Page 86 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“How do you know so much about broken bones?”

I move the cuff on my arm and show him my slave marks. “This is how.” His eyes darken and his hand tightens on my arm. He’s seen the marks before, so I’m not sure why he’s so angry. “I had to learn to care for myself,” I explain, fixing the cuff back into place. A thought comes to me as I stare down at the jewellery. “Do you want to know a secret?”

Tor stills, as if he knows how big of a deal it is for me to be sharing this with him. I don’t know where this thought came from, or why I feel comfortable sharing this with him, but it just feels right.

“Yes, please,” he answers quietly, as if he’s afraid he’ll scare me off if he speaks too loudly.

“When I was younger, I wished I could be a healer.” I lift my head as I talk, a slight smile coming to my face as I admit my childhood dream. That was before my hopes and dreams had been beaten out of me. “I wanted to help people. I had forgotten about that.”

He doesn’t say anything, just continues to stare at me. Growling, he raises a hand and rubs it along the shaved part of his head, the tattoos there standing out in the moonlight. I want to ask what they say, what they mean, but that seems toopersonal, so I bite my lip and cross my arms under my cloak. I watch him as he stalks around the small space once again, growling and muttering words I don’t understand as he tries to come to terms with what he’s learned. I stay silent, letting him work through his thoughts, but I can see him getting more and more angry.

“I knew the king was twisted, especially after the slaves and killing his own wife, but I didn’t think even he would do something like this.” He swears again and suddenly hurries over to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. Usually I would shy away from so much physical contact, and although he startles me, he doesn’t scare me. “You need to leave with me tonight, I can protect you.”

I want to, part of me is screaming to say yes, to go with him and escape this place and its evil king, but I know I can’t. “I can’t leave, not yet,” I say with a shake of my head. I know he won’t understand, but I promised Vaeril and I can’t leave without him. There is still so much I want, no, need to do here before I can leave. If I went now, I might never see Grayson again, and I’m not sure I could live with myself if I couldn’t at least explain why I left.

“He could kill you,” Tor states plainly, and I nod.

“He could,” I agree, needing him to understand. “But I survived the last twelve years as a slave. That’s supposed to be impossible, so I’d say I have a pretty good track record.” If anyone can survive this, then it’s me. I’ve lived through worse. At the reminder of my past, Tor growls again and takes a step back, as if he needs some space between us.

“You’re on his radar now though. You were nameless, a no one before, but now he’s watching you, testing you.”

Again, he’s right, but I have something he doesn’t. Touching my Goddess mark, I close my eyes as the comforting tinglingsensation floods through my body. I open my eyes and smile slightly at Her presence.

“The Mother will protect me.”

From what I’ve heard, the mountain tribes worship in a different way. They have multiple gods and goddesses, and the Great Mother is one of them, but they believe different things about her and consider her one of the lesser goddesses. So I know that for him, the protection of the Mother might not be much, but for me, it’s everything. I’m expecting him to say something along those lines, to tell me not to rely on her protection, but instead he surprises me with a slow, half grin. Looking like that, he makes me feel warm, awakening my arousal which I haven’t felt for a long time.

“You know I’m going to ask you to leave with me every night,” he tells me with that same grin, and I try to push down my rising feelings and focus on what he’s saying. Blinking, I finally process his words.

“You’re going to keep coming back?”

“Of course, people need a way to escape.” Disappointment fills me and I look away, pretending to glance around the courtyard for other people so he can’t see my expression.

Don’t be stupid, of course he’s going to keep returning to help people, that’s the reason he’s here. Not to see you, he’s only asking you out of a sense of responsibility.

“Besides, this means I can check that you’re still alive.”

I still, ignoring the slight thrill his words bring. I want to know why he cares, but I can’t bring myself to ask the question.You just don’t want to hear the answer, my mind taunts. What am I so worried about? Do I like him? I barely know him, except that small voice I always push away and squash deep inside me is screaming that Idoknow him.

“Do you believe in past lives?” My question seems to take him by surprise.

“In our teachings, there are tales of some of our greatest warriors being reborn, but I’m not sure what I believe,” he answers, his eyes alight with something I don’t recognise as he takes a step forward to close the distance between us. My breath hitches, and I know by his smile that he heard. Dropping his voice, his words are low and quiet as he inquires, “Why do you ask?”

“I just... I feel like I know you, like we knew each other in a past life,” I reply just as quietly, admitting my feelings with a laugh. “I’m sure it’s all made up in my head, but I just can’t shake the feeling.”

He stills, his grin dropping as his face takes on a serious expression. It’s an odd look on him, he’s usually so expressive, so I’m taken aback by this sudden change.

“Clarissa, I need to tell you something.”

My heart thuds painfully in my chest as excitement and fear fill me. I get a strange feeling that whatever he’s about to tell me will change my life forever.

“Tell me what?” I ask breathlessly.

“About your past—” Whatever he is going to say is cut off by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps. Spinning, we turn to look for the source of the noise, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding when a maid with two young children enters the courtyard. They look terrified, their eyes wide as they glance around desperately, and I know this is their last hope. We wait for a few seconds, making sure they haven’t been followed, and once I’m sure, I take a step out of the protection of the shield.

“Liv, wait,” Tor calls, reaching for me, but I’ve already left the cover.

The maid instantly turns and sees me, her eyes widening even more before she hurries over to me, her children following closely behind.

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