Page 165 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

A knock on the door has us both freezing, and I let out a low growl of frustration in the back of my throat.

“Clarissa?” The door swings open as I’m just untangling myself from Tor, but he keeps his hands around my waist as Vaeril walks in.

With the two of us standing this close together, it’s clear what we’ve been doing, even if my lips weren’t swollen from our kisses. Of course, if he was paying attention, he would have felt something through our bond too. Since our connection isn’t fully sealed, he can only feel my emotions if he is actively trying to or if the emotions are particularly strong, otherwise they just feel muted.

Eyes narrowing, he shuts the door behind him slowly, but as soon as it’s closed, he strides right up to Tor. His expression is deceptively calm, but I can tell he’s angry by the slight crease between his eyebrows and tightness of his jaw. Tor lets go of me and turns to face the elf, taking a sidestep in front of me as if to protect me from Vaeril. He’s so much bigger than me, I can barely see anything around him unless I lean to the side and peer over his arm.

Vaeril notices the protective move, and his expression changes to one of disgust. I’m worried he’s about to attack Tor, but he pauses a hairsbreadth from the tribesman. “You really think I would hurt her?”

Tor shrugs his shoulders in a lazy, laid-back gesture, but I know it’s all a front. He takes my safety seriously. “People have done stranger things out of jealousy.”

Vaeril just stares at him with an intense expression, his body tense. His eyes flick briefly to mine, but soon return to glare at the tribesman. “You finally made your move then.” At hiscomment, they both seem to relax, as if his statement was a signal that they wouldn’t be fighting today.

Tor steps to the side, allowing me to pass, but I just glance between the two of them in confusion.What in the Mother did he mean by that?my thoughts scream. That wasn’t what I’d expected him to say, in fact, it was the complete opposite and almost sounded like…

“You knew it was going to happen,” Tor responds casually to the elf, confirming my thoughts.

“Wait, you knew?” They both wince at my tone. There was more accusation in the question than I intended, but I’m hurt that these two knew about my feelings for the other and they didn’t say anything. I’ve been worrying and stressing, thinking I’m some terrible whore for having feelings for more than one person. “I’ve been agonising over my feelings, and the two of you knew about each other this whole time?”

The atmosphere changes as they realise they’ve hurt me. Vaeril turns to face me, his expression somber. “He told me about his god’s predestined pairs, and I worked out the rest,” he explains. So he didn’tknow,but he had an inkling that I was Tor’s predestined pair. Did he choose not to say anything because he was jealous? Because he was worried that it was true and I would leave with Tor? That it would diminish our bond? What does this mean forourbond?

“Why am I only just hearing about this now? How is it possible for me to have multiple mates?” They’re both facing me now, and as I look between them, they have the decency to appear ashamed that they’d kept their suspicions to themselves.

Vaeril’s expression is intense, his eye’s apologetic. “I don’t know, but I will help you find answers.”

“The gods have their reasons,” is Tor’s response. The conviction behind his statement is strong, and I know he fully believes what he’s saying. Vaeril, however, is not convinced.

Spinning to face the tribesman, he bares his teeth as a low growl emits from his chest. “Well, I don’t believe in your gods.”

Although Tor hardly moves, he suddenly seems to grow, filling the room as he stares down at Vaeril threateningly.

Sighing, I raise my hands to my head and rub my temples. “Guys, now is not the time for this.”

Quick as a switch, Tor is back to normal. “You’re right, Clarissa.” Turning his back on the still hissing elf, he closes the gap between us. Vaeril straightens, offended at the action, but thankfully, he doesn’t say anything and just watches the tribesman with narrowed eyes.

Wrapping his arms around me, he presses a kiss to my lips, only pulling away when Vaeril coughs loudly. He tries to hide his smile of amusement as he steps back, but he doesn’t quite manage it. “Good luck with the wood elves.” He looks more somber now, and I’m about to ask what’s wrong when he starts to speak again. “When you get back, I have more to tell you.”

“More?” My tone is dismayed. Why can’t he tell me now? Every time people say they need to tell me something, it changes my life. Can’t I just live happily without any more revelations?

“I know, but I promise I’ll tell you when you return.” He takes my hand and kisses the back of it, his eyes tender as he explains, “This has to be done in the right order.”

With that cryptic comment, he releases my hand and walks to the door, his eyes flicking to Vaeril once before he leaves.

The door shuts with a finality that suddenly makes me nervous. Vaeril is watching me with a neutral expression, and I can’t tell what he’s feeling from the connection between us. Elves are territorial, and I’ve already seen what he was like with Eldrin that one time, except he seemed surprisingly okay about it when Tor was here. Now that it’s just the two of us, however, his silence is making me uneasy.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I finally say, carefully watching his expression.

This seems to break the tension between us. Sighing, he shakes his head as he walks towards me, his eyes softening as he takes in my anxious expression. He reaches out and pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. “Don’t apologise,Alina,” he murmurs against my skin as he rests his head on my shoulder. “If he is right and youaredestined, then it’s not your fault that you’re drawn to him.” His voice is reluctant, but he’s much calmer than I’d expected him to be. Feeling my surprise through the bond, he lifts his head and gives me a wry smile. “I don’t like it, and I’m not sure I fully believe him, but I don’t blame you for your feelings.”

His words bring tears to my eyes, and I blink rapidly to stop them from falling. The fact that he would accept it, for me, means something I hadn’t dared to hope for could be possible.

I might not have to choose.

“I am pleased I was able to pay him back for interrupting us before. Do you remember?” he asks, his mouth quirking into a smile as he skims his hands over my hips before raising one to cup my cheek.

As if I could forget that, it’s engraved into my thoughts, my brain muses,not that I’m going to tell him that. “I remember,” I whisper instead, leaning forward to close the distance between our lips.

“Knock, knock!” Naril’s cheery voice calls out a second before my door flies open and he strolls in. His smile widens when he sees us, a look of delight lighting up his whole face. “Oh, did I interrupt something?” he queries coyly, grinning as I glare at him and try to untangle myself from Vaeril, who just emits a long-suffering sigh.

---