Gem’s voice falls to a broken whisper. “I have to. T’s gonna need me. I know we’ll be separated once I’m back, but it’ll only be a few levels between us. At least I’ll still be able to see her, even if we aren’tsharing the same cabin.”
“I understand.” I tuck my curls behind my ears while I ask, “Would you . . . Do you think you could see yourself staying here if you didn’t have to go back for Taur?”
She releases a slow breath, leaning her back on the railing. “I’m not sure I’d be as eager to go back, especially knowing all the trauma and death that’s come from the chancellor’s lies. But is it horrible to admit there’s a familiarity in the darkness? I know you’ve always said it’s like a cage, but it’s been my home my entire life. Most of the halls I can navigate with my eyes closed. It’s predictable, if not safe, and I don’t think I’m ready to give that up.”
I get where she’s coming from. The unknown has left me feeling disoriented more than once since we left Caligo behind. Yet unlike Gem, I welcome the jittery rush that fills my chest when I consider how much there is to see and learn.
“I’ll miss you,” I whisper, voice cracking as I rest my head on Gem’s shoulder.
The very fact that she allows me to do so tells me all I need to know, but she says it anyway. “I’ll miss you, too.”
Neither of us is ready to part, so we linger, discussing the hastily made plan that the other Huntresses put together prior to dinner. This time tomorrow, they’ll request that Gabe is released, so the five of them can begin their return during the cover of night, though they’ll also request to be given back the nightstone missiles, just in case they encounter more Pyres.
“Aruna thinks we’ll be welcomed home as heroes, since we’ve taken out fifteen ‘Sols,’” Gem huffs, using her fingers to put air quotes around the word. “And with our cameras disabled, we should be able to make a case to suggest the conditions of the Hunt have been met.”
“Heroes, huh?
She chews on her lip. “You think it’s a naive plan, don’t you?”
“I think it has a lot of contingencies,” I admit. “Have you considered what might happen if the Sols aren’t ready to release Gabe? I mean, he nearly murdered someone today, Gem. And if they do allow him to leave, there’s no way they’d let him take those missiles.”
“Maybe they’d entrust them to us? Heading back without Gabe wouldn’t be ideal, but if we’re adequately armed, we should make it,” Gem says, though her strained pitch gives away her doubt.
I sigh, picking at a splinter in the wooden railing while counting each potential fallacy. “If they give you the missiles, who’s to say you’ll have enough if you run into another horde of Pyres? And if you have enough or manage to avoid them, do you truly believe the chancellor would be quick to accept the word of four Tier Threes as evidence that you’ve fulfilled the terms of return, without Gabe there to vouch for you?”
Gem hangs her head, a response in and of itself.
“I figuredyou’d be gone by now,” I say while spotting Kalden waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
Dark circles streak beneath his closed lids as he leans against the bungalow’s mosaic wall. “Gone where?” he asks, eyes remaining shut.
“To check in with the mender,” I say, like it’s the obvious answer.
“Niles circled back a few minutes ago. Joss is stable. The transfusions were successful at removing the nightstone from her veins. The menders intend to finish regenerating her hands tomorrow.”
“They can do that?” Gem asks, following behind me on the stairs.
Kalden dips his chin. “She woke up long enough to tell Niles that she saw an older man wearing a navy suit with a silver moon emblemin the Pyre’s memories.”
Gem’s brows pull taut. “The chancellor?”
I shake my head. “When would he have interacted with a Pyre? I’ve never heard of him going aboveground, even at night.”
“Also could’ve been Commander Guffian or one of the gate guards.” Kalden shrugs. “I plan on swinging by to ask Joss for more details tomorrow, if she’s feeling up to it.”
I nod, treading closer as I descend the final step. “Will you be feeling up to it?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You look like sh?—”
“Exhausted,” I say, cutting Gem off.
Kalden’s lips twitch in a half-smile, but it falls quickly. “The sun’s gifts aren’t without cost. The more we harness, the closer we’re tied to our circadian rhythm. As night falls, we’ll be in a near comatose state. Very little can wake us until the sun itself decides it’s time to rise.”
“Why does that feel like a challenge?”
His hooded eyes finally peek open at that. “We can make it one.”
