Page 65 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

‘He’s my brother. You can’t kill him.’

His bushy brows furrowed as Ifan groaned. ‘You… you get he was about to throw you over a cliff?’

‘He’s still my brother.’

Hawk rolled his eyes in a way that reminded me far too much of Sorrow. ‘Fine,’ he said, clicking his fingers. Suddenly, Ifan was curled up on the ground, sleeping the way he used to when he was just a child.

My brows furrowed. Hawk must be an Anomaly. An Anomaly with the power to put people to sleep? Suddenly, I understood Sorrow’s interest.

Cradling my broken hand, I hissed as Hawk grasped my crumpled fingers.

‘She’s…’ I jumped as healing magic flooded from his broad hand, knitting my crushed bones together. Realisation slammed into me harder than Ifan’s fist.

Deviant.

‘She’s looking for you,’ I said.

‘Who is?’

‘Sorrow. She needs you.’

He barked out a laugh, ran his fingers through the tangles of his dark hair, setting his gaze on me. I shivered. Sorrow shared the same withering expression when she dug her heels in.

‘That she does. She won’t be finding me, though.’ He started walking back as I glanced down the valley. I cursed at the chaos where Sorrow fought. I had to get to her. Had to reach her. Had to…

‘She’s fine,’ he said, as though he read my thoughts. Hawk raised a bottle, took a huge swig before offering me some. Nodding, I accepted, relishing the burn of the amber as it spilled down my parched throat. ‘For now. But I think it’s best if you stay here with me, little king.’

Something dark and cruel writhed in my chest at his words. By Evella’s tits, who did this man think he was? Not even Vyrus would keep me from Sorrow. Not now.

‘Screw you,’ I cried, grasping Ifan’s discarded blade and chasing down my wife. ‘I don’t give a shit if you’re a Deviant, I⁠—’

I halted as he leapt before me, his face inches from mine.

‘I’m no Deviant, little king. I helped you as she seems to like you, so do me a favour and stay here.’

‘Damn you.’ I pushed past him, my heart hammering as I raced down the path, skidding, slipping. I didn’t have time to argue. Sorrow was my only concern now.

But even as my boots thundered as hard as my heart, I was still uncertain if I offered her salvation or ruin.

CHAPTER 25

SORROW

Apologies for the tears. I’m home. This time they allowed me to gather all my children together – under Romero’s watchful gaze, of course. Gods, I wished I’d been blessed with the power to halt time. To hold each one, to kiss each forehead and hear each heartbeat. I don’t know how much longer I can bear this torture.

​— ​LETTERS FROM ISBETH TO RAINE BERNARD, DISGRACED EARL AND LEADER OF THE MIDNIGHT INSURGENCE

Pablo’s jaws crushed the throat of the wind Anomaly with a sickening crunch. They deserved their grisly fate after raising Raine to the treetops moments before.

I cursed at the splintered images, desperate to make some sense of whatever was going on. Matthias had failed to raise the alarm. Pablo returned to my side, hackles raised as I called the wolves lurking within the woods to our aid. I didn’t want to think about why Matthias hadn’t warned us. Part of me clung to the belief he’d fallen asleep. Messed up. Even that his allegiance to the empress had turned him traitor. But then another thought wriggled through my mind just as the poison worked through his.

That he was hurt.

That the sickness had overwhelmed him, or he’d been hacked down by a Carushan. That his body lay lifeless on a ledge I couldn’t see.

No, I thought as Pablo answered the howls of the pack bursting through the trees, hauling the empress’s Anomalies to the ground. He can’t be dead. He wouldn’t leave me.

He had far too much to make up for.