As Sybil listened to the full story, the light seemed to flicker over the wooden beams, casting long shadows that danced with the faint hum of activity from the kitchen. He sat rigid, his face as pale as the edge of a winter moon. Elysian’s words still echoed in the quiet space between them, heavy with unspoken implications. Grimwatch—surrounded, isolated, and on the brink. The weight of their predicament sat like a stone in the pit of Sybil’s stomach.

  The clatter and murmur of the kitchen dulled into silence. The bustling energy seemed distant, muffled by the gravity of the revelation. Elysian and Kaerthlyn ate in silence, their movements unhurried, the scrape of their spoons against wooden bowls the only sound.

  Sybil finally broke the stillness, his voice rigid. “So, are you saying we’re hostages here?” His gaze fixed on Elysian, sharp and probing.

  Elysian paused mid-bite and nodded, his expression a blend of exhaustion and grim acceptance.

  Sybil’s attention snapped to Kaerthlyn. “And you?” he growled, his words laced with suspicion. “Are you here to keep tabs on us? To report what we’re doing?”

  Kaerthlyn didn’t look up. She sighed, the sound light but tired, and continued eating, her indifference an unspoken rebuke.

  Elysian smirked and leaned back, shaking his head. “Sybil, bullying a girl? That’s a bad look for you. What would the ladies back in Ironspire think if they saw this?” His tone was light, teasing, but his eyes carried a glimmer of caution—an attempt to disarm the soldier’s growing tension.

  Sybil bristled, his irritation spilling over. “Bullying? Shut up, Elysian.” His voice cut through the room like a blade. “And you have the nerve to make jokes in a situation like this?” He jabbed a finger in Kaerthlyn’s direction. “She’s clearly here to watch us.”

  Elysian’s smirk faded, replaced by a sigh that seemed to draw from the depths of his weariness. “She isn’t,” he said flatly, but the glint in Sybil’s eyes told him the soldier wasn’t convinced. Elysian set his spoon down with deliberate calm. “Listen to me. We can’t escape even if we wanted to. We’re as much prisoners as the people in Grimwatch. If we try to run, the trolls and their forces surrounding the fortress will take it as a signal to attack. Everyone inside will die.”

  The words struck Sybil like a blow. His rigid posture deflated, his anger eclipsed by a shadow of despair.

  Elysian pressed on, his voice quieter now, as though speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile understanding taking root. “And let’s not pretend we could make it out of here even if we tried. Do you know where we are? Because I don’t. Grimwold is vast, and it’s not just trolls we’d have to contend with. Do you remember the Night Howler I fought?” His gaze sharpened, pinning Sybil in place. “That thing was injured, and it still nearly killed me. Imagine what’s out there, healthy and hunting.”

  Elysian paused, picking up his spoon and gesturing with it toward Kaerthlyn. “And that’s not even mentioning the trolls and thralgars themselves. You’ve seen them. They’re more dangerous than anything we’ve faced before. I doubt we could outrun them. We’ll just get ourselves killed if we do that.”

  Sybil’s gaze flickered to Kaerthlyn, who finally looked up, her cheeks puffed out with food. She chewed slowly, swallowed, and nodded. “Right,” she said simply, as though it were the most obvious truth in the world.

  Elysian snorted, a faint grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “See? Even she agrees.” He took another bite of his stew, letting the warmth of the meal dull the edge of the conversation. “So stop glaring at her and eat something.”

  For a moment, Sybil looked as though he might argue, but then he relented, his shoulders sagging. He picked up his spoon and stirred the stew in his bowl, the tension in the room easing but not vanishing entirely.

  Out of nowhere, Elysian leaned forward, his voice dropping to a mock-conspiratorial tone, loud enough for Kaerthlyn to hear. “Also, she’s the granddaughter of the big boss of this place,” he said, his grin widening mischievously. “If we cozy up to her, maybe they’ll let us go.” He paused, casting a sly glance at Kaerthlyn, who met his eyes with an unimpressed frown. “And in the worst-case scenario, we could always take her hostage.”

  Sybil froze mid-bite, his face draining of color as his gaze darted to Kaerthlyn. Her expression had darkened, her lips pressing into a thin line. Alarm flickered in his eyes as he turned back to Elysian. “Are you insane?! You can’t just say something like that.”

  “Why not?” Elysian asked, feigning innocence as he scooped up another spoonful of stew. When Sybil’s glare only intensified, he set his spoon down, sighing dramatically. Turning to Kaerthlyn, he raised an eyebrow. “Hey, do you have a problem with what I just said?”

  Kaerthlyn tilted her head, considering the question that made Sybil’s pulse quicken. Finally, she shrugged, her voice even. “Not really. My grandmother has already taken you and Grimwatch under her control, so it’s only fair you’d think about doing something like that.” Her lips curled into a grin that bared her sharp fangs, a predator’s smile that sent a shiver down Sybil’s spine. “In fact, I’d like to see you try. Let’s find out who ends up on the ground.”

  ‘Yup, definitely not fighting her.’

  Elysian’s stomach dropped, his grin faltering. “See?” he said, his nervous chuckle doing little to mask his unease as he gestured toward Kaerthlyn. “She doesn’t mind. All good here.”

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  Kaerthlyn’s gaze lingered on him, unblinking, as though she was already calculating the best way to take him down. The look sent a spike of dread through him, and he quickly busied himself with his stew, determined to avoid her eyes.

  Sybil, meanwhile, stared incredulously at the two of them, his spoon hovering forgotten above his bowl. He let out a groan, dragging a hand down his face. “You’re both insane,” he muttered before taking a reluctant bite of his stew, chewing as if it might somehow silence the madness around him.

  ‘Yup, you’re right. I’m out of my mind.’

  Elysian sighed, shaking his head as he returned to his meal. Some battles weren’t worth fighting—and this was definitely one of them.

  “I don’t get it,” Sybil said suddenly, breaking the uneasy silence. His sharp gaze turned to Kaerthlyn. “You’ve surrounded Grimwatch. From what I understand, you could easily storm the fortress, kill everyone inside, and take it for yourselves. So why go through all this trouble of taking us—specifically this bastard here—hostage?”

  “Hey!” Elysian protested, still chewing on his food, his scowl comically distorted.

  Sybil ignored him, his brow furrowed as he wrestled with the question. “It doesn’t add up. What’s the point?”

  Kaerthlyn regarded him quietly for a moment before pointing her fork toward Elysian. “You should ask him.”

  Sybil frowned, turning to the young noble. “What does she mean?”

  Elysian let out a long sigh. “Well, I happen to be in possession of a very valuable artifact. Her grandmother somehow knows about it… Wait.” He turned to Kaerthlyn, suspicion flickering in his eyes. “You said the Matriarch told you to save my life, but she wasn’t there when I fought the Night Howler. How could she have known about the artifact unless she—” He paused, his expression sharpening. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  Kaerthlyn didn’t stop eating, her tone calm as she replied, “You’re right. She wasn’t there. But she told me to save you, and she saw you kill that Night Howler also.”

  Elysian’s curiosity turned to alarm. “How? Don’t tell me she’s… listening right now.” His eyes darted around the room as if searching for hidden eyes or ears.

  Kaerthlyn’s lips curved into a mischievous smile. “Why would I tell you?” She leaned back, her grin widening. “But you might be right. Maybe she’s listening.”

  Elysian’s face paled. His laugh came out thin and nervous. “You… you know I was joking earlier, right? About… you know, taking you hostage? Total joke. Ha-ha.”

  Kaerthlyn raised an eyebrow, her smile predatory. “You seemed pretty serious earlier.”

  Elysian’s strained grin faltered. “I… I wasn’t. Really.”

  Sybil, meanwhile, had tuned out their exchange, his thoughts spinning in another direction. “It still doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. His focus returned to Kaerthlyn. “An imminent attack was the whole reason reinforcements were sent to the frontier. That means you were planning to take Grimwatch from the very beginning.”

  Elysian’s spoon hovered above his bowl as he considered Sybil’s words. His eyes narrowed. “Now that I think about it… he’s right.”

  “Why don’t you just give her the damn artifact?” Sybil growled, his frustration sharp in his voice. “No matter how valuable it is, it’s not worth the lives of everyone in Grimwatch, right?”

  Elysian stared at his bowl. Guilt etched itself onto his face, heavy and unmistakable. “I can’t,” he said quietly.

  “You can’t?” Sybil’s voice rose, his anger flaring. He leaned forward as if the sheer force of his words could shake sense into Elysian.

  Elysian sighed, his shoulders slumping as if under a crushing weight. “The artifact is bound to me,” he admitted. “The only way she can take it... is if I’m dead.”

  The room fell silent. Sybil’s eyes widened, then dropped to the table as the weight of the revelation hit him. The noise of the kitchen seemed to vanish, replaced by a suffocating quiet. Despair loomed like a shadow over the table.

  Finally, Sybil broke the silence, glancing between Elysian and Kaerthlyn, his face twisted with confusion. “I don’t get it,” he muttered. “The more I learn about this, the less sense it makes. I’m starting to feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  Elysian looked at him. “Confused? How?”

  Sybil rubbed his temples. “Let’s establish something,” he said, gesturing toward Kaerthlyn. “Your forces were planning to take Grimwatch regardless of this artifact, right? It wasn’t just about this guy?”

  Kaerthlyn nodded, chewing her food with the slow, deliberate air of someone thoroughly uninterested in the drama unfolding around her.

  “Wait, I have a question,” Elysian cut in, his brow furrowing. “Why now? Why go after Grimwatch all of a sudden? As far as I know, your people didn’t care about it before. Your grandmother even let us humans settle there without much of a fight. What’s changed?”

  Kaerthlyn paused, her fork halfway to her mouth. She stared at Elysian for a moment before letting out a sigh. “That’s not for me to say. You’ll have to ask my grandmother.”

  ‘Interesting. There’s a reason for this sudden interest. A big one.’

  “And your grandmother,” Sybil interjected, his tone hardening. “She’s even more baffling to me. Your forces have Grimwatch surrounded. You could’ve taken it already, but instead, she stops the invasion to get Elysian’s artifact. And the only way to claim it is if he dies. So why save him?” He looked directly at Kaerthlyn now. “Why not just let him die and take what she wants without dirtying her hands?”

  Elysian’s spoon slipped from his fingers, clattering into the bowl. His eyes widened as Sybil’s words struck home.

  ‘He’s right. None of this adds up.’

  Elysian turned to Kaerthlyn, his voice sharper now. “Why spare me at all? If she wanted the artifact, why didn’t she just let me die and take it?”

  Kaerthlyn set her fork down, exhaling as if their questions were an unbearable burden. “Why are you asking me?” she said, irritation creeping into her voice. “I may be the Matriarch’s granddaughter, but that doesn’t mean she tells me everything. I’m just a young thralgar, barely out of my training, and I haven’t even had my coming-of-age ceremony yet. Why would she explain her plans to me?”

  When her answer drew only disappointed looks, she added, “Look, I suggest you trust the wisdom of my grandmother. It’d be wise.”

  ‘Trust her? Trust someone I barely know? Someone whose motives I don’t understand? Someone whose interests could destroy everything I care about?’

  Elysian snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. “Sure,” he muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Sounds perfectly reasonable.” And with that, he let out a sigh, returning to his food with a weariness that seemed to seep into his very bones.

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