Page 22 of Realm of Wind and Vines
There is no trace of emotion on Draven’s face as he watches the beautiful scenery before him. Only that customary expression of confidence and power remains on his features. As if he feels nothing. But I know that that’s not true. He feels a lot of things. He’s just better than most at hiding it.
“When Rin became clan leader, she launched a rebellion against Bane and Jessina,” Draven explains, his eyes still on Rin’s homeland. “I broke that rebellion and forced her clan back underneath their heel.”
I suppress a groan. This is not going to be easy.
“Great,” Isera says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “So then how do we get her to side with us now?”
“If I just walk up to her, she’s more likely to punch me in the face than to speak with me.”
I shrug. “Well, you do have a very punchable face.”
He cuts me a look from the corner of his eye. “You seemed to like my face just fine last night.”
Heat sears my cheeks at the reminder of that humiliating experience.
“So what’s the plan then?” Isera asks, mercifully pushing the conversation back on track.
Draven blows out a sigh and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “Still working on it.”
“What?” Orion demands. Raising his arm, he stabs his hand inthe direction of the muddy forest we just traversed. “You made us trudge through all of that, and you don’t even have a plan?”
“Why do I always have to be the one with the plan?” Draven snaps, anger flashing across his face so suddenly that I jerk back in shock. “God forbid someone else actually used their head for once.” He cuts Orion a sharp glare. “You’re supposed to be the master of schemes. Pull your fucking weight.”
Orion, entirely unfazed by Draven’s sudden anger, just arches an arrogant eyebrow. “Need I remind you that I was practically blackmailed into this?”
“Yeah,” Draven replies, his voice taking on a mocking edge as he no doubt thinks about how the Unseelie King blackmailedusback in his court earlier. He flashes Orion a vicious smile. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”
Orion snaps something back at him, but I can barely focus on what, because I can’t get that exasperated look on Draven’s face out of my head. Because he’s right. He has been forced to take on way too much for far too long.
“We can think about how to convince Rin later,” I say, interrupting their argument. “First, we need to figure out how to get from here to the floating islands without being seen.”
All three of them turn to me. Draven looks caught between being grateful that someone else is forcing our attention back to the problem at hand and angry that I spoke simply because his default mode now is to hate everything I say. Thankfully, his more practical side wins this time.
“I can do a half-shift and fly across that way,” he says. “They’ll only be watching for dragons, so a small target like that will go unnoticed.”
“Good.” I nod. “Then you can fly us over as well.”
The hatred returns to his eyes in a flash.
Drawing his eyebrows down, he growls, “I’m not carrying you.”
I keep my chin raised as I hold his gaze. “You either fly us over or do this all on your own. Your choice.”
That unnatural hatred burns in his eyes, trying to override his common sense. He flexes his hand and clenches his jaw for a few seconds. Then he at last grinds out, “Fine.”
A yelp slips from my lips as he grabs me without warning. A small cloud of black smoke explodes around us as he shifts into his half-shift form at the same time as he lifts me into his arms. His massive black wings flare out, making the cloud of smoke drift away into the forest behind us before evaporating.
“Wait here,” he tells Isera and Orion.
Without waiting for a reply, he simply launches into the air.
My stomach flips at the sudden start, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
His angry gaze immediately snaps to me. “Don’t touch me.”
“I have to hold on, otherwise I’m going to fall,” I retort.
“Remove your arms from my neck, Selena. Or I swear to God, I will drop you on purpose.”
