Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,146

battle cry, and I’m sure a part of him is enjoying being able to fight to protect me.

At one point, I hear a cheer go up through the city. “The sea elves are coming!” That must have been what Speaker Beck had been signalling with the shell around his neck.

I don’t know how long we fight for, it seems like hours, but we don’t leave the square, dismembering the forsaken and throwing their corpses on the ever-growing fire. Eldrin’s training pays off, my movements almost coming naturally. My staff feels like an extension of my arms as I spin and whirl, working together with my mates to take down our foes. Like this, it doesn’t matter who is an elf, mage, or tribesman. In this square, our differences don’t matter because we all fight for the same thing.

“Clarissa.”

The voice makes me stumble. It sounded like a child. Why would a child be here, and how would they know my name? Spinning in a circle, my breath coming in exhausted pants, I look for the source of the voice. More forsaken are filling the square, blocking the exits, but they make no move to come any closer.

That’s when I spot her.

My stomach drops. “Oh, no,” I whisper brokenly as I stare at the little girl who’s clearly a forsaken. She’s dressed in the shift the slaves wear, and even from here, I can see the angry red welt of a healing slave brand on her wrist. She can’t be any older than eight, the same age I was when I was turned into a slave, and I realise this was all part of the plan. We’ve been separated from the army, and they knew they wouldn’t be able to get me away from my mates easily, so they’ve found the one thing they knew would be sure to hurt me.

“Clarissa,” the girl calls, her voice chilling as she tilts her head to one side and watches me with those dead eyes. All of a sudden, as if by some unspoken command, the forsaken who are fighting us step back, dropping their weapons, their bodies going completely still. Confused, my mates retreat, moving closer to me, their eyes landing on the girl as they assess her as the new threat.

The girl ignores them, her gaze locked on me, and I get the impression the queen is viewing me through her. “Come with me if you want me and my friends to survive, and come alone, or I’ll order for your friends to be killed.” The light, almost playful way it’s said doesn’t fit with the dreadful words that come from her mouth, and I want to scream.

“Don’t do it, she’ll kill us either way,” Eldrin snarls, gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly, I can see the whites of his knuckles. He’s pacing in front of me, and I know he’s close to losing control.

A pulse of magic to my left makes me glance over at my mage. Grayson doesn’t look good, his face is ashen, his pupils are wide, and his magic seems to pulse around him. I’m pretty sure he’s close to going into euisa, and me leaving may be the final thing that causes him to lose the battle, pushing him over that line. Magicians in euisa are lethal. Feeling my gaze, he turns his attention to me. “If you go with her, we can’t protect you.”

I know this is a trap, I’m not naïve. This has all been devised by the queen to get me alone and away from my mates. However, I have the Mother behind me, and I have four mates who will fight until their last breath to get to me. She hasn’t factored in their loyalty because she doesn’t understand it, she’s never had that sort of devotion. She’s destroyed too many lives and ruined this land for too long. Something also tells me the king will be with her. Prince Rhydian’s new dark powers are too similar for it to be a coincidence. It’s all linked, and I intend to find out how. This ends today.

Stepping forward, I place my hands on Grayson’s and Eldrin’s arms, the two closest to me, glancing at each of them. “I have to end this. I have to try and save them,” I beseech, praying they understand. One way or another, the queen will find a way to force me to see her, and I would rather go on my terms. Fighting tears, I push them