Page 82 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“Mage Wilson, you’re here too. How lovely.” The barely concealed disgust in the advisor’s tone and his appraising look just makes Wilson smile. His words are a deliberate insult, since he must have already seen the magician at my side.

“Always a pleasure, Advisor,” Wilson replies, his smile strained.

Sighing with frustration, he holds his arm out to me again, obviously not going to let me say no. “Fine, we shall just walk around the hall. Clarissa?”

I glance at my friends, hoping one of them will say something to get me out of this, but they look at me with varying levels of sympathy. Giving the advisor a curt nod, I link my arm with his and follow as we start to walk away. We stay silent for a while, and I start to wonder why he came over to see me if he has nothing to say.

“I won’t ask you to dance,” he says lightly, not looking at me as we walk through the clusters of people milling about. “I don’t suppose that’s a skill they teach the slaves.”

His comment is like a punch to my gut and I stumble slightly in surprise. Catching my footing, I keep looking straight ahead, not wanting to cause any sort of commotion that would bring attention my way. I want to blend in, not stand out.

“You know?” I ask quietly, already knowing the answer deep down. I realise that’s why he was so off with me in the library that time I was there with Jacob.

“Of course, I am the advisor to the king. I advised against this whole charade, but the magicians insisted, and the king wanted to keep an eye on you.” Again, he says this lightly, like he’s discussing the weather, not my life. “I would tread very carefully,Clarissa.” Again, he sneers my name. “The magicians won’t always be around to save you.” We’ve reached the other side of the hall now, near where the musicians are playing, so it’s harder to hear his soft voice over the music. He stops and pulls his arm away, giving me a look full of distain now that we are far enough away from listening ears. “Enjoy the game,Clarissa.” He spins on his heel and strides towards the king, who is watching us with interest from his throne. My heart pounds hard against my chest as his threat rings in my ears.

What did he mean by ‘enjoy the game?’ Is that what this is to them, a game?My thoughts are racing, and I feel exposed being so far away from my friends—was that his intent? To get under my skin and separate me from those who make me strong?

“You are so much stronger than you think, my beloved.”The Mother’s voice soothes me, and I startle when I feel her presence settle over me, her calm soaking into my veins and wiping away my confusion and pain.“It is not Grayson or the mark on your arm that makes you strong. You are a survivor. I chose you because your heart is pure and you have the ability tobecome so much more.”Her comforting tone continues, easing my ragged soul.“Be strong, my beloved.”

The mark on my arm starts to glow, and the people around me gasp and turn to stare at me, all whispering as they realise I’m the blessed woman from the recent choosing ceremony. I want to shy away and hurry back to my friends, but I feel a hot set of eyes on me, and as I look up, I see the king is staring at me, his expression amused. He tips his head towards me and my mark flares again, but this time I’m filled with a sense of warning. The king means me harm, that much is true from the burning pain in my arm, so I must tread carefully.

Lifting my chin, I begin the walk back to my friends, simply nodding to those who smile or try to engage me in conversation but not stopping. The Mother chose me for some purpose—me, out of all these people—and I must trust in her wisdom.

As soon as I approach my friends, Wilson steps forward to escort me back to our group, linking my arm with his. “Are you okay?”

I don’t say anything, not trusting my voice just yet, but I nod, and it’s the truth. I am okay, I have the Goddess behind me. Reaching Aileen and Lord Bastian, I smile tightly when they give me sympathetic expressions.

“What did he want?” Wilson inquires, and I’m glad he waited to ask until we were back here. I know Aileen would have asked the same thing, so at least this way I only have to explain once.

“Slimy git,” Aileen spits, glaring towards the advisor who is now talking into the king’s ear.

“He was just warning me.” I look at Wilson as I speak, hoping he understands what I’m trying to tell him and the implications behind it.

Picking up on the tension, Aileen glances between us, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What was he warning you about?”

I’m saved from answering when a loud clatter crashes through the hall. Gasps sound around us before everyone falls silent as they watch the spectacle. One of the ladies in a bright, rich purple dress stumbled into one of the servants, knocking against the tray he was carrying and sending glasses of wine smashing to the floor.

“You fool! You walked right into me.” It’s easy to see she’s completely intoxicated, her words slurring as she struggles to stay upright. Grabbing onto the lapels of the serving boy’s jacket, she pulls him in close, and for a second I think she’s going to smack him. Anger surges inside me.

I should do something.

A hand on my arm has me turning to see Wilson shaking his head, and I realise I took an inadvertent step forward. Thankfully, no one seems to notice, and I step back, nodding my thanks at Wilson. My anger still burns, but now is not the time to cause a scene, not with so many people here just waiting for me to make a mistake.

“If you mess this up for me, I will—” The woman continues to shriek until someone hurries over to her and pulls her away, whispering furiously in her ear. The poor server backs away and tries to pick up the glasses with shaking hands.

I don’t know what comes over me, but seeing him shaking under the stares of all those people makes something within me snap. Shaking off Wilson’s hold, I walk over to the servant and kneel down next to him. I don’t say anything, I simply start picking up the large pieces of glass and placing them on his tray, which is resting on the floor next to us. He looks at me with wide eyes, and I know he wants to say something, but so many people are watching us that he doesn’t dare speak. My dress fans out around me, the edges soaking up some of the spilled wine, but I don’t care. I’m sure I will get into trouble for this later, but I’m not going to pretend like I want to fit in with these people. Aftera couple of seconds, a shadow appears over my shoulder, and I steel myself for the consequences of my actions, but instead, Wilson kneels beside me and helps clean up the glass.

Once we’ve finished, the server whispers a quiet thank you before hoisting the tray and hurrying away. Standing, Wilson offers me his hand and helps me get to my feet. The music has restarted, and people are standing around pretending not to watch us as they gossip. He gives me a look, and I know he’s not pleased with my little rebellion, but there’s nothing to be done about it now. Leading me back over to Lord Bastian and Aileen, he opens his mouth to say something, but just closes it and remains silent.

“Brave move, young one,” Lord Bastian comments, handing me a glass of wine which I gratefully accept, sipping the cool liquid. I still haven’t gotten used to the tart taste of wine, but I’m grateful for it tonight, it’s helping to take the edge off my nerves. I look up at him from the rim of my glass.

“He was shaking and scared. I wanted to help him,” I explain simply, shrugging my shoulders as if my heart isn’t still pounding. The tightness around my chest has eased a little now that the weight of the king’s judging eyes is off me.

“I don’t disagree, but it was bold given the circumstances,” the Lord remarks, and I start to see where his daughter gets her attitude from. Aileen steps closer and puts her hand on my arm.

“I think you did the right thing. I only wish I was brave enough.”

“It was stupid and reckless. Do you have a death wish?” Wilson fumes, and I round on him with raised eyebrows. He’s never spoken to me like that before. Seeing my expression, he softens a bit, closing the distance between us and lowering his voice so he’s just speaking to me. “I promised Grayson I would keep you safe, I can’t do that if you keep pulling stunts like that.”

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