Page 160 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

The queen had turned back to her flowers, but as I speak, her head whips around, her narrowed eyes focusing on me once again. “Hmm, you don’t believe that.” She hums, her expression changing as she ponders over what that could mean.

I need to get off that topic before I inadvertently say something that will get Tor into trouble. Steeling my nerves, I walk up to the flowerbed she’s standing by, examining the beautiful roses, her gaze on me the whole time. “I’m surprised you’re okay with Vaeril and I being bonded.” It’s a risky subject, but also one I want to know the answer to.

Making a noise in the back of her throat, she looks away from me and returns her attention to the flowers, the leaves and vines growing towards her as she runs her hand over them. “Oh, I’m not,” she assures me, voice light. “But for now, he’s the only thing keeping me from killing you where you stand.” My blood runs cold as she casually talks about slaying me, and for the first time, I thank the Great Mother that Vaeril is bonded to me.

“The gods are cruel, pairing you, a half-breed, with someone like him,” the queen continues, her calm voice cracking a little on ‘half-breed,’ but after a second, she regains control. The two of us stand side by side, not really paying any attention to the gardens, but keeping up the façade for anyone watching. “You know what this means?” she asks, her voice bright as she glances at me. I shake my head slightly, not bothering to voice my reply.

Turning to face me once more, her eyes glow with cruel glee. “I am your queen.” Her blood-red lips curl into a smirk as shetakes a step to close the gap between us. The urge to step back, to get away from the threat before me is strong, and I have to fight against my instincts. “Before, you were just an unwelcome guest, but the bond between you and Vaeril confirms it. You are one of my subjects, whether you like it or not.”

I blink as I realise she’s right, and I’m not quite sure why I hadn’t thought of this before. A guest. She’s right, that’s what it felt like, but now that she’s accepted my claim that I am at least part elf, sheismy queen.

Is this a good thing?My thoughts spin, trying to work through this new revelation. On one hand, she’s accepted that I’m part elf, so I dobelong here, no matter how much I feel like I’m an outsider. I could make a place for myself here. On the other hand, she’s my sovereign, so whatever she says goes. She could order me to stay away from Vaeril and I’d have to obey. I need to speak to Vaeril and the others to find out what this means and if it changes anything.

Oblivious to my internal struggle, the queen continues, “I can make your life miserable, so I suggest you make yourself useful to me.”

My throat is dry, and my voice croaks as I try to reply, gripping my hands tightly to stop myself from fidgeting. “How would I do that, Your Majesty?”

“For now, you visit the wood elves,” she instructs, and my eyebrows rise in surprise. Is that it? I’d expected some awful task from her. Sensing my astonishment, she smiles again, and my stomach sinks as I get a bad feeling. “That is not all, Clarissa. If anyone says you were sent by the gods, deny it. You reassure them that I am the rightful queen, and let me know of anyone who believes otherwise on your return.”

She wants me to spy, to disprove any rumours that I am anything other than a half-breed working for her queen. “I understand.”

“I hope you do. There are ways to silence you without killing you, Clarissa.” Her ladies-in-waiting are suddenly at her side, and at a gesture from the queen, as one, they lower their hoods. I stare at them in horror, feeling the blood drain from my face. I always suspected that they were beautiful, and I was right, with their white-blonde hair shining in the sunlight and their perfect high cheekbones, but it’s their mouths that draw my attention. Their once beautiful lips have been sewn shut. Crude stitches pierce through the skin and bind them together. One of the maids has dull eyes as she looks down at the ground, but the other is looking directly at me, her blue eyes shining with fear.Help me, her eyes scream, the emotion so strong, I can almost hear her plea.

“Do I make myself clear?” the queen demands with cruel amusement on her face as she makes another gesture. The ladies-in-waiting raise their hoods again, hiding their disfigured faces.

“Yes.” My voice is just a whisper, but I know she hears me from her self-satisfied smirk as she runs her eyes over me again, grinning as she sees the terror in my quivering body.

“You may leave.” She waves me away with a dismissive gesture.

She needn’t tell me twice. Spinning on my heel, I hurry to get as far away from her as I can, trying and failing to keep my hasty steps even. As my mind reels and my heart pounds, my eyes are drawn to the rose arch that the queen had been using her magic on. It looked beautiful before, but now the whole plant is black and shrivelled. Eyes wide, I turn and see a trail of destruction. All the plants she touched are withered and dead. Looking up, I see the queen watching me with a circle of death surrounding her. This time when I whirl around, I don’t bother trying to hide my fear. Picking up my skirts, I run through the gardens and back to the relative safety of the palace.

The sound of my shoes against the marble floor in the atrium is loud, echoing around me as I hurry through the glass structure. I’m not really paying attention to my surroundings, just following the need to get as far away from the queen as possible.

“Clarissa?” a male voice calls, a familiar voice, but my panic is blinding me, just driving me to keep running. My breath is knocked out of me as I run straight into something hard. The obstacle moves, hands coming up and gripping my shoulders, and I realise it’s not a wall, but a person.

“Clarissa, what happened?” the voice asks.Eldrin, it’s Eldrin, I tell myself, the warmth of his body breaking through my fright. Looking up, I see his familiar face, although where I’m used to seeing him scowling, instead I see concern. His hands on my shoulders help keep me upright, and I try to channel his strength to steady myself. Something about him being here helps strengthen me, helps me focus and fight through my fears.

“The queen,” I start, my throat still tight as my heart tries to pound its way out of my chest. “She threatened me. She…” I knew she wanted to kill me, but being faced with it is different.

His face changes as I speak, hardening into a fierce expression. He glances around the atrium, his gaze landing on one of the guards who is trying very hard to look like he’s not listening to our conversation. “Shh,” he hushes, as he looks back down at me, squeezing my shoulders gently before pulling away. Swaying forward as he removes his hands, I manage to restore my balance. He’s right, we shouldn’t be having this conversation here, especially since the queen could return at any moment. “You’re safe now. Let’s go somewhere else to discuss this.” Spinning on his heel, he stalks up to one of the guards stationed at the entrance of the atrium. “Find Lord Vaeril,” he orders.

“But, Lord Eldrin, he’s—” The guard is cut off as Eldrin whirls back around, snarling in his face.

“Find him now.” His voice is low, and a deep rumbling is vibrating from his chest as he glares at the guard. “Tell him it’s urgent.”

“Yes, sir!”

I feel a little sorry for him as he hurries away, knowing he’ll probably get in trouble for leaving his post, but right now, I don’t have the energy or mental capacity to worry about him as well. Eldrin returns to my side and gestures for me to walk up the stairs. His familiar presence following just behind me reassures something inside me as we pass through the doors and into the main entrance hall.

“Where to?” My voice is quiet as I glance at him over my shoulder.

“Your rooms. We can talk freely there.”

Nodding, I face forward and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Once I get to my rooms I can fall apart, but right now, there are too many eyes on us, eyes that will reportstraight to the queen. I won’t give her the satisfaction seeing me have a meltdown in the middle of the palace under full view of everyone.

Lifting my foot to take the first step up the grand staircase, I pause as loud voices reach us. Frowning, I glance over and see an elf being forced down onto the ground by three guards. My heart pounds in my chest at the brute force they are using to pin him down. Anger bubbles inside me as I remember being treated in a similar manner when I was a slave. Seeing the dark, almost bluish skin, I realise he’s a sea elf, his voice high as he replies to the guard in the middle in elvish.

“What’s happening?” Wishing I could understand the lilting language, I ask Eldrin, seeing that he’s watching the commotion too. A small crowd is forming now, as no one seems to be able to walk past the scene, but nobody stops to help the obviously distressed elf. Eldrin places his hand on the small of my back, as if able to sense my anger and discomfort at what’s happening here.

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