Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Seriously?” Orion blows out an annoyed sigh. “Another forest?”
“Yes,” Draven replies. “Except this time, it’s not something we just need to cross. This forest is the Purple Clan’s homeland.”
Tilting my head back, I stare up at the majestic trees that form the border between the forest and the grasslands behind us.
It’s much warmer here than it is in the Seelie Court at this time of year.
The air also feels different. It’s heavier, in a way.
More humid. The vegetation is different as well.
The leaves are wider, thicker, and more deep emerald green in color.
Dotted among them are flowers in elegant shapes and bright colors.
The sounds of thousands of birds chirping and insects trilling drift out from the vibrant forest.
“So how do we sneak in?” Isera asks. She looks a lot less impressed than I am as she regards the forest before us.
“We don’t,” Draven replies. “The moment we set foot on the other side of that tree line, they will know we’re there.”
“Then how do we get past them?”
“We don’t. We walk inside and wait for them to come to us.”
“Sounds like an awful plan,” Orion says.
“Based on your extensive knowledge of dragon shifter culture?” Draven challenges. “Or perhaps your astounding contributions to our other missions so far?”
The Unseelie King cuts him a dark look.
Draven flashes him a lethal smirk but then simply forges on. “When they ambush us, because they will ambush us, you three keep your mouths shut and let me do the talking.” He turns to me and Orion. “And you two, no matter what happens, do not summon magic.”
I blink at him in surprise. “Why?”
“Diana is incredibly distrustful of outsiders. And your magic isn’t visible. So if she sees your eyes glowing, she will immediately assume that you’re messing with her mind, and then she will try to kill us.”
“She will probably try to kill us anyway,” I point out. “Well, you, at least.”
“And she’s right.” Orion lifts his toned shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. “Our magic would be messing with her head.”
“My order still stands,” Draven grinds out, annoyance flitting across his face. “You two do not use your magic.”
Orion narrows his eyes. “A king does not take orders.”
“This one does. Or he will find himself with my sword through his spine.”
“One of these days, I’m going to take you up on that challenge, beast.”
Draven just lets out a condescending huff of laughter and then turns to Isera. “You can use magic since yours is clearly visible in the air but try to use it for defense only. Unless you want to get torn apart.”
Isera raises one eyebrow in question. “Torn apart?”
“You’ll see.”
The chirping birds and trilling insects seem to grow louder the longer we stand outside the border. I cast another glance at the thick forest while fighting a very untimely smile. I really am glad that Alistair went with Lyra’s group instead.
“Everyone clear on the plan? Good,” Draven says without actually waiting for a reply. “Then let’s go.”
The moment we step across the tree line and into the forest, all the birds and insects go abruptly silent all at the same time.
I cast an alarm glance at Draven, but he just continues forward.
Once we’ve taken a few steps in, the birds and insects start singing again.
I draw in a deep breath. The air in here tastes like thick fog and smells strongly of flowers.
Flicking my gaze from side to side, I watch for any members of the Purple Dragon Clan.
But all I can see is dark green leaves, trees covered in vines, and colorful flowers that almost seem to glow from within.
We continue forward in silence.
The farther we walk, the louder the birds and insects seem to get. Or it might just be because of our own prolonged silence. I’m not sure. But it’s starting to give me a headache. It feels like my entire head is buzzing.
“Is the sound getting louder?” I ask at last, while rubbing my temples to relieve the headache building behind my eyes.
“Yes,” Draven replies from where he walks next to me. “It’s so that we won’t hear them move closer when they ambush us.”
“Oh.”
I don’t know what it says about me that I somehow now consider statements like that entirely normal. It hasn’t even been an entire year since I left the Seelie Court, but I think I’ve changed more as a person during that time than all other one hundred and sixty-seven years combined.
“Let’s try to keep this ambush brief then,” Orion says. “So that we can head back to my court before the day after tomorrow.”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “That’s an oddly specific deadline.”
“If we wait any longer than that, Haldia won’t be able to heal the scar on my thigh. And I won’t have a scar tarnishing my perfect—”
A bang splits the air.
I whip my head in Orion’s direction, and my mouth drops open.
A massive black panther has slammed right into a thick sheet of ice that Isera raised beside Orion.
The Unseelie King is also gaping. But not at the panther that almost killed him.
Instead, he stares from Isera to the ice that saved him from the animal attack and then back again.
Isera, however, isn’t looking at him. Dropping the sheet of ice, she instead summons a sharp spear and shoves it towards the panther.
Before it can connect, Draven slams his palm down on Isera’s arm, shoving it downwards. The ice spear buries itself in the rich soil instead.
“What the fuck did I just say?” Draven growls at her. “Defense only.” Exasperation blows across his face as he gives her an incredulous look. “It’s like being surrounded by children.”
Low, animalistic growling echoes from all around us. I flick my gaze from side to side, and my stomach drops.
“Uhm… Draven?” I begin.
That massive black panther wasn’t alone. An entire pack of them has crept out of the vegetation and now surrounds us in an impenetrable circle. The animals bare their teeth and let out low snarls.
“You killed my people,” a hard voice suddenly cuts through the rumbling growls.
Spinning around, I find a tall woman with brown hair and green eyes striding out from the shadows.
Her purple dragon scale armor sports faint carvings that depict a variety of lethal-looking animals.
She tosses her thick, wavy hair back behind her shoulder as she comes to a halt outside the ring of snarling panthers.
“That’s pretty rich, Diana,” Draven replies, giving her a knowing look. “Even for you. Considering that you sent them to that mountainside to kill me.”
She clicks her tongue but doesn’t argue. Instead, her suspicious eyes slide over me, Isera, and Orion. “You certainly keep strange company.”
Draven flicks a pointed glance at the panthers around us. “I could say the same about you.”
The animals growl in response but don’t attack. Diana cocks her head.
“You’ve grown pretty big balls lately, Shadow of Death,” she says. “First, you betray the Icehearts. And now you’ve wandered into my woods of your own free will. Why?”
“Because we need to talk.”
“No, I meant, why did you betray the Icehearts?”
“Because someone finally figured out that they have been controlling me with dragon steel for two hundred years and cut it out of my arm.”
Her eyes widen.
Draven flashes her a knowing smile. “Yeah? That make you curious enough to have a conversation like adults?”
For another few seconds, she just watches us with an unreadable expression on her face. Then she clicks her tongue again.
“Come with me.”