Page 229 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“You know what I mean.” My words are harsh and clipped, my patience shattered by his presence. Finally deigning to meet his gaze, I narrow my eyes as I look him up and down. When I meet his eyes, a flash of fear goes through me, but I can’t explain it other than he feels dangerous, like a predator, and right now, I’m pressed right up against him. “You are…wrong,” I spit, and I know I probably shouldn’t be antagonising him, but I just can’t seem to help myself. His wrongness awakens my anger and frustration. “I’ve seen the way people react around you, even if they don’t realise they’re doing it. Not to mention your eyes changed.” As I look into those black orbs, his smile widens, making his handsome features take on an intense, creepy mien. Instead of upsetting him, my words almost seem to please him as another wave of prickles rolls over my skin. “It almost…it almost feels like magic, but it’s twisted.”

I struggle to explain the sensation, but I needn’t have worried. Humming low in his throat, Rhydian leads me into a spin, giving me a brief respite before pulling me back into his hold. Landing against him with an ‘oomph,’ I rest my hands against his chest, trying to put some space between us.

“Very impressive,” he purrs, lowering his face until we are eye to eye. Leaning back as far as I can, I raise my eyebrows at his comment. “Most people don’t notice,” he continues, releasing his tight hold on me and returning us to a slow waltz, never once stopping his conversation. “And those that do don’trealise it’s me making them feel uneasy.” Spinning us around the ballroom, he weaves us through the other dancers. “You are the first to figure it out.” I feel his eyes land on me once more, but I keep my head up, my gaze on the room around me. He seems to find this amusing as he just chuckles.

His laughter makes me indignant, stirring at my anger. “What are you?”

My question seems to catch him by surprise, because from the corner of my eye, I see his smile drop for a second as he pauses. “I’m Prince Rhydian of Arhaven,” he answers after a beat, his tone light, deceptively so, but I didn’t miss that pause.

I look at his face,reallylook, and see something I didn’t notice at first. Something about what I said upset him. However, I get the impression I’m asking the wrong questions.Think, Clarissa,I muse, contemplating everything I know so far. A thought comes to me. “You changed,” I murmur, thinking not only about the way he’s acting, but his physical appearance. “What happened to you?”

He smiles again, showing too many teeth, and his pupils seem to get impossibly bigger as he stares at me. Another wave of awareness rolls over me. Real fear surges through my veins as I rip myself from his hold, taking a step back. “A lot has changed since you and your goddess abandoned us,” he accuses, stepping towards me, closing the distance I try to put between us. The other dancers continue to move around us like nothing’s happening. Rhydian takes one last step and grabs my wrist, making me hiss with discomfort at the sense of wrongness radiating off him, but he doesn’t seem to care as he stares down at me. All smiles are gone now, his face is completely serious, and I swear for a moment his eyes seem to…quiver, like the black retreats and I can see some of the blue of his iris. Except he blinks and it’s gone.I must have imagined it.

“Are you going to save us, Clarissa?” Voice a whisper, he lowers his head again, and for a horrendous second, I think he’s going to kiss me, but he doesn’t, he just stares into my eyes. “You’re our only hope now.”

“Rhydian,” a voice snaps, breaking the spell over us. Rhydian straightens and steps away, his usual smirk back in place as he looks at the speaker—the king. Suddenly able to breathe, I feel a strange sense of gratitude towards the king, which I never thought would be possible. Now free of the strange nausea his son was causing, I look over at the king and see he’s frowning at Rhydian.

“Don’t monopolise all of Clarissa’s time,” he chides. He smiles and pats Rhydian on the back as if he’s gently chastising him, but from the tightness in his eyes, it’s obvious he’s not happy about something. My stomach churns, there’s so much more going on here that we don’t understand. The bonds in my chest are tight where my three mates are all reaching out, their concern like a siren going off in my mind and making it difficult to focus on anything else.

The king turns from his son, and his eyes land on me, glinting as he takes me in. “Why don’t you come and join me, Clarissa?” He gestures towards the dais where the five thrones sit, and I realise with a shock how far Rhydian and I had travelled while we danced. The king’s eyes glitter with glee as I look up at him again. “A woman like yourself should be sitting on a throne,” he declares.

Horror and rage race through my system, and from the look in his eyes, he knows the exact effect he’s having on me. How dare he?He wants me to sit on my mother’s throne, knowing full well what that would do to me. It’s another power play to make me look like the heartless ruler he’s trying to portray me as.

“No, thank you, Your Majesty.” I’m unable to keep all of my anger from my voice as I reply, but that doesn’t seem to bother the king.

“Shame.” Shrugging, he takes a step closer before circling me. My back stiffens, objecting to being examined like a prize pony, but I bite my lip. “I see you like the dress I picked out for you, a dress fit for a queen,” he comments from behind me, but I refuse to react, keeping my gaze ahead until he finishes his appraisal. “You look so much like your mother.” The king sighs wistfully as if some tragedy befell my mother rather than the fact he murdered her in cold blood. Rhydian makes a sound of agreement next to his father. Again, I refuse to react, despite the icy anger that’s freezing my veins, but I push it away, saving it up. I need to know what’s happened to Jacob and why I’m here before I decide what to do about the king.

Realising I’m not going to rise to his bait, the king makes a noise of amusement and waves his hand, gesturing for me to follow him as he turns on his heel. “Come with me, we have much to discuss.”

This is it. Trepidation fills me along with a sense of relief. We may finally glean some answers. Turning, I gesture for my mates to follow, but I’m cut off by the king’s barking laughter. “That won’t be necessary.” I whirl to face him, an argument already on my lips as my dress twists around me, but I’m stopped by the king’s snarl. “My dear, if you think I’m letting elves anywhere near me, you are more dim-witted than I thought.”

I’m taken aback by his sudden animosity. Until now, he’s at least pretended to be civil in front of his subjects, so the change in attitude is giving me whiplash. Recovered from the initial shock, I laugh and place a hand on my hip. Later, I’ll wonder where I got this confidence from, but my anger has given me an attitude. “I won’t be going anywhere with you alone.”

There’s a beat of silence as we stand off against each other, until eventually he narrows his eyes and, with a low growl, concedes with a nod of his head. “Very well, you may bring one of the mages with you, but not the high mages,” he growls, looking over my shoulder to where I know Grayson and High Mage Ellis are standing. “I refuse to have either of those traitors privy to this conversation.”

After a terse silence, I nod my head and turn my back on the king and his son, walking back to my party. Nerves make me feel shaky, but I refuse to let the king see that side of me anymore. Vaeril begins to walk towards me, the others close behind him, but I shake my head slightly, gesturing discreetly with my hand as I move past them to where I left Aileen with my aunt earlier. A small group of mages is watching the ball carefully, and they dip their heads in respect as I approach.

“Samson,” I greet as I join the mage. “Will you please assist me? The king wants to talk to me in private, and I wish to take an escort.” If he’s surprised I singled him out, then he hides it well. I know what I’m asking of him, what he would be risking by coming with me, but as a mage, I know he will be able to protect me and with his abilities to heal, and that makes him a valuable asset. Not necessarily to me, but I have a horrible feeling that when I finally find Jacob, he’s going to need more help than I can give him.

“I would be honoured, beloved.” Samson bows his head and steps forward immediately, settling some of my nerves. There’s just something about this mage that makes me feel calmer. Perhaps it’s part of his gift?

Spinning to return to the king, I’m stopped when Grayson steps in front of me, his concern etched into his features. “Clarissa, what’s going on?”

Everyone’s watching me. The atmosphere is tense, and I know he’s not just asking for himself, but on behalf of the otherswith them. Grayson and my other mates have a connection to me, so they will be able to tell if I’m in danger, however, the others will have an anxious wait. While Grayson or Tor can tell them what they’re sensing from me, no matter how I feel about it, these people look to me for guidance. They followed me here, so I owe them an explanation.

Taking a deep breath, I look around at those gathered, lingering longer on Revna. “I’m going to find out, but the king won’t tell me with any of you present.” I say this last part with a gesture towards my mates and Naril. I lean forward. “Be ready to leave,” I warn, seeing the acknowledgement in their eyes. They know this meeting with the king could go either way. When they nod their heads, I step back and signal for Samson to stay where he is for a second before pulling Tor and Vaeril into an alcove, cocking my head for Grayson to follow. As I look around for Eldrin, my heart sinks. I can’t see him anywhere, but I’m running out of time so I can’t wait for him.

The three males watch me as I blow out a breath, cocooned by them in the alcove. I don’t have enough time to say what I truly want, how much they mean to me, how each of them has changed my life, how they havegivenme life and helped me find myself when I was nothing but a blank slate thanks to years of slavery. Each of them brings something different to our relationship and helps me in their own way. Taking a deep breath, I look between them and just have to hope they can sense the depth of my feelings for them through our connection. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when the king takes me away.” The three of them instantly stiffen, and I push on before they try to stop me, needing them to hear what I have to say. “But I wanted to say I love you, all of you.”

I wish Eldrin were here to hear this.

“We love you too,” Tor replies, his tone suggesting it was a given, but he’s frowning as he leans forward, cupping mycheek with his large hand. “But you can’t speak like this.” His voice takes on a harsher, more urgent note that I’m not used to hearing from him, at least not when he’s talking to me. “You sound like you’re saying goodbye.”

I wince at the accusation in his tone, unable to meet their eyes. I know what they want me to say—that I’ll come out of there alive, that I’ll best the king. The Great Mother is on my side, but there is evil at work here and the king is cunning. “Well, I couldn’t go in there without saying—”

A growl cuts me off, and relief floods me as I instantly recognise the timbre. He came back. I don’t know where he went, and at this moment, I don’t care, all that matters is he’s here now.

“Don’t you dare say goodbye,” Eldrin growls from behind the others. Parting, Vaeril and Grayson let him through, and the elf stalks towards me. He’s practically vibrating with anger. “If you say that, then he’s already won.” Eldrin’s voice is so low, it’s almost a snarl, his eyes intense as he comes to a stop directly in front of me. He releases a deep breath, and that anger seems to leave his body, only to be replaced with desperation and a hint of fear. Reaching out, he grasps my shoulders, exploring my face like he’s trying to remember every inch of me. “We’ve only just found each other. You need to promise you are coming back to me.” His voice breaks, and it would be a sweet moment if Vaeril didn’t snarl softly behind him, reminding him he’s not the only male in my life. “To us,” he amends reluctantly, bringing a small smile to my face.

---