Page 164 of Artemysia
I snort. “I’ve run out of celestial bodies to compare you to. The point is, I won’t make it without you. I refuse.”
“No?”
“There aren’t enough words to describe what I feel. But…I have a full hour toshowyou.” I shift out from behind her, out of our embrace, and prowl over her body, my hands slapping the mattress next to her head. Her hips lift to meet mine, eliciting a groan from me. She rubs against my already-rock hard erection that’s come back to life not five minutes after our last round. Like an idiot, I find myself impressed at my own cock, but mostly, I’m impressed by the woman face-to-face in front of me. She rules my world.
Delphine is the answer to all the questions I’ve held in my heart my whole life.
Am I a monster?
She was the first to tell me no. The first to show me no, by loving me.
Am I worthy of love?
She says unquestioningly—yes. She shows me yes, every single damn day.
At this, my Human heart rejoices.
And yet, she possesses the strength to kill me.I would die a thousand deaths—a thousand times over, by her hand. For her.
At this, my Syf soul sings.
“Delphine is my only weakness.” - Riev
Three months later
“Your scent is in the air, my little demon,” Throg hollers out into the thicket of trees. His deep voice echoes among the sparse sunbeams streaming through the dark forest. He and I approach the Artemysian gateway. At Limingfrost, Throg declared it unseasonably hot and peeled off his shirt, and he hasn’t put it back on since. We’ve dismounted, about to walk our elk through the giant split oak covered in enormous glowing fungi in all shades of the rainbow.
My pulse spikes at the thought of seeing Riev after our last two-week stint apart, and at the even more anxious idea of my new life in Artemysia. I grasp at the thought of my crimson cravat hanging with my Academy uniform in King Foss’ palace. I will wear it when I travel to Stargazer to attend meetings in the warroom.
Riev’s soft blue flannel hangs beside it. I don’t plan on ever returning it to him.
A familiar roar that ends in a shriek pierces our ears from a tree above. A blur of auburn hair and a flash of steel later, Throg lies flat on his back on the mossy earth of the forest.
Ivy sits on his bare chest, her dagger to his throat. “I missed youso much, you fucker.”
She shaves off a patch of stubble along his throat with her blade and prods him with the tip of her knife, drawing his laughter.
“How long were you waiting up there, Morrigan? You’re going to pay for this later.”
“Why wait?” she challenges him.
“You know Elphie is uptight about seeing people fuck,” Throg says, jerking his chin at me.
Ivy glances up, her violet eyes once again darkening to the color of currants in the shadowy forest.
“I missed you too, Captain. Your Syf prince is stressed out, making sure everything you need for your move is here. He’s been cleaning all morning. The Lindwyrm took a small bite out of him when he tried to fold your old shirt that you left for it.”
Throg chuckles. “Doesn’t he have people to clean and fold for him now?”
“No one does it to his standards,” Ivy says. “Are you here to stay this time, Captain, er, Colonel? Or should I call you Ambassador?”
I started my position as a liaison between Stargazer and Artemysia, and will be able to see my father on my travels back and forth. The elk he raises are becoming known as the fastest, best-trained elk in the country, and are highly sought-after. My father will trade to both Stargazer and Artemysia, since the Artemysians only breed horses. The Syf claim elk can outrun and outjump horses and are better on rocky terrain, but horses have better temperaments and can bear a heavier load.
“Of course. I’m here to stay,” I reply. “Who else dares to tell Riev when he’s being an a-hole?”
“Yess!” Ivy pounds Throg’s chest with a fist to celebrate. “His uncle thinks it all the time but holds his tongue. In fact, he holds his tongueso much around Riev that his dark hair is becoming ‘touched by starlight,’ like yours.”
I smirk. “Riev is driving him stark raving mad, huh?”
