Page 185 of The Eye of the Fifth
Gedeon linked his hands behind his back, looking every bit the prince that he was, no longer unkempt and beaten from weeks of imprisonment. The wind ran its gentle wisps through his waving black hair as he stood there, a dark silhouette stark against the white landscape. He took a step toward her, his low voice stroking over her skin as he said, ‘I would have thought that was obvious.’
Kyra hissed, ‘I am going to Zarynth. Do not get in my way, Gedeon.’
‘How will you get there?’ Another step. ‘The hawk will certainly not take you. I assume that was your plan?’
‘I’ll find another way. I’ll fucking walk there if I have to.’
‘The Eternals will find you and drag you back before you even reach Phaenon City.’
‘Then I’ll escape again!’ Kyra cried. ‘I will escape again and again andagainuntil I find a way out. Naal can fucking chain me to the ground and I’ll still find a way to get out of here. Even if Azar kills me the second I arrive in Dracyg, I can’t just donothing.’Her throat was suddenly thick. ‘I can’t… Iwill notleave her there.’
Gedeon paused a step away from her, his unblinking gaze of night boring into her very soul. ‘Who is she?’
Kyra couldn’t say her name. Fiercely, she whispered, ‘My sister. She’s my sister.’
It didn’t matter if they didn’t share blood. It didn’t matter if they were races apart, fae and human. Shewasher sister. By every right.
Tension rippled through Gedeon’s jaw. He took another step toward her, now on the stair just below. Kyra didn’t move. ‘You cannot go to Zarynth.’
‘I willbreakyou if you get in my way.’
‘Try it,’ Gedeon goaded her in an almost whisper. He was close enough now that his warm breath tickled her face.
Goddess, shehatedhim. She wished she’d just let him die that day, wished she’d simply watched as his flames consumed him.
‘I warned you,’ she said darkly.
She reached for the earth within his very bones, willing her magic to blast him away, just as she had done to Zuriel-
The world went black.
It was as though the divines had wiped out every single source of light. The moon disappeared. The orange hue of the city fire pits was extinguished. Kyra frantically searched for any light in the thick shadows. Nothing but opaque darkness glared back at her.
Gedeon’s voice rumbled through it. ‘Your impulsiveness will be the death of you.’
She dared not move. Not with the realisation that seeped through her. ‘This darkness… is you?’
Breath brushing close to her right ear, he murmured, ‘You are not the only one with the power of two deities.’
Kyra’s heart and thoughts began to race simultaneously. As he paced around her, she willed the sun to come forth. It came almost instantly at her call, shimmering on her skin, a dim yet undying light in an ocean of darkness.
Gedeon was at her side, his form now illuminated by her. A still presence. ‘Use it, then,’ Kyra said forcefully. ‘Help me.I have no chance of reaching Zarynth alone, but hear me when I tell you that I will never stop trying. I willneverstop trying to save her. I don’t care that it’s a trap. I don’t care that I will probably die trying.’ She took a shaking breath. ‘But withyouby my side… we might actually make it out alive. Please, Gedeon. You owe me a life debt, remember? Let me claim it this way. Save hers and the debt is paid.’
Something flickered in Gedeon’s eyes then, something that had nothing to do with her glow alighting those stars. She forced herself to stay quiet. To wait.
Then, at last, he said slowly, ‘If I consent… we do it my way. You will listen and obey. Even if it means aborting the mission and running. These are my conditions. Take them or leave them.’
Kyra couldn’t help her sneer. ‘A male who wants to be in charge. How original.’
The darkness was extinguished, and suddenly he was in front of her. For the first time, his cool mask had slipped. There was a bite in his rumbling voice now. ‘I do not ask to take charge for the sake of stupid male pride. I take charge because I know Dracyg. I know my mother. I know where your sister is likely being kept in the Black Castle. And I know that without me, your chances of even breaching the city are slim to none. Youneedme.’ He took a step back, his expression one of cold dominance. ‘Make your choice.’
Kyra didn’t hesitate. ‘I accept your terms.’
Shewouldheed his every word.Just as long as she agreed with them.
Because if he thought for one moment she would do anything that put Rosary’s life at risk, or resulted in having to leave her behind… then he would soon find out who was really in charge.
Gedeon peered up at the hawk sitting regally on the edge of the Summit. ‘Shall we take another gamble?’
