Chapter 3
The rebellious actions of King Raul Elmswood of Asmar cannot be allowed to pass without serious sanctions.
Asmar will pay reparations to those kingdoms affected by their misdeeds to the cost of three fifths of their current Vyrium stores.
To prevent further insubordination, the three princes and sons of Elmswood will spend their childhood as the wards of Carush, Motresh and Drufaera, till their sixteenth birthday, or the untimely demise of their father.
— THE ALLIANCE’S VERDICT AGAINST KING RAUL ELMSWOOD OF ASMAR
I clutched my skirts so tightly it was a miracle they didn’t tear.
‘See?’ Enfys said, wringing her hands. ‘I knew she’d be speechless.’
Oh, I was fucking speechless all right. I dug my teeth into my cheek.
Anything to stop myself from shouting. From demanding they fling me into the flaming sea of Vyrus rather than be forced to marry a man I had no say in choosing.
Drufaera held the most land and power on the Shuteran continent.
Would Romero have even bothered to hide his smirk when he used that dominance to sell me off?
His desire to control the entire continent had not been lost on me.
A strategic marriage for his stepdaughter provided him yet another string to yank during Alliance meetings.
He only ever referred to me as a ‘princess’ when it benefitted him.
I was the bastard. The shame he bore on his benevolent shoulders. If he’d found a way to use me, he’d have snatched up the opportunity with glee. And if he saw it as a fate superior to death, then Gods… who had he tethered me to?
Romero had the pick of three suitors. King Cai was a widower, his youngest child older than myself and already married to her wife. I recalled the few times I’d seen King Cai when I was younger. A gruff man of few words, who wore a constant glower. I closed my eyes tight, my jaw trembling.
Then there was Seth. Some said they couldn’t understand how he’d lived to his fifties without ever marrying.
They’d obviously not been sat next to him at a formal dinner, where he slurped and spluttered his way through more food than a family could consume in a month.
They’d never wiped the remnants of King Seth’s meal from their cheek as he boasted about his varied, imaginary achievements.
A heaviness settled across my chest, threatening to steal the air from my lungs as the face of the third king floated to the surface of my mind.
Matthias of Asmar, the second largest country in The Alliance.
The Alliance that permitted his father, King Raul, to retain his throne after he’d dared to defy the other nations.
I’d read the records. How Raul had allegedly threatened the security of The Alliance in his attempts to get Vyrium into the hands of the commoners.
But he’d paid a price in order to keep his crown.
A council, the members chosen by The Alliance, would ‘assist’ him and Queen Isbeth in any decisions they made.
His twin sons had been exiled to the monarchs of Motresh and Carush.
And Matthias, heir to his throne, became the ward of Romero, who’d shown as much interest in the displaced prince as he had in me.
Matthias had been my constant shadow, my first thought.
Every beat of my heart had borne his name.
Until my accident. Until the moment I learned how heartache ripped a soul to shreds.
I opened my eyes and turned to Enfys. No, I thought, an unbidden sob rising up my throat.
It couldn’t be Matthias. The rumours of his impending engagement to Princess Enfys had reached even the quietest corners of the library.
Romero had already fortified his position in Asmar with that union.
I doubt I’d even be able to face Matthias after he’d abandoned me. After he’d chosen Enfys.
A whine jolted me from my thoughts and I exhaled, long and slow, my cheeks flaring. To escape the inferno, I faced a lifetime bedding a stranger. Pablo sat on his haunches as King Romero faced him.
‘You might be best releasing that into the woods before we leave,’ Romero said pointedly. ‘Your husband won’t accept a wild beast roaming his palace.’
Pablo sneezed. The king jolted, a sneer lifting up the corner of his mouth.
‘But surely Sorrow should be able to keep him? There’s so much space, even a wolf as big as Pablo could go unnoticed,’ Enfys said, though she too stayed away from the wolf’s muzzle. ‘And King…’
Her voice died as Romero’s eyes narrowed. Fucker. Denying me the name of the man he expected me to bed was another barb for him to twist.
‘I am keeping him,’ I declared.
Pablo closed his eyes as I scratched the fur behind his ears, holding the king’s gaze despite how my vision shuddered.
My life was nothing but a trickling stream to him.
A mere snap of his fingers changed its course regardless of how hard I fought.
He may force me to marry, but the wolf stayed with me.
‘Pablo is not to be negotiated on. You know one day I’ll lose my sight completely. He’s my guide.’
‘You could use a stick instead. It wouldn’t need feeding and certainly smells better.’
I straightened, returning Romero’s glare.
He took another step towards me. ‘You must realise how unusual this situation is. You should be my Tribute. A personal sacrifice. Imagine how it looks. Me, coming here and relieving you of your honour, denying Vyrus what’s rightfully his.
You’ll obey your husband, Sorrow. If he insists the wolf goes, you cast him out without a moment’s hesitation. ’
I clenched my jaw as he took another step forward, flooding my senses with the scent of sandalwood, so reminiscent of my childhood.
‘It’s imperative I remain in The Alliance’s good books, for now anyhow.
Your husband and I have come to an agreement.
If I get the slightest hint you’re embarrassing me or my kingdom, I won’t hesitate to have you returned here.
Even if the ceremony has passed, I’ll ensure Vyrus gets what he deserves. ’
Enfys squeezed my trembling arm, shaking her head.
As children, she’d smiled sweetly when her father took his birch cane to my backside, and I’d realised too late she’d prodded and poked me for that very outcome.
My cheeks heated. She’d always trailed behind me and Matthias, desperate to be part of our games.
Perhaps this entire charade had been created as a dagger to twist in my spine. She got Matthias, while I…
Pain sliced into my temple and I grabbed the bridge of my nose. Not a damned headache. Not now.
‘Sorrow!’ Enfys, her voice cracking, pulled one of the wooden chairs from the table and sat me down. ‘What is it? Can we get her some water, please?’
The Sister of Evella grumbled, before shuffling from the room.
Gasping, I closed my eyes. Not this. The lengths I’d gone to, hiding my ailment from Romero, fighting back tears whenever pain slammed into me.
If he suspected anything more than mere throbbing temples, he’d drag me back to Bronzehold.
After the accident I swore I’d never return there.
‘A headache?’ The throb increased at Romero’s clipped tone.
I nodded. ‘It’s my eyes… In the dark I have to strain and—’
The Sister thrust a glass of slightly off-colour water at me.
From the moment I’d been pushed over the threshold, they’d been unimpressed with Romero’s choice of Tribute.
I took it, holding it to the light. Even the water in this place was trying to kill me.
I hissed as pain lanced through me and knocked the liquid back.
My cheeks flared as Romero’s stare bored into me.
‘Are they frequent?’ He took a step forward, his head tilted.
‘No,’ I lied, placing my hand onto Pablo’s haunches to help me rise. ‘Only when I’ve been straining and the light is low. I was reading before you came—’
‘I thought you were exploring?’
‘I was… I took a book. You must remember how much I love to read.’
The king raked his cold gaze over me. I swallowed as his eyes sought out a book on my person. The silence stretched on as though he waited for my confession.
‘Of course.’ He broke out a smile that failed to reach his eyes. ‘You’ll be pleased to learn your new husband has an adequate library. It’s nothing to rival mine, as you’d imagine, but at the speed you read these days, I’m sure you’ll find it sufficient.’
‘Is…’ Enfys clutched the back of the chair, her voice trembling. ‘Is it true? The headache? It’s just from reading?’
Forcing a weak smile to my face, I nodded towards the flickering candles. ‘It’s the light. I promise. And I should wear glasses for close-up work. I’m forever losing them.’
I looked away, silently pleading with her to leave it be.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I’m sure once you reach—’
‘Enfys!’
The smile dropped from her face and she lowered her head. My hand twitched, ready to offer her comfort, before I jerked it back, remembering who her new husband would be.
A blast of icy realisation blew through me.
Would I forever be the possession of one king or another?
Romero had owned me since I’d been a month old, controlling, manipulating my every move, punishing every rebellious act.
And now, he’d sold me to another king as though I were a prize horse.
Nothing more than an asset. A trinket to be bargained with.
‘I don’t have time to waste here.’ The king produced black leather gloves from his pockets and pulled them on.
‘While you’ve been living the high life in the Tower, I’ve been working with The Alliance.
Ensuring the damned Empress of Carush has no reason to invade.
We’ve an important meeting I must prepare for.
Your new husband will be there too, of course.
I’m afraid it means there won’t be much of a honeymoon for you, but these are pressing times. Sacrifices must be made.’
‘If you’ll give me a few moments, I’ll fetch my things.’
‘There’s no time.’ Romero stopped, his arm pressing against my own. I fought the urge to shiver as he leaned in, and I saw the corner of his lip rise. ‘You’ll be a queen, with a husband desperate to make amends for all he’s done. You can buy new things. I’ve wasted enough time on you.’
‘But—’
‘Enough,’ he barked.
With that, the king marched from the room.
Enfys reached for me.
‘I know the way out,’ I said, needing a moment to gather my thoughts. I’d end up with my hands wrapped around his throat before we’d left the island otherwise. ‘I’ll catch you up.’
Her fingers found mine. Nodding, she took a step forward.
‘I get it, but Sorrow, please hurry. His temper is rapidly unthreading. It’s taken more than you can ever imagine to get you out of here. Don’t test him. He’s ready to change his mind at any moment.’
She swept from the room, and my heart twisted.
As children, Mama had been driven to distraction trying to prise us apart during our almost constant fights.
After Mama’s death… after that day… I’d had no choice other than to keep myself away from Enfys, expanding an already too vast chasm.
But here she was. Sighing, I met Pab’s amber gaze.
‘It’s not much of a choice, is it?’ I said as he nuzzled my hip. ‘Refuse to marry and my only epitaph will state I was Drufaera’s honoured Tribute.’
Pablo scratched the thick wool of my plain skirts.
He was right. I needed to follow them. I’d failed to escape the Tower three times.
Despite my conviction I’d find a way out, Evella had ensured I faced another fate.
At least this path led away from the volcano.
Whoever this husband was, Cai or – I shuddered – Seth, they were sorely mistaken if they thought they were about to get a simpering, mild queen.
‘Let’s go, Pab. We’ve got a wedding to attend.’ He whined, his claws scratching the wooden floor. ‘Unless I escape first.’