Page 156 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“I have a lot on my mind,” I reply with a shrug.Yeah, too busy thinking about kissing your friend in my dreams and staring at your muscles,my mind helpfully supplies, and I turn away to hide the blush staining my pale cheeks.

There’s another beat of silence, and I can hear him moving the pads around in the boxes. His sigh is audible. He gingerly places a hand on my shoulder like I might bite him and turns me around to face him again. “Anything you want to talk about?” He looks like the words pain him to ask, and he quickly removes his hand, like just touching me for too long might burn him.

“No.” Mortification and hilarity war inside me. Mortification because I’d been caught thinking about him, but it’s the expression on his face that makes hilarity win. It’s obvious to me that he doesn’t want to ask and is worried I would take him up on the offer. His expression shows his relief when I turn him down. I’m surprised he even thought to ask, but the Eldrin I train with is very different from the Eldrin he lets everyone else see. “Thank you though.”

“You did good today,” he offers with a shrug, and at my shocked expression, he frowns and seems to backtrack. “You’ve still got to work on your blind spot on your left,” he adds, placing his hands on his hips. “And at some point, we’ll have to work on your aversion to being pinned to the floor.” I grimace as he speaks, and he holds up his arms in a ‘hear me out’ gesture. “I know, but I can’t teach you how to get out of that hold if we don’t practice.” He must have seen something on my face, because his voice softens slightly as his eyes bore into mine. “You can practice on me first, pin me down so I can show you, we’ll go slowly,” he promises, and I know there’s no getting out of this.Once he gets an idea in his head, it’s almost impossible to talk him out of it.

“Fine,” I agree begrudgingly, crossing my arms over my chest. The few times we tried, as soon as my back hit the ground and his weight landed on top of me, I would freak out, demanding we stop. It’s not been enough to trigger flashbacks yet, thanks in part to Eldrin moving off me so quickly, but I know he’s right. I don’t want to ever be in a position like that again where I can’t protect myself.

“You need to know how to protect yourself,” he says in a low, understanding voice as if reading my thoughts.

Groaning, I roll my shoulders, trying to ease my aching muscles. “I know—”

“We’ll start on weapons tomorrow,” he interrupts, his expression hardening. The worst thing you can do around Eldrin is whine or moan, if anything, it makes him work me harder.

His comment makes me blink as I take in what he just said, sure I’ve heard him wrong. “Wait, you’re going to let me attack you with a sword?” I ask with quiet glee.

“Hm, you seem a little too eager.” A frown pulls at his brows, but I notice he’s fighting a smile. “Perhaps we should start with—”

“Lord Eldrin! Clarissa,” one of the stewards calls across the courtyard as he jogs towards us. He’s dressed in a dark blue form-fitted jacket and has the bronze epaulette on his shoulder, like all the other stewards in the palace. I don’t know his name, but I recognise his face from my explorations.

Standing up to his full height, Eldrin frowns down at the steward, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes?” He doesn’t sound happy at the interruption, and I swear I see a flash of fear in the steward’s eyes as he stops before us.

Turning to me, the steward sketches a short bow. “The queen wishes for you to accompany her in the atrium.” I’m filled withsurprise that the queen wants to see me, which is immediately followed by dread. Why would she want me to join her? She hates me. This can’t be anything good, I’m sure of it.

Eldrin has obviously come to the same conclusion. “Where’s my brother?” he barks at the steward, and I feel a little sorry for him as he receives the full brunt of Eldrin’s displeasure.

Turning from me to look up at him, the steward takes a deep breath, preparing for a bad reaction to whatever news he’s about to share. “He’s been called away to the border. They had some problems with the rebels, but the queen ordered you not to be bothered, so Lord Naril went on your behalf.”

Rebels? What’s he talking about?I know Eldrin has been called out to the borders a lot recently, but this is the first mention of rebels. Is there unrest in Galandell I’m not aware of? I’ve not seen much of the city, but what I have seen has been very civilised. Except…I remember the caves the sea elves lived in. They were far below the palace and almost completely separate from the high elves who live above them. While I was there, they told me stories of where they live when they’re not visiting Galandell, and I’d love to visit their homes in the White Cliffs.

A loud string of elvish breaks me out of my musing, which I’m pretty sure from the uncomfortable expression on the steward’s face is all swearing. Eldrin starts pacing, and I watch him with a raised eyebrow. Why is he so angry about this? Is it because Naril was sent out of the city and he’s worried for him, or is it something else? “Lord Vaeril?” he snaps.

Wincing slightly, the steward crosses his arms behind his back as he stands tall. “He’s on business for the queen.”

A low growl meets his response. “I bet he is,” Eldrin sneers, but he doesn’t sound surprised. Frankly, neither am I. The queen has been purposely keeping him away from me since we arrived. The large elf suddenly stops in front of me, coming to a conclusion. “Okay, Clarissa, I’ll escort you. Let’s go.”

Grabbing his shirt from the ground, he starts to stalk towards the palace as I stare at his back in shock. Glancing at the steward, I see he’s wearing the same stunned expression as me.

“I can’t go and meet the queen like this!” I shout at his back, gesturing to my sweaty workout clothing, even though he’s not facing me. The queen would just love it if I turned up in the atrium dressed like this—in fact, that’s probably why she sent the steward to come find me now.

He stops and sighs before he turns back around. “How quickly can you change?” His eyes run up and down my body, which is so much more on display in these clothes than the dresses I usually wear. “It’s not wise to keep the queen waiting.”

“I’ll be quick,” I assure him, before turning to the steward. “Please inform Her Majesty that I’ll join her shortly.”

I’ve never changed faster, aware of every second that it takes to remove my old clothes and slide into a plain navy dress that Lillia had laid out for me. It’s pretty, all of my clothes here are, but I don’t waste time admiring it. Without the maid, it takes longer, and I realise I’m unable to reach the fastenings at the back of the dress. Making a frustrated noise, I pull my hair from the messy ponytail I’d put it in for training and reach for the brush, quickly running it through my locks to make myself look respectable.

Not even bothering to look in the mirror, I hurry from the room to find a bored Eldrin leaning against the wall as he watches the world go by through the window.

“Will you fasten my dress for me please?” Hurrying to his side in a swish of long fabric, I turn my back to him without waiting for an answer. Silence greets me. My mind is spinningwith possibilities of what the queen wants, and he’s just wasting time. What is he doing back there? Opening my mouth to snap at him, I suddenly feel his fingers brush across my skin. All thought leaves my mind, other than how every nerve ending in my back is suddenly alight. His touch, although featherlight, is amplified, and my skin tingles everywhere he touches. A small gasp escapes my lips, and he jerks away from me as if he’s been burnt. Glancing over my shoulder, I see him staring at his fingers with a confused frown.

“Are you okay?”

As soon as I speak, he immediately looks up at me and scowls. “I can’t do this up if you keep moving. Hold still.”

Raising my eyebrows, I face forward, bracing myself against his tugging as he does up the fiddly fastenings of the dress. He’s very careful not to touch me again, and as soon as he’s done, he walks past me and heads straight to the door.

“Ready?” he asks with his back to me. Frowning, I just stare at him until he gets fed up with waiting for my response. He turns to me with an annoyed expression. “What now?”

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