Chapter 12
To be blessed by Evella, to become an Anomaly, is a joy mortals will never taste. Imagine the exultation for those who find themselves doubly blessed. A mortal gifted with two abilities! How fortune favours the Deviant!
— THE HISTORIES AND PROPHECIES OF THE STAR-CROSSED GODS: CHRONICLES OF EVELLA
As the horses clattered along the road from Motresh to Asmar, I closed my eyes, relishing the wind whipping my face, bringing colour to my cheeks.
I breathed it in. This was an all too brief reprieve from the ever-tightening knot in my gut.
I’d sworn I could unlock the location of another Vyrium mine.
What the fuck had I been thinking? The greatest scholars and Anomalies had long searched for them without turning up more than a few small sites – mainly in Drufaera.
And here I was; a new bride, slowly losing her sight, claiming she could save Asmar, save the whole Alliance from the threat of an empress with an army of enslaved Anomalies.
There was even a rumour the empress had found an elusive Deviant, an Anomaly carrying a second gift.
If only I had my notes. I clicked my tongue. A strong voice within knew Romero hadn’t burnt my information. He liked to belittle me, but he also knew I’d located one new Vyrium mine and was on the brink of discovering more.
I’d seen victory in his eyes the day he chose me as his Tribute.
Unknown to me, then, each letter I sent from the library was read by his spies.
So when I sent a second letter to The Alliance, informing them of a potential mine, he’d decided I’d served my use and had the perfect way to finally rid himself of Mercy’s bastard.
With me gone, he had complete access to my research; and my death ensured his deception went unmarked.
Romero was probably reading through my notes right now.
All that hard work at his fingertips, and he’d never share any discoveries with the other rulers.
My only blessing was my tangle of abbreviations and scrawling handwriting which confused the hell out of others.
Queen Amala had hugged me tightly when I’d refused her offer of a comfortable carriage for our journey to Asmar. Hope swam in her eyes. Hope that she gazed upon the key to defeating the empress, and I didn’t want to dwell on the impossible task I’d given myself.
The night before, Amala had given us the finest chambers the seat of The Alliance possessed.
My skin had prickled as we found ourselves alone, before Matthias grabbed a spare blanket and, after brief hesitation, retired to the chaise longue in the room beyond the sleeping chamber.
Despite curling up with Pablo on the softest bed I’d ever known, I’d tossed and turned all night, acutely aware of the man yards from where I rested.
Judging by the bags beneath Matthias’s eyes, he’d found sleep elusive too.
Blurred figures lined the dusty roads, craning their necks as news of the royal procession of King Matthias and his new bride swept through the towns.
I stared ahead to where my husband rode with his captain.
I couldn’t make out much from this distance – they practically merged into one hazy mass – but I was certain their heads were tipped together.
As though he’d heard my thoughts, Matthias looked back over his shoulder, holding his horse steady.
Features, reminiscent of a god carved by the old masters, came into focus and the butterflies within me took flight.
The late afternoon sun shone, illuminating his green eyes as he raised his hand, shielding himself from the rays.
We’d kept a respectful distance since we left Ostos.
Asher kept me company, but I was happiest riding alone.
Soon enough, my body fell into the rhythm of the horse.
Now, as my horse closed the distance to Matthias’s, his tanned skin glistening in the golden rays, there was the barest hint of a smile on his face.
My lips involuntarily returned the gesture, and Matthias’s grin widened.
Damned man could probably hear the thumping of my disloyal heart every time he flashed that smile.
It was one of whole, untainted joy. My weakness as a child.
I steeled my spine to prevent it having the same effect on me as an adult.
‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to apologise,’ he said as my horse drew parallel with his and he nudged his steed on.
‘And which of your many, many failings are you apologising for now?’
Matthias snorted. I whipped my head round to face him, praying the blush spreading up my chest and neck wasn’t as visible as I feared.
‘On this occasion, I’m going to apologise for my suggestion you travel in a carriage. You were always a fine horsewoman. I fear I’ve underestimated you, Sorrow Villente.’
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, which I quickly suppressed.
He squirmed in his saddle. ‘It shouldn’t be too much longer,’ he said, tipping his chin in the direction we were headed. ‘We’ll set up camp once we’re over the border. Then, I can show you your kingdom. Your home.’
His hand reached across the space between us, but I nudged my horse away, keeping my gaze set ahead.
‘I’ve never even set foot beyond Drufaera’s borders. Asmar isn’t my home, Matthias.’
He exhaled hard. ‘Is-is that how you truly feel?’
I nodded, feeling the weight of his scrutiny on me.
I’d encased myself with the sharpest thorns, not only to protect myself, but those who surrounded me.
The mere presence of the boy I’d adored was enough to clip each carefully cultivated stem from my heart.
Every smile, each time he coaxed my scowl into a grin, he fractured a barb.
It would be the work of a lifetime to cling on and keep myself safe.
‘Right.’ Disappointment laced his tone.
We continued in silence. The hooves on the dusty road, the chatter of soldiers carrying on the breeze the only sounds. The houses of the small Motreshan town thinned to a trickle, and I shivered as the sun tugged a blanket of cloud over herself.
‘When we round that bend’ – I jumped in the saddle at Matthias’s voice, wincing as my backbone slammed down – ‘we’ll be in Asmar.’
‘Your home.’
‘And for the time being, it’ll be yours too. You’ll have access to my library and can hire an army of assistants who’ll answer to your every beck and call.’
‘I won’t be requiring help. I work better alone.’
His brow furrowed. ‘If that’s what you want, but the offer is there.’
I faced the road again; a small ember of rage sparked as I wished for solitude once more.
‘And Ifan has gone ahead to arrange your training with Glesni.’
A knot coiled in my gut. Damn, I’d almost forgotten our argument. The thought of a mentor poking around, trying to discover why I hadn’t trained. A shiver ran through me. What if this Glesni found out what was truly lurking under my skin? What if she saw through my lies?
‘I won’t have time for training now. You’ll have to thank her for me, but I think we have more pressing issues.’ I faced him once more, his stare firmly on me as he clenched his jaw. I remembered that look, the one that meant he was about to dig his heels in.
On cue, my temple throbbed and I clutched the reins tightly to stop myself from rubbing the pain. Something must have shown in my face as Matthias sucked in a sharp breath.
‘Keeping you alive is probably a more pressing issue, don’t you think?’
‘No. I’d say researching the archives and locating the Vyrium mines so we can stop an invasion from a bloodthirsty, power-crazed empress who’ll kill us all is more pressing.’
‘And a lot harder to achieve if you’re dead.’
‘You are aware some Anomalies survived before mentors? I don’t need this—’
A whimper left my lips as the pain spiralled.
‘Hardly a decent argument, Sorrow,’ he said. ‘Any who made it through still died young. Passed on what little knowledge they had to those emerging till they’d built up enough knowledge to finally master their gift. That’s why mentors are so vital.’
My vision blacked over completely and suddenly the horse seemed too far from the trembling ground. Gods, this was getting harder to hide. My eyes screwed tight as pain lanced my temple. Matthias took the reins from my numb hands, pulling our horses up.
His soft hands smoothed down my brow as nausea flooded me, and I gripped the horse’s mane, breathing deeply.
‘The blight is crawling in, Sorrow,’ he said. ‘I still don’t know how you’ve survived till now.’
I pulled my face out of his caress, letting out a low hiss as the last of the pain burrowed into the space between my eyes. If he had no idea how bad this was, perhaps I could still avoid training?
‘Have you forgotten what a stubborn bitch I am? I’ve no intention of letting the blight take hold.
’ I exhaled deeply and plastered on a smile that Matthias failed to return.
‘Without my notes we’re already at a disadvantage, and if I’m right – don’t look at me like that, you know I’m always right – then Romero’s searching through my notes as we speak.
If he locates a mine, do you honestly think he’s going to share his good fortune with The Alliance? ’
Matthias slumped in his saddle. He shook his head.
‘If you want to keep your kingdom safe, then I need to dedicate every moment I have to research. Fog reports, diafol sightings, even the damn histories and prophecies. It isn’t only the empress you need to worry about.
Romero wants his own empire and he’s more than willing to watch you fall in order to secure it. ’
Matthias said nothing, but kept his steady gaze on me, one dark brow raised.
‘So,’ I continued, nudging my horse on, ‘there won’t be any time for training. You’ll have to cancel.’
His horse fell into step next to mine.
‘With assistants, you’d have time to do both.’
I let out an exasperated sigh. ‘As I said, I don’t work well with others. They never understand my system or my notes and, if anything, they slow me down even further.’
‘Did you teach them? Did you take a bit of time to show them your system?’
I stared ahead as Pablo settled next to me. My horse whickered, still unused to being accompanied by a huge predator.
‘You’re being trained, Sorrow. You’ll harness your power and, I don’t know, control the bloody mice to organise your notes or perhaps train that wolf of yours to understand your system.’
‘He’s not my wolf and the answer is, and always will be, no.’
‘No?’
I nodded, refusing to look his way. There’d been a rather annoying hint of mirth in his tone.
‘We’ll see what Glesni has to say about that. I think you’re about to meet your match, and I can’t wait to see it.’
I whipped my head round, ready to tell him where Glesni could stick her match, when Matthias’s attention locked on the road ahead. The mirth was gone and the king of Asmar sat tensely as a rider from the North, nothing more than a plume of dust, tore up the road.
In the next heartbeat, Asher was by Matthias’s side, his guards falling into line.
A messenger, swaddled in a black cloak with a dusty bandana wrapped around his face, pulled his sweat-soaked horse up next to us. The poor creature’s flanks heaved. I wondered why the rider would risk pushing his horse too far.
‘A message for the king?’ Asher’s hand remained on his hilt.
The figure nodded, taking a cream envelope from his saddle bag. Shaking, he handed it to Asher, who in turn placed it in Matthias’s hands.
Matthias tore it open. He searched the letter, his face paling, body slumping. Asher had the same solemn expression as he read over Matthias’s shoulder.
‘What?’ I asked. ‘What does it say?’
Matthias’s throat worked, as though he couldn’t get the words out. He crumpled the letter before throwing it away. Pablo dived after it, grabbing the missive, trotting up to Matthias’s side and holding it up.
‘Not now, Pab,’ I warned the wolf.
‘King…’ My stomach knotted as Matthias’s voice cracked. ‘King Seth has been slain on his way home to Itoras.’
‘He and his whole entourage were set upon. Rebels, apparently,’ Asher added, his usual smile replaced by a grim expression.
‘And without an heir, you’ll never guess who’s set himself up as a temporary ruler?’
I felt the blood drain from my face.
‘Romero?’
Matthias nodded, one hand balled into a tight fist.
‘Do…’ I almost didn’t want to ask the question. ‘Do you think it was rebels? Do you think it could have been Drufaera?’
Rubbing his jaw, he looked at me. ‘I can’t say for certain, but we all turned on him in the meeting. Seth gave in and you saw how Romero reacted.’
‘He’s going to pick you off. One. By. One,’ Asher said, taking the soggy letter from Pablo and tossing it away. The damned wolf raced after it once more.
‘Romero’s going to get too powerful.’ Matthias’s eyes glazed over as he stared at the wolf. ‘Too strong. I-I won’t be able to stop him.’
‘Of course you will,’ I said, straightening up and setting my horse off.
If Romero had turned his sights to killing off The Alliance, I truly had no time to train.
Every moment would need to be spent on finding that damned elusive mine.
‘Don’t forget, you’ve got an incredibly stubborn wife now. You’re not fighting him alone.’
I looked back, making out the whisper of a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth.
‘That’s true. I just hope your stubbornness doesn’t kill me before I get the chance to see you thwart him.’