I knocked over a servant and smashed my hip into a side table I hadn’t seen as I raced through the corridors, clinging to Pablo. My heart thundered in time to my footsteps as we searched for Matthias.
We had a site! It could still be nothing, but if it was what I’d been looking for…
Pablo tugged me down dimly lit corridors I hadn’t seen before, yet I fought the urge to slow down. I was desperate to tell Matthias. At least the subdued light didn’t trigger any more pains in my head.
The sounds and smells suggested we were approaching the kitchens, and my stomach grumbled. Male laughter carried over the clanging pans and chopping knives, and I couldn’t fight back the smile as Matthias’s dark chuckle, the one I loved so much, sounded from behind a door.
Pab dragged me through, my pulse spiking at the thought of sharing the news, and then?—
Oh Gods! Matthias and Ifan stood right before me, minus their shirts, while Asher peered at the prince’s back.
‘Sorrow?’
At least I could put my red cheeks down to rushing through the corridors. How I’d explain my suddenly dry mouth and wide eyes was another matter. I tried not to stare, but the slender toned planes of his coppery chest were apparently calling me. I narrowed my eyes at Ifan, turning my attention to him instead. His body was crisscrossed with the tattoos he’d been so defensive about mere weeks ago.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘Ifan has the answer to our prayers,’ Matthias said, linking his warm fingers with mine, sparking a thrill that raced through my veins.
‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that,’ Asher said, leaning against a long cupboard, the door creaking against his frame.
Ifan turned his massive body. He was almost twice the size of his older brother. The tattoos weren’t random. They resembled the strange symbols people used when first writing down the histories of the Gods, thousands of years ago. My excitement waned as I stared. How could those tattoos be the answer to our prayers?
I bent closer, reaching out my fingers. ‘May I?’
Ifan grunted his consent, so I stretched forward. I traced the dark whorls inked onto him. It truly was beautiful and for a moment I wondered what Matthias would look like with the same patterns inked onto him, how it would feel to trace them with a lazy finger, when a glint caught my eye. I cocked my head and bent lower, my breath catching as the bronze flecks glistened within the ink.
‘Vyrium?’ I could barely get the word out. Slowly, I rose as Ifan turned to face me. A cold smile slid onto his face, and the flesh on my arms prickled. ‘How the fuck are you alive?’
‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’
I slid my gaze over to Matthias, suddenly realising why he too stood bare chested.
‘It’s why he fought so well against the rebels or whoever the hell they were.’
‘Which he never mentioned at the time, despite how odd we all found it.’ Asher moved away from the cupboard, his muscles tense.
The smile slid from the prince’s face. ‘And as I told you, I wanted to be completely sure it was safe before suggesting it to Matthias.’
‘Safe!’ They all turned in my direction. ‘You’ve tattooed Vyrium onto your body…intoyour body. An act that no one has ever in the history of Eusis been foolish enough to do. It’s a death sentence. Vyrium can’t be taken. It’ll poison you. In fact, itispoisoning you! You want to shove it on my husband?’
Ifan clenched his fists as he crossed them across his broad chest. Matthias pulled his shirt over his head; the top few buttons were undone and despite how the anger flooded me, I stole another quick peek at the exposed skin that appeared to be calling me.
He clenched his jaw. ‘You saw how Ifan fought?—’
‘And you did perfectly well without poisoning your skin.’
Matthias blew out a long breath and reached out. I shoved him back. How anyone could even consider this madness was beyond comprehension.
The hackles on the wolf’s back rose, his snarl echoing around the room. Ifan sneered at him as Pab padded slowly towards the prince. Matthias reached for me again, this time managing to get a hold on my arms and tugging me closer.
‘It’ll give us an advantage.’
‘Not like this. I’d lose you, Matthias.’
Ifan scoffed. ‘Someone needs to explain to your wife how many threats we face.’
‘Don’t you dare!’ Matthias rounded on his brother.
