Page 115 of Realm of Wind and Vines
While decreasing their sparks of suspicion, so that none of us will be spotted, I remain there pressed against the wall while studying the area in front of me.
The grand library sits on a flat stretch of stone. There are no other houses or buildings or any types of structures close to it as far as I can see. I had kind of expected it to at least have a wall or something around it. That way, we would’ve had some kind of cover to hide behind at least. But there is nothing. The guards who surround the library have a clear and completely uninterrupted view of their surroundings. Getting past them unseen is going to be difficult.
I shift my gaze to the library itself. There are no windows on the building. Which is no doubt great for the books since it protects them from being damaged by sunlight, but it makesbreaking into the damn thing very difficult. To get in, we will need to go through the door. I can’t see it from the west side, but I suspect that it’s closely guarded and probably locked as well.
It’s frustrating as hell, but at least it proves one thing. Lavendera really is in there. There is no other reason for why they would guard a library this heavily.
My heart thumps as I flick my gaze from side to side, trying to figure out how in Mabona’s name we’re supposed to get inside before that insane woman can find the answer to a problem that would win the Icehearts the war.
From my vantage point, I can’t see any possible way for us to get inside the library and abduct Lavendera without having to fight forty Silver Clan guards, which would just alert the whole city to our presence and screw up our entire plan.
So in the end, it will all come down to Isera and Orion.
If they can succeed with their part of the plan, we might have a shot at this. If not, we’re screwed. Which brings us back to the worrying fact that they weren’t at the meeting point.
Hopefully, they haven’t killed each other.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
By the time afternoon arrives, I’m so stressed out that I have to actively suppress the urge to crawl up the walls. I just want to get this over with, but we can’t begin until Diana starts her distraction. Pacing back and forth in the shadows of a deserted alley, I try to calm my pounding heart.
“It’s time.”
I jump as Draven comes running into the alley. Since we can’t cluster together without drawing attention, we’ve had to spread out across several streets so that we just look like individual people loitering about instead of a group of traitors who are planning for a heist.
“It’s time,” Draven repeats as he comes to a halt in front of me. “Diana sent word that the distraction has begun. Bane and Jessina should receive word of it within the hour. And they should fly off straight away once they do.”
Should.
Worry twists inside my stomach like cold snakes.
Theyshouldhear about it within the hour. Theyshouldfly off. Our entire plan is based on a whole lot ofshoulds. Specific people need to react in specific ways to specific events, and all of itneeds to happen in a very specific order. If even one of those things goes wrong, half of my friends could end up dead.
Draven slides his strong hands along my cheeks, tilting my head back so that I meet his gaze. “Be careful. If anything goes wrong, send up the signal immediately. Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. Because no matter where you are, I will find you and I will get you out.”
My heart squeezes tight, and I reach up to grip his wrist as worry crashes through me again. “Yoube careful. The three of you have the most dangerous job.”
“Just promise me.” He holds my gaze. Insistent. Urgent.
I swallow at the intensity in his eyes. “I promise.”
“Good.” Leaning down, he presses his lips against mine in a desperate kiss. With his eyes still closed, he rests his forehead against mine for a second. Then he lets out a shuddering breath. “Let’s go get everything.”
A short laugh full of desperation and hope and worry rips from my lungs. “Yes, let’s go get fucking everything.”
He steals one last kiss from my lips before tearing himself away and running back down the street the way he came. I watch his perfect body until it disappears around the corner. Nausea rolls through me the moment he’s gone. I don’t want to let him out of my sight. I don’t want to lose him again. We’ve lost so much time already, and there are so many things that could go wrong with this plan.
I try to swallow down that sense of dread. I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this.
Trying to block it out, I give my head a hard shake and spin on my heel. I don’t have time to worry right now. I need to get Alistair and then we need to get going. Sprinting around the corner, I hurry onto the next street.
“It’s time,” I call.
Alistair, who was lounging casually against the wall, jerks up straight and snaps his gaze to me. “Now?”
“Now.” Running up to him, I continue past and down the street. “Let’s go.”
He scrambles to catch up and then falls in beside me as we make our way towards our target. People on the streets blink in surprise and frown at us. Keeping my head slightly bowed, I make sure that my eyes aren’t visible as I latch on to those yellow-green sparks of suspicion with my magic and decrease them until everyone just shrugs and continues going about their day.
