Page 197 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“Let’s get her inside,” a familiar male voice suggests, but I’m so tired I can’t place whom it belongs to, only that something in my chest flips at the sound of him being so close. There are hums of agreement, and the next thing I know, I’m weightless as I’m raised into the air. I try to open my eyes to see what’s happening, but a hand rests on my shoulder and I instantly settle, feeling stronger already.

A name instantly comes into my head, and I know who’s touching me—Vaeril. His strength flows through our bond, and I’m able to open my eyes as I’m being lowered onto a bench. Everyone backs away save for the elves and Tor, who are kneeling by my sides. Vaeril is frowning, his hand pressed against my bare shoulder, and I vaguely wonder what happened to my cloak. Tor has a perplexed expression on his face, but he doesn’t look particularly concerned. In fact, his eyes have an excited gleam to them. Naril and Eldrin are crouched at my feet. The former has a restraining hand on his twin’s shoulder, as if he’s holding him back from coming any closer.

Frowning, I reach up and place a hand against my temple, rubbing my fingers against the skin there, already feeling a headache coming on. “What happened?”

Movement by the tent door catches my eye, and I see Vida take a step forward, her smile wide and eyes revered as she takes me in. “The goddess was here, you were her sacred vessel.” The way she looks at me makes me uncomfortable. I hoped we could be friends, but if she only sees me as a ‘sacred vessel’ and watches me with those eyes, then she will never be able to be honest and open with me like a friend would be.

“Do you remember anything?” Tor asks, calling my attention back to him.

Sighing, I lie back and look up at the tent canopy as I think of my response. “I remember everything, but after…” I gesture a ‘poofing’ motion with my hands, hoping they understand what I’m trying to say.

“You collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut,” Naril interjects, filling in the blanks, his brother silent at his side. “We brought you in here, but as soon as Vaeril touched your skin you seemed to respond better.”

“It’s their bond, he strengthens her,” Eldrin murmurs, but the way he says it sounds like he’s saying a dirty word, and he’s still not actually speakingtome butaboutme. He’s not spoken to me in days. Vaeril bares his teeth with a low warning hiss at his temperamental friend, and had he not been giving me some of his strength, I’m not sure what might have happened.

Needing to defuse the situation, I clear my throat. “When the goddess left, I just felt exhausted, like all of my energy had been drained.”

Revna snorts a laugh and walks to my side, leaving a healthy distance between her and the elves, choosing to stand next to Tor. I’ve noticed that although most of the tribespeople respect the elves, they seem to be pretty wary of them. “Did you feel the magic rolling off her when the goddess was here? I’m not surprised she’s exhausted,” she says with a tight smile, addressing the rest of the chiefs in the tent. I can see the tightness in her shoulders, and although her expression is neutral, there is concern in her eyes. The mask of the high chief. “Rest, we will reschedule the ceremony for another day.”

Something doesn’t feel right about that statement.

“No, we need to finish this today.” Taking a deep breath, I gather all of my remaining energy and swing my legs off the side of the bench, much to the displeasure of the guys around me, if their disgruntled grunts are anything to go by. Exhausted just from that small movement, I roll my head to look at Revna.“You need to make the announcement today too.” I don’t know why, but I just have a feeling it’s important we set everything in motion today. “Help me sit up?” I glance at Vaeril as I speak, his eyes softening as I ask. He knows how much it costs me to ask him for his help. As he leans forward to wrap his arm around me to help me up, I lower my voice so I can whisper to him. “Keep touching me, please?” I’m not sure if I’ll manage to stay upright if our skin-to-skin contact was to break right now, and thankfully, he seems to understand this.

“Of course.” Glancing at Tor, Vaeril frowns, a slightly pained look crossing his features, but when he looks down at me, it passes quickly. “It might help if you were touching her too,” he suggests.

Tor raises his eyebrows, surprised the elf is the one to suggest it, as he’s been quite territorial since we bonded. While Vaeril agreed that I didn’t have to choose between those I had a bond with, he was finding the actuality of it was far harder than the theory.

Nodding, Tor shuffles closer, placing one hand on my arm and sliding his other hand under my arching lower back. As soon as his hand is on my skin, I release an embarrassingly loud breathy sigh. Someone storms from the tent, I’m pretty sure I can guess who, but I’m so focused on how good their hands feel on me that I can’t focus on anything else right now. It’s not sexual, although in a different context it probably could turn into that, but right now, it’s like they’re soothing all of my aches and pains, giving me back strength and easing my sore muscles. Gently, they help me sit upright, and I look at the two of them with wide eyes, wondering if they felt the same thing I just did. Vaeril is actually smiling for once, his pupils blown wide, and as I look at Tor, I see he’s grinning at me in a way that promises trouble and makes my insides clench.

A loud cough has my head snapping around, my gaze landing on Naril, who’s watching us with a lazy grin. Sudden realisation dawns that we’re being observed by the very people I’m trying to convince to let me become one of them. Fighting the urge to apologise, I simply roll my shoulders back and swallow my embarrassment, smiling slightly at the pride in Tor’s eyes. Spotting my aunt, I know I should stand to greet her, but I’m not strong enough right now. However, if I conserve my energy, I should be strong enough in a few minutes, I can feel my vigour returning swiftly thanks to Vaeril and Tor.

“High Chief, would you be willing to continue the ceremony?” I inquire from the bench, my mates on either side of me. Revna pauses for a moment, her lips pursing,and I know if we were alone, we would be having an entirely different conversation. However, with the attention of the tribe chiefs on her, I’ve backed her into a corner.

Turning from me, she directs her heavy gaze on the others in the room, saving the last for Ragnar. “If we got the backing of all of the chiefs, then yes.”

Ragnar winces as everyone turns to look at him, but to his credit, he straightens his back and holds his head high. “I will follow the will of the goddess.” His eyes meet mine. For a second, they flicker with a flash of fear, and I know he’s remembering what it felt like to have that much power and magic focused on him. “I won’t stand in your way, you have my blessing.” Dipping my head in understanding, I lean slightly against Tor’s shoulder, using him to help prop me up and hoping that no one notices. While I don’t think Ragnar and I will be friends anytime soon, I believe we may have come to an understanding.

Revna has been watching the whole exchange with her arms crossed and a neutral expression on her face, so I know she’s not happy. “Any other objections?” After the Great Mother’s display, I know no one will stand against me, but I get the feeling shewas hoping that someone would say something. Not because she doesn’t want me to complete the ceremony, but because she’s seen how exhausted I am. Any sign of weakness in the tribes is frowned upon, so she’s trying to spare me any embarrassment by not raising the subject more than she already has. Realising I’m not going to let it drop, she sighs and rubs a hand over her face, nodding her head. “Then let’s do this. Please return to your places,” she addresses the chiefs, directing them outside the tent.

As they start to file out, she catches the arm of one of the passing tribesmen. He looks much like any of the other tribesmen. His beard and tattoos make him look intimidating, but it’s his golden hair that causes him to stand out. It’s probably fitting then that he’s the Chief of the Golden Hawks Tribe.

“Arne, are you ready?” Revna queries, and from the way he rolls his eyes, I get the impression they’ve had this conversation many times before.

Grinning, he reaches out and grips her shoulder. “Yes, Revna, I know what to do.” She reluctantly grins and nods her head. The chief steps away from Revna and turns to me, his expression sobering, but there is still a curious, friendly gleam in his eyes. “I look forward to welcoming you to my tribe, Clarissa.”

I smile at him in return, too exhausted and anxious to say anything, and thankfully he accepts this with a nod and leaves the tent. When Revna spoke to me about accepting my place amongst the tribes, there had been the difficulty of deciding which tribe I should belong to. Apparently, I couldn’t be accepted as a tribesperson without belonging to a specific tribe. When I asked why I couldn’t be in the same tribe Revna was in, she explained they weren’t technically a tribe, but more of a group of tribespeople who had left their tribes to look after the sacred stones and meeting place like a religious mission. Although Tor has been working on greater equality for womenin his tribe, he hadn’t wanted me to join the Eternal Brothers. It may have been the Golden Hawks who had banished my mother in the first place, but my aunt has assured me that Arne is nothing like the old chief and ways are changing. Besides, there is something nostalgic about belonging to the tribe that both my aunt and mother belonged to, and it makes me feel closer to them.

Now that everyone but my friends and Revna have left the tent, my aunt walks towards me with a frown, crouching in front of me. Concern flashes in her eyes, and I see her hands flutter on her knees. For a second, I think she’s going to reach out to me, but her jaw tightens and she grips her knees instead. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? You just collapsed, no one will think less of you. You were just a vessel for a goddess.” Although she says this, we both know that’s not true. There will be some who will judge, who will see a weak female who can’t cope with the job the goddess has given her.

Meeting her gaze, I give her a tight smile. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute and I’ll join you.” Making a noise of displeasure in the back of her throat, she shakes her head and pushes up to standing before turning away and stalking from the tent, her cloak swishing behind her.

Feeling like I’ve been run over by a wagon, I drop my head into my hands, groaning as someone rubs my back in slow circular motions. The pounding in my head is slowly fading thanks to the contact with Vaeril and Tor, and I’m gradually starting to feel semi human again.Wait, can I even say that anymore? Semi half human? Semi half elf?Snorting, I lift my head, feeling dizzy as everything that just happened begins to dawn on me.Fantastic, I’m going hysterical.

“So,” Naril drawls, drawing my focus from my near breakdown. Glancing over, I see he’s looking down at his nails, using his dagger to sharpen them into claw-like points. Feelingmy eyes on him, he lazily rolls his head around so he’s facing me. “What was it like to be possessed by a goddess?”

There’s a second where I feel Tor stiffen next to me, and I wonder if he’s going to try and hit the elf for his insensitive question, but I snort another laugh, and I feel him relax. “Shut up.” Rolling my eyes at the elf, I lean back into the tribesman as Vaeril just shakes his head at his friend. I know what Naril’s doing. His obnoxious behaviour and rude questions are a front, and he knew I was losing it, so he was trying to bring me back.

Sighing, I shift my weight on the bench, and Vaeril turns his attention back to me. He doesn’t insult me by asking if I’m okay or telling me not to do this, he knows I have to, he can feel it through our connection, but that also means I can feel his concern. Leaning forward, I press my forehead against his, letting him know without saying a single word how much his regard and care means to me. With Tor’s hand still on my back and Vaeril at my front, all I’m missing is my mage. Almost as if he knew I needed him, a wave of his love reaches me once again, strengthening me despite the distance keeping us apart. Closing my eyes, I take slow steady breaths, listening to my mates next to me, synchronising our breathing, and it’s like Grayson is here with us, the four of us connected together. There’s a slight weakness in our connection, and that’s Tor, not through any fault of his own, but because we have yet to seal our bond, something I plan on righting soon.

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