Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,151

actions were truly hers, and which were warped by the darkness.

“Who?” I whisper, fear constricting my chest, making it hard to breathe.

“Jos.” The queen’s smile turns into a proud grin as I stumble back a step.

The Mother’s presence fills me, and her devastation at the news takes my breath away. My brother. Her words fill my mind, confirming my alarm. The god of death.

Why would the God of Death have returned to Morrowmer, and why would he lend his powers to the elf queen? My mind spins, unable to piece the puzzle together, my fear of Jos making my limbs quake. Had he been in my mind?

Be calm, beloved, this is only a fragment of him, she soothes. Had Jos truly been in your mind, you wouldn’t be alive, the Mother continues, but I suddenly don’t feel so comforted. I had my suspicions that one of my siblings was involved, but I never thought… She trails off, and I use the silence to steady my breathing.

The silent conversation has only taken seconds, and the queen is still staring at me with her manic grin. Now that I know her mind has been distorted by a dark god, part of me feels sorry for her. She’s still done atrocious things, but all she wants is to be loved, and on some level, I can understand that.

He’s using her, there is no way for her to become a goddess, the Mother whispers with a hint of sadness. She projects a plan into my mind, and I know what I need to do. Taking a deep, calming breath, I step forward, right up to the wall of slaves.

When I meet the queen’s smug smile, I start to speak. “You realise he’s using you, right?” I don’t know what she expected me to say, but it obviously wasn’t this. Her face twists in anger, but I’m not done yet. “You will never be a goddess. He’s using you as a vessel to destroy the Mother’s land and her people.” I always thought I’d enjoy saying this, but I don’t. All I see is a sad, bitter woman who’s grasping at any power she can.

When her features shift into something monstrous, I have to fight the urge to step back. “You’re wrong.”

“You know I’m not.” Shaking my head, I gesture towards her, raising my eyebrows as I implore her to acknowledge the truth. “You’ve felt it, haven’t you? The loss of control?” The tic in her jaw gives her away, and a slight flicker of doubt flashes in her eyes. Perhaps I can get through to her after all. “He’s using you!”

A ripple of power seems to roll over the queen, her eyes suddenly going entirely black, and I know I’ve lost her. Jos is in control now.

“That’s enough.” Her voice is calmer, but there’s power behind it and a bite that says it’s used to being obeyed. Her ladies-in-waiting flinch at the change in her tone, obviously recognising the difference in personality. “Submit to me, or I’ll track down your mates and turn them in front of you.”

Fear like nothing I’ve ever felt before surges through me as I step across the gap she’s created. I know realistically if she’s not stopped, then everyone will be at risk, including my mates, but the rational part of my brain isn’t working right now. Besides, for what I have in mind, I need to get close enough to touch her.

I’m stopped just before I reach her as two bolts of darkness appear from nowhere, roughly pulling me to the ground and forcing me to kneel before her. Laughing maniacally, the queen strides up to me with a sneer.

“Time to accept your fate, Clarissa.” The queen slams her hands onto my shoulders with an evil gleam in her eyes.

Her power surges into me, the black, evil, wrongness of the magic flooding my veins. At the same time, I open myself to the Great Mother, allowing her to enter my body. Light so bright it blinds me shines from my goddess mark, and the queen shouts in surprise as she closes her eyes against the beam. I clamp my hands around the queen’s wrists, and her eyes snap open as she stares sharply down at where I’m now gripping her. The goddess unleashes her power, forcing it through me and into the queen, fighting against that of her brother’s—death versus love, our bodies the battlefields.

Around me, I’m vaguely aware of the ground shaking as the forest comes alive.