Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,76
“He sent a messenger to the guild. We were already on the way here, but we have a mage who can communicate mind to mind, whom we left at the guild for such purposes. He immediately contacted me and informed us of the message.”
I raise my eyebrows. Being able to communicate mind to mind is a useful skill. Even with my mates, I can’t have conversations via our bonds, we can only sense each other’s emotions, so I’m amazed by this revelation. “Can you trust the mage?”
“What did the message say?” one of the chiefs, Erik, asks at the same time. I glance over at him, and we share a small nod. I don’t blame him for wanting to know. As soon as I broke the news to the chiefs last night that the king had a message for me, they had been trying to guess what he wanted. I’m surprised they had managed to wait this long before asking.
Merrin glances between the two of us, settling his gaze first on me. “I trust him implicitly. I trained him myself,” he reassures me with a small smile. Turning to the chiefs, he nods at Erik, but his expression is much more serious as he purses his lips, as if trying to decide how to phrase something. With a sigh, he looks to the youngest mage. “Grayson, why don’t you explain what the message said.”
There’s a quiet muttering around the clearing as the chiefs discuss why Merrin wouldn’t want to tell us himself. I even hear Ragnar suggest it’s because they are trying to deceive us, but I know the true reason. This message is aimed at me, and the high mage believes it will be best coming from my mate, someone I love and trust. Given the anger and dread emanating from Grayson’s end of the bond, I’m not looking forward to hearing what the king has to say.
Stepping away from the other mages, Grayson closes the gap between us, his eyes locking on my face. He stops a couple of steps away, aware of the elf at my side and the many sets of eyes keenly watching our every move. “The king has formally invited you and your…escorts to attend a ball in Arhaven.”
Whatever I had been expecting from the King of Arhaven, that had not been it. He wants me to attend a ball? My brain tries to make sense of the logic behind not only inviting me back, but as a guest to a ball. I’d been expecting an execution warrant or an order to return to face my ‘crimes,’ but once again, he was dressing me in satin and parading me around. The king, it seems, loves to play his games.
“It’s a trap, it has to be,” Vaeril bites out, a slight growl in his voice, his anger barely contained. He knows what returning to Arhaven would do to me, what the thought of returning is already doing to me. A steadying purr reaches me through the bond, and I know he’s trying to calm me, to stop the fine tremble that has taken over my hands. Trying to even my breathing, I ball my hands into fists and blow out a slow breath. I hadn’t even realised I was shaking, and hopefully, no one else had either.
“That’s what we thought at first,” Ellis interjects, shaking his head. “But that’s not all.”
I hadn’t taken my gaze off Grayson, who is looking resigned now as his eyes flick briefly to Vaeril before settling back onto me. “He wants to ally himself with you.”
Vaeril curses loudly in elvish and starts to turn as if to storm away, but he snarls as if remembering where we are and returns to my side. The mages watch him warily, Pierre’s hand glowing softly at his side, but none of them make a move to attack him. Reaching out, I take Vaeril’s hand in mine and send him a single thought down the bond. It seems to break through his anger as he turns to look at me, his feline eyes still narrowed, but he jerks his head in agreement. Whatever happens, we do this together.
Knowing I need more answers, I look back up at Grayson, who is watching us with an odd expression.
“Why? I don’t understand why the king would do that.” I know the queen will eventually turn her forces on the humans, but for the time being, we are her target. Which is why it makes no sense for