Page 80 of The Eye of the Fifth
But those had been just that. Moments.
Had he ever been happy? Had his duty clouded him from feeling joy as any mortal should? ‘Does sex count?’ he jested lightly.
A sly smile pulled on her mouth. ‘If that’s your definition of happiness…?’
‘Is it not to everyone?’
She chuckled, and the easy sound made him smile.
He had believed his attraction to her had passed. That the natural evolution of their relationship had concluded any intimacy between them. And yet…
‘Don’t look at me like that, Gedeon,’ she gently scolded him. He smirked, averting his gaze for a moment, but could not help from tracing back to her face. His knee brushed hers, and though she did not acknowledge the touch, he heard her pulse immediately quicken.
‘You deserve to be happy, Sunsi,’ Gedeon told her, his voice a near whisper.
Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. She lingered on a pause before saying, ‘Byyourdefinition of happiness?’
‘Do you want it to be?’
Her lips fractionally opened as her gaze slowly moved to his mouth. ‘I… should go.’
‘If that is what you desire.’
But she did not move. Neither did he.
Gedeon was not sure how it happened, or who even initiated the first touch, but within seconds their bodies were locked together in a burst of unrestrained passion, as though the world was about to fall to a fiery oblivion, and they had this simple moment, this one last moment to share before it did.
Sunsi was warm and soft in his arms, responding to every well-placed touch. Gedeon knew the map of her body well, knew exactly where to linger, where most she craved his hungry hands.
Every touch was familiar. Easy. A sexually orientated meditation.
It was not true happiness. It was not for her either. But it was something other than despairing loneliness. And in that moment… it was enough.
???
For the first time since the beginning of their relationship, Sunsi laid with him long after their intimacy had ended. Her breath was a steady breeze on his bare chest, and though she was still, he was sure she was just as wide awake as he was.
She stirred, peeling herself from his body some time later, a couple of hours perhaps, and ran a hand through her now loose hair. A waving cascade of autumnal shades draped over her exposed shoulders. ‘We should go,’ she murmured.
Gedeon agreed, and in silence, they both began pulling their respective layers of clothing back on.
When Sunsi was sure all Base inhabitants had retired to their rooms, she beckoned Gedeon out of his. He followed her through the long corridors of the underground city and up the spiral staircase to the little ladder beneath the hidden hatch Amala had almost fallen down from.
His gut twinged with regret as he realised he had not bade the fledgling farewell. ‘Sunsi,’ he said suddenly. ‘Will you tell Amala goodbye from me?’
Sunsi looked at him, her features softening in the orange hue. ‘I will.’
An illusionist awaited them at the foot of the ladder, rendering Gedeon inconspicuous with a spell that felt sticky over his body. Once the deed was done, he gave a grunt and disappeared back down the stairs.
‘Nine, one, two,’ Sunsi reminded Gedeon again, her eyes not quite meeting his due to the spell, instead resting somewhere on his forehead.
‘Nine, one, two,’ he confirmed, though he had not forgotten it. It was the year Sunsi’s father had founded the Base, and the code Gedeon would give the man who would smuggle him out of the city unnoticed in an empty food barrel meant for the Agni Lands. Sunsi had friends everywhere it would seem, but even with her promise that the accomplice was trustworthy, Gedeon was glad to have his sword attached to his hip whilst his magic continued to fail him.
‘I will accompany you only to the tavern door,’ she said. ‘From there, you will be on your own.’
‘I understand.’
A moment of silence stole over them. Gedeon could not help but search her face, imprinting it to his memory should their paths never cross again. He had come to quite admire the woman before him; her resilience, her passion, her unfathomable selfless nature.
