Page 13 of Artemysia

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“These owls come in pairs. Birds, like ravens and owls, mate for life.”

“How do you know that?” Her gaze lingers on me.

“I’m not just a spectacularly handsome face.”

“Pfft.” She smirks, mildly amused, before her mouth turnsdownward. “I dunno, maybe the poor guy lost his mate. He’s been here alone for years.” She drops a foot down into the stairway but glances back at me. “I have an early morning. Sleep well, Riev.”

I scrub a hand up and down my neck, erasing the chill. Sleep now? No way. And how much did I like hearing my name on her lips?

Everything about her does it for me. I can’t put my finger on why I’m instinctively drawn to her voice, her smile, her strength.

It worries me that I’m this unhinged by one kiss.

Maybe the shock of losing two of my best men left me feeling vulnerable tonight?

No. It’s not the first time I’ve lost people to Syf. I’ve never let one strike me in the face in thefifteen yearsI’ve been fighting them. In all those years as a spy and guard for the military, I’ve never failed to protect the people I escort.

Until today.

They trusted me. I let them down. I let myself down, and now they’re dead. The Syf are getting stronger somehow.

Her braid swishes as she descends the spiral stairs of the clock tower.

“Wait,” I bite out. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Delphine.” She looks back over her shoulder and grins briefly. “After the deadly flower that grows by the riverbanks.”

A prickle ripples down my spine.

No wonder she feels like poison burning in my veins.

“You know, that kind of quiet confidence usually comes with a big cock.” - Throg

Delphine Julian does not indulge in mysterious, handsome men. I just don’t. At the year-end pub crawl, an annual tradition for my squad, Throg was voted Most Muscles. I got Most Sensible and Levelheaded.

In other words, boring.

I haven’t gotten this far by being otherwise, and I take pride in that reputation. Kissing strangers in the dark is Throg’s game. I didn’t break any official rules, but still, there are rules. My own.

No romance, no attachment, no heartbreak.

The delicious sugar of the candy must’ve broken my brain. No, I can’t blame the candy.

Iwantedto kiss him.

My fingers graze my lips. Gods, it was a good kiss.

I pass under a gas lamp alongside a main thoroughfare of Stargazer and wonder what Riev thinks of the city.Most visitors find the capital city a jarring mix of old and new. Thatched cottages and inns as old as the city sit beside modern brick chemists, which carry the latest medicines and medical equipment that help keep soldiers alive. While gas lamps line the streets, many cottages still use oil or candlelit lanterns. Hot water plumbing runs through most homes, including our dorms. I was appalled to learn that people used to have to bathe in cold water.

There are those who say that South Kingdom was on the cusp of greater advancements if we hadn’t spent all our efforts fighting Syf for the last twenty years.

I believe them.

It’s late, so I pick up my pace to rush back to the soldiers’ dorms. Minor Moon is setting already, its lavender halo fading near the horizon.

Two full moons in one night means trouble, my father always said.

He’d say that the two moons are a god and a goddess in love who emerge at night in an eternal game of push and pull, wishing to spend the night together but too proud to admit it. They chase each other across the sky, peering out from behind the stars, flirting and disguising their faces. Despite their deep yearning for the other, they never touch. But every so often, when both moons are full, the two of them finally come face to face.