Chapter 14
Monitoring the path of the fog is not the easy task it initially appears. Strong winds often occur in concurrence with the toxic weather event, meaning a deadly fog might be reported many, many miles from its original source.
— LETTERS FROM THE ROYAL RESEARCHER, SORROW VILLENTE, TO HIS HIGHNESS, KING ROMERO IV
There have been moments, fleeting seconds, where the expressions on the wolf’s face appear almost human.
I convince myself they’re merely illusions created by the shadows plaguing my vision.
But sometimes, like when he abandoned me in an unfamiliar hallway, looking back over his shoulder as I hissed his name, it seemed Pablo genuinely smirked at me.
Skye discovered me loitering in a corridor lined with Elmswood portraits as I pretended I wasn’t lost. A range of green eyes, set in sombre faces, glared at me as though they saw through my title. She can’t be queen. She can’t even find the library, they seemed to say.
I accepted Skye’s elbow as she drew me through corridor after corridor towards the library.
By the time we reached the doors, Pablo had returned, his fur damp with drizzle.
Skye took her time, pointing out anything of interest to me: tapestries depicting the Gods’ legends, and famous shields, splintered in battles from ages past, propped up alongside unblemished suits of armour imbued with Vyrium.
Skye winced as I snapped at her when she tried to lead me away from the library.
‘Are you sure you’re not too tired after the trip and a morning with Glesni?’ she asked. There was the slightest tremor to her bottom lip, and I cursed myself. Could I not be pleasant for five minutes?
‘No… thank you.’ I attempted my sincerest grin.
Skye’s shoulders sagged in relief.
‘I suspect Romero is already racing through my notes. I really need to dedicate every spare second to catching up. If he locates the mine before us, he’ll have it stripped bare before the week’s out.’
As we approached the library, sunlight spilled through arched windows onto the lush scarlet carpet. Pablo guided me towards a set of ebony doors where two guards dressed in black and silver stood. For a moment, I blinked away the stripes and shadows as the sharp light blinded me.
‘I hope you don’t mind,’ Skye said, her hand on my elbow. ‘But I went ahead and arranged some help.’
I stopped short, wincing.
‘Help?’
‘A few assistants and clerks. Not too many?’
I inhaled a cooling breath, smothering the ember of rage – after the damned spider and the excruciatingly stubborn Deviant, I’d been hoping for some quiet.
‘How many exactly?’ I asked, doing my hardest to keep the flint from my tone.
A sheepish expression crossed her pretty face as the guards raised their hands to their hearts in a salute, before opening the doors. We stepped into the library I’d been so desperate to reach.
It was darker than the hallway. Smaller arched windows bordered by rich wine-red curtains lined the south wall.
Even the musky scent of books didn’t calm my racing pulse as I realised there were more than a ‘few’ librarians gathered.
Libraries were quiet spaces, hallowed sanctuaries in which one opened a book and embarked on a passage of knowledge and understanding – or got lost in a steamy romance on a dark, rainy evening.
I peered through the gloom, grimacing to find the library had more assistants than books.
They milled about, chatted and laughed. One carried leather-bound tomes towards me, but after taking one look at Pablo, quickly turned heel to place them on one of the several long oak tables in the central space.
A hot slice throbbed through my temples, and I flinched, the flickering cinders of irritation sparking into an inferno. My nostrils flared as the many figures came into shaky focus.
‘See. We’ve made a head start,’ Skye said, bouncing excitedly on her slippered toes, the layers of her dress rustling.
A huge pile of teetering books tumbled to the ground, eliciting a loud cheer from a group of assistants sitting on a range of comfortable sofas and chairs beside the unlit hearth.
‘Sorrow?’ Skye’s voice muted as the pain exploded in my mind. The library, the books, the assistants’ curious faces and the whole damn world spun.
Pablo whined, nuzzling my hip as the stabbing thundered through my head. For the space of a few heartbeats, I clung to Pablo and Skye while the pain crept silently away and, slumping, I opened my eyes, flinching at the stark light.
The assistants stared with wide, confused eyes. Releasing my grip, I squared my shoulders. This would never work.
‘Out,’ I ordered in a low voice.
Not a single person moved. Someone’s feet shuffled, another coughed, a couple muttered.
I grimaced and held my head. ‘Out… please.’
‘Your Highness?’ A severe-looking woman, wearing a simple brown dress and a pair of thick glasses, approached. ‘We… we’ve been charged with helping you.’
‘Well,’ I said, pretending all was well as a dark veil descended upon my sight. ‘As the queen, I’m charging you all with pissing off.’
The library fell silent.
‘Sorrow,’ Skye said as my trembling fingers gripped the bridge of my nose. ‘Sorrow… you’re bleeding.’
‘Bleeding?’
I swiped and stared at the red smear on the back of my hand, the warm trickle slipping into my mouth.
‘I think… I may need some quiet.’ I slumped to the ground.
‘Out,’ Skye’s voice sounded detached, far away. ‘Everyone, please. The queen needs some space.’
‘Not you,’ I said, grabbing the strict-looking woman who’d approached me. ‘Your glasses.’
‘My what?’
‘Please… may I borrow… your glasses?’ Lightning sparked in my mind. I grasped her tightly.
I stayed on the ground as librarians swept past me until finally the crashing wave ebbed. I braced for the next one to hit as Skye knelt by me, a crisp white handkerchief in one hand, the librarian’s glasses in the other. She forced a weak smile.
‘You stay there. I’ll go and get Matthias.’
‘No.’ I reached forward, grabbing her wrist as Pablo licked my cheek. I shoved the wolf away.
‘But Sorrow.’ Her voice broke. ‘You’re bleeding.’
‘I’m fine.’
Another figure leaned down next to her. I grimaced as Asher came into focus, brows furrowed, lips tight.
‘I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on our definition of “fine”. Skye’s right. Matthias needs to know.’
I held my head higher, forcing my stinging eyes open. I ignored the way the weak saffron light of the lamps pierced my brain like a tainted arrow, and smiled.
‘It’s not what you think,’ I said, placing a steadying hand on Pablo as I hauled myself up.
They stood with me. Skye glanced at Asher as he crossed his powerful arms, narrowing his gaze.
‘And the blood? Are you going to persuade me that’s fine too? Or do you think Matthias might be slightly concerned his new bride currently has her brain seeping out of her pretty nose?’
I swiped my face again, and looked down, exhaling a shaky breath as I found nothing but dried flakes.
The ache abated, leaving the barest thud behind my left temple.
I’d only had one other nosebleed, on the night of my first failed escape from the Tribute Tower.
The headaches I could excuse with my weak sight, but nosebleeds and my rising ire?
Could they simply be exhaustion and nerves, or was it another dark indication the blight was gaining ground?
Skye and Asher came into focus, their expressions sombre with that miniscule hint of pity I forever despised. A warm snout nuzzled my hand, and I stroked Pablo’s head, glancing down into his amber eyes.
‘I’m getting Matthias,’ Asher said and, loosening his arms, walked towards the double doors.
I blocked his path, willing Pablo to growl at the mountain of a captain who raised his dark brow. The wolf merely yawned.
‘Don’t. Please.’ Gods, I hated begging, but if Matthias knew what happened, he’d drag me back into Glesni’s room and lock the door till I had my power in check.
He was always so damned sanctimonious. ‘It isn’t bad.
I’m tired from the journey. That’s all. I’m sure the king has enough to think about right now.
You wouldn’t want to add to his worries, would you?
My sight’s far from perfect, but even I’ve noticed the bags under his eyes. ’
Skye wrung her hands as she turned to Asher. They shared a quick look before she abruptly turned her green eyes back to me. Was that a hint of blush on her cheek?
‘He has been… stressed by everything,’ she said.
Asher groaned, ran his hand down his face. ‘This’ll come back to bite me harder than your wolf… but I heard how well your first session went with Glesni. If – and don’t grin at me like that my queen – if you promise to go back tomorrow, we might forget all about this.’
The thought of spending time with that odious woman made my blood curdle, but if I could train on my terms?
The bleed indicated time was against me.
The blight was taking hold and either I spent time with Glesni and truly learned how to manage a portion of my gift, or I let the blight win.
At least this way, Matthias wouldn’t be the wiser, and I’d still spend the majority of my time researching.
I took the glasses from Skye and popped them on my nose.
I even had some glasses now, slightly blurry ones, but glasses all the same!
I was forever losing mine, though I suspect my last pair had ended up in Pablo’s stomach.
‘There’s more.’ Skye giggled, throwing Asher a rather coy glance. My eyes widened as he returned her look with a crooked half-smile.
‘As long as it doesn’t involve spiders, an army of assistants or a red ball gown, I think I’ll be happy enough.’
He furrowed his brow again. ‘I’m wondering if you’ll ever be happy. But, what if we say I’ll scour Glesni’s rooms for any arachnids and move them outside, while Skye will promise every dress will be dark and intriguing—’
‘Oh, but red would be such a good colour on her.’
Asher laughed. He met Skye’s gaze, and I bit my lip to stop smiling.
‘And in return,’ he continued, ‘you’ll train with Glesni every day. Myself and Skye will help you in the library. And, if you bleed again, we have to tell Matthias.’
I knew it was the best I could expect.
‘And the assistants who’ve witnessed me writhing on the floor, wailing while blood spurted from my face?’
‘I’ll have a word with them.’
I nodded. Looking past them, my eyes widened at the sight of row upon row of towering book shelves. The desire to lose myself to blessed tomes was overwhelming, even though I knew, quite simply, I was running out of time.