Page 198 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

When I open my eyes, I feel Grayson fade from my consciousness, and look at the two who are still here with me. They appear surprised but refreshed, and to my shock, so do I. My arm still hurts from where I was attacked, and as I glance down, I see it’s still seeping and will need cleaning and dressing, but I don’t feel the bone-weary tiredness anymore. At least I feel strong enough to finish the ceremony.

Naril has been watching us this whole time, and he throws his hands towards me with a ‘well?’ gesture. “No, seriously, I want to know.”

Shaking my head, I just ignore him and try to push aside the ache in my heart at the fact Eldrin never came back. I hoped after he stormed out he’d return to see the rest of the ceremony, but I guess that’s not going to happen now. Shoving the pain away and choosing not to look too deeply into why it hurts so much, I push up from the bench and brush down my dress.

“Let’s get this over with.”

This time when I exit the tent, I have Tor on my right and Vaeril on my left, with Naril following close behind us. I refused to leave the tent without them, not caring if that made me look weak. After what just happened and what the goddess revealed to them all, I think it’s better to show a united front. I can’t do this alone, and I’m not stupid or naïve enough to believe I can.

Everyone is silent, their eyes on us, and the only sound I can hear is the crackling of the fire in the center of the pillars that stand proudly before me. Revna and the other chiefs are waiting for us, except this time Ragnar is standing with them. His face is carefully blank as he watches me approach, but I can almost feel his simmering frustration. I’ll need to watch out for him. Men like Ragnar can be dangerous, especially when embarrassed in front of his peers. I just have to hope his faith for his goddess is greater than his hatred for me, a half-breed.

Taking my place before the high chief, I can’t help but scan the crowd briefly for Eldrin, forcing aside my disappointment when I don’t see him. I shouldn’t be surprised. With the way he’sbeen behaving the last couple of days, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Tor and Vaeril stop just a step behind me, and when Revna fixes her eyes on me, I give her the slightest nod of my head to signal that I’m ready for her to begin.

“Clarissa has been returned to us,” she begins, using the same wording from before, and my gut clenches with nerves. Although I try to stop them, my eyes flick over to Ragnar. It’s not a surprise that he’s looking back at me.

“Today, we are going to induct her into the tribes, to make her one of us so she can take her rightful place and have a home among us.” Revna pauses, her expression hardening. “As was previously pointed out, Clarissa’s mother was banished, so all twelve chiefs need to agree to allow her to accept her status as one of us.” Turning from me and the viewing crowd, she faces the gathered chiefs behind her. “Does anyone object to this?” The note of warning in her voice is obvious, and there’s a flicker in her eye that warns not want to mess with this woman. There’s a tense pause, and I notice heads turning in Ragnar’s direction, but even if he was going to disagree, he would be foolish to publicly deny his goddess. When no one says anything, Revna smiles slightly and turns back to me, a weight lifting from my chest as I release a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. “Who here is acting as Clarissa’s guardian?”

“I am, High Chief Revna.” Tor steps forward, looking formidable at my side, his face set in a blank mask, but with his tattoos standing out in the morning light, he appears fierce, unapproachable, and untouchable. Like this, with his axe at his side, he looks every inch the mountain warrior we were taught to fear in Arhaven. Feeling my eyes on his face, he glances down at me, and the corner of his mouth twitches.

Revna clears her throat, pulling our attention back to her, and I have to fight my guilty grin at being caught out likesmall children.Focus, Clarissa, this is important, I chide myself. I’ve already caused enough of a scene without holding up the ceremony even more.

“Torsten of the Eternal Brothers, do you swear to teach Clarissa the way of the mountain tribes?” Revna continues, focusing on the tribesman at my side.

By acting as my guardian, he will be accepting the role of protector and teacher while I’m here. It will be up to him to make sure I know my place within the tribes. Tor explained to me that it’s unusual for a guardian to be from a different tribe, but since nothing about this is normal, it was accepted.

“I do.”

Something reverberates through me as he speaks, and at Tor’s declaration, Revna nods. Turning to the chiefs behind her once again, she opens her arms wide. “Which tribe is willing to accept Clarissa into their ranks?”

Nerves make my stomach flip, but I needn’t have worried, as Arne doesn’t make me wait long, stepping forward almost immediately. “We are, High Chief.” His deep voice travels through the meeting place, as do murmurs of agreement and surprise at his announcement. The chief takes his place in front of Revna, bowing his head slightly in a sign of respect.

Almost like she can’t help it, Revna smiles slightly in response before quickly wiping it away, adopting the serene mask of high chief once again. Something tickles in the back of my mind as I watch the two of them, remembering that Revna was once from Arne’s tribe so they were probably close at one point. I wonder if they were closer than I suspected.

“Chief Arne of the Golden Hawks,” Revna says, cutting off my musings. “Do you swear to accept Clarissa as one of your own?”

“I do.” The Golden Hawk Chief agrees without pause, and together, the two of them turn to face me.

Revna’s expression is somber now, and I know that’s because she’s not seeing me at the moment, but my mother. I can’t even imagine how bittersweet this is for her, and we’re still getting to know each other, but I’m glad I get to experience it with her.

Vida steps up to Revna’s side with a small clay bowl of what looks like black powder and presses it into the high chief’s hands with a bow of her head. “Clarissa, are you ready to become a tribeswoman and accept all that comes with the title?” she asks as she walks slowly towards me, holding the bowl out in front of her. “Are you ready to belong to the Golden Hawks Tribe and follow their laws and rules, and in return, reap the comforts they offer?”

This is purely ceremonial, as I already have the tribal tattoo on my arm, having already been secretly inducted by Arne days ago, but I still feel a flash of fear, and for a split second, I want to say no. To push away my responsibilities and the destiny that the Great Mother has planned for me, but I know I can’t do that. I would never be able to live with myself.

So instead, I take a deep breath, draw on the strength of my mates, and nod my head firmly. “I am.”

The whole gathering seems to hold their breath as Revna reaches into the bowl and raises a black covered finger, pressing it against my forehead as she starts to paint my skin, drawing symbols. Once she finishes, she takes my shoulder and turns me so we are facing the fire in the center of the standing stones, and without another word, she begins to walk towards it. I glance at Tor, and he nods his head slightly, so I quickly follow behind Revna, stopping at her side in front of the fire. She’s several paces from it, but even from here I can feel myself burning and the sweat beading on my skin.

“By the seven gods and goddesses of the mountain tribes, do you accept Clarissa into our ranks?” Revna calls out, her voice carrying once again, and I know those watching behind us willbe able to hear her, most likely from old magic thanks to the sacred stones. My heart pounds as I look around for whatever it is we’re waiting for—they didn’t tell me about this part of the ceremony. Reaching into the bowl, Revna throws the black powder over the fire, and it instantly triples in size, engulfing us in the flames, but miraculously not burning us. In fact, the flames that lick our skin are cooling and soothe the throbbing cut on my arm from Ragnar. When they finally fade to their usual size, Revna is wearing a large, genuine smile. One that is the smile of an aunt rather than the professional smile of a chief, and it makes my heart flutter in my chest.

“Welcome to the tribes.” Her voice is lowered so I know she’s saying this just for me. Something sparkles in her eyes that I would say is pent-up emotion, but I don’t know her well enough to guess. My eyes well, and a tight feeling in my chest makes me smile awkwardly as I take a step back, putting some distance between us. I have no idea how to react around family, and I’m very aware we’re being watched by many people, some of whom are not keen on me being here in the first place.

Clearing her throat and realising she’s making me uncomfortable, Revna gestures towards the waiting tribes, and I recognise what the noise I could hear in the background was—shouting and cheering. Slowly, we walk through the circle of stones and back towards the waiting chiefs and my mates. Some of the watching tribespeople are punching their fists into the air in triumph, while others are hollering and clapping. I notice the loudest amongst the crowd all seem to be wearing gold pins matching the one on my cloak with a proud golden hawk in mid-flight.

Tor stands with the others, his arms crossed over his chest, wearing the widest grin I’ve ever seen. The pride gleaming in his eyes is on show for all to see, and as I reach him, he opens his arms and pulls me into his embrace. “My mate, so fierce.” Hisvoice is deep, the words rumbling through his chest and into me as he presses a kiss to the top of my head. Pulling back, I look up at him with a grin. I’m not quite sure what has earned this reaction, but I’ll take it. Out of all my mates, Tor makes me feel like the strongest, most capable woman in the world, even when I knew nothing of who or what I was.

“I’ve never seen the gods’ fire accept someone like that before,” a male voice exclaims. Pulling from Tor’s arms, I turn to see the chiefs all staring at me, but it was Erik, the tall, giant-like chief who spoke. Erik and Arne are walking towards me with welcoming smiles, and something settles within me. Perhaps I can find a home here after all.

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