Page 54 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

Mother stood in the doorway as the diafol thundered towards us. My grin widened as Raine shook their head; dark blood trickled on their pale brow.

The diafol roared when a vision swept through my mind. Sorrow, her brown eyes and her fierce heart. If she learnt I’d left someone to die?

‘Shit.’

The ground shuddered as the diafol slammed its paws into the encroaching mist. I grasped Raine, dragged them, almost slamming into Sacha and another who’d risked their lives to save their leader. With each of us grasping them, we raced to the entrance. The door slamming behind us as Mother grabbed Raine, her other hand settling on my stubbled jaw.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered as Raine wrapped their arms around her.

I wondered if Mother noted how strained my smile was? Did she notice how my fingers flexed as they sought a dagger I didn’t wear. A dagger I wanted to stab into her lover’s back over and over till I’d drained them of their blood.

I closed my eyes, praying no one noticed how the poison flooded the King of Asmar’s mind. How his thoughts were as tainted as the diafol scraping its claws down the door, as his tattoos seeped toxins through his cursed bloodstream.

I was running out of time to get this poison out of me.

CHAPTER 21

SORROW

I still maintain that redacting these verses from your Chronicles, denying your subjects the Histories of the lesser Gods can lead to a rise in suspicion and hostility. Imagine a whole nation, a whole continent of people unaware of the great psalms! One day it will all unravel, you mark my words!

​— ​MOTHER VEERA, HOLDER OF ENJA’S SECRETS

My skin prickled as I peered into the amber glow of lights, the hazy outline of an imposing building blooming through the gloom as our horses approached. I sat straighter, my heart thundering. If this was The Void, then where were the rebels?

‘Just to remind you, sweetheart, the moment you step through that door, I’ve upheld my side of things. I just need a quick… look around, then we say goodbye and you—’ Fucks sake, the bottle was already back in hand. ‘You do your queenly stuff.’

No. My blood rang at the thought of him disappearing. Gaining an alliance, begrudging as it would be, with the rebels had been my mission from the start. I’d no option other than to enter, negotiate with a group of people who despised Elmswoods. But I needed the God more. The rebels may be another weapon in our armoury, but Vyrus could be the empress’s ruin. He’d help me balance. He was Matthias’s salvation, and damn if I wasn’t prepared to wage war with a God to give my husband a chance.

But if he was still determined to force me to do the impossible?

We dismounted and I left my horse, gripped Vyrus’s arm, clinging on. Taking another swig, he raised his brow. I opened my mouth, unsure of my argument, but refusing to let him go. Was that… steam? Steam coming from⁠—

‘Ah,’ I screamed, clutching my burnt hand, tears prickling the back of my eyes. He gripped me, spread his healing through me as he leaned in so close the hairs on my nape rose up.

‘Do not try to make me stay, wolf queen. I despise mortals. I’m only here to get a look around and then move on to the next place.’ He moved back, waved his bottle. ‘Unless…’

I removed his hand, snorted and did my best to look down on a God who towered over me.

‘Some God,’ I said, a thrill of pleasure running through me to see the flash of anger in his dark eyes. ‘You need a mortal to find your own heart. Imagine what I could do once we’ve dealt with the empress?’ I placed the sweetest smile on my face as the God’s lip curled. ‘The all-powerful V⁠—’

He gripped my wrist, twisting, and for once, Pab’s hackles rose, a deep growl thundering through him. Vyrus let go, raising a brow at the snarling wolf.

Boots crunched as figures approached. Rebels. I only had a few moments to plead my case.

I glared at him as he rolled out his broad shoulders, his shaggy hair billowing. God or not, there was no way I’d let him leave me. This time, I leaned in. A spark of satisfaction lit within at his sneer.

‘Perhaps.’ I closed the gap. ‘Perhaps if you helped a mortal? Actually did some good, it might just put you in your lost lady love’s good books.’

A normal human would have soiled themselves with the look he gave me. But I had a history of despising the word no.

‘Fine.’ My heart raced as the rebels approached. I was running out of time to keep the God close. ‘A compromise. Please. I can’t find your heart if I’m dead. Heal my husband. Destroy the empress and I’ll tear Eusis apart for you.’

‘You’ve got some nerve, sweetheart. But my deal won’t change,’ he said, his shoulders slumping. ‘Just need my…’

‘Then I’ll find it. I found a lost Vyrium mine, I can find your heart.’ The Insurgence was almost upon us when I saw the slightest twinge of his lips. ‘A deal with a God.’

I thrust my hand out, gasping as he grasped it, stars sparking from where our hands joined.