Page 101 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

‘When they tried to sell me into wedlock, I fought it.’ She pushed herself closer, dragged down the neck of her dress. At first I saw nothing, till she grabbed me, shoved my head towards her. With my teeth bared, I readied to bite her, grab the ruby – until I saw it. An insignificant blemish on her pearl-white chest. Leaning back, my breath stilled as I took in the black mark, the flecks of bronze surrounded by the darkest lighting strikes.

She had a tattoo of her very own.

I pushed back as she barked out a laugh.

‘I tried to make myself like you. An Anomaly.’ She pulled her dress back, giggling as another wave splashed into the back of her head. ‘But I’ll be honest. It wasn’t as clever as I thought. It did, however, give me the power to poison my family, my vile intended, the servants and all those who thought they could sell me off. Then I sat on the throne, then Yepana’s throne and every throne on my continent. I became an empress. Tell me, Sorrow.’ I swallowed as her voice steadied, her head tilted as she clutched the ruby. ‘Did you spread your legs for Asmar the moment you knew he’d bought you, or did you wait till your wedding night?’

A feral grin lit up her face as I sneered.

‘So, as you see, I may not be one of those blessed, but I still win… whereas you…’ She leapt up as the boat rolled back. My nose wrinkled as the first tendrils of acrid smoke burned the back of my throat. Was Vyrus erupting? ‘You’re going to help me ascend to the next rung of my ladder. Tell me, Asmar. Where is he?’

My forehead scrunched. He? Did she wonder where Matthias was? Or what if she didn’t seek her thrall? What if she sought someone with more power thrumming through his divine veins?

Crooking a finger, she glanced behind her. Through the sheets of rain, two men approached; one a guard, the other a Brother of Vyrus.

‘Remain where you are, brother,’ the empress called as the other man stood by her side. ‘Can you see him, Mrs Asmar? Can you see the brother?’

I raised my chin; her expression lost to me as the tempest clawed. She’d never witness the fear gripping my heart.

She skipped, giggling as she slipped on the soaked deck.

‘This is good.’ She turned to the stony-faced Anomaly next to her. ‘Kill him.’

The second the man turned, the brother clutched his neck. A gush of black spilled down his white smock as he gurgled. Eiriulf cried out, dived out of the way as the brother fell, toppling over the side to be swallowed by the sea. The man, Anomaly, turned back. Even through the piercing strikes of rain, I sensed his stare bore into mine. I grasped my neck, the ghostly whisper of a blade running over my drenched throat.

The empress knelt before me, the rising water covering her knees.

‘And as these waters are simply teeming with diafols, his corpse won’t even make it to the bottom of the sea.’

The shivers tearing through me were nothing to do with the cold seeping into my bones. Her hands splashed as she leaned forward. The vengeful God’s heart, swinging towards me. I swallowed. Memories of those I loved, swarming my mind as the bow rose up, up, figures crying out as the wave carried us. I could give them a chance; the barest hope they could defeat her.

She leaned in closer, and I fought to keep my fractured gaze from the glint of the ruby. ‘So, Mrs Asmar⁠—’

I barely heard her scream as the boat crashed. Her fingers missed the ruby as I stood, lifting it from her neck. Boots slipped, water crashed. Eiriulf lurched, screaming as my boot landed on his knee. I reached the side, slick fingers gripped and⁠—

Hands wrapped around my neck, throwing me back onto the sodden deck. I groaned, blinking up as the empress descended on me.

‘Bitch,’ she screeched, her voice breaking. Each word matched with a strike to my shattered jaw. ‘Dare! How dare you. If I didn’t need your fucking blood, I’d damn you.’

I clung to the chain. Her heel slammed into my nose and I cried as she dragged the ruby from my fingers. I should have gone, I thought as I no longer knew if it was blood, tears or rain drenching my face. If only I’d gone…

The empress continued to rage. Her screams, raw and putrid, poisoned the dawn as the sea stilled and fractured rays of light shivered as they broke through swollen clouds. A flurry of activity as the boat stilled told me we’d arrived at her destination. Heaving in a broken breath, I lifted my throbbing head, wincing against the light.

A dark pier stuck out from the rocky isle where I should have died months ago. Pushing back the sodden strands of my hair, I set my shaky gaze ahead, to where Mount Vyrus trembled with rage.

A laugh bubbled up my throat. Even after I’d faced every torture, bested each ordeal, the fates were not content to allow my defiance to go unpunished. A chill struck me. Perhaps Vyrus had cursed me after all. Not a single Tribute had ever defied the Gods and here I was, facing the rupturing volcano once more. As Eiriulf grabbed my sleeve, grunting as I shoved him away, following the empress’s forces onto the ash-strewn pier, I prayed that this time Matthias wouldn’t risk himself to save me.

Though, as I looked over my shoulder, shivering and peering across the now-still waters, I knew my man would forever defy the Gods to find me.

CHAPTER 38

MATTHIAS

I swear, Mercy, this is my last missive. Tomorrow, it’s your duty to take Romero’s hand, become his queen. For the final time, I offer you a choice. If you truly believe your destiny is to stand at his side, then I’ll leave knowing you’re content. But if, as I know, you still harbour a love for me as I love you, join me. We’ll forge a future of our own. He’ll never find us. I’ll protect you till my dying breath. Midnight, Mercy. Meet me at midnight. Your ever-loving Gabe.

​— ​BURNT FRAGMENT OF A LETTER DISCOVERED AMONGST THE JOURNALS OF QUEEN MERCY

I placed my hand on the arm of the trembling God. Muscles ticked in his jaw, nostrils flared as we stood on Drufaera’s black sands, staring across the sea to where the volcano named in his honour lay.