Page 5 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

‘Talk like that will get you arrested for treason, Captain.’

‘Well,’ he said, gently tugging my cracked boots off. ‘I’ve half a mind to lock you in your rooms if you’ve developed a taste for wandering these halls with only Pablo to guard you.’

I rubbed the grime across my face, squinting into the chaos.

‘They were from the beach. Loyal to Romero from what I can tell.’ I bristled at the thought of how vulnerable I’d been. How the gifts Evella had blessed me with were failing to balance. ‘I dealt with it just fine.’

‘Actually.’ I glared at the mariner as he swept his hair from his eyes. ‘You have me to thank for that, sweetheart.’

I exhaled, dug my nails into my skirts.

‘You have my thanks…’ I paused. What was his name anyway?

The man nodded before bowing low, half stumbling away.

‘My queen,’ Asher said. I winced at the title, filling my lungs before I corrected him. Asmar hadn’t been my home for over a week now. A usurper sat upon our throne. Walked our hallways. Controlled every movement of the man I called husband. ‘As much as I adore you, that was a rather unique approach to dealing with the situation.’

Pab settled beneath my fingers, slight tremors still rumbling across his muscles.

‘Sorrow…’ Enfys stood, brushed her golden hair from her wide blue eyes. Her throat worked before she spoke. ‘Those guards… they were… they were dead, weren’t they?’

‘If they weren’t before, they certainly are now.’

I forced a smile onto my face, which Enfys failed to return. For a moment, she wrapped her arms around herself, and I knew if I peered closer, I’d see the terror in her eyes.

‘Did…’ She raised her chin, allowed the fledgling queen to rise. ‘Did you lose control?’

My heart pulsed, hammered as she held my gaze. The past neither of us were prepared to face, poised like the purest Vyrium dagger between us.

I steeled my spine as Asher looked between us, no doubt his brows furrowed, locked out of our unspoken secret.

‘Did you fail to notice how I was writhing on the floor in excruciating agony? Of course I lost control, Enfys. How well do you wield your gift while your legs are melting?’

As I blinked, something flashed behind her eyes. We were both far too aware of my lie. Of the shared history we’d never dealt with.

‘Ladies?’ Asher’s curious tone broke the tension.

‘Please escort your queen back to her quarters, Captain.’

Asher nodded before holding out his arm. I shook my head. I’d already failed to fight off my assailants without assistance. I didn’t require help getting around the keep where I’d grown up. Gripping Pablo tighter instead, I chose to walk ahead of him.

‘Sorrow?’ A weak smile lay on Enfys’s lips, her tone laced with softness. ‘We can… We’ll talk. Tomorrow?’

Gods, no. She’d want to talk about the mausoleum. Mama. How could I rip off that scab with everything else I faced? I’d watched Glesni die, been exiled from the only place I’d called home while a monstrosity ruled in my stead. Forced to live in my childhood home of Bronzehold, where those loyal to Romero, those incensed by my very existence, lurked around every corner. And the worst agony of all? My husband, the man I’d opened my heart to, had lied. Deceived me. Again. He was nothing more than a puppet now after choosing to tattoo Vyrium onto his skin.

I placed a wide smile on my face, praying to Evella Enfys didn’t see through it.

‘Of course,’ I said, turning away, half-listening to Asher as he admonished me for leaving my rooms.

Ire rippled across my shoulders. I’d thought I’d mastered my gifts. Allowed myself a moment of reprieve after I’d commanded the dead on Asmar’s beach. I swallowed down the shame. We’d been so intent on fleeing, I hadn’t stopped to witness the impact of my gift. Had the threads really been under my control during the battle?

As Asher delivered me to my door, I wondered if I’d ever grow to be enough without a mentor. Then, I sighed as I realised it wasn’t just a mentor who held the gilded key to learning how to balance two gifts.

The chances of finding a mentor with the right knowledge was as slim as Pab’s ability to talk. I’d need to seek the skills of a fellow Deviant. But those of us who wielded two gifts were rare. Incredibly rare. And the only one I’d ever met was now nothing but food for sea creatures. I could almost hear the anger in Glesni’s tone, picture the thin line of her mouth. Without balance between my two threads, I’d never fully control my gifts. I almost laughed. All that time I’d had a Deviant more than willing to come to my aid and I’d fearfully fought back.

Now I was on my own. And the last time I’d tried to master my gifts that way, hiding between the shelves of Drufaera’s library, I’d nearly succumbed to the blight.

Pab whined, scratching my skirts as he stared at the bed.