Page 11 of Artemysia
Her nose crinkles as she tosses her head back to look up at me. “What?”
She’s baffled. As am I.
Why the hell did I say that? I rummage in the small pack at my waist and offer the only thing of value I have on me. Jerky. “I made it myself. Wild valley bison meat.”
Thank gods her eyes light up—not in revulsion, but in excitement. “Ilovebison jerky!”
She whirls around and grips the railing to climb back up the stairs.
I laugh genuinely for the first time tonight, relieved, but also out of adoration for her enthusiasm.
“Oh, so youcanlaugh,” she says.
“I try not to. Laughing confuses people,” I grumble. “Makes them believe I want to hear more talking.”
She shoos me away from the wooden chest and flips open the lid again, lifting out more books, a change of clothes, some matches, and stumps of candles.
From the very bottom, she draws out a round copper tin. “I was saving this, but maybe we can put together a feast. This is…candied pearfruit. Have you ever had such a thing? It’s made from ice pears that only grow on mountaintops. I bought it at Winter Carnival a long time ago and have hoarded it since. One piece each.”
She passes me a green sugar-coated ring the size of my palm.
The eye contact she gives me. Fucking hell. Her eyes sparkle like amber gemstones as she watches me take a bite.
She flips her palm out for jerky.
Our fingers touch, and it’s just as damn good as the candy.
We consume our chewy food side by side with elbows on the south windowsill, looking out toward the mountains. Instinctively, neither of us faces north, the Syf forest side. Somehow I’m always aware when my back is turned to the enemy, even this high up in the tower.
“How long have you been with the Academy?” she asks.
“My whole life. I’m twenty-five. They took me in as a child, had me run errands, and when I was old enough, enrolled me at the Riverheart branch of the Academy. Near the outer riverlands of East River. I have no family. You?”
“Twenty-two. Joined when I was twelve. Enlisted to move my father to the city after a Syf raid murdered my mother. I tended the commanders’ elk and cleaned the stables while I trained.”
She stretches over the windowsill. “My father lives on the edge of town. There.” Her slender finger points west, toward the far end of Stargazer. At this hour, I can barely make out a handful of small glowing gas lamps in that sector of small cottages.
“Before Stargazer, we were in a farming village outside the city, where we raised and trained elk. So I can rideanything,” she says earnestly.
I snicker, and she glances sideways to throw me a disapproving look.
“Anyelk. I can ride any elk, wild or tame.” Blood rushes into her cheeks. She recovers, clearing her throat. “There’s no feeling that comes close to galloping full speed on one. It’s magical.”
Her smile lights up when she speaks of elk. It must be a passion of hers. To keep her talking, I ask her about her favorite elk, what breed she raised, and how many she used to have on the farm.
Her words spill out eagerly. “The Rock Elk were my father’s favorite. Tall and sturdy. But the Western Elk don’t spook as much and aren’t as stubborn. The Starry Elk are my favorite, with the small speckles on their faces. They’re so smart and fast…”
Our shoulders graze as we stand alongside each other. When there’s a pause in conversation, I point out the direction from which I traveled. There’s not a single visible lit lamp that way. When my hand comes down, instead of the windowsill I’m leaning over, it accidentally lands on her forearm, propped on the ledge.
She doesn’t react, doesn’t flinch, so I decide to keep it there. Her forearm is small-boned but muscular and strong. I grip it gently. What is possessing me to do this? She tenses but looks up at me, and suddenly I’m very aware that my heart is hammering against my ribs, so loudly that she must hear it.
I have no idea what to do next.
She does.
She blushes, flips up her palm under my hand, and slowly slips her fingers into mine. I pretty much stop breathing. Her skin is soft, with calluses, as expected from how often she wields a blade.
It arouses me, imagining her slashing at Syf. I got a taste of her fighting style back in the alley, and she’s incredible.
