He jumped down as more hazy faces appeared around us, and for a few moments I stood, not sure where to look, as shoulders were slapped and guards embraced their king and captain.
Pablo hopped off into the dunes, towards the smell of sizzling bacon, closely followed by indignant shouts.
‘Shall we eat?’ Glesni said, hoisting up her skirts and groaning as she shifted her stiff legs into the dunes. ‘Before that bloody wolf eats it all.’
Though I’d eaten my fill, my stomach twisted uncomfortably as I took in the soldiers hiding in the dunes. At the most, there were two hundred of them. The rest were spread out, on Ifan’s orders, supposedly defending the coast, when the real threat had come from inland. Two hundred guards against the might of Romero, with the whole Shuteran continent bending to his will. I shuddered despite the warmth of the rising sun.
Glesni took a large swig of the bitter coffee, whispering something in a young guard’s ear. He spat his drink into the flames, choking with laughter, cheeks red. I grinned as Pab’sshaggy head appeared round the guard’s side, lifting a huge chunk of still steaming bacon and gulping it down.
Matthias and Asher sat side by side, heads bowed, and my heart skipped a beat as my husband tucked the hem of his tattered shirt into his breeches. Asher’s hand rested on Skye’s knee, who feigned interest while Enfys read my sister-in-law her favourite passages fromThe Prophecies.
As my sister’s lilting voice carried over the gentle crackling of the dying fire and the call of the gulls, my heart swelled at the sight of them. This mismatched group who’d stand by each other till the end, and I swallowed hard.
I focused on the shuddering flames, blinking away the tears and rubbing at my ever-throbbing head. I didn’t want to leave them. Suddenly, the desire to survive overwhelmed me. For years, I’d run, hidden away, in the misguided belief I was keeping those I loved safe. Safe from what lurked in my veins. I’d denied myself love, friendship. All because I feared my gifts. Harnessing one side of my blessing gave me the ability to protect myself. Help others. The time had come to shake off the past. To face both Evella’s gifts. Embrace them and become their master.
Glesni chuckled away to herself as a rather confused guard searched for the bacon he couldn’t recall eating.
She was right. Damn woman was always right. No matter how my pulse spiked at the thought of finally unleashing the purple threads, these people needed me.
And I needed them.
I laughed as the guard finally worked out what had happened, bravely diving after Pablo. Above us, the gulls screeched at the sudden interruption.
‘Glesni?’ The old woman’s head turned my way, and I steeled my spine. ‘Glesni, I need?—’
The guard cried. ‘My ankle!’
Gods, I hoped Pablo hadn’t bit him. The camp laughed.
‘I’ll fix him.’ Enfys strode past, a ghost of a smile on her lips, before hoisting herself through the grassy dunes.
‘What do you want, girl?’ Glesni hobbled towards me, a knowing glint in her eyes.
‘Training,’ I replied.
She raised a brow.
‘So I can balance my gifts. So I can…’
I stared above us. Narrowing my eyes as the gulls converged, turning the sky into a swirling, screaming grey cloud. I clutched my chest as their panic flooded me.
‘ASMAR!’
The whole camp spun towards the cry, swords unsheathed. All aimed at King Romero of Drufaera, standing at the crest of the dunes.
I shielded my eyes against the sun, gasping as the guard next to him came into focus. A guard holding a knife to the throat of my struggling sister.
CHAPTER 42
Yes, that’s them. The Villente family. One where being an Anomaly is hereditary. I’ve been itching to study them for years. Apparently it’s not ‘ethical’. I can’t thank you enough for offering your stepdaughter for my experiments!
— LETTER FROM DISGRACED MENTOR, SIR MACKLEBY, TO KINGROMEROIV
‘So we’re adding kidnapping princesses to your never-ending list of crimes, Asmar,’ Romero said.
I narrowed my blurry gaze. His usually neat hair billowed in the sea breeze, the sky darkening like a bruise behind him.
Bile rose up my throat. His smug smile briefly slithered into focus. Enfys struggled as the long black cloak of her father swelled over his dark suit. Romero’s guards peered over the dunes.
