Page 232 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

The reality of what he’s told us settles over me. “You took away her name.” Horror sinks like a lead weight inside me as I realise I may never learn my mother’s name. That horror quickly turns to anger. He took away a part of her that he had no right to, wiped it away like it was nothing. “You took away my name, my memories.” Taking a step towards the king, I bare my teeth in a snarl. “Give. Them. Back.”

The king laughs again, only stirring up my anger even more. “I can’t, some are hard to wipe, but once they’re gone, they are gone for good,” he replies, spreading his arms wide in a ‘what can you do?’ gesture.

Marching forward until only the desk separates us, I channel my inner elf, baring my teeth as I brace my hands on the wood, leaning forward as I snarl. “You’ve done all of that to me, to my mother. Then you beat my brother and used him as leverage against me.” It’s my turn to laugh, but there’s no humour in it. “You disgust me.” My voice lowers as my fae side rises to the surface, feeling the need to protect and fight. “You separated our family, and you expect me to ally myself with you?”

The smile has vanished from the king’s face, but he looks like he almost expected this outcome. Nodding slowly, he places theglass on the desk. “You don’t have much of a choice, my dear,” he drawls, gesturing to Jacob. “Your beloved brother is dying, poisoned with—”

Jacob stands with Samson’s assistance, cutting off the king’s words. Running my eyes over Jacob, I notice he still looks pale and bruised, obviously beaten, but he’s much stronger than before as he glares at his father. I glance at Samson, and he gives me the slightest nod of his head, so I know he’s been healed. Not completely, but enough to get him out of here alive. Turning back to the king, I meet his hateful stare. “I ask again. Why would I ally myself with you?”

“You will never get out of here alive.” All pretence of friendliness is gone, and I’m glad for it. I can finally see the snake he is under the act. “I have hundreds of soldiers. You have no choice,” he sneers as he leans over the desk, our faces so close they almost touch. I used to fear this man, but now I see a flicker of terror in his eyes, and I know it’s because he realises I’m going to walk out that door and take my army and his only hope of salvation with me. As we stare at each other, eye to eye, I stop snarling and the corner of my mouth twitches up.

“I think you greatly underestimated me. You always have, and that will be your greatest downfall.” I keep my tone even. He disguises his reaction quickly with one of scepticism, but I didn’t miss the flicker of unease that passed over his face. “One day, all of the slaves, the beaten and downtrodden that you overlook and treat so badly, will band together, and when we do, we will come for you,” I promise, my wrist glowing as the presence of the Great Mother settles over me. His eyes flick down and lock onto my mark. He freezes in place, but I’m not finished yet. “On that day, you better hide, because I think you’ll find that there are so many more of us than there are of you.”

Pushing away from the desk, I hurry to Jacob’s side, wrapping my arm around him. “Let’s get out of here.” The threeof us hurry to the opening in the wall and back out into the dark corridor Samson and I had entered through, leaving the stunned king in our wake.

Squinting against the bright lights of the ballroom, the three of us exit the secret corridor, closing the door behind us. I just want to get back to the safety of my mates and our people without attracting any attention, but the king must have had a contingency plan in place. A row of five armed soldiers block the walkway between the wall and the rear of the dais, the high backs of the thrones obstructing the view of the ballroom, stopping anyone from seeing us. Right now, those soldiers are blocking our path to safety. As soon as they see us half dragging a bedraggled, pale, and obviously unwell prince, they draw their weapons, pointing them towards us.

“Prince Jacob!” one in the middle calls, visibly distressed, and I get the impression these could be his personal guards. Brandishing his sword, he goes to move forward, and reacting instinctively, I bare my teeth, throwing my arm in front of Jacob.

“Stay back!” Jacob orders, the command of a prince ringing out, despite the exhaustion lining his face. The guard freezes, frowning, but does as ordered as Jacob puts his hand on my shoulder. I glance back at him, and he shakes his head slightly.After a tense couple of seconds, I lower my arm, smoothing out my expression.

Jacob turns his attention back to the wall of guards blocking our path. “I’m fine, she’s helping me. Let us pass,” he instructs in a clear, smooth voice as I wrap my arm around his waist once more.

The guards look between themselves, clearly torn, eyeing up me and the magician on their beloved prince’s other side. They want to trust their prince, but I get the feeling they’re following orders. Why else would they be stationed here when there was no one guarding the door previously? The king wanted us to be caught in case things didn’t go his way. What he didn’t count on was that Jacob is well liked amongst the guards.

“But, Your Highness,” the lead guard starts, only to stop when Jacob arches an eyebrow at him. Instead of snapping to attention like I expected, the guard sighs and glances at the others. They all share looks until, one by one, they lower their weapons and the leader of the group steps aside, allowing us to pass.

We hurry by, not waiting for them to change their minds, but as we pass them, I meet the hard gaze of the lead guard. “Thank you.” The statement is simple but honest and seems to take him by surprise, but I don’t have time to see what he does next as we round the dais and are suddenly in full view of everyone in the room.

“Clarissa!” several voices call in unison, and my bonds throb with relief as my mates hurry to my side, their eyes wide as they barrage me with questions, all talking over one another. Grayson seems torn as he speaks to the prince, realising he is in need of his attention, but he’s obviously fighting the pull of the bond if the worried glances he keeps throwing me are anything to go by. Naril is standing close by but watching the ballroom around us, and I’m acutely aware of the silence that’s fallen over the room.

The onslaught of questions keeps coming and I can’t focus. A sudden wave of urgency comes over me, and I know we need to leave. Grabbing the shirt of the male who’s closest, Vaeril’s, I shake him. “Stop!” I cry, and finally the four of them stop talking. “We need to leave now,” I explain in a hurry, and they seem to realise the seriousness of the situation, snapping into action. Nodding their heads, they split up and go to the groups we had prearranged for our escape plan.

Given Vaeril’s and my history with Arhaven, there was no way we were going to come back here without having an escape plan already in place. While none of us liked the idea of being split up, they were all trained in some form of combat, so it made sense for them to each lead one of the groups. Tor would organise the tribesmen, Grayson the mages, and Eldrin the elves. I would be staying with Vaeril. While we would all be escaping together, we thought it best to have units within based on speciality in case we got separated.

“I’m sorry,Alina,” Vaeril whispers, lowering his forehead to mine, and I realise my hands are still twisted in the fabric of his shirt. “We will get out of here, I promise.”

My chest tightens as I remember the first time we escaped this castle together. Sighing, I close my eyes as he pushes his affirmation and calm down the bond. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

He pulls away, and I open my eyes as he lifts my chin, his gaze intense as if daring me to challenge him, the corner of his mouth turned up in a semblance of a smile. “I never do.”

All of this must have happened in less than a couple of minutes. Naril, Jacob, and Samson are still at my side when Tor strides back over. With him, he brings the warriors from the tribes, Vida, my aunt, and a flustered-looking Aileen with her father.

“Clarissa, what’s going on?” Lord Bastian begins, his eyes running over my companions and dismissing them until he startles, realising who the beaten man next to me is. “Prince Jacob!” he exclaims, coming forward with wide eyes as he reaches out to the prince, bowing his head in respect. “We had been worried for you. What happened?”

Jacob places a hand on the lord’s shoulder, clasping it in greeting, but he’s unable to hide his grimace of pain. Both Aileen and her father frown in concern at the state of their prince.

“My father had me locked up, beaten, and poisoned.” Jacob straightens, holding his head high as he answers. My heart aches for him, at the betrayal he must be feeling. How could a father do something like that to his son?

Turning slightly towards me, Jacob continues, “Clarissa is my sister, he used me as bait to get her here.” He knows we don’t have much time, but we won’t get far with the prince unless people understand why he’s leaving with us, the supposed enemy of the kingdom.

Aileen turns her wide eyes on me, and I can almost see what’s going through her mind. “You’re a princess—”

“Different fathers,” Jacob and I say in unison, and despite the tense situation, he smiles. It’s only a tiny flicker of his lips, but it’s a start.

Gasps fill the room and I hear Naril swear. Glancing up, I see guards flooding into the ballroom. They’re not doing anything at the moment, simply waiting for orders, but they’re all dressed in full armour with their hands on their swords, prepared to use them at a moment’s notice. The priests are now lining the walls and congregating by the large doors, blocking our exit.

My mates return to my side. Everyone is in position around us as I turn to Aileen and her father. “Now is the time to decide. Stay or come with us.” I can see his indecision as he looks at his only daughter. “I wish I could give you longer, but there is notime left.” My voice is harsher than I mean it to be, my urgency adding an edge to it. I desperately want them to come with me, it’s not safe for them here, but that’s not my decision to make. They have to be the ones to decide.

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