Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“ O ur presence has been requested at the event tonight.”
Sitting upright on the bed, I meet Draven’s gaze and arch an eyebrow. “ Our presence?”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine. My presence has been requested. Which means that you’re coming too.”
I flash him a sly smile and lie back down on the bed. “Yes, sir.”
He misses a step and almost stumbles. Straightening again, he adjusts the towel that is slung low around his hips and then rakes a hand through his messy black hair. Since he has just come out of the bath, his hair is still wet, and a few drops of water slide down his chiseled abs. His eyes darken with lust as he runs his gaze over my body where I’m lying on my side on his dark gray sheets.
“You really need to be careful,” he warns, his eyes glinting and his voice full of wicked promises. “Saying things like that while you’re lying on my bed, wearing only a tiny black nightgown.”
“What, this?” I draw my hand up my bare thigh, pushing the silken fabric up towards my hip. That sly smile is still on my lips as I raise my eyebrows in teasing challenge. “I thought you said back when you were holding me captive in your room during the Atonement Trials that the sight of my body in a tiny little nightgown does absolutely nothing to you.”
He flexes his hand and clenches his jaw as his gaze follows my fingers up towards my hip. Then he drags his gaze back to my face and draws in a deep breath before shaking his head at me. “Oh you really are a menace.”
I let out a smug chuckle and then roll off the bed. While striding towards the door, I wink at him. “I really thought you had learned that by now.”
“I see that sharp tongue of yours is back.”
“Did you miss it?”
“Yes.” He studies me intently as I close the distance between us. “You’re… different. These past few days, it feels as if you’ve gotten your spark back.”
That’s because I have. After my conversation with Isera and Alistair, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It didn’t solve the problem that my connection with Draven is probably only a result of the mate bond, but it at least made me decide that it’s time to stop feeling so guilty about what I have to do. I have to help the humans pull off this heist and I have to make Frostfell rebel so that I can launch a revolution that will finally free the Seelie Court. No matter the consequences.
And just deciding that has given me back the power that I have been handing over to other people all my life just because I have let their opinions of me determine how I feel about myself. But now that I have decided to just take what I want for once, and to hell with everyone else, I feel better. Stronger. More in control.
But I can’t tell Draven that, of course, so I just flash him a teasing smile. “Just wait until I use that spark to burn down this room around your head.”
A dark chuckle rumbles from his chest. “Come try it, little rebel.”
I shoot him a grin full of challenge as I saunter past him towards the door.
But before I can take so much as a step past him, his hand shoots out and he grabs my arm. Keeping my upper arm in a firm grip, he arches an eyebrow at me. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“To change into that damn silver ballgown I always have to wear.”
“No. Not tonight.” Releasing my arm, he strides over to his closet and yanks open the door. “Tonight, you’re wearing this.”
My heart skips a beat as he pulls out a stunning black dress with golden details. Drawing in an unsteady breath, I flick my gaze between the breathtaking dress and the satisfied smile on Draven’s face.
“It’s black,” I state, remembering what he told me about why the Icehearts always insist that we fae wear silver.
Still only wearing that low slung towel, he walks back across the floor and holds out the dress to me. “Yes, it is.”
My heart pounds as I take it. “Won’t they get angry?”
“Let them.” He slides his hand up my throat. With a possessive grip, he tilts my head back and then leans down so that his lips almost brush mine. “You are mine. It’s time the world knows that.”
Anxious anticipation ripples through me as Draven and I at last walk into one of the smaller ballrooms on the ground floor. Faelights glitter in the ceiling, making the carved ice pillars around the room shimmer. Food and drinks are waiting on silver trays that have been placed on the tables along the walls, but very few people are eating and drinking. Instead, everyone is watching each other with suspicious eyes. As if this kind of event isn’t normal.
It took a lot longer than it should have to put on that black dress and get ready. But that was mostly because Draven simply tossed his towel on the bed, leaving him naked right in front of me, as he started putting on his clothes and armor. I could barely concentrate on my own clothes when his muscles flexed every time he lifted a piece of armor and secured it to his toned body. And the smug glances he cast in my direction informed me that he knew exactly what he was doing. Revenge for the ‘yes, sir’ comment, most likely.
But I still can’t help but worry about Bane and Jessina’s reaction to my dress as I follow Draven deeper into the room.
My heart leaps when I spot the Icehearts. And more importantly, the two people next to them.
Isera and Alistair are standing two steps behind them. Their heads are bowed and their shoulders are slumped submissively, but they are wearing actual clothes. No handcuffs. No blindfolds. No strange contraptions in their mouths. Only the iron collars around their throats.
A wave of anticipation washes over me.
This means that they have managed to fool Jessina and Bane into thinking that they have broken them. Which means that they might have information about the treasury.
My heart patters against my ribs as Draven and I close the final distance to them.
Jessina’s sharp gray eyes immediately dart to my dress.
“She’s wearing black,” she states when we come to a halt in front of her and Bane.
“Yes,” Draven simply replies.
Tense silence falls over our small group. I can almost hear it crackling in the air between us.
Then Jessina clicks her tongue. “It makes her look even more pale and sickly.” She flicks her wrist in a dismissive gesture. “I approve.”
I have to suppress both a sigh of relief and an annoyed scowl. Standing a step behind Draven, I keep my chin lowered and my eyes on the floor.
“Everyone else is having fun, I see,” Draven says, obvious sarcasm in his voice.
All around us, dragon shifters in beautiful clothes of all colors are standing tense by the thick ice walls. The dance floor in the middle of the small ballroom is completely deserted. Everyone is just watching each other, and us, warily.
Bane lets out a low and vicious chuckle. “Yes, look at them squirm. Wondering why they’re here.”
“Why are they here?” Draven asks in a casual voice.
Jessina lets out a smug huff of amusement. “So that we can make them nervous, of course.”
“The attack on you by the Purple Clan last week was unacceptable,” Emperor Bane picks up. I can’t see his face since I’m still looking at the floor, but he sounds furious. “It’s time to remind the other clans of their subservience to us.”
“Next week, we will host a grand ball, which all the clan leaders will be required to attend,” Empress Jessina continues. “And during it, they will all kneel and re-swear their oaths to us.”
“And we will deliver those summons directly to their people tonight,” Bane finishes. “Let’s go.”
Without another word, Jessina and Bane start striding towards the closest courtier. Isera and Alistair don’t follow. They remain standing in the exact same position that they have been in this whole time.
Draven turns to me. “Behave.”
I suppress the urge to roll my eyes, even though he wouldn’t be able to see it.
While the three of them stalk away to intimidate people, I discreetly move so that I’m standing next to Isera and Alistair instead.
“We have the information,” Isera whispers without preamble.
“Yeah, and I should win a fucking award for the stellar acting I’ve pulled off these past few days,” Alistair adds.
“Shut it,” Isera snaps. “And stay on topic.”
I memorize all the details as Isera explains what the layout and guard situation look like around the treasury. It’s not… encouraging. There are eight guards in the three corridors between the hidden door and the treasury. And there are no windows and no hiding spaces at all in the final two hallways. Just long corridors filled with guards.
“All in all, way too many guards,” Alistair summarizes rather superfluously at the end.
“Unless someone kills them all,” Isera adds, her voice now once more laced with that cold ruthless edge.
“And who would that be?” Alistair huffs under his breath. “You’re still collared, ice lady. And we’re talking eight dragon shifters. With swords. And probably elite training. Who would be dumb enough to try to assassinate them?”
A wicked smirk spreads across my mouth. “Actually, I think I know exactly who.”