Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,113
reality of what he’s told us settles over me. “You took away her name.” Horror sinks like a lead weight inside me as I realise I may never learn my mother’s name. That horror quickly turns to anger. He took away a part of her that he had no right to, wiped it away like it was nothing. “You took away my name, my memories.” Taking a step towards the king, I bare my teeth in a snarl. “Give. Them. Back.”
The king laughs again, only stirring up my anger even more. “I can’t, some are hard to wipe, but once they’re gone, they are gone for good,” he replies, spreading his arms wide in a ‘what can you do?’ gesture.
Marching forward until only the desk separates us, I channel my inner elf, baring my teeth as I brace my hands on the wood, leaning forward as I snarl. “You’ve done all of that to me, to my mother. Then you beat my brother and used him as leverage against me.” It’s my turn to laugh, but there’s no humour in it. “You disgust me.” My voice lowers as my fae side rises to the surface, feeling the need to protect and fight. “You separated our family, and you expect me to ally myself with you?”
The smile has vanished from the king’s face, but he looks like he almost expected this outcome. Nodding slowly, he places the glass on the desk. “You don’t have much of a choice, my dear,” he drawls, gesturing to Jacob. “Your beloved brother is dying, poisoned with—”
Jacob stands with Samson’s assistance, cutting off the king’s words. Running my eyes over Jacob, I notice he still looks pale and bruised, obviously beaten, but he’s much stronger than before as he glares at his father. I glance at Samson, and he gives me the slightest nod of his head, so I know he’s been healed. Not completely, but enough to get him out of here alive. Turning back to the king, I meet his hateful stare. “I ask again. Why would I ally myself with you?”
“You will never get out of here alive.” All pretence of friendliness is gone, and I’m glad for it. I can finally see the snake he is under the act. “I have hundreds of soldiers. You have no choice,” he sneers as he leans over the desk, our faces so close they almost touch. I used to fear this man, but now I see a flicker of terror in his eyes, and I know it’s because he realises I’m going to walk out that door and take my army and his only hope of salvation with me. As we stare at each other, eye to eye, I stop snarling and the corner of my mouth twitches up.
“I think you greatly underestimated me. You always have, and that will be your greatest downfall.” I keep my tone even. He disguises his reaction quickly with one of scepticism, but I didn’t miss the flicker of unease that passed over his face. “One day, all of the slaves, the beaten and downtrodden that you overlook and treat so badly, will band together, and when we do, we will come for you,” I promise, my wrist glowing as the presence of the Great Mother settles over me. His eyes flick down and lock onto my mark. He freezes in place, but I’m not finished yet. “On that day, you better hide, because I think you’ll find that there are so many more of us than there are of you.”
Pushing away from the desk, I hurry to Jacob’s side, wrapping my arm around him. “Let’s get out of here.” The three of us hurry to the opening in the wall and back out into the dark corridor Samson and I had entered through, leaving the stunned king in our wake.
Squinting against the bright lights of the ballroom, the three of us exit the secret corridor, closing the door behind us. I just want to get back to the safety of my mates and our people without attracting any attention, but the king must have had a contingency plan in place. A row of five armed soldiers block the walkway between the wall and the rear of the dais, the high backs of the thrones obstructing the view of the ballroom, stopping anyone from seeing us. Right now, those soldiers are blocking our path to safety. As soon as they see us half dragging a bedraggled, pale, and obviously