Chapter 36
We should have burned King Raul Elmswood when we had the chance. His ideology is dangerous and if the common masses get wind of his plans for equality, we’re fucked.
— KING ROMERO IV’S CORRESPONDENCE WITH KING CAI OF TRESPIA
Lying in the haven of his arms, I shivered as the frigid air bit me. Matthias noticed, tutting.
‘We’d best get dressed,’ he said, laying another kiss on my temple.
‘Can’t we stay here?’
‘We could,’ he said, passing me my clothes. ‘But I’m afraid we will die. I’m quite keen to find out how you taste, and if I simply let Evella take me, I’ll never know.’
Heat rose up my neck at his words as I gathered his shirt, throwing it at him.
‘What’s the plan, then?’
‘At this point, all I’ve got is follow the wolf… a phrase I never thought I’d say. Where did he go anyway?’
‘Poor thing’s got incredibly good hearing. He could be halfway back to Drufaera by now.’
Matthias chuckled, and I couldn’t hide my smile as he wrapped his hands around my bare stomach, standing behind me, kissing the delicate spot on my nape.
‘I, for one, really enjoyed those little noises you were making. In fact, I’d quite like to…’ his hand swept lower down my abdomen again, as I turned my head to kiss him, when the sound of claws on the rocky floor forced me to drag myself out of his embrace.
‘Yep,’ Matthias said, helping me dress. ‘I’m starting to dislike him again.’
‘Perhaps wait till he’s got us out of this place.’
‘Hmm,’ he said, placing a kiss on my knuckles.
Pab nipped my other hand, as though he were annoyed I’d given Matthias a chance.
‘Probably a good idea. Let’s go.’
It turned out Pablo hadn’t merely left us for the sake of his sanity. He’d been an incredibly busy wolf.
My breath caught as I craned my neck, and Matthias spun in a rather slow circle, taking in the huge cavern Pablo had dragged us to.
I ran my fingers through his fur.
‘I might give that wolf of yours a huge kiss right now, but I suspect he’d bite my face off if I tried.’
‘Oh,’ I said, reaching down and lifting a chunk of Vyrium up to my eyeline. ‘He’d definitely bite your face off for that. I’d say he’d earned himself quite a few steaks for finding this, though.’
Matthias snorted. ‘I’ll buy that damned wolf a whole cattle farm. He’s done it. He’s found the lost Vyrium mine.’
I dropped the rock, the thud echoing around the huge cavern filled to the brim with Vyrium lying hidden for millennia.
From what I made out, it went on for a few miles, deep into the hill.
The ground we stood on glittered with bronze flecks, reflecting down on us from the high ceiling.
If this was a fragment of the meteor Vyrus had tried to destroy our planet with…
I shuddered at the thought of how much destruction the whole thing would have caused if Evella hadn’t intervened.
I gazed towards the heavens, sending a quick prayer of thanks to the Goddess.
‘How come you’ve never sent scouts into these hills before?’ I asked as Matthias traced his fingers close to the rough walls.
‘My great-grandfather did. And others have. They’ve always come back empty-handed.’
‘Till now.’
He grabbed my hand.
‘We have to get back. Now. We can start excavating by the end of the month, maybe sooner. It might give us enough time to build up an arsenal the likes of which have never been seen. I need to bring in more Vyrium smiths, protective equipment… and there’s enough here for us to help people.
Really help, for centuries to come once the war’s over.
I might even be able to realise my father’s dream!
’ He pulled me in, kissing me hard. ‘This is it, Sorrow. We’ll be unbeatable. I love you. I love that damn wolf.’
Pablo growled deeply.
‘Shut up,’ I said, giving the wolf’s ear a gentle tug. ‘I know you’re warming to him, too.’
I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face as my heart raced.
He was right. We’d be unbeatable; we’d have a priceless resource to bargain with.
Everything we needed lay in this cavern.
We’d halt Romero’s advance on the continent.
There was more than enough Vyrium to persuade The Alliance to remain united and force the empress to think twice before attacking. This was it. Our salvation.
‘The quicker we get out of here, the quicker we can get mining.’
With Pablo on one side, and the man I loved the other, we left the cavern with hope pounding in my chest.
Matthias led me away from where he’d left the three hunter corpses as the ribbons within jerked and writhed.
I snorted. So much for hunter camaraderie.
They’d left their fallen to be smothered by the fetid dust of Graig Du.
I stared at my husband. He was strong, but strong enough to take on not just one, but three diafol hunters?
Matthias shrugged off my concerns about taking on such elite killers as we threaded through the decayed trees, merely kissing my wrist.
‘I swear, if anyone so much as threatens a hair on my wife’s head, I’ll eviscerate every trace of them from Eusis.
’ He winked, and a little thrill shimmied up my spine.
This man truly was amazing. How had he not only taken out the hunters, but then carried me into the ebony hills?
Perhaps I could grow to like having someone looking out for me, cutting down my enemies and caring enough to ensure I didn’t trip over their bloodstained bodies.
I battled within, seeking the silver gift, and found Pumpkin still lost within the mass of trees. I called him, holding back Pablo, before he scared the little pony away. The gentle clop of his hooves came from the left.
‘Ahh, we saw him racing towards the hill, but we were too far away. Then that wolf of yours grabbed me and pulled me down. He’d already spotted those bastards tracking you. We went round the back, ambushed them.’
‘I heard,’ I said, running a hand down the pony’s neck as he turned his head, his eyes wide at Pablo. ‘I still don’t get how you killed three of them.’
A dark snarl rumbled through Pablo, and the pony whickered, tugging back on his halter.
‘Pablo,’ I hissed.
‘No,’ Matthias said, his voice barely a whisper, his hand flying to the hilt of the sword at his hip. Crouching, he stared between the trees. I squinted towards the blurry trunks, shadows darting in between each time I blinked.
‘What is it? Ifan?’ I whispered, but Matthias shook his head. The firm line of his jaw warned me he didn’t suspect our friends to be out there either.
I ran my fingers through the tangles on Pab’s shoulders, a growl vibrating through him as he took a few steps back.
The pony whickered again, tugging on his halter, but still I couldn’t see anything other than the graveyard of decaying trees.
The only movement from Matthias was his thumb’s constant tracing of my spiking pulse.
A twig crackled. A boot stamped. I whipped my head to the side. Pab took trembling steps to block me from whatever was approaching.
‘A diafol?’ I whispered, sweat beading on the back of my neck at the sight of the taut muscles in Matthias’s jaw as he shook his head, his eyes still staring ahead.
There it was. The unmistakable tramping of boots, the eerie creak of the dead branches, the occasional cough as an army encircled us.
My heart hammered as the hazy forms moved towards us, the way a hunter homes in on their prey: the glint of raised swords; the stretch of nocked arrows. I gripped Matthias’s hand with my trembling fingers.
‘I don’t suppose they’re ours?’
He shook his head slightly. ‘The’ – he swallowed thickly; his fear flooded me – ‘The Alliance. It’s The Alliance.’
He cleared his throat and turned to me, desperation sweeping across his features.
‘Asmar!’ The sound of his name being bellowed killed the light in his eyes, and I grasped his hand tighter.
‘It’s you,’ he whispered as I fought down a sob. ‘It’s always you, Sorrow Villente. Always has been. Always will be.’
Danté shouted his name again, and I wanted nothing more than to raise every beast and run the bastard through.
‘You got my name wrong,’ I whispered back, the words catching in my dry mouth. He raised a brow and, for a second, the ghost of a smile touched his face. ‘I’m Elmswood, Matthias. I’m yours.’
He clung to my fingers, as though I were an anchor tethering him from disappearing under the waves.
‘Drop that sword and call off the damned wolf.’
A shiver ran through me as I became aware of the extent of the battalion surrounding us.
‘I’ve got at least fifty of the former Alliance’s finest archers ready to let their arrows fly… unless you surrender.’
Matthias barked out a desperate laugh.
‘This is still Asmaran soil. Right now, I am the king—’
‘Wrong!’
I clenched my fists at the glee in the duke’s tone.
‘Just like your father, you’re nothing but a fucking traitor, Asmar.’
‘Lies!’ I screamed. ‘Matthias has done nothing—’
‘Wrong again. And I’m getting rather fed up with your insolence. The next time one of you interrupts me, I’ll have an arrow through that wolf’s eye.’
I shook, glaring at him as he strode forward, his smug grin coming into focus with every step.
‘Good. I’ve had some rather interesting conversations with the prince—’
‘Ifan?’ I asked.
‘Ah, ah, ah,’ Danté said, waggling a finger while his gaze slipped to the still snarling wolf.
‘I suppose how you still had to clarify which one I meant speaks volumes. Your brother, Prince Ifan, has a modicum of common sense. He informed Romero of your discovery. How you plan to make your own weapons without sharing them. How you wanted to follow in your father’s foolish footsteps and give Vyrium to the masses. ’
I glanced at Matthias; his nostrils flared. ‘You’ve no proof.’
Danté chuckled. ‘Vyrus’s balls, you’d think I’d tire of saying wrong, but fuck me, I’m enjoying it so much right now. Your wonderful brother, who’s keeping your throne warm till Emperor Romero arrives, has spoken against you. He’s even produced letters proving your traitorous nature.’
Matthias crumbled against me and there was nothing I could do. Ifan had not only betrayed him, but he’d also usurped his own brother. A growl rumbled through Pablo, and I closed my eyes, realising he’d been warning me all along.
A guard stepped forward with an iron muzzle. Pab gnashed his teeth. I crouched by him, stroking his thick fur, my hands soothing his chest as they imprisoned him. My body trembled with injustice. Watching, useless, as he was dragged into the dead trees.
‘You hurt one fucking hair on him and I’ll kill you,’ I snarled, swiping hot tears from my cheek.
Matthias held my hand as the stretch of raised bows broke through Pablo’s whimpering. I could urge the wolf to fight or run, but he’d die. We’d all die here and now.
Three guards strode forward. My heart cracked as Matthias’s muscles coiled, as though he’d fight them all.
They stood on the periphery, as though they feared him, till Matthias’s shoulders slumped.
A tiny, insignificant shift in his form, but one which gave them permission.
They lurched forward, dragging him from me as I cried his name.
The tears coursing down my cheeks blinded me further.
I winced as one of them smashed their fist into his jaw; the others pulled his arms behind him, binding his hands, carrying my husband away.
His hair tumbled into his eyes, his shirt dishevelled.
Matthias’s name froze in my throat as I turned to face the duke, my blood roiling.
Danté raised his chin, his cold brown eyes raking over me as another guard strode forward with a pair of manacles. She grabbed my wrists, a sneer on her face as she slammed them on. I hissed as the icy metal settled on my skin.
‘It’s a new material your stepfather has acquired. Evellum. Can you feel it, Sorrow?’ He leaned in closer, sniffing, sneering. ‘It negates the effects of Vyrium.’
His words spilled through me like ice. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. As soon as they’re off you’ll be back to charming the birds in no time.’
He laughed again as a sword dug into my back, a warning to move.
‘But we won’t be doing that till we return you to the Tribute Tower and throw you to Vyrus.’