Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,144
sense of pleasure, I notice the statue of the queen in the center of the fountain has been destroyed by the wave.
A large fire burns in one corner of the square, and as I watch, several tribesmen drag a still twitching beheaded forsaken towards it, throwing the body into the flames. Standing on the other side of the fire and watching the burning bodies are the war leaders. As soon as my eyes land on Grayson, my heart lightens, and as if he senses it, his head rises and instantly turns to where we’re entering the square. He’s the first to see us, his face lighting up as he makes his way over to me, his movements alerting the others to our arrival.
He touches my cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes telling me how he wants to do so much more, but my mage is more reserved than my other mates. Through the bond, though, it’s a different story. His heart sores at seeing me safe, and he mourns what I had to do for our cause. He is in awe of my strength and bravery, and was terrified for my safety, wishing he wasn’t so tied to his role as a high mage. I’m blown away by the overwhelming wave of sensations, and he seems to sense this, pulling back with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, I was just overwhelmed when I saw you. I’m so glad you’re okay.” He scans my face before taking a step back and examining me for any wounds. “I’ve never been closer to walking away from my duty before.” My eyes widen in shock, not quite believing what I’m hearing. Grayson would never walk away from the guild, but before I can say anything, the others reach us.
“Clarissa!” Revna calls out, a grim smile on her face as she comes to greet me. I understand the look—she’s pleased my plan worked, even though it was grizzly and caused much death. She knows this place meant a lot to me and that destroying it was sure to cause me much emotional pain. The other leaders follow, greeting me with nods of varying warmth. I notice many of them are viewing me more kindly now that I’ve proven myself.
I’m pleased to see Jacob is with them and looking uninjured. In fact, he greets me with a smile and a one-armed hug. “That was pretty impressive, riding in on the back of one of those creatures.” His grin stretches into a grimace as he tries to suppress a shudder. “I don’t know how you did it, they give me the creeps.”
Revna steps up to me and draws me towards the other leaders. My mates stiffen behind me, uncomfortable at being separated, and I agree with them, my body still on high alert.
“You were right,” she praises, and I realise she’s trying to prove a point to the chiefs who doubted the both of us. Usually, I would smile and try to grit my teeth through the posturing, she is family after all, but I don’t have time for this.
Shrugging her arm from my shoulders, I look around the quiet, empty square. I can hear our warriors deeper in the city searching the streets and the sound of the river, but other than that, silence. Not even birds sing overhead. “It’s too quiet, this was too easy.” My tone is agitated, and my body is alive and buzzing, but the chiefs are watching me with sympathetic smiles. “Something isn’t right.”
“That’s just the adrenaline talking, child,” Chief Erik speaks up from the back of the group, and several of them nod in agreement, but I notice a few worried glances. The whole journey here, they were discussing how difficult this battle was going to be, and it was over before it even began, yet they are patting themselves on the back.
“I agree with the beloved,” Speaker Hawthorn interjects, rubbing his arms as he glances around, looking towards the edge of the city where the forest starts. “The trees are restless, something is wrong.” His announcement makes the others nervous, and they share looks, but it just confirms what I was feeling all along. Following the speaker’s gaze, I look into the forest, extending my awareness and feeling…something dark. Confused, I turn to my mates, but Speaker Beck steps forward.
“The sea is not happy, and not just because of the additional water from the river.” He frowns, turning to look towards the crumbling palace. “Something big is coming.”