Chapter 6
Your current, quite frankly pertinacious, stance clearly breaks the terms of the treaty.
King Raul of Asmar is dead. Therefore, I demand the immediate return of our heir, Prince Matthias.
I understand your concerns regarding his age and although we, as a grieving nation, appreciate your offer to rule in his stead till he comes of age, we will find our own way.
If my son fails to return within the month, then I’m afraid I’ll be forced to go to The Alliance.
— PERSONAL LETTERS FROM QUEEN ISBETH OF ASMAR TO KING ROMERO IV
Blood swirled violently through my veins as I stumbled in the gloom.
Indistinct shapes leapt out at me. Shadows groaned.
The boar-like diafol ravaged the king’s guard, and I stifled a cry.
As my blurry vision fixed on the beast, a shrieking figure slammed to the ground.
Tightness constricted my chest when I witnessed the chaos I’d had a hand in forging.
For a moment, my body refused to move as a guard attacked, striking the creature’s flank.
Their Vyrium-imbued blade was the only thing strong enough to penetrate its hide.
The diafol’s scream pierced my ears, and I winced.
The metallic stench of spilled blood overwhelmed my senses, but this was no time to lose my head.
This was a Gods blessed distraction – one I had to use to escape the shackles of wedlock.
I wouldn’t get another.
Pablo’s shoulders slid under my hand, his muscles rippling.
‘Guide me.’ My voice shook, barely a whisper.
The wolf tensed, then drove us both into the heart of hell.
Instinct screamed at me to look back. Instead, I craned my neck in the direction of the thick forest. I half-laughed, half-cried as I took in the dark shadows between the twisting trunks.
We’d slip away, find a hiding place. Everyone would assume I’d died.
A victim of the diafol. Enfys might shed some tears.
The king might rage. But for the first time in my life, I’d be free.
I cursed, stumbling as the ground morphed from the smooth, well-travelled road to uneven grassland. Trusting the wolf, I clung to him as he loped on sure, steady paws.
Blundering through the dusk, my heart leapt. Not a single guard had noticed me slipping away. In all fairness, they were distracted by their desperate attempts to overcome the diafol. The gloom concealed my escape and for a brief moment, a smile tugged the corner of my mouth.
I didn’t have a great record when it came to escaping.
Maybe my attempts for freedom angered Evella?
My ankle slid into a hole, twisting. Pain burned through me as I tried to remain upright.
My slick fingers slipped through the wolf’s fur, my body slamming down onto the grass as I heaved in ragged breaths.
‘Not this,’ I hissed, waiting for the cry of a guard in chase. ‘Not now.’
Pablo’s warm breath huffed across my tearstained cheek. He whined, nuzzling, urging me to my feet. My eyes closed, fighting against the throbbing of my ankle. But the wolf had no intention of leaving me behind. Grabbing the shoulder of my dress, his teeth narrowly missing my flesh, Pablo heaved.
Then, the ground beneath us rocked. Approaching hooves thundered.
Through the haze, the murky forms of what must have been riders raced towards the splintered carriage.
I swore and scoured what clues I could from them.
It was too dark, my vision too blurred. Damned hunters probably, drawn in by the wails of the dying diafol.
Mercenaries who’d swoop in at the last moment, claim the kill, then demand payment.
No one dared to refuse lest they be abandoned to the abominations.
And if they spotted Pablo? We had to get out.
Shuddering, I leaned on the wolf, biting back a scream as my ankle crumpled.
I crashed onto the cold ground, stony shards slicing into my palms and knees.
My heart stuttered. There must have been twenty…
thirty hunters all dismounting, weapons glinting in the weak light.
A muffled shout carried across the frigid dusk.
They’d realised the carriage belonged to Drufaera’s king.
I sobbed as my ankle collapsed in another attempt to stand.
The hunters shouted orders, organised themselves.
They had someone to impress, after all. A fortune to be earned.
Sweat trickled down the back of my dress as I failed once again to rise.
The diafol would be dead in seconds. Then the hunt for the missing bastard would commence.
Nausea gripped me as my ankle bent once more.
‘Evella help me,’ I whispered into Pablo’s fur. He buried his head into the crook of my neck, pitiful whines tickling my ear.
When Pablo grabbed the back of my dress, I dug my fingers deep into his fur as he hauled me towards the shelter of the tree line.
My already throbbing ankle slammed into a rogue rock and my unbidden scream rent the air.
Gods, we were done for. Pablo didn’t halt though.
He dragged me as though I were a half-mauled rabbit.
The undeniable swish of a released arrow hissed through the air. I held my breath, powerless to predict where it would strike. It sliced into the ground, a mere breath away, when a deep male voice shattered the gloom.
I cursed, realising the thoughts running through the hunter’s mind.
A frenzied wolf carting a screaming, injured woman into the woods?
They’d slaughter him in the belief they were saving me.
Yet again, I had no choice but to surrender my bid for liberation.
If I didn’t, Pablo would become nothing but a trophy for the hunters.
I shouted the wolf’s name. He snarled in answer, tugging my torn shoulder with more determination.
‘Pablo. Stop!’
Another arrow struck. This time so close the vibrations wafted my hair. My heart thundered as the hunter closed in. He wouldn’t miss a third time.
‘Pablo!’ Damn this stubborn wolf. He’d get us both killed in a minute. Even if, Evella bless us, we made it to the devastatingly close tree line, I couldn’t walk. This ended. Now.
I cried his name against the creak of an arrow being drawn. For a few seconds, he continued dragging me. I twisted, shoving him to the ground. The arrow landed where Pablo’s head had been only a heartbeat earlier.
I spun around, cursing the damned spots. A hazy hooded figure strode towards us. He reached a lean arm back towards his quiver.
‘Twat,’ I hissed.
I heaved myself up to block Pablo. I couldn’t hide all of his huge body, but unless the hunter wanted us both dead, he’d never chance giving his arrow flight.
Or at least I hoped he wouldn’t.
Fighting the fierce pain in my ankle, I wrenched myself onto my knees, spreading my arms wide. A low growl spread through the wolf, but I locked my gaze on the hunter.
‘Stay, Pab. For the love of Evella, stay.’
He snorted across my neck.
‘Move.’ The hunter’s panicked voice crackled across the frigid space. ‘Creep to me, slowly. No sudden movements.’ He stopped twenty paces away, an arrow nocked, as I rose up, biting my bottom lip as pain bit like a wildfire.
‘I can save you,’ he shouted. ‘Don’t make any sudden—’
‘It’s you who’ll need saving if you harm one hair on his hide, you prick,’ I screamed. ‘He’s harmless.’
The hooded figure cocked his head. The shadow of a square jaw peeked out as the bow drooped a fraction. ‘It’s… it’s a wolf!’
Pablo tensed, and I swore, willing him to heed my plea to remain still. Beyond the hunter, a tentative calm spread on the roadside as the diafol expelled a final pitiful grunt. Enfys, blessed by Evella, would be healing the wounded. All I could do now was keep the wolf safe.
The figure took a step forward but Pablo rose, snapping his jaws.
‘He won’t hurt me, you witless cretin,’ I hissed through the pain. ‘But he’ll happily sink his teeth into your neck if you come any closer.’
‘But…’ Gods. Why couldn’t this man understand? ‘He was dragging you into the woods. I saw it.’
I barely heard him over Pablo’s growling.
‘He was helping me.’
‘By dragging you screaming into the woods?’ He lifted the arrow again as I clenched my fists. By Vyrus, had this man been sent to test me?
‘Yes. Now drop your damn weapon.’ Pablo moved to my side, and I fisted a handful of his fur. The spots dissipated. I kept my gaze on the hunter, still unable to make out his expression through the haze.
Pablo snapped, and the hunter raised his weapon. ‘I don’t trust it. Come to me. I’ll get you back to the carriage. I’ll keep you safe.’
‘Fuck,’ I groaned as my shoulders sank. ‘Do you need to clean your ears? I told you I’m fine. He’s harmless. He’s—’
‘It’s a fucking wolf!’ he cried, urgency flooding his tone. ‘Please. I’m begging you. Get away from it.’
The man held out a gloved hand, beckoning me forward. Gripping the wolf, I glared at the shadow where his face would be. From the snarls erupting behind me, I knew full well what would happen if I accepted the hunter’s hand.
As though he heard my thoughts, Pablo howled.
The hunter swore. He tossed his bow aside and raced towards us.
Pablo wrenched me forward, leaping to meet the hunter, but my fingers still curled around his pelt.
I slammed into the ground, grunting as the air crashed from my lungs.
Glancing up, I groaned. Hunter and wolf circled each other, but at least he no longer held his bow.
Now he was weaponless, I considered letting the wolf maul him.
Ignoring how my leg buckled, I stood, hobbling as the two spun. The hunter stretched his arms wide, a thick fur cloak billowing, as he placed his tall frame between the wolf and me.
‘You’re sure he’s safe?’
I laughed at the high pitch betraying his brave stance. Before I could answer, the wolf flew, and I cried out as something silver flashed in the hunter’s hand. A dagger! A dagger aimed for the wolf’s exposed flank.