Chapter 5
Just as shattered Vyrium from the meteorite blesses the chosen with gifts, the same cannot be said for the corrupted beasts roaming our world. Afflicted by Vyrium, it is no longer a blessing, but an all-consuming curse.
— LORD SILAS VANCOURE, SELECT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIAFOL HUNTERS
We’d spent the previous night in a fairly comfortable inn.
Despite the softness of the pillows, my churning thoughts made sleep elusive.
Now, we once again hurtled towards the rendezvous point.
I’d failed to prise the lock on my window open and despite the fact I was about to marry another, my thoughts kept flitting to the man my stepsister would wed.
A muscle ticked in my jaw as I tried yet again to force the image of Matthias out of my head.
How the tears had blurred my already faltering vision as his swirling form embraced Enfys.
I squirmed in my cramped seat, biting my already ragged nails.
‘Stop that.’ Enfys tapped my hand with her leather bookmark.
I wriggled again, desperate to stretch my aching legs and escape the suffocating space.
Enfys’s attempts to engage me in conversation were met with short, clipped responses.
Romero refused to acknowledge our existence.
He studied missive after missive, a permanent scowl marring his face.
Rolling my shoulders, I stared at Enfys.
Tears shone in her blue eyes as they remained locked on her Holy book.
Full, pink lips moved, shaping the words the Gods had left us.
I blew out a long breath. Life would have been so much easier if the series of painstakingly printed letters on thin butter-yellow pages were all they’d left us.
Evella, the guardian Goddess, may have destroyed the meteorite her angry lover Vyrus sent to destroy our much-coveted planet, but in doing so scattered the sought-after fragments across our world’s surface. The volatile metal within – Vyrium – was worth more than a king’s soul.
For eons, only Anomalies were able to harness the bronze flecks of Vyrium, but then unblessed humans discovered they too could manipulate and utilise the cursed substance in everyday objects. Lights burned brighter, the walls of their homes stronger. Even farmers’ scythes cut twice as much.
Tenner flashed a blade imbued with an alloy of steel and Vyrium, one which made his weapon almost undefeatable.
It would take the strength of a diafol to break it.
His strikes would be swifter, deadlier, his aim truer.
And if a mortal were to receive a nick from the toxic steel and it entered their blood?
From what I’d heard, their slow death would be like nothing else.
The fact he was an Anomaly meant although he looked like his mother still washed behind his ears, he’d be a worthy warrior.
Depending on their gift, an Anomaly could demand a fair amount of coin in return for their service.
I’d never met one, but a rare Deviant – one who was blessed with two gifts – would be sought by those with the heaviest purses.
Most Anomalies, like Tenner, ended up as a lowly guard.
Some, mainly healers like Enfys, offered their lives to serve Evella as a Sister in one of her churches.
Sometimes, I wondered what path I’d be walking if Matthias hadn’t dared me to jump. If I hadn’t been so stubborn. If Mama hadn’t breathed her last…
I dragged in a shuddering breath. Enfys wiped a tear from her cheek, a smile of joy on her face. She lifted her soft gaze towards me and then scowled, slapping my hand from my lip. I hadn’t realised I’d been picking my skin again.
‘What will the king… the king… think when you turn up full of holes?’ she chided.
‘I doubt he’ll care. I don’t think it’s my looks he’s interested in.’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ King Romero cut in, frowning at his pages. ‘He’s not the blind one.’
‘I’m not blind.’
‘Not yet.’
Evella save me.
Enfys froze. For a fleeting heartbeat, as her cheeks coloured, I wondered if she’d speak up for me, but she returned to her book, stroking her pendant.
I turned away, gripped with despair at being tossed from the custody of one king to another.
My fingers twitched, desperate for the wolf’s comfort.
If fate wouldn’t provide me with a path to freedom, I’d simply forge my own.
Only, as I gripped the bridge of my nose, I had no idea how to escape my wedding bed.
Pain cleaved my temple. I tumbled forward.
The carriage darkened as a veil of midnight swept across my vision.
Enfys stilled as I clutched the collar of my plain dress, trying to drag the fabric from my neck.
Her voice echoed in my head faintly, and I stretched out my numb hand, desperate to hold her.
To ground myself in something real. Focus.
With a grunt, my chest loosened. I dragged in the much-needed air. The veil descended as quickly as it arrived, but shadows and speckles still marred my sight.
‘Sorrow? Sorrow?’ My half-sister’s voice shook. Only she knew the truth. If Romero suspected these pains were more than a mere headache…
With a gasp, I looked up, blinking, as the scarlet carriage swirled into focus. The king had put aside his all-important correspondence, his full attention focused on me.
A cruel smile lit up his face, and I cursed under my breath. He couldn’t know.
‘Sweet, sweet Sorrow.’ He slammed forward and grabbed my chin, scrutinising my face. Instinctively, my fingers dug into his flesh in a vain attempt to prise him away. ‘What was that? Hmmm?’
‘My eyes… my headaches. I told you.’ I yanked myself free, wincing as the back of my head collided with the wall of the carriage.
‘Really, Sorrow?’ The sharp glint in his eyes told me his curiosity was piqued. ‘A simple headache brought on that impressive display?’
‘Yes.’ I prayed he had no idea how frantically my heart thundered. ‘This… the light here isn’t helping. I’ve been squinting… at Enfys’s book. I get them frequently.’
The king sat back, his eyes never leaving mine. I held his cold gaze.
‘I do wonder, sweet Sorrow, why your sister hasn’t tried to heal you?
’ His gaze shifted to Enfys, her knuckles white as she clutched her leather tome.
‘She’s a skilled healer. There’s only a few ailments beyond her gift.
The blight’s one. Apparently, it’s agony when all that unused power digs its fangs in.
Perhaps we should take you home? Make sure all is well before we present you. ’
‘I’m fine, my liege,’ I interrupted, my mind clamouring for a way out. ‘Thank you for your con—’
The carriage lurched violently. I slammed into Enfys, and she yelped, dropping her book as we were thrown like rag-dolls to the side. The king flew from his seat. A shower of yellowing pages cascaded over him as he gripped the frame. From beyond, the shouts of the guards pierced the air.
‘To the king!’ The guard’s voice trembled as the carriage staggered to a halt. Judging from the angle we found ourselves in, we’d lost a wheel.
‘Papa?’ Fear laced Enfys’s tone.
Romero struggled to push himself up. ‘It’s fine, my dove. My guards are the finest. Their steeds second to none, and we’ve enough Vyrium to fight off the empress herself.’
For the space of a few heartbeats, the clatter of hooves, the metallic unsheathing of weapons and our rapid breaths were the only sounds. Thick strands of dark hair escaped my braid and with a shaky hand, I tucked them away.
The roar of a diafol rattled the carriage. Enfys whimpered. Her father shuffled himself upright, grabbing his daughter, pulling her in.
I went to draw back the curtain. Perhaps if I could see what attacked us…
‘Touch that door, girl, and I’ll present Vyrus with a corpse,’ Romero snarled. ‘You will not endanger my daughter.’
My fractured gaze flew up to meet the king’s. Enfys buried her head into the crook of her father’s neck. She was his little girl again.
The king’s usually immaculate hair stuck to his sweat-streaked forehead. The fingers of my outstretched hand twitched.
His eyes widened. ‘Girl, heed me. This is no time for defiance.’
The air around us vibrated with the diafol’s desperate screeches.
Its hunger slammed into me like a crack of thunder, and I gasped.
There was no way of telling what form the raging creature had taken before the Vyrium had worked its way into the beast’s veins, but by the way its roar rattled the carriage, it must have been huge.
My heart raced as a whisper of possibility glimmered in the darkness.
A guard’s scream pierced the air. I knew I had the space of a few heartbeats to unlock the fragile tendrils of my long-buried gift.
To reach the horses. Add to the chaos. Despite how the diafol snarled, and the world collapsed, a smirk tugged on my lips.
Unnoticed, as Romero kissed Enfys’s head, I reached within, fumbled through the ever-earnest core in my chest. The second his eyes closed, ribbons of pale silver burst from me and I hissed against the pain.
They careened outside, gnarled and crooked, refusing to obey.
They didn’t need to though. They only needed to—
The horses – horses who’d been trained to remain calm even in the face of the worst battles – whinnied and bucked. Hooves smashed into the carriage, tilting it further, the three of us landing in a tumbled mess. The king’s head smacked into my own, his body blocking the doorway. I cursed loudly.
‘Papa!’
Blood dripped in a steady stream down the king’s snarling face.
‘What are those damned guards doing?’ Placing his hands either side of the seat, he attempted to stand. He wouldn’t risk leaving, though. Not with the diafol running ragged among his guards – guards who were currently being thrown from their steeds.
‘You,’ the king hissed, blood smearing his usually sharp white smile.
I breathed slowly despite the thundering of my pulse. Fuck, did he truly suspect me?
Enfys cried as the diafol crashed into the side of our carriage, crushing the door as if it were nothing but a dry autumn leaf. I only had seconds till the guards appeared to protect their king.
‘Pablo,’ I said, my blurry vision fixed on Enfys. ‘I need to find Pablo.’
I kicked open the remains of the door, ignoring Enfys as she screamed my name.
I required time to adjust to any change of light.
Time I no longer had as the diafol tore through a guard.
Gods, there were times I was grateful for my shattered sight.
The beast, a swirl of blood-matted fur and claws, matched our carriage in size.
My blood chilled as I craned my neck, staring wide-eyed at the torn and tattered creature.
As Enfys screamed and the king roared, I dived into the darkness.