Page 40 of The Eye of the Fifth
Tanwen’s gaze hardened, her huge golden eyes fixed on him.And what of the Empress’ task, Gedeon? I sense your hesitancy… I must ask you why.
Because it will officially begin the war,Gedeon said grimly.I suppose I did not ever think the time would come. Yet here it is.
Her gaze did not waver.It is your duty.
Gedeon gave her an incredulous look.I knowyoudo not believe that.
No,she agreed.But you do. You believe your sole purpose is to serve the crown, the Empress, even if it goes against what your heart is telling you.
Gedeon stood and stared out over Dracyg, at the black castle in the distance, a structural monstrosity of spikes and shards, like a hundred spears poised to pierce the sky.I am a prince of Zarynth, Tanwen. My duty is to serve my lands. To serve my queen.
Tanwen huffed. Her hot breath washed over him.You are also a Warden, chosen by Eraura to keep the balance of the realm. The Empress seeks to destroy that balance.
I did not come here to be chastised.
It is not chastising if it is the truth.
Folding his arms across his chest, he said,I did not think you concerned yourself with the affairs of us mere flesh mortals.
Her low laugh resounded in his mind.Do not mistake my concern for you as caring about Zarynth’s politics. I could not care less who sits on the famed Black Throne. But your mother’s ambition for a united world goes against everything the Four Mothers have created.
I believe in that ambition too,he reminded her with a slight warning.You know this.
Sadness filled Tanwen’s orb-like eyes.That I do. But I ask you this, as your friend: Do you share that ambition because that is what you truly believe? Or do you share it because you have never considered another choice?
Gedeon held her knowing stare. Tanwen had always been upfront in her opinions, but never had she been so bold to suggest that the life he had led was somehow corrupted.
It was unnerving.
My loyalty has, and always will be, to the Empress. To the crown. There is no other choice. It is my birthright.
Your loyalty is one of the many great things about you,Tanwen said proudly.But you have always had a choice, Gedeon. When you found me, you could have let me die. It would have been much easier that way. But you chose to give me life. You chose kindness.
Gedeon shook his head.That was different. I was a child.
If you found a hatchling in need now, full grown as you are, would you treat it differently?Gedeon didn’t respond.No. You would act in the same way you did as a boy becausethatis who you are. A child’s will is pure. That purity is forgotten as we grow and become manipulated by those around us. But the child never leaves us, and it is the child we must listen to in times of unrest.
Then what do you suggest, friend?Gedeon asked with a touch of impatience, peering at the black castle once more.I cannot openly refuse my queen’s command. I am no traitor.
She moved then, as gracefully as any giant could, her magnificent head appearing to the side of him.You have a great deal of honour inyour heart. You must decide who it belongs to: the Prince of Zarynth, or the Warden of Fire.
It did not answer his question. Tanwen often spoke in infuriating riddles that somehow made him face the parts of himself he had scrupulously learned to evade.
Had he ever known who he truly was? Had he forsaken his duty as Fire Warden, to the people of Droria, of Zarynth, for his duty as prince?
Was there a possibility that he could give equal parts of himself to both? The Fire Wardenandthe prince?
Would his mother everallowhim to be both?
What of the Earth Warden?Gedeon asked Tanwen, suddenly remembering the dripping wet earthling in his chambers.You have not spoken on the impossible projection between us.
Ah, yes.She gave a great huff.I think, as with all unexplainable things, that only time will reveal the nature of this… impossibility.
In other words, be patient,Gedeon said drily.Thank you for that illuminating insight.
Her great head nudged his side none too gently, offsetting his balance. He laughed, and the war raging within him fractionally calmed. At least for a while.
Chapter Twelve
