Page 50 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

Entering the main corridor, we turn and immediately bump into someone. Letting out a surprised “oomph,” I glance up and realise it’s Tor. I haven’t seen him since the ball other thanfleeting glances, but now, up close, I remember just how big he is. Not only in height, but in build too. He towers over the prince and I. That strange feeling in my chest starts again and I get the sensation of familiarity. His eyes are locked onto me, his gaze so piercing I feel him stripping pieces of me away. When he looks at me like that I feel raw, exposed.

“Speaker Torsten, what are you doing in this part of the castle?”

When I jump slightly as he speaks, Jacob pulls me closer, as if to protect me from the mountain of a man before us. What I can’t tell him is that it’s not me who needs protecting. I don’t know how I know this, but I do know he would never hurt me. The prince on the other hand…

“Just exploring, Your Highness,” Tor replies facetiously, finally pulling his eyes from me as he sizes up the prince. Jacob is by no means small, but compared to Tor he looks like a boy. After a few silent, tense moments, the mountain man snorts and nods once to me. “Clarissa,” he says in farewell, before stalking away.

Jacob lets out a deep breath before chuckling slightly, leading me away.

“Sorry about that. We have a bit of a tense relationship with the people from the mountains.”

Explaining the obvious, I think to myself, but simply nod. This is my opportunity to learn more about these people. The king had been fairly unimpressed by them at the ball welcoming the crown prince home.

“Why are they here?”

“We are trying to form a treaty,” the prince explains, and I raise my eyebrows. They hadn’t seemed particularly friendly just then, and they want to form a treaty? “I know, things aren’t great at the moment. We used to work together years ago, but everything fell apart about two decades ago, and this is the firsttime they have responded in any positive way. We could really use their help in this war. I’ve been talking with them. They are strong and fierce, having them at our side would help us win this.”

He’s passionate, and I realise it’s probably only because of his pushing and determination that this meeting is even happening. As the third and youngest son, he will most likely never take the throne, and in his father's eyes his only use would be to marry him off to an influential family. From our conversations recently, I’ve learned he’s really devoted to his people and forming alliances to help us, and he was the one to liaise with the mountain people.

Feeling my attention on him, he glances at me, a slight blush coating his cheeks as he looks away again quickly. “Anyway, I won’t bore you with any more politics.”

We continue to amble through the castle, with Jacob making small talk as we go, pointing out different things and telling me the history of them, or whispering stories of courtiers we pass. I can’t help but think back to Tor and his interaction with the prince, how hostile he had been, but I push those thoughts away, focusing on the prince. Reaching the front of the castle, he takes me towards the huge, towering double doors and I realise he’s taking me outside. Raising my eyebrows, I slow my steps slightly until he turns to me with a questioning look.

“Where are you taking me?”

He smiles then, gesturing for me to follow him through the doors. Taking a few timid steps, I walk through the large arched egress, stepping outside the castle for the first time as a free woman. I blink against the bright winter sunshine, and it takes me a few moments to register what I’m seeing—a large carriage, painted with the royal crest, and two gorgeous black horses attached at the front. Gasping, I walk straight past the princeand hurry down the steps to the horses, a genuine, happy smile stretching my face as I reach their sides.

I’ve always had an affinity with animals, they seem to like me, and as I coo both horses turn their heads to look at me, whickering in response. Smile still in place, I walk up to their heads, holding my hand out flat for them to sniff, and then raising it to stroke down their long faces. The horse on the right has a white star in the middle of his forehead and the longer hair around his hooves is also white, whereas the one on the left is fully black.

“Hello, you gorgeous creatures,” I say quietly, continuing to stroke them, laughing at the one on the right who’s pushing his head into my hand, getting jealous of my attention to his companion.

“So this is all I needed to do to see you smile.”

Glancing up from my horse friends, I beam at the prince, shrugging my shoulders slightly. It’s cold out here, seeing as it’s still the middle of winter with snow lining the ground, our breath forming into clouds of mist. Thankfully, one of the stewards hurries forward with two thick, fur lined cloaks, a blue one for me and a green and gold one for Jacob.

“I’ve smiled at you before,” I reply, as I pull the cloak around me, nuzzling my nose against the warm fabric, and then I immediately turn back to the horses.

“Not like this.” The prince's voice makes me hesitate for a second before I continue stroking the stunning animals, whispering sweet words to them. “When you smiled before it was like…like you’ve had so much heartbreak that even smiling is painful. Whereas now, it’s like the sun breaking through on a cloudy day.”

My heart hammers in my chest. If the prince noticed, will other people? Is it just because he’s been paying attention, or have I just not played my part well enough?

“We should go.” The prince saves me from having to answer, and while I’m grateful for the excuse, and to get out of this cold, I will miss my newfound friends.

“Bye, gorgeous boys,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to their noses before following the prince into the carriage.

Settling into the plushly furnished carriage, I arrange my skirts and smile at the prince who takes a seat opposite me.

“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me now?”

Laughing, he leans forward and takes one of my cold hands in his, rubbing it between his own before blowing on them to warm them up. It’s a strangely intimate act and I find it’s not the only part of me that starts to heat. Glancing up from my hands, he smiles slightly when he sees my now red cheeks. If anyone asks, I’ll blame it on the cold winter wind, but the look he gives me tells me he knows exactly what effect his actions are having on me. Letting go of my hands, he sits back and gives me his bright smile.

“I’m taking you on a tour of my favourite places in Arhaven.”

The next two hours are magical. I’ve never seen any of the city beyond the castle, so I don’t have to hide my amazement as the carriage takes us through cobbled streets, the snow making everything look picturesque. There is a large pond in the centre of the city, and the city hall is built at one end with a large park behind it. I always expected the city to feel cold and barren, like the people, but I’m starting to learn that as a slave, I only saw the worst of society.

Jacob was polite, funny, and considerate the whole trip. At one point we stopped at a bakery where he bought us both sweet cakes. I’d never had anything like it, and as soon as Ipopped a small piece in my mouth, I couldn’t stop my groan of pleasure and quickly inhaled the rest of it while Jacob laughed. He immediately gave me his untouched piece, stating he didn’t really want it anyway, which earned him a small smile from me.

I’m actually disappointed when the sun starts to set and Jacob announces that we needed to return to the castle. On the carriage journey back, I can see the dark stone fortress coming into view. It’s huge, a monstrosity of twisting towers with gargoyles peeking over their plinths down onto the people below. The closer we get, the darker my mood becomes, until the oppressive feeling fully settles over me again. I hadn’t realised how much I hated it here until I was taken away and shown how different my life could have been.

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