Page 105 of Wings of Ice and Steel

‘I would choose any path that led to you.’

‘And if it ends with me?’

Nieve’s eyes flicked to Liren, engrossed in his work, and to the door; trapping them in as much as keeping them out. She lowered her voice. ‘Then I will forge a new path with you in the next life.’

Mixed emotions blossomed, the truth of those words resonating in Ariadnne’s bones; she would follow Nieve anywhere, but equally she refused to be the reason Nieve’s vibrant life was snuffed out. Whatever it took, she would see them free.

Pain flickered across her mind as a recent memory resurfaced.

‘Are you okay?’ Nieve frowned.

‘Kayla. It was Kayla who betrayed us.’ Ariadnne hung her head under the weight of the betrayal.

Beside her, Nieve stiffened.

‘I had her confession. It made no difference—’ Ariadnne continued, but Nieve shook her head.

‘You don’t have to tell me now. We will have all the time in the world once we get out of here.’ She squeezed Ariadnne’s hand.

A new, biting pain pulled Ariadnne from the moment with a hiss. Liren had finished cleaning the wound and was pressing a poultice of herbs into the gash. Her vision wavered. With great concentration, Liren held up the needle and chanted to imbue the thread with runes. She recognised the old words for ‘permanence’ and ‘malleability’. She was about to assume he was a healer when a tendril of shadow escaped his lips and settled on the thread, activating the runes. That was no healer’s light.

She glanced at Nieve, who didn’t seem surprised.

Liren stabbed her leg with a grim smile, his tight, white lips highlighted by his inked face.

‘I fear we are out of time,’ he said, his accent thickening as he glanced at the door, drawn by the sound of a distant crash—the main door had burst open—followed by the thud of booted feet. A firm voice rose in command, demanding that every corner be searched.

No. No. No. Ariadnne’s heart pounded. They only had seconds before the guards found the barricaded door.

‘Please tell me there’s another way out of this room?’ Nieve begged, fist tightening on the hilt of her sword.

‘Oh, gods.’ Ariadnne’s thoughts came sluggish and slow. ‘I don’t know. Sascha?’

‘Not this room.’ Sascha wrung her hands together. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘Well. Damn.’ Nieve drew her sword, turning to Ariadnne with a look in her eye that Ariadnne absolutely did not like. ‘Ari—’ She faltered, choking on her words. Instead, she placed a lingering kiss on Ariadnne’s cheek.

‘Nieve—’ Ariadnne didn’t like what was happening.

Nieve strode to the door, shifting into a warrior’s stance.

‘No, Nieve—’

Nieve’s smile tightened. ‘I will buy you what time I can. You slip past and escape.’

Flames of ice skittered down her blade.

‘No! We escape together or not at all!’ Ariadnne tried to swing her throbbing leg over the side of the bed, wanting to stand by Nieve’s side, but the effort made her dizzy.

‘We can’t fight our way out of this, Iceling,’ Liren’s voice grated. ‘We will all die. Ariadnne must carry us.’

Everyone’s gaze snapped to Liren. Incredulous expressions plastered on their faces.

Fly? Ariadnne stared at the walls surrounding them. ‘How? There’s no room to shift without bringing the tower down around us.’

‘Well, that’s a risk we’ll have to take…’ Liren started, but Ariadnne stopped him.

‘I won’t risk Nieve or Sascha like that.’ She gazed around in desperation, before settling on the window. A thought speared through her fog of pain. ‘There is another way.’