The unmistakable whine of a bow string being drawn reaches me, and I lift my weapon as well. With my own arrow nocked, I turn, aiming at Zephyrus’ chest, just as his arrow is aimed at mine.
Our eyes meet across the dim. My pulse climbs as a lick of cold moves through me.
“Hello, Wren.”
His irises are the bright green of new growth, and cut like cold gemstones. Mud sullies his normally pristine tunic, his breeches torn at one knee.
“You made a mistake in coming here,” I say, tone level. He took my husband. He lied and he lied, and he made those lies sound so sweet upon his tongue. Those actions cannot go unpunished.
“Mistake?” he says. “My only mistake was not arriving sooner.”
Zephyrus shifts closer. My fingers twitch around the string. The irony does not escape me, that I might shoot the god who gifted me this weapon. The gift, as it turns out, meant nothing. Merely a way to earn my trust, a bond that has been tarnished since its deceptive beginning.
“One more step,” I warn, “and I’ll shoot.” Both the bow and arrows are god-touched. And I rarely miss.
He frowns, but stops. “I suppose that’s fair.”
“I should have listened to Boreas. I didn’t believe—”
“That I am as depraved as he claims?” A mirthless smile. “Despite what Boreas thinks, I do not want his death. I only want his spear. His power has grown unchecked and it is beginning to affect my own realm, as you are well aware. Am I to stand aside while my realm, my people, die?”
“There are other ways. Choices that do not take the lives of innocent people.”
“Many of my people are already dead.”
“As you will be, if you don’t give me the answers I want. Is that why you killed his wife and son? Because you felt his power grew unchecked?”
“Technically, bandits killed them.”
Only years of discipline keep my hold on the string. “Are you honestly that cold-hearted?”
“Wren.” He sighs, as if he’s had this conversation before and has grown tired of it. “It was not my intention.”
“Enough with the lies. You poisoned Boreas’ wife against him. You took advantage of her, betrayed your brother’s trust.”And me, I think with a spike of fury.You betrayed me.
“It is not my fault she was unhappy,” he replies with a careless shrug. “I gave her an out, just as I gave you one, and she took it.”
“She wasn’t unhappy. She loved him.” But Zephyrus, with his treacherous, cunning mind, managed to crawl under that woman’s skin, hone her into a tool used against her husband. Like he nearly did to me. “Why is that so hard for you to believe?”
“Maybe she loved him once, but love is cruel, and it doesn’t last forever,” he snaps, expression contorting with sudden rage and grief. “It takes something from you, and when that person is gone, you are forever left with a hole in your heart. I never wanted this, you know. I had hoped to reason with Boreas, plead for my realm’s survival, though I doubt you care.”
I glare at him. “You’re right. I don’t.”
But I am not thinking of Zephyrus. Strangely, I am thinking of sweet Thyamine, empty-headed Thyamine, forgetful Thyamine. She had sensed something was amiss during our trek to Sleep’s cave. I thoughtshe feared for my safety, but it’s possible my assumption was wrong. I never did learn why she drank from the River of Forgetting.
“Thyamine,” I say. “Did you tamper with her memories? Did she see something she wasn’t supposed to?”
The West Wind rolls his eyes. “The woman was too nosy for her own good. She noticed when I began spending time with my brother’s wife, and I feared she would say something. I took care of the problem.”
Bastard. Self-serving bastard.
Zephyrus offers me his hand. “Be that as it may, I like you, Wren, so I will give you this chance. If you come quietly, I will not hurt you.”
The ghost of a smile threatens. So he can use me for leverage? I don’t think so.
“Zephyrus,” I croon. “I’ve never done anything quietly in my life.”
I release. The arrow sinks deep into his shoulder. He shrieks, drops the bow as I unlatch the stall door and scramble onto Iliana’s back. No time for a bridle or saddle. The body beneath me, pure, untapped power, springs forward, and we leap through the open door, galloping out of the stable and into the night.
