Tipping his head from side to side, he seems to calculate it. Then he nods. “Yeah.”
I turn to Galen. “There you have it.”
He just looks back at me in silence for a few seconds. Then he lets out a huff of amusement. “Sometimes, I forget what a sneaky little schemer you are.”
“I did too, once,” Draven says. “Then she handcuffed me to my desk, and now I never make that mistake again.”
Everyone turns to stare at him. Heat flushes my cheeks, and I jab my elbow into his ribs. He just smirks down at me.
“So, about the plan,” Isera picks up, mercifully pushing the conversation back on track.
After going through the plan twice to make sure that everyone knows what to do and when, we all fall silent and just look from face to face. Worry suddenly washes through me. It’s a quite risky plan. There is no way of knowing whether this will actually work, and if even one part of our group doesn’t succeed in their mission, the rest are going to die.
Everyone seems to be feeling the same thing. The weight ofthis plan. This one last desperate plan that we really need to pull off. So there is no need for words.
We just meet each other’s eyes and nod.
Then we go our separate ways.
But right before I can leave, Draven’s hand shoots out and grabs my arm. Yanking me back to him, he slips his hand around the back of my neck and kisses me deeply.
“Be careful,” he whispers against my lips.
I pull him tighter against me. “You too.”
“I love you, little rebel.”
“I love you too.”
“See you on the other side.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Then we pull back. My heart aches as I stare up at Draven for another few seconds, suddenly feeling like I’m making a huge mistake.
Before I can start second-guessing myself, I tear myself away from the love of my life and run after the small group of fae that are now heading towards the mountain.
This has to work.
Goddess, please, this has to work.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Stone grinds against stone as Trevor uses his magic to open a tunnel through the mountain. I glance around at the fae waiting beside me. While I recognize them all from the Seelie Court, I only really know four of them. The ones who competed in the Atonement Trials with me. Isera, Trevor, Fenriel, and Kevlin.
Orion and Alistair had to go with Galen and Lyra to fight with Draven and the others on the front lines, so that it wouldn’t be so obvious that something is going on. But since this is my plan, I needed to see it through personally.
I glance towards the furious dragon battle in the sky across the fields. There at the front, a massive black dragon surrounded by storm clouds and lightning is tearing through the enemy army. But because the Silver Clan has so many more soldiers, more enemies just keep appearing.
My stomach twists as I watch Draven try to fight his way through the never-ending tide. I don’t like leaving him alone. He has always been powerful, but with our union bond, he would be even stronger and faster. And that difference might end up beingcrucial. If something happens to him because I’m not there, I won’t survive it.
“Selena,” Isera suddenly says. “We need to go.”
Tearing my gaze from Draven across the battlefield, I look back at the mountain only to find that most of my companions have already walked into the narrow tunnel that has now opened in the gray stone. Giving my head a quick shake, I start into it as well.
But then I hesitate when I realize that Isera isn’t following. She’s just standing there outside the hole, drawing in short, shallow breaths while staring at the tunnel.
Realization hits me.
