To his credit, Orion doesn’t even bother to respond. Hesimply takes two more steps away from the hole and then moves to the side.
I swear I can hear the Icehearts suck in a short breath as Severin becomes visible. Isera gives him a gentle shove forward. Or fairly gentle, at least. Isera isn’t exactly known for her soft touch.
She and I quickly follow Severin as he steps out onto the grass.
The moment that all of us are through, Hana closes the tear in the pocket reality behind us.
My pulse thrums in my ears. This is the moment of truth. We’re about to find out if my insane plan might actually work.
Isera and I take up position next to Orion and Severin. Across the grass, Jessina and Bane are smiling like satisfied cats as they watch the dragon shifter who is standing between us.
“This is Severin Godblessed,” I announce. “The leader of the Gold Clan.”
“And he is wearing the dragon steel,” Jessina says, her normally pale gray eyes gleaming like rubies in the red light from the slowly setting sun. “Excellent.”
I glance down at the crude dragon steel bracelet that Severin is indeed wearing on his left wrist. Then I look back up at Hana, trying to catch her eye. She, however, keeps her eyes on the ground. My heart thuds in my chest.
“Prove it,” Bane says, his voice ringing out over the now red-painted landscape. “Create a shield in front of me. If you are truly the clan leader, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Severin raises his chin, his earlier composure now back again. “No. Our magic is a gift from Azaroth. It is not meant to be used for frivolous reasons.”
“Oh, God,” Jessina drawls while rolling her eyes. “Theodora’s descendants are just as stuck-up as she was.”
“Please, do not invoke Azaroth unnecessarily,” Severin says. “It will?—”
“Order him to create a shield in front of me,” Bane suddenly snaps, cutting him off.
My heart jerks as Hana at last lifts her gaze.
I don’t think I’m breathing.
For a moment, it’s as if the entire world is holding its breath.
And then her eyes begin to glow as she locks them on Severin. “Create a shield in front of him.”
“No!” I scream. “Hana, what are you doing? We had a plan!”
Severin, forced to obey her orders because of the dragon steel, draws his hand through the air. A thick and mostly transparent shield appears in front of Bane. The Icehearts chuckle.
“Excellent,” Bane says. “He can drop it.”
“Drop the shield,” Hana immediately relays.
“No!” I yell again. “Hana, what?—”
“I’m sorry,” she calls back, her voice desperate and broken. “They’re torturing me. You have no idea what it’s like.”
The shield in front of Bane fades out again as Severin is once more forced to obey.
“Tell him to come over here,” Jessina orders.
“Come over here,” Hana repeats.
A snarl rips from Isera’s throat as Severin immediately walks over to them. “We have no idea? You think we don’t know what it’s like to be tortured?”
Hana winces and then just drops her gaze to the ground again.
Next to her, Jessina lets out a smug laugh. “Did you really think that we wouldn’t figure out your plan? That we wouldn’t realize that you were planning to use Hana to force little Severin here to protect you with his magic while you escaped?” She scoffs. “Of course we did. We are over six thousand years old. There is no plan, no scheme, we haven’t already thought of. To us, you are like children.”
