“Seriously?” Draven demands before she can retort. Exasperation lines his face as he shakes his head at the Unseelie King. “Right now? We don’t have time for this.”
Orion shifts his gaze back to Draven. “I know that you’re just a brooding beast with no sense of style or etiquette, but innormal societies, it is customary to greet each other properly before the conversation begins.”
“Andthisis a proper greeting?” Draven demands while stabbing a hand to indicate Nysara where she is still kneeling before Orion’s feet.
“It is indeed.” Orion flicks his long dark blue hair back behind his shoulder. “In fact, I expect you all to greet me in this manner from now on.”
Half of the room groans.
Draven shoots him an annoyed look of disbelief before simply demanding, “The location?”
For a moment, it looks like Orion might retort. Or smirk. But in the end, he just shifts his gaze back to Nysara. “Where are the Icehearts right now?”
“In the Ice Palace,” she replies without hesitation. “But based on the movement of people up there, it looked like they’re about to leave.”
A ripple goes through the room as we all fix our attention on the Unseelie spy. My heart starts beating faster. Jessina and Bane must have already gone through the Green Clan’s archives and found out what happened to the Gold Clan. Or maybe Kander already knew and simply just told them. After all, as long as the Icehearts can destroy his archives, he will do whatever they want.
“To go where?” Orion presses, his sharp eyes still locked on Nysara.
Dread flits across her face for a second, and she licks her lips before admitting, “I don’t know.”
“Fuck,” Draven growls. Then he draws himself up to his full height and sweeps his gaze over all of us. “Alright, we need to find out where?—”
“Draven,” Galen interrupts, a hint of worry in his tone. “We need our allies. Now that the dragon steel is no longer in play, we need to get Tanaka and the Orange Clan on our side. Her healing magic is much stronger than Haldia’s, and Haldia refuses to evengo outside the wards, let alone participate in battle, so Tanaka’s magic will be crucial for our clan to survive this war.”
“He’s right,” Lyra adds. “We also need the other clans. Even if we somehow manage to get the Gold Clan, we can’t win a war if it’s just our clan and hers.” She nods towards Diana. “The Icehearts have their whole clan, and with their ice flames, they’re way more dangerous in battle than all of us. Plus they also have Gremar Fireclaw and his Red Clan, and the White Clan has been so thoroughly subjugated that they would never dare to go against the Silver Clan. Not to mention that they also have Kander and the Green Clan doing their bidding now.”
Diana tilts her head in a half nod. “She’s got a point, Shadow of Death. They both do. I can’t risk my clan in a battle if our two clans are the only ones fighting it.”
A long sigh escapes Draven’s chest, and he tilts his head back and rakes a hand through his hair before meeting all of our gazes again. “Alright, we’re going to have to split up then. Galen, you said that you were able to convince the Blue Clan to stand with us earlier?”
He nods in confirmation.
“I need you to fly there and hold them to that promise now,” Draven says. Then he shifts his gaze to Lyra and Alistair. “Lyra, Rin has always had a soft spot for you. I need you to fly to her floating isles and explain everything that has happened and get her on our side. Take Alistair with you so that he can remove the dragon steel from her as well now that it’s inactive.”
Lyra gives him a cheerful salute and then turns to beam at Alistair, who looks like he doesn’t know whether to grin back or be terrified.
“And Diana,” Draven continues, meeting her gaze. “I know that I have no right to give orders to another clan leader, but if anyone can convince the Brown Clan to side with us, it’s you. Everyone knows that you don’t trust easily, so if they see that you’re with us, they might join us as well even though we don’thave the Green Clan. Would you be willing to fly there and try?”
For a few seconds, she just looks back at him in silence. Then a small and very knowing smile tugs at her lips. “I never thought I’d see the day when Draven Ryat admitted that he can’t just order everyone around. If you had tried, I would’ve said no. But you didn’t. You asked nicely. And because of that, I will do as you say.”
A slight smile ghosts across his lips too as he inclines his head in acknowledgement. “Good. The rest of us will handle the Gold Clan situation.”
“Then let’s get to it,” Orion adds with an impatient look. “The Icehearts might have already left at this point.”
“You’re the one who was just wasting time on proper greetings,” I point out.
He shoots me a very unkinglike scowl in reply.
Draven just ignores him and instead sweeps his gaze over the three dragon shifters around him. “Fly fast. The war has already started.”
They nod.
So do we.
Then we dart through the portal and into Nysara’s house back in Frostfell.
The moment we’re through, Grey closes the portal behind us. No doubt so that he can open a new one that will take Galen and the others outside the wards of the Unseelie Court where they will be able to shift into dragons and quickly fly away to complete their missions.
