Page 114 of Realm of Wind and Vines
“No, that was always Silver Clan territory,” she says with an apologetic shrug.
“Fuck. Alright, we need to head there right now and scout it out. We’ve made plans for how to handle the abduction if she was in the Ice Palace or out in the city. This changes everything. We need to know what we’re looking at before all hell breaks loose, otherwise this will never work.”
Alistair continues flicking his gaze up and down the street. “What about Isera and Orion? They’re not back yet.”
“We’ll have to meet back up with them afterwards instead. We can’t afford to waste any more time. We have no way of knowing how close Lavendera is to figuring out what happened to the Gold Clan, and if she succeeds before we can get her?—”
“We’ll lose this war,” Alistair finishes with a grim nod.
“Yeah.” Draven jerks his chin. “Let’s go.”
We take off up the street and towards the area between the Silver Clan barracks and the Ice Palace. Our cloaks flutter behind us as we run. My heart pounds as a few people glance our way in surprise when we hurry past, but with our faces partially hidden underneath hoods, no one should be able to recognize us. I still throw my magic out across every street we pass, aiming for those yellow-green sparks of suspicion in people’s chests, and decrease their suspicion until they don’t even think twice about a cloaked group hurrying up the street.
Draven, who immediately figures out what I’m doing, gives me a grateful nod.
“So, you think I’m like the sun, huh?” Lyra suddenly says in a light voice as we round another corner.
Alistair chokes on his breath. Coughing desperately, he casts a panicked look at her.
So, she apparently did hear him earlier.
“Focus,” Draven says, flicking a pointed glance at Lyra.
From her other side, Alistair casts a relieved look at Draven. I have never seen him look that grateful for Draven’s orders before.
“We’ll split up to cover more ground,” Draven continues as we draw closer to our target area. “I’ll scout out the north side. Selena, you’ll handle the west.”
I shoot him a sly smile. “Yes, sir.”
His eyes glint as he meets my gaze for a second before shifting it to Galen. “You and Lyra, take the south side. And Alistair, you’ll handle the east.”
“Why can’t I team up with Alistair?” Lyra complains. “He’s so much more fun than grumpy over here.”
“Because I need Galen to keep your recklessness in check,” Draven replies before shooting a pointed look at the fire wielder on her right. “And Alistair is just as crazy as you. This is a stealth mission. An important, time sensitive stealth mission. And together, the two of you are as subtle as a fucking volcano eruption.”
Alistair looks caught between a scowl and an unapologetic grin.
Lyra just laughs. “Well, can’t argue with that, I suppose.”
“Alright, split up,” Draven says, and jerks his chin. “We’ll meet back at the rendezvous point.”
We take off in different directions as we reach the next crossroads.
My heart patters in my chest as I follow a small winding path between two houses, heading towards the west side of the large building up ahead. Most houses in this section of the city have painted their doors in shades of blue. Everything from pale sky blue to royal midnight blue. So it’s thankfully easy to deducewhich building is our target.
I slow down as I draw closer to the grand structure made of white stone.
That terrible sense of stress tears at my insides.
Lavendera is in there somewhere. She could be one single minute away from finding something that will tell her where the Gold Clan is, and there is no way for me to know.
With my pulse thrumming in my ears, I sneak around the final building and peer out at the library ahead. Dread sluices through my veins.
There are at least ten guards from the Silver Clan standing in the open area between my hiding spot and the library. And on this side, there is no cover between it and where I am. Nothing at all to hide behind while sneaking closer.
Summoning my magic again, I throw it across the entire area. Not just the west side but all the other sides as well. More dread crawls up my throat when my magic connects with yellow-green sparks of suspicion in over thirty chests. There must be around ten guards watching every side of the building.
“Mabona’s tits,” I curse under my breath.
