Page 78 of The Eye of the Fifth
‘Do you missyourfamily?’
His family had wanted him to kill the fledgling girl without a second thought. Yet she did not ask out of spite, but gentle curiosity. ‘To miss them would be to regret my actions. That of which I don’t,’ Gedeon said, and the truth behind the statement surprised even him.
But Amala was not surprised. ‘I think my father would have liked you.’
Gedeon did not know what to say to that.
‘They told me I would find you here.’
Both prince and fledgling looked up to see Sunsi standing in the doorway. It had been only three days since her last visit, but the change to her physical appearance was quite concerning. Her cheekbones were more prominent, her uniform did not fit as well as it had done. The bags that had begun under her eyes were darker, her eyelids heavy and slow.
‘Amala, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Gedeon alone,’ Sunsi said with a kind but tight smile.
Hopping from the stool immediately, Amala looked back at Gedeon before departing. ‘If you teach me how to play, can I still call you Master Gedeon?’
Gedeon smirked, but would not make a promise he would not be able to keep. ‘Perhaps.’
It was good enough for the fledgling, and she bounded away with her two braids swinging happily behind her.
‘I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,’ Gedeon said to Sunsi as he closed the pianoforte lid.
As if to make sure they would not be overheard, Sunsi peered down the hallway. Slowly, she closed the door behind her, then leant against it. ‘It’s gotten worse,’ she whispered. ‘So much worse.’
‘Has the bounty increased again?’
‘Every citizen is being forced to submit themselves for questioning. From dawn until dusk. It began yesterday. She’s… she’s angry. I think… somehow… she knows you are still in the city.’ She rubbed at her eyes, and the skin reddened with the friction. ‘There have been killings. The crown prince is executing anyone the Empress deems is a liar. My own sentries are amongst the dead. Demonstrations to make us work harder. Look harder.’
Gedeon’s throat tightened.
‘Of course, they won’t find you,’ Sunsi said quickly, reassuringly, as though she mistook his silence as fear for hisownlife.
They had not been intimate in a long time. Nor did he harbour any true romantic feelings for her… but he cared a great deal about her welfare. If her life was in danger because of him-
‘Gedeon.’
He looked up at the sound of his name on her lips. Not fierce nor reproachful like she had been since their time in the Base together, but soft-spoken. ‘I know what it is I’m asking of you,’ she said. ‘I know what you are giving up. I just… I need you to know that I understand.’
He had never seen her like this. So open, so vulnerable. But despite the slight tremble of her bottom lip, there was hard resolution in her hazel gaze. ‘I don’t know how much longer I have left before I too am condemned to the executioner's block. I’m running out of time. I need to know for sure that a better world is coming. That these people will not be left here forever with no chance. No hope.’
Gedeon understood then. That her fear was not for losing her own life, but for leaving the Base without a leader.
‘My decision has been made, Sunsi. I am with you.’
‘Good,’ she breathed. ‘Because the preparations have been made. You leave tonight for Nythanor.’
Chapter Twenty Two
Fleeting Happiness
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The Base, Dracyg Dominion.
Gedeon.
Sunsi’s plan to smuggle him out of the city was not foolproof, nor was it a means of travel he was particularly looking forward to, but without his darkness to shroud him from sight, it was the most feasible option they had.
He supposed he ought to have slept before he left, not knowing the next time he would get the chance to comfortably do so, but he could not force his body to shut down, even for a short period. He was not fond of the Base, but it had become a place of permanence, of familiarity. Leaving it, and Amala and Sunsi behind, to dive into frozen, hostile waters, was not a thought that appeased him enough to succumb to rest.
