Page 18 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Draven cuts him a glare but still explains. “This mountain isimpenetrable. No one gets in, or out, without the permission of their clan leader.”
I frown at him before turning to stare at the mountain again. “But then how did the Icehearts conquer them? How did they get them to swear allegiance and become part of their empire?”
With his gaze still on the closed doors, Draven shakes his head. “No idea. It was long before my time.”
“Seriously?” Orion says.
We all turn towards him. The Unseelie King is watching Draven with a smug look on his face.
“This is starting to become embarrassing.” Orion gives Draven a vicious smile. “I knew that intelligence wasn’t your strongest suit, but it is a sad day indeed when I know more about your culture than you do.”
Draven flashes him an equally dangerous smile back. “Spying is easy when you’ve just been spectating behind your wards like a coward.”
“Just tell us how they were conquered,” Isera snaps, leveling an annoyed look at Orion.
He shifts his sharp eyes to her. “Say please.”
“Mabona’s fucking tits,” I huff. “I’m starting to think that Lyra was right.”
All three of them start in surprise, as if they had forgotten that I was there for a moment. It disrupts the aggression that crackles in the air enough that they don’t immediately resume arguing. Instead, Orion clears his throat and volunteers the information without further pressure.
“The Icehearts got the Green Dragon Clan to swear allegiance by threatening to destroy their archives,” he says.
I raise my eyebrows. “Archives?”
“This entire world’s written history. It’s stored in the Green Clan’s archives. According to our own historians, the Icehearts somehow managed to get into the archives. Though how they actually managed to do that is still up for debate among differentscholars. Some argue that they only managed to steal a section of the archives while others claim that they managed to take possession of whole sections of the mountain.” He flicks his wrist. “Anyway, the point is that they threatened to destroy them. That’s how they got the Green Clan to bow down.” He shrugs. “As far as we know, they did manage to reclaim the archives, though. And they warded them afterwards to prevent it from happening again.”
I frown at him. “They reclaimed the archives? But then why is the Green Clan still serving the Icehearts then?”
“My guess? It’s simply because they don’t go back on their word.” He flicks a glance at Draven. “If they’re as honest and principled as you say, they probably couldn’t simply ignore their vow of allegiance once they had given it.”
“You might have a point,” Draven says slowly.
Orion blinks, looking completely stunned that Draven agreed with him on something.
“The Green Clan is part of the empire, just like we all are, but they don’t really serve the Icehearts,” Draven explains. “Not overtly, anyway. They don’t rebel. But they also don’t use their powers for Bane and Jessina’s sake.”
“So how do we convince them to fight with us?” Isera asks.
“That’s a problem for another day.” Draven heaves a deep sigh and turns back towards the imposing mountain. “The more pressing problem is how to get them to even open the door.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“This is a waste of time,” Isera announces.
Orion waves a lazy hand. “For once, I actually agree with the little viper. If they were going to open the door, they would have done it four hours ago.”
I glance between them and Draven but keep my mouth shut, because I know that if I suggest leaving, then he will argue that we should stay simply because he can’t let himself agree with something I say.
It has been over four hours since we stepped through the portal. We have spent most of that time simply standing out there on the grass in front of the massive mountain doors. But a few minutes ago, we retreated back into the small copse of trees that we arrived in because Orion wouldn’t stop complaining about how the sun was turning his skin red.
Leaves rustle in the thin trees around us as a warm breeze sweeps across the grasslands. The rippling foliage casts flickering shadows across our faces, but it does indeed give us a nice break from the scorching sun we’ve been standing in all day. Not that I would ever admit that to Orion, though.
Draven heaves a deep sigh. “Fine.” While dragging a handthrough his hair, he shifts his gaze to Orion. “When is Grey’s next check-in?”
“He should be opening another portal in about half an hour or so,” the Unseelie King replies.
“Alright, then we’ll—” He suddenly cuts himself off, his head snapping to the side. “Get down!”
