Helios took a seat by the fire and set to sharpening a knife. “There are no unicorns here,” he said without looking at either of them.
Teryn waited for him to elaborate, but the hope was futile. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means we ride at dawn. Continue north.”
Teryn curled his fingers into fists. It was always the same answer, night after night with nothing else to add. “Helios,” he said through his teeth, “tell us the damn plan.”
Helios slowly slid his gaze to Teryn. “I’ll tell you the plan when I’ve deemed you worthy of hearing it.”
Teryn shot to his feet, chest heaving with rage. “We are in an alliance. We are not your servants. When we agreed to this arrangement, we conceded to work together. Not for you.”
“I’ll share my intel on a need-to-know basis.”
“No.” It took all of Teryn’s restraint to speak with control. “You will tell us everything you know. Now.”
Helios lifted his brows. “Or what?”
Teryn held his gaze. “Or we’ll leave.”
“You won’t.”
“I will. I am tired of being—”
“Tired.” Helios scoffed. “Of course you’re tired. You’re too soft. Almost as soft as Lexington.”
Lex sat upright. “How many times have I told you not to call me Lexington?”
“I’ll stop calling you Lexington when you stop dressing in silk shirts. We’re hunting. Not dancing.”
Lex’s fingers went to the silk collar of his stained shirt. Over it, he wore a brocade waistcoat that had grown equally filthy in the last week. “I like silk. It feels better on my skin than linen or leather.”
“Who cares about Lex’s wardrobe,” Teryn said before Helios could speak again. “What matters is that this alliance has become a joke, one I’ll no longer be on the receiving end of. If you need our help so badly, then tell us what you know.”
“Why? So the two of you can cut ties with me and run off to finish the Heart’s Hunt on your own?” He huffed a dark laugh. “Do you think I don’t know? You’ve been planning on betraying me from the start. I’ll not give you the fuel to light my pyre.”
Teryn crossed his arms over his chest and watched Helios through slitted lids. He was only partially right. While Teryn hoped he and Lex could eventually outmaneuver Helios, he seemed to think they had a solid plan to do so. “You must give us something,” Teryn said, keeping his tone level. “Give us a reason to trust you and we’ll return the trust in equal measures.”
A tic formed at the corners of Helios’ jaw, but he said nothing.
Teryn shook his head at the prince. “Is it all a front then? Are you keeping silent because in truth you know nothing? Have you truly seen a unicorn before? Hunted one? Or did you buy that pretty ridged blade from a toy shop?” Teryn waved a hand at Lex. “Pack up. Let’s go.”
Lex’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? Oh, thank the seven gods—”
“Stop.” Helios held out a hand toward Lex, stilling him. Keeping his glower fixed firmly on Teryn, he said, “I’ll tell you some…things. But I will not share all my intel for obvious reasons.”
“Tell us what you can,” Teryn said with a shrug. “If we deem your information worthy, we’ll stay.”
Helios’ jaw continued to tic, his glare darkening with rage as his knuckles went white around the hilt of the knife he’d been sharpening. Teryn’s fingers flinched, his hand ready to lunge for his sword—
“Very well,” Helios bit out and finally dropped Teryn’s gaze. “I’ll answer three questions.”
Teryn wanted to argue that three questions wouldn’t suit. They needed to know more. Still, at least it was something. “Where are we going?” he asked. “And don’t just say north. You have a destination in mind, otherwise we wouldn’t be traveling at such a pace.”
Helios glared at the fire as he spoke. “My destination isn’t as clear as you think, but we are heading north, for that is the only place we’ll likely find unicorns. I haven’t been surprised that we’ve yet to come across any on our travels, which is why we only hunt briefly before making camp.”
“How do you know there are no unicorns south?”
“Because Duke Morkai has hired hunting parties to keep all unicorns contained in a specific area.”
