Page 131 of Artemysia
He cocks his head, looking overly pleased to have my full attention. “We’ve tried to infect them with disease, to weaken them, but it only makes them…more aggressive…rabid.”
“And that’s how you control them?”
“No, they become uncontrollable. But we’re trying to find anantidote, so we can harness the monster, unleash it when needed, and then turn it off. Only a handful of people know this.”
Why is he telling me, then?
I shake off the disbelief. “And you just set them loose, to raid and kill villagers?”
“No. We believe the run-off from our experiments into the river is toxic to Syf. They drink the water and become rabid. It doesn’t seem to affect man or animal or crops, though the river flowers along the East River banks no longer bloom. The main laboratory is here.”
“Toxic? The flowers don’t bloom anymore?” I echo. My thoughts spiral. The river runs south. If we can stop the runoff, we can stop the Syf from turning, which means…
The fighting and death can end.
He studies my reaction before continuing. “The palace started the rumor that my father is able to control Syf, to keep the lords in line. But someone set that Syf loose at the ball tonight. There are those who work against me, perhaps even our own nobility here.”
“But Syf don’t normally attack the palace?”
“Not usually. The affected Syf usually head south, away from North Kingdom. We think, even in their crazed state, they are trying to return to Artemysia, or even the main Syf lands past the mountains of South Kingdom.”
“You don’t care if the Syf attack South Kingdom? You poison the river, and then it’s not your problem?”
“I have no way of knowing what’s going on in South Kingdom. But if we don’t learn how to control or fight the Syf, all of humankind is doomed.”
My cheeks burn with fury, and I must have the willpower of a mountain demon when I don’t kick the prince’s ass right then and there.
North Kingdom’s experiments are why Syf suffer, and why South Kingdom has been continuously assaulted for the past two decades.
With all the self-control I have, I set aside my anger. Compartmentalize. I need to know. “Why are you telling me all this? The secrets of your kingdom?”
“Because I want your help tonight. Your fighting skills, your strategic thought. My kingdom’s combat skills are weak and our weaponsinferior compared to Syf. Perhaps even compared to South Kingdom.”
I feel one eyebrow shoot up. Always the left one when I’m surprised. “You didn’t want me to sleep with you for one night? You led Riev to believe—”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Delphine, but I have enough women to fill all hours of the evening.”
I snort loudly. “I’m only disappointed that I don’t get to beat a snooty prince into a bloody pulp and make an exhilarating escape.” Riev would be proud of me for such a statement.
One corner of Toryl’s mouth turns up tensely. I sense he’s not used to smiling often.
I glare sternly, disapproving that he finds this amusing. “Why did you have to torture my husband like that, then? Just to see him squirm?”
“He needed to be put in his place. Especially in front of the guards. My father says to maintain power, you must constantly show power. But you can drop the façade.” Prince Toryl finally grins. “Riev isnotyour husband.”
I fake a smile to hide the lie. “You wish he weren’t.”
But the prince is sharp, I give him that. He has learned to read people, perhaps an indication of the two-faced nature of those around him, as poor Gregory the guard had warned me.
“There’s an intensity between the two of you. I’ve never experienced such deep feelings for anyone, and I rarely see it among nobility. Not when most marry for status or inheritance. There’s no loyalty. No attachment. No passion.”
My breath snags. He’s perceptive. I’m thrown at first, but ultimately, I’m impressed, so I give in to him a little rather than insisting on a lie.
“You’re not wrong.”
“Why aren’t the two of you married? Or together? With all that exists between you?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” I confess.
