Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,60

friend to Master Ardeth, unable to even think about what could have happened if he’d been left behind. Blowing out a long breath, I nod as I try to piece everything together. “So how did you come to be here?”

“The land started to change.” Master Ardeth’s face turns grave, and the mood around the bonfire changes. Glancing over, I see that Saril seems to have shrunk in on herself and is leaning against her mate, Taelir wrapping his arm around her tightly. I’ve only ever seen the older elf either looking bored or jolly, but right now, with his mate shaking at his side, he looks fierce.

“I’m friendly with some of the local sea elves,” Ardeth continues. “And they showed me a darkness that was infecting their land, destroying their homes, and turning the cliffs black.” As he speaks, the sorrow in his voice easy to hear, he paints a picture in my mind, and I can almost see the devastation. “I knew we needed to find you, so we visited the wood elves. Only, when we arrived, we found you had already left, and the forest was suffering from the same infliction.”

I stare into the fire as he speaks, watching the flames, something I find myself doing a lot of lately. The darkness, that’s what is killing the land and the forest. In a way, I’m glad things happened the way they did and I never had to see the forest get destroyed by the darkness. I know it’s only a matter of time, that eventually, I’ll have to face it, but it will break a little part of me to see it.

Humming to myself, I pull my gaze from the flames and look around our little group. Vaeril is watching me from across the fire, as are Tor and Eldrin, who are still standing, their arms crossed. Master Ardeth sits quietly next to me, waiting patiently for my questions, his soft gaze on my face.

“You spent time with the sea elves. Is that why they are here? You convinced them?” I’m still not a hundred percent sure about the presence of the sea elves. Are they just making sure Master Ardeth arrived here safely? The wood elves I understand, they were given an ultimatum by the queen and they decided to rebel against her. Their home is dying, they had to leave. What is the motivation for the sea elves? Are they here to fight? I hate that I’m instantly so suspicious of them, but if life has taught me anything, it’s that trust is hard earned.

A hand on my lap pulls me from my spinning mind. Looking from the hand to the face it belongs to, I see a sympathetic expression on Master Ardeth’s face. “They didn’t need convincing, Clarissa.” His voice is earnest as he tries to get me to understand. “They had already heard of the beloved who stepped in and saved one of their own from the tax collector and paid off their debt. They know you work for the goddess. They’ve seen the darkness spreading across the land. They will follow you, Clarissa.”

They don’t even know me, I want to scream. How can they put all their trust in someone they’ve never even met? Whispers and rumours, that’s all they know, and they are risking their lives and the lives of their families.

But they know me, beloved, the Mother whispers into my mind. And that is enough. A great calm sweeps through my body, and I realise she’s right. It’s not me they’re putting their trust in, it’s the goddess. They have travelled at the mention of their goddess to find me. Didn’t I do something similar?

Looking up, I spot Speaker Hawthorn chatting with a group of dark-skinned sea elves. I wonder how they’re going to cope so far away from the water, remembering how uncomfortable the wood elves who travelled up to the mountains were. Can sea elves survive with only fresh water? I know so little about them.

I return my gaze to the elvish couple and the master sitting next to me, and a shaky smile appears on my face as I try to keep my emotions in check. “I’m just so glad you’re here and you’re safe.” The reality of how close they were to being in the city when the attack happened hits me hard. I feel a pair of eyes on me and look over to see Naril watching me from Saril’s side with an odd expression, like