Matthias laughed darkly at Glesni’s tirade, running his hand down his face. ‘Do you know, Gles, I think I’ll quote that in my response.’
‘You’re not going to do it, are you?’ Skye crumpled the letter in her hand, turning to the flickering fire as though she wanted nothing more than to throw it into the flames.
Matthias closed his eyes. His fingers squeezed mine before he stood. ‘I-I feel I’m being backed against a wall and the wolves are closing in.’
Pab lifted his head from the rug where he lay and whined.
Matthias snorted. ‘See? Literal wolves as well as proverbial.’
I traced his blurry outline. The slump of his normally strong shoulders, the sunken eyes, the shirt that never seemed to stay tucked into his trousers. He paced back and forth, his hands flinching at his sides. The weight of my husband’s woes dragging my heart lower. He continued to bear the burden on his own shoulders. Shattering under the magnitude of all he faced. It was bad enough the empress hovered on his borders, waiting to strike from the sea, but now Matthias had Romero to deal with,too. And after Matthias had given Romero a seat on his council in return for our marriage, he could no longer rely on those who should guide him. Rage ran through me at the thought of that bastard using this crisis to fuel his power-crazed quest for an empire of his own.
‘Luckily for you, I’ve a way with wolves,’ I said, standing and walking towards him. I took his hands and forced him to stop, to look at me through his red-tinged eyes. When had he last slept?
‘The thought of you being hurt again, Sorrow. I can’t take it but I-I don’t know how to deal with this any more. I’m out of my depth with…’
My heart stuttered as his voice broke. I wanted to pull him close, wrap my arms about him and tell him we’d solve this. Without any new stores of Vyrium and the other kingdoms quaking under Romero’s silent coup, I wasn’t prepared to promise him false statements.
Asher jumped from the table, his long braids flying behind him as he came to stand next to his king.
‘Then for the love of Evella, stop taking this all on by yourself,’ he said, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
‘But if any of you get hurt…’
‘Matthias Elmswood,’ I said, my tone stern, ‘those shoulders can’t take much more. Let us help. Wewantto help. If we don’t stop Romero, if we let the empress win, then wewillget hurt. Lots of people will or worse. For once, share the burden, Elmswood.’
Glesni chuckled as the others agreed. ‘I’ve always liked that girl. She’s right. One of your father’s biggest mistakes was taking the responsibility for the rebellion alone. He paid the price while others, King twatting Cai included, got away without paying a single coin. You’re a good man, Matthias, a good king, so let us help you keep that throne of yours.’
‘How?’ He threw his hands in the air; his Adam’s apple bobbed as he worked out what to say.
We exchanged frantic looks. Crossing my arms before me, I gazed at the flickering flames of the hearth. The barriers before us seemed to multiply and grow by the hour; the race to discover Vyrium, the empress and now Romero with his dreams of an empire. And then there was me. The corruption slithering under my skin. I shuddered as Matthias dragged a hand through his dishevelled hair. I couldn’t tell him. How could I add yet another heavy burden to his already juddering pile of woes?
I traced the flicker of the dancing flames while the talk turned to where they could place guards, who they might rely upon as an ally, what they could trade or barter for support.
As a child, I’d been forced to read the Treaty of Alliance and write a detailed essay about its economic and social implications. I’d had a keen interest in history (I still did) and my tutor had taken my interest as an invitation to bore me rigid with the most dull, uninspiring topics imaginable.
Pablo scratched and yawned. He glared at me as though he could read my thoughts and had little desire to go there. He stretched out his front legs before standing and padding out of the library.
‘Do you happen to have a copy of the original treaty?’
They all glanced my way from their soft velvet chairs, heads huddled together.
‘This is a royal library, Sorrow,’ Matthias replied. ‘Of course I have a copy.’
‘Have you read it?’
I couldn’t read his expression from this distance; his snort of derision told me all I needed to know.
‘Sorrow, we spent countless hours together growing up. Did you ever once see me with a book?’
I smirked. ‘Yes. But if I remember rightly it was because it had pictures of very naked women in it.’
Asher and Glesni roared with laughter. Keya approached. ‘Why, Sorrow?’ she asked.
‘Because Ihaveread it, and if I remember correctly, they can’t take your throne by force; not unless you’ve caused actual and deliberate harm to The Alliance. I’d need the correct sections, but if…’ I inhaled deeply. There was so much at stake. I’d never achieve our aims if I took on yet another task alone. ‘If someone helps me to read the text and write the response. You’re the only one fightingforThe Alliance. I think we could stop them. I think we can turn this back on Romero. The one trying to destroy it.’
‘Really?’ Matthias approached.
I smiled at the glimmer of hope sparking in his eyes.
