Page 88 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

I pause in my stretching and look over at him in surprise. “You get them?”

“Every night,” he replies with a slight nod, his face grave now. I feel bad for bringing it up, I hate seeing his face like that.

Wait, when did I start having feelings like that for an elf?I question, realising I would be upset if anything happened to him.Are we friends?That is a startling revelation. Sitting back on the hard floor, I frown as I try to work through my thoughts. Why is the prospect of being friends with the elf bad? Because he is supposed to be my enemy? Down here, when I am as much of a prisoner as he is, things like race don’t seem to be important anymore. I’m very aware he is dangerous, but I’m not afraid of him anymore.Not to mention he could have left without you as soon as you broke the spell on those cuffs, but he didn’t. He’s waiting for you.I reach up and rub at the ache in my chest, blowing out a pent-up breath and wishing my life hadn’t become so complicated.

“When are we leaving?” he queries, as if he can sense my thoughts. “It’s getting harder for me to pretend that I don’t have magic, it gets stronger every day.”

Guilt rolls through me again. I know I can’t keep making him wait, it’s not fair, but something is holding me back, I just wish I knew what it was.

“Soon. Something big is coming, I canfeelit.” That is the only way I can think to explain it, and I don’t expect him to understand—barely do. “I promise.”

The heavy pause between us is thick with tension, and I expect him to put up a fight, but he just nods and goes back to his work. Letting out a deep breath, I return to cleaning the floors, looking up and watching him occasionally. I enjoy seeing him work, the way the light from the fire glistens off his muscled back. He’s scarred in places, and his tattoos cover large swathes of skin.

I want to trace those tattoos with my tongue.I startle myself with that thought and drop my brush in surprise. I’ve never had thoughts like that before, especially not about Vaeril.Is that such a bad thing?A hot blush covers my cheeks and I duck my head, focusing on the spot of dirt I’m struggling to remove.

The next couple of hours pass in silence, and as the guards mete out my daily beating, our eyes meet and I see the heavy, knowing look Vaeril gives me.

Soon. We will escape soon.

“I don’t know how much longer we can keep it up,” Jayne tells me, as she helps me into my evening gown. I know what she’s saying, that we won’t be able to aid many more servants and their children.

“I know,” is all I say in reply, feeling sick to my stomach that I can’t do more.

The guards have already rounded up a few children to be slaves, and I’ve overheard ladies talking about some of their older friends who have the awful decision to make regarding which child will to go to the kingdom. I wish I could help them all, both the children of the servantsandthe nobility, but I just don’t trust that the nobility wouldn’t turn me in out of loyalty.

“I heard a rumour in the kitchens that several servants and their families have disappeared,” Jayne says quietly. We are being more careful with our words, even in my own rooms, as there are ears everywhere. “They say they are just disappearing in the night, and that the guards are patrolling the hallways and security has been upped. For our own protection of course,” she continues, brushing my magicked golden locks and pulling them back with a sapphire pin.

“Of course,” I respond, watching her through the mirror, exchanging a look.

A knock at the door pulls her attention away and she goes to answer it. Taking in my reflection, I stand and straighten the skirts on my dark blue dress. The dress itself is quite plain, a simple style apart from the beautiful golden detailing on the band that cinches in my waist.

Hearing Wilson’s voice, I leave my room and see that his usual bright smile is tight, and standing just behind him in the doorway is Aileen. She looks beautiful in her blue and green dress, her auburn hair tumbling down her back, but her gaze is weary and I don’t miss the dark marks under her eyes that she’s tried to hide with makeup.

“Aileen, I hadn’t expected to see you here,” I greet with a confused smile. I don’t usually see her until we meet in the hall, so something must have happened for her to be here with Wilson.

“Yes, Wilson is going to escort both of us tonight. My father refused to come, we had a big fight.” For a second, I think she’s going to cry, but she shakes her head and takes a deep breath, smiling at me. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not!” Walking over to her, I reach out and take her hand, squeezing it in my own. I know how close she is with her father, and for him not to be here with her tonight must be hard. Giving me a grateful smile, she squeezes my hand back.

“Right, ladies, let’s get this over with,” Wilson announces, offering us each an arm, which we take before exiting the room with a quick goodbye to Jayne.

We walk in silence, and the closer we get to the hall, the tenser the atmosphere between us grows. As we leave the residential part of the castle, we come across a servant whose eyes widen when she sees me. Hurrying out of the way, she falls to her knees and bows her head.

“Beloved,” she murmurs reverently as we pass. This has been happening more frequently, and I don’t know where it has come from.What is Jayne telling them? They are treating me like royalty.I can feel the surprise of the others, but they hold their tongues until we pass the servant.

“What was that about?” Aileen asks quietly, her eyes wide.

“I did something to help a couple of servants, and now some of them do this,” I answer vaguely. It makes me uncomfortable, both what the servants are doing and that I can’t tell Wilson what’s going on. He knows something is happening, but Ineedhim to be safe.

The look she gives me tells me she knows I’m not telling the whole truth, but she nods and faces forward again as we continue onward.

Entering the hall, I note that it looks the same as it has the last few nights, but the atmosphere is different. Everyone seems to be on edge, sipping wine as they gaze around nervously. Weget quite a few looks as Wilson guides the two of us in and leads us over to one of the corners where we will have more privacy. We must be later than usual, because just as we start to look around, the steward bangs his cane and announces the king and the princes, Rhydian and Michael. Still no Jacob. I’ve not seen him in over a week now and it’s worrying me.

Once the royals are settled, the musicians start playing and couples drift into the centre of the room to dance.

The evening goes as all the others have, several lords I have met over the last few evenings come over to greet us, making small talk to fill the time. I’m sipping from my glass when Aileen’s eyes go wide and Wilson steps closer to me as a shadow falls over us.

“Your Highness,” Aileen says quickly, dipping into a curtsy. My breath catches in my chest as I turn to see who is behind me—Rhydian. Following Aileen’s example, I quickly drop into a curtsy.

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