Chapter 30 #2
The crowd sat up. I almost forgot to translate as Raine spoke the impossible. My skin prickled as I recalled Musa’s breaking voice barely reaching through the dungeon bars. The warnings he’d been unable to divulge. He’d known…
‘We now know she is in possession of two fragments of the “Heart of Vyrus”.’
Sorrow gasped, her eyes locked on Hawk. He rested his arms against his knees, leaning closer, hunger burning in his gaze.
‘She took one from Yepana – the one she’s been using to control the tattooed. She now owns one from the Palace of Solace—’
I stared at them. Surely, they’d got it wrong. ‘Sorry,’ I asked, my breath catching. ‘Could you repeat?’
Raine signed again, and my stomach lurched.
I dragged my hair from my eyes, remembering the ruby Sorrow had worn the night I’d set Danté on his arse.
The one Father had gifted my mother when they became engaged.
The one matching the ring she’d given Sorrow.
My eyes darted to Sorrow’s leg, to where her white fingers gripped the ring in her pocket.
She shook her head at me in warning. The message was clear: keep the ruby a secret.
‘The Palace of Solace…’
The room erupted. Cries of traitor, just like his father, slammed into my chest.
‘Enough.’
We all jumped as Sorrow’s fists slammed against the table. ‘I’m the one who struggles with my vision and even I can see Matthias had no idea. Let Raine continue.’
She sat back, her chin high, and damn if my pants didn’t just get a bit tighter. I crossed my arms, looked pointedly at Raine.
‘The empress is in possession of half of the Heart of Vyrus. She has her abbot scouring rare texts, some in the old language. At this moment, we’ve come to one conclusion.
’ Raine stopped signing, their eyes boring into mine, a silent message to just repeat what they signed without a reaction.
I nodded, clenching my trembling fists as realisation coated me with ice.
‘We need to keep the remaining pieces away from her. We think she wants to… raise Vyrus. To allow the God of Vengeance to finish what he started.’
I glanced to Sorrow as the room stilled.
If anyone knew the texts and legends, it would be her.
Surely she’d have some opinion. She swallowed as her gaze remained on the Deviant.
I glanced across as he met her stare, his head tilted, and a burst of anger rallied in my chest. If he continued glaring at my wife like that, I’d tear over this table and—
Raine tapped an annoyed beat, and I apologised again.
‘She seems intent on reaching Drufaera, where she’ll have access to Vyrus’s temple, the volcano.
It seems that destination is the key to her resurrecting the God.
We have suspicions about the location of a third section…
’ Skye’s grip tightened, and I wondered if she recalled the matching ring to the necklace that she’d played dress up with as a child.
‘Though if we secretly hide it from the empress, we reduce her opportunity to obtain it.’ Raine raised their hands.
‘The fourth, final section appears to be lost, but we know the empress is prepared to raze the world to locate it. Our focus needs to be on keeping the two remaining pieces of the heart out of the empress’ reach.
In one turn of the sun, we’ll meet back here.
Give us time to plan, research.’ They looked in Sorrow’s direction as she tore her eyes away from Hawk, her lips pale.
‘Come up with a plan. As long as we set our differences aside, Queen Amala will allow us to remain. As King Matthias says, we have to find a way to come together in harmony, or else we’ll burn in her fire. ’
They crossed their arms; a signal they’d shared the dire information. Skye finally released her grip. Those gathered glanced around. Their shock was a bitter taste tainting the air. I reached towards Sorrow and gripped her hand, slumping into my chair.
‘We’re fucked,’ I said, rubbing my thumb along her spiking pulse. ‘So very fucked.’
Her head snapped in my direction. ‘That ruby. I never wear gems, never, and something drew me to that damned ruby. Did you know?’ she whispered.
I cocked my head, ‘You think I’d let you wear the shattered heart of a God?
A God you were supposed to be sacrificed to?
I knew the empress was using it to control me.
Mother had a suspicion her ring was a shard of the same heart.
But… The empress has used it to do horrible things.
You… you don’t know what the empress…’ Visions swirled in my head and suddenly I struggled for air.
The old man, the child, the death she clung to like a shroud – and I closed my eyes.
Sorrow reached forward. Placed a hand on my cheek.
I wrapped my fingers around hers, pressing her warmth into my skin.
‘She’s evil, Sorrow. More evil than Vyrus.
The things she made me do, see and… So, no, Sorrow. As usual I had no clue.’
I gripped my hair, my heart faltering. She had the facts, half of the heart. How were we going to stop her?
‘And,’ I glanced at her, wishing we truly had just remained by the waterfall, ‘I can see her binding the God to her will. Imagine it, Sorrow. Imagine.’
Sorrow took my hand as the room emptied. Figures shuffling away, shoulders slumped under the weight of what we’d learnt.
‘Clearly she’s got catastrophic plans… but to summon Vyrus?’ She shook her head. ‘To what end, Matthias? Why conquer the world just to watch it burn?’
She glanced over to where the Deviant had sat, grimacing to find the chair vacant.
‘Why would she want the heart then?’
She shrugged, ‘I-I can’t say. Maybe she wants to create a weapon or, I don’t know, summon Vyrus and marry the damned man—’
‘God,’ I corrected. She narrowed her eyes. ‘It also means we’ll have to put off that wedding of ours. At least till we know if there’s going to be a world left.’
She worried her bottom lip. ‘Didn’t Raine say we had a whole turn of the sun?’
‘One day, Sorrow. You can’t organise a wedding in a day.’
She straightened, staring towards Skye. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t. But I bet we could.’
Arching my brow, I cupped her face. ‘If you pull this off…’
‘I told you, not me, us.’ She kissed the tip of my nose before standing. ‘Skye? Asher?’
They turned, Asher still not meeting my gaze.
‘Remember that second wedding Matthias promised me?’
Skye’s mouth floundered as she looked between us. ‘A second wedding?’
I clutched Sorrow’s hand, kissed her knuckles. ‘You were there, Asher. I did promise Sorrow the chance to organise a second wedding. She proposed. We’re getting married.’
‘You’re already married,’ Skye said.
‘Yes, but Sorrow didn’t get much of a chance to, you know, decide if she actually wanted to. So we’re doing it again.’
‘Tonight,’ Sorrow said.
My head whipped in her direction. ‘Tonight?’
She nodded. ‘No time like the present.’
Tears shone in Skye’s eyes. Asher’s brow furrowed as he glanced around. ‘Did you not hear Raine? The empress… Vyrus… the end of the world?’
Raine tapped him on the arm. ‘We’ve lost Isbeth. This scrap of happiness will give everyone something to fight for.’
‘But tonight?’ Skye’s cheeks flushed as she signed. ‘How on Eusis will we get it ready?’
I took Skye’s hand. ‘There’s only one of us who carries Mother’s ability to organise a night to remember.’
Her throat worked as she looked down. ‘All right, Matthias. Let’s give you a night you’ll never forget!’