Her eyes gleam as she slides her gaze to Orion. “Or I’ll show you what real torture looks like.”
“Oh, I’ve tortured far more people than you ever have, little viper.” Orion flashes her a sharp smile. “So don’t make threats you can’t back up.”
“Do you think she heard me?” Alistair hisses to me under his breath while casting a panicked look towards Lyra.
I briefly shift my gaze to her, Draven, and Galen, trying to estimate the distance, before meeting his eyes again and shaking my head. “No. They’re too far away.”
Relief washes over Alistair’s face, and he extinguishes the fire in his palm.
When they reach us, Draven shoots him an exasperated look. “Getting along fine, I see.”
“Like fire and highly flammable alcohol,” Alistair replies.
A short chuckle escapes Draven before he snaps his mouth shut and cuts off the sound. He wasn’t a big fan of Alistair and Isera in the beginning, but it looks like they’ve really grown on him.
“What did Artemesia say?” Isera asks from where she’s still leaning against the wall a short distance away.
“Diana is with us,” Draven confirms. “She has agreed to create a distraction that will draw out Bane and Jessina.”
Relief flows through me. Followed by wicked anticipation that makes my blood sing. The first preparation is in place. Soon, I will take the Icehearts’ most precious person from them. And that is just the beginning. I will take everything from them. Their power. Their clan. Everyone they have ever cared about. I will wipe every trace of them from this earth until it will be as if they never existed at all. And then, I will have my revenge.
