Page 21 of Cherish

“General, come with me.” It’s as close to an order as I’ve ever given in peacetime, and I can see Artelya’s eyes widen as she turns her back on the prisoner. She doesn’t say a word, though, as she and Hudson follow me from the room. None of us do until the door is shut firmly behind us.

“You can see that there’s no reasoning with her,” Artelya starts.

“No, there isn’t,” I agree. “But interrogating her will also be a waste of your time. She’ll give you nothing and—”

“You don’t know that,” Hudson interrupts.

“Idoknow it. And so do you, if you’re honest with yourself.”

Artelya looks like she wants to argue, but in the end, she doesn’t. Because she knows I’m right, as does Hudson—I can see it in their eyes. “You can’t actually expect me to just let her go, do you? Did you see what she was wearing?” Indignation slams through each syllable.

“I did,” I answer, the flames of anger still turning my organs to ash. “And no, you’re definitely not going to let her go.”

“Well, thank heavens for—”

It’s my turn to interrupt. “You’re going to let her escape.”

“You want me to do what?” Artelya’s lips pull tight with fury.

“I want you to let her escape,” I repeat. “Without all those little potions and powders she’s got with her. And then I want you and a couple of your best soldiers to follow her and see where she goes. Torture won’t work on a woman like that, but subterfuge just might.”

“She already thinks she’s smarter than us,” Hudson adds, and Artelya nods as the plan comes together in her mind.

“Then we should give her the chance to prove that to herself,” she says.

“Exactly,” I tell her. “And if we’re lucky, she’ll lead us straight back to the Crone and this ‘army’ she mentioned, so we can put an end to the hunters once and for all.”

“And if we’re not lucky?” Hudson raises one brow.

“If we’re not, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. And in the meantime…”

“In the meantime, we have a god to reason with,” Hudson reminds me.

“And I have an escape to plan,” Artelya says, a grin finally spreading across her face.

12

A Bird on the Head Is

Worth Two in the Bush

Hudson and I make it back to the game with less than a minute on the clock. A quick glance at the scoreboard shows that Jikan’s team has made a miraculous comeback in our absence, which is a relief, given we really need to ask for his help if we hope to save Mekhi—and Jikan being in a winning mood will definitely make that easier.

The literal second the game is over, Flint demands, “Can you please unfreeze Jaxon now?”

Despite the use of the word “please,” it doesn’t sound like a question, and every one of us knows it, including Jikan. Which is probably why he gives Flint a look so mild it has fear icing its way up my spine even before he pops one last piece of popcorn in his mouth and stands up to stretch.

His casual insolence is the last straw for Flint, who steps forward, looking like he wants to throttle the god. Thank the world for Hudson, who positions himself between them so smoothly that it looks like an accident.

I know it’s not, just like I know Hudson isn’t nearly as amused as he seems that his brother has been frozen for so long.

Jikan must sense it, too, because he yawns—right before he waves a hand and unfreezes Jaxon,who still has a pigeon on his head. The bird freaks out the second it realizes he’s alive, letting out a squawk that echoes through our entire section before flying away in a very affronted flap of wings.

“What the fuck?” Jaxon says, more than a little disturbed as he stares after it, trying to figure out what he’s missed. “What happened to the game? When did you guys sit down? And why was there apigeonon myhead?”

He looks so befuddled and disturbed that I can’t help it. I start to laugh. Seconds later, Heather and Eden join me. It takes Hudson a few more seconds, but eventually he joins in, too. Flint doesn’t laugh, but he does duck his head to hide a smile, and the tension of the moment dissipates like so much smoke.

Jikan, on the other hand, leans a hip against the railing and crosses his arms over his chest. “So what is it you want from me now?” he asks, heaving a long-suffering sigh.

---