Page 96 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

He nodded towards an orchard, the boughs empty. But there was no sign of the God. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes as I settled my breaths and started towards the naked trees.

‘Don’t suppose I could help?’ I’d almost forgotten Cai was there. I silently cursed once more, truly feeling the absence of the wolf. The old me would have turned him down, probably gone arse over tit as I stubbornly refused any help. But I was a different person now. And I couldn’t find the God alone, just as I couldn’t defeat the empress alone. Smiling, I nodded and we headed into the trees.

Vyrus’s balls. I’d never known Cai to talk so much. I half-wondered if I should warn him about the dangers of oxygen deprivation as he wittered on about Gods know what while we searched for Vyrus. My skin prickled as he started telling me about an apple strudel he’d once eaten when visiting Romero, and I gripped the ruby around my neck. Anything to stop my fists from flying into his face and shutting him up for good. I thanked Evella, realising just how bad the other marriage options could have been.

‘I—’

I swallowed my words as he continued waffling on. The trees grew closer together here, the hubbub of The Alliance lost in the distance, and with my stomach twisting, I knew there was no point carrying on. I’d left it too late. Vyrus had gone.

I raised my voice, my shoulders slumping as Cai’s brow furrowed. ‘Thank you for your help, but we really need to get back. We don’t want to miss the meeting.’

‘Tough shit,’ he said.

For a moment, my mouth hung open. ‘I’m sorry?’

His hands slipped into his pockets as his eyes darkened. ‘I said tough shit, Deviant.’

The smile slid from my face as his grew. I glanced up. My silver threads tugged as the blackbirds and crows flew from branch to branch. Wings fluttering, harsh caws echoing. I backed away from the Trespian king, his breath misting before him. Cai lunged and I stumbled, falling backwards. His coarse hands grabbed my wrists and I cried out as cold metal snapped over me. An emptiness opened up within. My gifts subdued.

Evellum.

I tugged the cuffs, my heart pounding as the crunching of boots grew around me.

‘Twat,’ I cried, slamming my bound fists into his chest. A chest that morphed, curved. I stepped back, blinking furiously as Cai’s features slid from the face I so desperately wanted to punch, till the king no longer stood before me, but a woman. Her short, white hair cropped close to her pale head. Watery eyes stared gleefully into my own.

I’d only ever read about Illusories – Anomalies with the ability to take on another’s form. They were rare. Oh, so rare. Any who emerged were highly prized, often falling into the clutches of the most depraved.

The blood flooded from my veins as a high-pitched giggle carried through the trees, and I turned, my chest cleaving as a woman, thin, pale, her long white hair unbound, skipped between the trees.

She disappeared behind a trunk as her guards strode forward and more Evellum chains encased me.

My chest froze as I glanced around. Where were her other guards? Were they already tearing through The Alliance? What about Matthias? Pablo? I bit my cheek, focused on the pain rather than the panic.

‘Boo!’ The empress cackled as she leapt from behind the tree. A chain wrapped around my neck, my waist. I tried to kick out as it slammed against my ankles.

‘Do you know?’ She bent to the ground, grasped a handful of sodden leaves and flung them into the air, spinning as they cascaded around her. ‘I’ve never been blessed with patience. When I was eight… or was it nine?’ She stood before me, and my heart stuttered as her fingers trailed over the ruby around her neck. I raised my hands, tucking my own under my top while she was still distracted. ‘Anyway, I couldn’t bear waiting. So tedious. What about you, Mrs Asmar?’ She narrowed her brows, peered behind me. ‘Where’s her puppy?’

‘If you lay one finger on him, I’ll⁠—’

‘He’s not here then?’ Her brown eyes widened and I swear tears glistened within.

‘He’s…’ I straightened my shoulders. ‘He’s in The Alliance. And if you hurt⁠—’

The empress pouted before shrugging and brushing down her orange dress with a leather-gloved hand. ‘He’s safe, then. For now. I’ve no desire to face that lot. Not now I have you, Mrs Asmar. I’ll have him. One day. I’m not one for patience, though.’

‘You’ve already said that.’ I raised my chin, gripped my skirts to halt the tremors. At least The Alliance was safe. But why? I may be a Deviant, but why would she be content with a single queen when the opportunity to take over every Shuteran land lay just half a mile from here?

Her brow furrowed. ‘Don’t lie, Mrs Asmar. I can’t abide liars.’

‘Your Imperial Majesty?’ The abbot’s simpering face came into focus as his eyes darted around the tiny space. ‘Perhaps we should leave before her absence is noted.’

Clutching her necklace, she looked over her shoulder to the abbot, sighing loudly.

‘I suppose you’re right. We should⁠—’

‘Traitor,’ I screamed, slamming my heels into the ground as Matthias’s brother stormed between the trees and Ifan took his place by his empress.

The curse died on my lips as I peered at him and my guts churned. The mountain of a man had crumbled. His skin, pale and hollow, took on a tinge greener than his eyes. His hand twitched next to the hilt of his sword as black trickled from his nostril.