‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ King Romero cut in, frowning at his pages. ‘He’s not the blind one.’
‘I’m not blind.’
‘Not yet.’
Evella save me.
Enfys froze. For a fleeting heartbeat, as her cheeks coloured, I wondered if she’d speak up for me, but she returned to her book, stroking her pendant. I turned away, gripped with despair at being tossed from the custody of one king to another. My fingers twitched, desperate for the wolf’s comfort. If fate wouldn’t provide me with a path to freedom, I’d simply forge my own.
Only, as I gripped the bridge of my nose, I had no idea how to escape my wedding bed.
Pain cleaved my temple. I tumbled forward. The carriage darkened as a veil of midnight swept across my vision. Enfys stilled as I clutched the collar of my plain dress, trying to drag the fabric from my neck. Her voice echoed in my head faintly,and I stretched out my numb hand, desperate to hold her. To ground myself in something real. Focus.
With a grunt, my chest loosened. I dragged in the much-needed air. The veil descended as quickly as it arrived, but shadows and speckles still marred my sight.
‘Sorrow? Sorrow?’ My half-sister’s voice shook. Only she knew the truth. If Romero suspected these pains were more than a mere headache…
With a gasp, I looked up, blinking, as the scarlet carriage swirled into focus. The king had put aside his all-important correspondence, his full attention focused on me.
A cruel smile lit up his face, and I cursed under my breath. He couldn’t know.
‘Sweet, sweet Sorrow.’ He slammed forward and grabbed my chin, scrutinising my face. Instinctively, my fingers dug into his flesh in a vain attempt to prise him away. ‘Whatwasthat? Hmmm?’
‘My eyes…my headaches. I told you.’ I yanked myself free, wincing as the back of my head collided with the wall of the carriage.
‘Really, Sorrow?’ The sharp glint in his eyes told me his curiosity was piqued. ‘A simple headache brought on that impressive display?’
‘Yes.’ I prayed he had no idea how frantically my heart thundered. ‘This…the light here isn’t helping. I’ve been squinting…at Enfys’s book. I get them frequently.’
The king sat back, his eyes never leaving mine. I held his cold gaze.
‘I do wonder, sweet Sorrow, why your sister hasn’t tried to heal you?’ His gaze shifted to Enfys, her knuckles white as she clutched her leather tome. ‘She’s a skilled healer. There’s only a few ailments beyond her gift. The blight’s one. Apparently, it’s agony when all that unused power digs its fangs in. Perhaps weshould take you home? Make sure all is well before we present you.’
‘I’m fine, my liege,’ I interrupted, my mind clamouring for a way out. ‘Thank you for your con?—’
The carriage lurched violently. I slammed into Enfys, and she yelped, dropping her book as we were thrown like rag-dolls to the side. The king flew from his seat. A shower of yellowing pages cascaded over him as he gripped the frame. From beyond, the shouts of the guards pierced the air.
‘To the king!’ The guard’s voice trembled as the carriage staggered to a halt. Judging from the angle we found ourselves in, we’d lost a wheel.
‘Papa?’ Fear laced Enfys’s tone.
Romero struggled to push himself up. ‘It’s fine, my dove. My guards are the finest. Their steeds second to none, and we’ve enough Vyrium to fight off the empress herself.’
For the space of a few heartbeats, the clatter of hooves, the metallic unsheathing of weapons and our rapid breaths were the only sounds. Thick strands of dark hair escaped my braid and with a shaky hand, I tucked them away.
The roar of a diafol rattled the carriage. Enfys whimpered. Her father shuffled himself upright, grabbing his daughter, pulling her in.
I went to draw back the curtain. Perhaps if I could see what attacked us…
‘Touch that door, girl, and I’ll present Vyrus with a corpse,’ Romero snarled. ‘You willnotendanger my daughter.’
My fractured gaze flew up to meet the king’s. Enfys buried her head into the crook of her father’s neck. She was his little girl again.
The king’s usually immaculate hair stuck to his sweat-streaked forehead. The fingers of my outstretched hand twitched.
His eyes widened. ‘Girl, heed me. This is no time for defiance.’
The air around us vibrated with the diafol’s desperate screeches. Its hunger slammed into me like a crack of thunder, and I gasped. There was no way of telling what form the raging creature had taken before the Vyrium had worked its way into the beast’s veins, but by the way its roar rattled the carriage, it must have been huge. My heart raced as a whisper of possibility glimmered in the darkness.
