Page 241 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“I’m okay, I’m just concentrating,” I assure them, my voice a whisper. I pause as I lose the connection with the being. Reassured, they fall silent and simply follow behind me as I stretch my awareness once more and try to find the creature. It’s something of the forest, some sort of fae but more elemental, which is why I can sense it. Like the imps and pixies, it has a mind of its own, so it’s harder to read than the forest.

I’ve ventured far away from everyone now and can hear the sound of a river. As I round a large tree trunk, it comes into view. So does the creature.

She’s the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen, and at first, I think she’s an elf, her pointed ears poking through her silky hair.She sits on the bank of the river. Her upper body is completely naked, and her lower body is hidden by the water. Raising her head, she looks my way, locking her startling green eyes with mine. Her pixie-like features and rosy red lips are inviting. Everything about her screams innocence, but my instincts tell me she’s dangerous.

Eldrin and Vaeril spot her at the same time, hissing as they jump in front of me, blocking my route to the fae, their eyes wide with alarm as they watch my face for…something. Frowning, I try to push past them, not understanding their reaction. If they feared an attack from her, then they would be in a defensive position, instead, they are blocking my path. Pausing, I cross my arms over my chest and arch an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

“That’s a nixie, Clarissa.” Vaeril’s brow furrows as if he’s confused by the way I’m reacting, but he doesn’t step aside. Reaching out, he cups my face, drawing my chin up and staring into my eyes as if checking for something. “A type of river mermaid, she will charm you and pull you to your death.”

Eldrin bristles, snarling over his shoulder at the nixie as he steps closer to me. “They are dangerous, you must stay away.”

Now I understand their behaviour. Jumping in front of me, blocking my path, checking my eyes—they believed I was bewitched when I was following her pull. They were trying to protect me. My love for them grows a little more, and from the gleam in their eyes, they can sense that through our connection. All of this tells me something else though.

Leaning around Vaeril, I address the nixie. “You could have bewitched me, but you didn’t.” She looks up from where she was examining her nails, her striking green eyes locking with mine again, and I’m momentarily stunned. She tilts her head to one side before dipping it in agreement. Yes, she could have spelledme and pulled me to a watery death, but she chose not to. So I ask her the most important question. “Why?”

She glances at the backs of the two elves separating us before returning her gaze to me. “I wished to talk with you, beloved.” Her voice is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, lilting and lyrical. I’ve heard stories of sirens luring people to their death, and I wonder if the nixies are a relation, because I can imagine that voice inspiring people to do things they usually wouldn’t.

Her meaning is clear though. Looking at my two elves, I raise my eyebrow, waiting for them to let me pass. She’s called me here, so it must be important, and whatever she needs to tell me, she doesn’t want to say between a wall of elves. Vaeril and Eldrin share a look, but they know they can’t stop me. I’d get past them one way or another, so eventually, they sigh and step aside, letting me pass. All four of my mates spread out, leaving the nixie and I space to chat, but we both know our discussion is not private. I also know they could get to me in a second if I needed them, this is just an illusion of privacy, but it’s enough for the nixie.

Approaching slowly, I perch on a large rock near the riverbank, not wanting to get any closer. From here, I can view glimpses of her golden tail flashing below the water, and up close, I see what I thought were elvish ears are actually longer and have two pointed tips, looking more like fins.

“You’re searching for a way into the elf city, but it is patrolled with their forsaken.” When she says the word ‘forsaken,’ she hisses, her face transforming and shattering the innocent illusion as rows of sharp, needle-like teeth glimmer in the sunlight.

Instantly on alert, I lean forward. This suddenly feels much more urgent and important than I anticipated. I can feel the sharp attention of the others on us too. “You know a way in?” Trying to keep my voice even, I wait anxiously for her response.

She shrugs her delicate shoulders, brushing her hair with her fingers. “By fulfilling a bargain, you will have a way to even the odds.” Her cryptic words make me freeze, and realisation of what I need to do floods my body with cold dread.

“She wastes our time and speaks in riddles,” Eldrin growls from somewhere behind me, misinterpreting my distress for not understanding her words, when it’s really the opposite.

Offended by Eldrin’s insult, the nixie twists her body around and uses her arms to raise herself up the bank to hiss at the elf. She’s terrifying, but thankfully, she drops back into the water, disappearing completely for a moment until only her head resurfaces, glaring at Eldrin.

Turning to my mates, I hold up my hand to stop any more comments. “No, I know what we need to do.” My voice is steady, despite the fact I feel like I’m being crushed by the weight of responsibility that’s suddenly been placed on me. “The others aren’t going to like it.” The guys frown, sensing my mixed emotions, but I don’t give them a chance to say anything, simply looking back at the nixie.

She’s watching me with only her eyes peeping from the water. “Thank you.” I bow my head in respect, taking her slight nod as acceptance before she sinks into the river, disappearing from sight.

I return to my mates, and we walk back to where the others are resting. I explain what I’ve learned and what I must do. Shock, anger, and fear run rampant, fuelling yet more arguments.

“You’re leaving us?” Revna says. It’s phrased like a question, but I can hear the finality and accusation in her tone. Internally, I wince, but I can’t let any of them see that here. They will take it as a sign of weakness, an indication I’m not sure of this plan, and try to talk me out of it. If this was just my aunt and me, this conversation would go very differently. However, in this case,my mates send me their strength, and I use it like armour to ground myself.

“I will join you again before the final battle.” I keep my voice steady before meeting the gaze of the other chiefs and leaders. “If this works, we will have the upper hand. It gives us the ground we will need.” I’ve explained all of this several times, going over the same points over and over.

“She’s right, it would greatly help us,” Merrin chimes in, talking for the first time and making me breathe a sigh of relief. When the high mage speaks, people tend to listen, his words swaying them.

“If,” Ragnar growls, emphasising the word with a snarl. “Ifit works.” Stalking towards me, he jabs his finger at my chest, eliciting snarls from my mates, but I don’t move, I simply stare him down. He’s just a bully. I’ve met plenty like him before, and I won’t rise to it. “You have no idea! How do we know you and your mates are not just abandoning us the eve before the battle?” Stepping right up into my face, he raises his lip, snarling the words as he speaks. “Do you know something we don’t and are jumping ship?”

“How dare you?” Jacob leaps up from the log on my right, jumping to my defence. Stepping right up to the painted chief, he draws him away, giving me some space to breathe. “She’s willing to risk her life to give you an advantage on the battlefield that might be the difference between winning and losing, and you accuse her of this?”

Now that I don’t have the chief in my face, I process what Jacob’s just done. He stood up for me. We’ve not really had much time to discuss that we’re half siblings, and to be honest, other than one tearful conversation about our mother, we’ve avoided it. He’s resentful of the years I had with Mother before the king found us. Yet those memories were stolen from me, and truthfully, I’m jealous of the years he had with Mother, even ifhe didn’t know she was his biological mom. He admitted to me that night that he always felt closer to our mother than the old queen, and he viewed her as more of a mother figure. Her death devastated him, even more so once he learned she had been his true mother all along. Things are still awkward between us, but the fact he’s standing up for me now gives me hope that we can work things out between us.

“How do we know?” Ragnar shouts at the prince. “We have no assurances!”

“Yes, you do!” Everyone turns to look at me. Taking a deep breath, I pray my voice stays steady as I address the group. I know this part of the plan won’t go down well, which is why I haven’t said anything about it until now, so I brace myself for the backlash. “I will be going alone. My mates will travel with you.” Raised eyebrows and shared looks from the chiefs and speakers meet my declaration, but I can feel the volatile reactions from my mates, so I quickly continue, “There is no way I would leave my mates to fight my battles without me.”

“What?”

“No way.”

“Clarissa—”

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