Heart of the Wolf Queen (The Star-Crossed Gods #1)

Chapter 1

When one finds oneself face to face with a diafol, it’s vital to maintain a staunch grip on your nerve, but better yet, keep a prayer to Evella in your heart.

— LORD SILAS VANCOURE, SELECT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIAFOL HUNTERS

The Gods must fucking hate me. It was the only fathomable explanation why, with all their infinite and omniscient wisdom, they’d decided to shove a raging diafol outside the only escape route from the Tower.

Pablo’s hackles rose as I clung to his coarse grey fur. A deep rumble vibrated through the wolf, a warning to the aberration snarling outside.

‘Hush,’ I whispered. ‘We’ve got to get through the damn door first. We’ll deal with… that once we’re through.’

The warmth of Pablo’s snort tickled my fingers as he took a lunging step down. Rolling my shoulders back, I exhaled. This was it. We had to make it this time.

We descended curving stone steps so narrow the wolf couldn’t avoid stepping on my foot.

With a set of crushed toes I wouldn’t be able to run away from the raging beast snorting on the other side of the door, but as I had no alternative, I swallowed my frustration.

By then, we were so far below the fading light slipping through the windows of the Tribute Tower, that even if I’d had my full sight, I’d still have had to rely on the wolf.

My other hand twitched towards the wall of damp stone, desperately seeking another guide, but no, that way I risked dropping the keys I’d worked so hard to steal – and would probably alert the guards that they were one Tribute down.

They might not be the cleverest, but neither were they deaf.

Or half-blind for that matter.

So, in one respect, they were better equipped for a game of Pursue the Tribute than I.

I stumbled on the next step. The cursed stone was lower than expected and my stomach lurched as the ground slid away. Swearing, I heaved in a settling breath. Pablo offered a soft whine and a rough lick to my hand. Raising my chin, I tugged his fur and we set off again.

I needn’t have worried about dropping the keys.

My hammering heart was enough to draw the guards.

Pablo halted, ears twitching. He craned his head upwards.

On silent paws, he padded back. My breath misted in frantic clouds, and I shivered.

Then his taut muscles slipped beneath my fingers, his tread more urgent.

Uttering a stream of half-whispered curses, I tugged him closer, realising we were no longer alone.

Our absence had been noted.

My pulse skittered. ‘We must be close to the bottom,’ I whispered through hitched breaths.

Pablo tugged me further down and down, round and flaming round. Squinting into the darkness, I prayed to Evella that the door was near. I wouldn’t have long before they caught up with me. As ice flooded my veins, my feet finally settled on an uneven floor.

We’d made it! The door, my freedom, was devastatingly close.

I reached out through the darkness, twisting my body towards the door, in hopes that my better eye could locate it.

After a few faltering steps, I collided with the rough oak blocking my way out of the Tower and the deadly fate my stepfather had presented as my twenty-second birthday gift.

He was wonderfully sentimental that way.

The fucker.

I cursed as the keys jangled in my trembling fingers.

Pablo gently placed his maw over my wrist, guiding my hand to the lock as the diafol scratched longingly down the other side of the wood.

I froze, shuddering almost as violently as the door, envisaging its claw.

There was no way of telling the size of the beast that waited with increasing impatience beyond.

Diafols had once been nothing more than unfortunate woodland creatures.

Now, victims, they’d been cursed by the poisonous Vyrium lying beneath the planet’s crust, and all that remained were masses of toxic sinew and chaos, with a compulsion to consume.

‘As soon as this opens’ – I cringed as my whisper echoed off the cold stone – ‘you dive past and then I’ll… stop it.’

The wolf huffed. I practically heard his amber eyes rolling in his great shaggy head.

My fingers shook as I forced the first key – the rustiest, possibly the least used – into the lock.

After almost two months and two failed bids for freedom, this was the closest I’d come to escaping my fate as a sacrifice.

One of ten blessed souls thrown into a volcano named for the God who’d tried to destroy our world.

I’d been informed it was the highest honour a ruler could bestow on one of their subjects.

An honour I’d every intention to decline.

And decline it I would. As soon as I opened this damn door.

Then, ensure I wasn’t eaten on the other side.

I grunted as I tried the next key. Running my fingers over the lock, I cursed at the realisation that it eclipsed the hole.

Exhaling hard, I pushed back the rogue strands of my ebony hair as it escaped my braid. Next to me, Pablo froze, his massive form rigid. The skin on my arms pebbled as the beast outside released a guttural groan.

Damn thing thinks its lunch is about to walk straight into its mouth.

Pablo growled, and I shivered as the sound rang around the curved chamber.

‘Shh,’ I hissed, immediately disregarding the next key. It was the wrong shape anyway. ‘I’m hoping it won’t realise there’s two of us. We’ll have the element of surprise. Now, quiet.’

Was it too much to ask him to obey? A snarl erupted from the wolf, and I jolted, the keys slipping from my hand.

‘Damn dog.’

My knees slammed onto the stone, hands scouring the floor, desperate for the telltale bite of iron. A raw chill sliced along my spine as Pablo’s claws scratched the rough ground, facing the way we’d come.

I froze when I heard it. The faint scuff of a guard’s leather boot high above me on the cold grey steps.

Damn.

My fingers connected with the frigid metal of the keys.

The time for systematically working my way through the bunch was over.

The guards were coming. I took a second to rub my throbbing forehead.

Could I open the door, and ensure the diafol spotted them first?

Blowing out a shaky breath, I shoved key after key into the lock.

The wolf snarled as the echoing footsteps swelled.

The damn creature might be a pain in the backside, but he ached for freedom as much as I did.

I turned my head to see with my better eye, and a pitiful whine escaped my lips.

The amber glow of approaching lamps illuminated the steps.

No. I clenched my jaw, told myself to focus.

This time I’d make it. Not even Vyrus himself could force me back up the Tower.

Another key, another failure. I fumbled through them, no longer sure which ones I’d tried.

The base of the door jerked as the diafol drew in a frantic gulp of air.

Surely I’d tried them all? As I swallowed bile, I rammed one of the remaining keys into the lock, sending a prayer to Evella.

The damned Goddess owed me a break. For a fleeting heartbeat, it seemed I truly was one of her blessed.

The key slid effortlessly into the hole.

With shaky breaths, I offered her my thanks.

‘Pablo!’ I whispered, then recoiled. Even the lightest sounds reverberated through the stairwell.

The wolf turned towards me. I straightened, ready to twist the key and dive towards my freedom. As I dragged my slick fingers down my coarse skirts, a smile curled the corner of my mouth. I grasped the iron. One twist of the key. A single turn of the lock and I’d be gone.

Then, the monster crashed into the door from the other side. The creaking oak shuddered, the shock firing the key out of the lock. I swore as the bunch clanged against the floor once more.

‘Vyrus’s balls.’ The curse exploded from me. Without the keys, it no longer mattered.

Pablo barked, and I shivered. Readied myself to be dragged back by the guards who must be upon me soon. The diafol, crazed by the knowledge living, breathing meat lay on the other side of the wood, slammed into the door.

I crashed to the floor and hunted with my hands for the iron keys.

After all those attempts, I’d finally held the key.

Held my freedom. I bit my cheek to prevent the tears falling at the thought of beginning my search all over again.

My heart lurched as my hands skimmed across the keys on the ground. I had them! I had the—

‘Call that bloody mutt off or I’ll let this arrow fly. It doesn’t matter how dark it is. I’m not like you. I won’t miss.’

My heart shattered at Guard Delver’s harsh tone. I slipped forward, eyes scrunched, my forehead resting against the rough wood. I’d been so close to finally breaking my stepfather’s ever-tightening chains. So close.

Pablo snarled.

‘Leave it, Pab.’ I despised how my voice broke.

Delver snorted.

‘Oh, miss,’ said another, softer voice.

A wry smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, despite the twist of regret in my chest. Turning, I sat back against the still trembling door and opened my eyes, and then blinked at shadowy blotches – my constant companions since the accident.

The blotches swirled into sickly green uniforms, before morphing into a form I recognised.

I clenched my fists. The guard on the steps, Delver, clutched what appeared to be a small wooden crossbow, still aimed at the snarling wolf.

I couldn’t make out the expression on her pale face.

I didn’t need to. She always wore a constant scowl.

The other, shorter figure, his portly stomach spilling over his belt, approached gingerly as a low growl rumbled next to me. I turned to the shaggy grey lump.

‘Enough, Pablo. We’re done.’

Smythe’s clammy face came into shaky focus as he crouched, smiling. ‘Put that down, Delve. He’s a good boy. He won’t harm ya.’

Delver grumbled, but lowered her crossbow.

‘Now.’ Smythe grunted as he took a step down. ‘What are you up to, miss? It’s almost as though you don’t want to be a Tribute.’

He held out a chubby hand. I shook my head, hauling myself up.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ I said, my fingers seeking Pablo and the comfort of his fur. ‘I was so excited at the prospect of my impending sacrifice, I thought I’d get a head start and meet you at the volcano.’

Delver grunted and turned, leading the way up.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I dragged in a cooling breath to dampen the sting of tears.

There were two more months till the night of Tribute.

I’d managed to find this exit. There must be another way out, lurking in a hidden corridor or behind a tattered portrait.

Smythe raised the lamp, taking the rear and chuckling to himself. ‘Ah, such an eager Tribute. But I reckon that diafol out there would probably gobble you up before you offered yourself as a sacrifice to Vyrus.’

‘And that would have been such a tragedy. How fortunate you found me in time.’

I lifted my long skirts with my free hand. I didn’t need to slip and crack my face on the steps. Pablo nuzzled my hip, and I heaved in a settling breath at the soothing warmth of his fur.

Smythe tutted. ‘You’re far too valuable to end up as a snack for one of them diafols. We’ve got to give Vyrus a Tribute. Do you really want to risk angering the God?’

I placed what I hoped was a sweet smile on my face. ‘As I’ll be dead anyway, I honestly couldn’t give a f—’

‘You’d better get a move on, Sorrow,’ Delver called sharply over her shoulder. She stopped, leaning against the pungent mossy wall, gulping in breaths through her downturned mouth. ‘You’ve had a visitor, and he won’t be happy to find you missing from the Tower.’

My booted foot hovered over the step as the blood rushed from my head. ‘A-a visitor?’ The words stuck in my dry throat.

Smythe took a step towards me, and I baulked at the stench of fresh sweat coming from the guard. ‘You’ll never guess who’s up there!’

I bet a sack full of Vyrium I could.

‘The king?’ My voice remained steady, despite the strain of my constricting chest.

‘Look, Delve!’ Smythe took another step up, forcing me higher. ‘She did blooming guess after all!’

‘Well, it’s not as if she has anyone else, is it?’

Smythe grunted as he climbed higher. ‘She’s-she’s a strong young woman. The perfect Tribute to satisfy Vyrus’s anger. No wonder the king’s taken time out during this very taxing period to come and visit her.’

I exhaled a ragged breath. So the king had come to see his kingdom’s Tribute, had he? We’d be heading upwards for the next ten minutes, giving me ample time to work out why I was finally worthy of a visit from my stepfather.