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Helion made a small noise of surprise in the back of his throat before covering it with a sly smirk and splaying his hand on the small of my back.

“Lyra?” Rythos asked almost hesitantly, voice breaking over my name.

“It is true.” The words felt like poison on my tongue as I raised my chin.

I didn’t miss the subtle way Helion’s weight shifted.

Rythos’ face screwed up as if my lie tasted sour, void-like eyes shooting to where my wrists were bound.

“You have twisted her mind,” Rythos scoffed, thrusting his pointer finger toward Helion, the damp strands of his hair dripping with the violent movement.

“And you twisted her heart,” Helion tsked, stroking the back of his hand down my cheek just to make him snarl. “Your jealously bores me.”

“The tears of a Siren and the sand of Stonebriar,” Rythos hissed through clenched teeth. “I could not hunt a sea serpent. Find it yourself.”

My eyes bounced between them, eyebrows puckering as I tried to piece together the conversation they were having over the top of me.

“Now give me Lyra so I can die in peace.”

His words churned through me, acid hitting the back of my throat in wave of nausea. I fought the urge to curl into his embrace and tell him that it was okay. That I knew how to save him now, even if it would break his heart.

“I gave your monster some busy work to keep him out of the way,” Helion said, mischief dancing in his eyes. “It was fake.”

Rythos’ jaw clenched, shoulders rising and falling faster with each unsteady breath that showed he was getting closer to losing control.

“The Siren tears, the scale of a sea serpent, the sands from Stonebriar… Two impossible tasks to keep your brute mind occupied and one to kill time so you didn’t ruin everything by delivering yourself to the Hells.” He stepped closer to Rythos. “Stop looking for enemies where there aren't any so we can save the kingdoms.”

My head snapped towards Helion as he extended his hand, waiting with an infuriating calm for Rythos to take it. Confusion twisted through me. They weren't standing on opposite sides of a battlefield anymore. Helion wanted to save the kingdoms, when I had thought he was the one who was breaking it. Somehow, they had become men chasing the same impossible outcome.

“Give her to me,” Rythos seethed, the rocks all but trembling beneath my bare feet with his anger.

“I was never going to give her to you, Rythos.” For a brief moment, a sadness passed over Helion’s face. But the emotion was gone in the blink of an eye and replaced with cruel smirk.

Another mask.

Another expression that did not match the warmth flickering through the bond like the rays of the morning sun.

“I need you to sail us to the Throne of Gods.”

My heartbeat quickened beneath my ribs. If Helion truly believed there was a cure, then perhaps this was a part of his plan.

Hope unfurled inside me, fragile and dangerous. Had every impossible task been nothing more than a desperate attempt to keep him alive… for me?

Could I actually trust him?

Rythos moved faster than my thought finished. His roar echoed through the oppressive fog, sword ringing as it left its sheath, the sound sharp with murderous intent. He swung it in a dangerous arc, shadows crawling over his skin and billowing from the blade.

Helion shot me a wink and shoved me behind him. My hip cracked against the rockface, pain exploding through my side as I rolled across the ground.

Bastard.

Helion flicked his hands. Flames ignited at his fingertips before racing up his forearms to his biceps. For a heartbeat, they stood chest to chest, every muscle straining.

Darkness and Light, eager to consume each other until only one stood.

“Stop!” I yelled.

They collided.