Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,18

but I still feel a flash of fear, and for a split second, I want to say no. To push away my responsibilities and the destiny that the Great Mother has planned for me, but I know I can’t do that. I would never be able to live with myself.

So instead, I take a deep breath, draw on the strength of my mates, and nod my head firmly. “I am.”

The whole gathering seems to hold their breath as Revna reaches into the bowl and raises a black covered finger, pressing it against my forehead as she starts to paint my skin, drawing symbols. Once she finishes, she takes my shoulder and turns me so we are facing the fire in the center of the standing stones, and without another word, she begins to walk towards it. I glance at Tor, and he nods his head slightly, so I quickly follow behind Revna, stopping at her side in front of the fire. She’s several paces from it, but even from here I can feel myself burning and the sweat beading on my skin.

“By the seven gods and goddesses of the mountain tribes, do you accept Clarissa into our ranks?” Revna calls out, her voice carrying once again, and I know those watching behind us will be able to hear her, most likely from old magic thanks to the sacred stones. My heart pounds as I look around for whatever it is we’re waiting for—they didn’t tell me about this part of the ceremony. Reaching into the bowl, Revna throws the black powder over the fire, and it instantly triples in size, engulfing us in the flames, but miraculously not burning us. In fact, the flames that lick our skin are cooling and soothe the throbbing cut on my arm from Ragnar. When they finally fade to their usual size, Revna is wearing a large, genuine smile. One that is the smile of an aunt rather than the professional smile of a chief, and it makes my heart flutter in my chest.

“Welcome to the tribes.” Her voice is lowered so I know she’s saying this just for me. Something sparkles in her eyes that I would say is pent-up emotion, but I don’t know her well enough to guess. My eyes well, and a tight feeling in my chest makes me smile awkwardly as I take a step back, putting some distance between us. I have no idea how to react around family, and I’m very aware we’re being watched by many people, some of whom are not keen on me being here in the first place.

Clearing her throat and realising she’s making me uncomfortable, Revna gestures towards the waiting tribes, and I recognise what the noise I could hear in the background was—shouting and cheering. Slowly, we walk through the circle of stones and back towards the waiting chiefs and my mates. Some of the watching tribespeople are punching their fists into the air in triumph, while others are hollering and clapping. I notice the loudest amongst the crowd all seem to be wearing gold pins matching the one on my cloak with a proud golden hawk in mid-flight.

Tor stands with the others, his arms crossed over his chest, wearing the widest grin I’ve ever seen. The pride gleaming in his eyes is on show for all to see, and as I reach him, he opens his arms and pulls me into his embrace. “My mate, so fierce.” His voice is deep, the words rumbling through his chest and into me as he presses a kiss to the top of my head. Pulling back, I look up at him with a grin. I’m not quite sure what has earned this reaction, but I’ll take it. Out of all my mates, Tor makes me feel like the strongest, most capable woman in the world, even when I knew nothing of who or what I was.

“I’ve never seen the gods’ fire accept someone like that before,” a male voice exclaims. Pulling from Tor’s arms, I turn to see the chiefs all staring at me, but it was Erik, the tall, giant-like chief who spoke. Erik and Arne are walking towards me with welcoming smiles, and something settles within me. Perhaps I can find a home here after all.

“Welcome, Clarissa. Come and find me later, and we will discuss the next steps,” Arne, my new chief, says with a nod of his head before the two of them step away. From what I understand,