Page 38 of Artemysia

“Let him choose,” the Syf king interrupts. “You may all live, or you can all die together. Riev, will you come with me without a fight?”

I unlock my eyes from the king and glance at Riev.

Riev’s stony gaze never leaves mine. He doesn’t even look at the king when he replies.

“I will come freely if you ensure the safe return of the three of them back to Stargazer.”

“No! Riev, that’s not why we are here. We can’t go back until we complete our mission.” But I also see he has no choice. Even he knows we are outmatched. My pulse thunders so hard I think my heart might explode out of my chest.

King Foss nods. “We guarantee this.” He turns to his guards. “Return them to the cave. Seal them in. By the time they free themselves, we will be gone.”

My blood boils. But I see no alternative leading to a favorable outcome right now. Intuitively, I sense there is much the Syf do not want us to know, so in a last-ditch effort for information, I blurt out, “North Kingdom is a loyal ally. They will help us to claim Riev.”

The strategy I employ is one I call, the fastest way to get an answer is to suggest an incorrect one . Even when someone is reluctant to offer help or information, they can never resist pointing out when someone else is wrong. Almost without exception.

And King Foss is no exception, because he pauses, his lips pursed.

“North Kingdom does not have your best interests at heart. Return to South Kingdom immediately,” he replies.

There it is.

North Kingdom exists, and the Syf know about their society, enough to warn me off. On the other hand, it’s also possible that North Kingdom and the Syf have banded together as our enemies.

Riev still anchors his gaze on me as if he knows he won’t see me again and is stealing one last long look.

There must be a way out of this. There’s always something I can do.

Riev shakes his head imperceptibly beside me, because he probably guesses I want to argue and fight this new turn of events.

Don’t , he mouths. He bends his knees to lay down his sword flat on the mossy forest floor.

My gut wrenches.

If Riev is surrendering, then I’m at a loss. I can see no strategy out of this situation. We must all be on the same page for anything to work, and I know he is right.

We both know there is no other way.

Riev shifts toward me and brushes my cheek with his soft lips. “Stop saving everyone. Save yourself. I’m not worth it.” He presses his notebook of maps into my hand.

His elk is brought to him, and the rest of his weapons are stripped away by three guards.

“Goodbye, Delphine. Don’t come after me.” The light colors in his eyes swirl for a brief moment before his face hardens, and he turns away.

I want to scream.

I want to scream out into the darkness of this impenetrable and hopeless forest, but the never-ending trees will only devour my cries without anyone ever knowing the difference.

Violet, blue, green, gold, crimson. Their colorfully iridescent wings that ripple like silk banners disappear into the trees, marching to the deafening beat of my heart.

Throg, Ivy, and I are sealed in the cave with our elk. I gather my strength, for all of us. I have to get us out of here. Daylight streams in from around the edges of the rock, but I can’t see the Syf or which direction they’re taking Riev.

A Syf guard calls out from outside. “Do not attempt to remove the rock yet.” His voice is muted through the thick slab of rock between us.

“What will they do with Riev? Why are Syf attacking our villages?” I holler back, pounding a fist on the coarse stone.

I’m met with silence by the Syf guard on the other side.

“Is Riev really Syf?” Ivy asks me.

“Are they lying, so he goes without a struggle?” Throg suggests. He lowers his voice. “We all know how many Syf he’s killed.”

They could execute him for his crimes against Syf.

“How do they speak our language? I’ve only ever heard them scream or shriek.” I slap the large rock blocking our exit. “We need to pursue them. What do they want that we could use to negotiate for Riev?”

“Why didn’t Riev put up more of a fight? He listened to you,” Ivy points out.

“Very uncharacteristic of him,” Throg agrees.

Ivy avoids my gaze. “Do you think on some level he wanted to go with them?” she says, subdued. A rare glimpse of concern. Ivy doesn’t give a second thought to much, so her words send a prickle down my back.

She toes a rock, overturning it. A beetle scurries out from under it and madly dashes for a nearby shadow. Ivy moves her foot to stomp on it, but at the last second, she hesitates and changes her mind. “He always told me he wanted to escape the life he had.”

Escape the life he had? My eyes narrow in on her. “What do you mean?”

“I think…he was planning to escape to the other side of the forest and not come back. He tried with the last two guys. I knew them. They wanted to leave too. ”

Bile rises in the back of my throat. “What?”

I can’t believe it.

Ivy nods. “He didn’t want to be an assassin anymore. Wished to never see King Galke again, he said.”

“No. He never told me he wanted—”

“To ditch us once we got there?” Throg asks. “Sneaky bastard. Clever, but he absolutely had secrets. I could smell it.”

My heart tumbles to my feet as I feel myself pale; I don’t even try to hide the shocked expression I know is splashed across my face.

For all the honesty Riev proclaimed to me, he concealed his greatest lie.

This mission was his cover to escape the military forever. He doesn’t let anyone into his cold, vicious heart—except to manipulate for his own gain , King Galke said. No loyalties.

Riev’s words surge in my mind, flooding me with anger, confusion. Regret.

I’m a savage beast.

Heart of a Syf.

Don’t involve yourself with someone like me.

Don’t you want out? To escape it all? I do!

It all comes crashing into me.

He didn’t lie. I was just too stupid to see the truth. Simply because I’d allowed my affections for him to blind me.

Logically, he had no choice today. We were backed into a corner. He had to leave, or we all would have died. My sensible, strategic side recognizes that.

But if King Foss hadn’t found us…

Would he have seen this mission through? Or would he have deserted us once the opportunity to go his own way presented itself?

These thoughts break my heart in two.

Because that would mean…

He never intended to be with me beyond what we had during this assignment.

This splinters my soul into a thousand pieces.