Shadow Slave

He looked around, studying the barrier and the crowded pier that could be seen through the mesh. Then, suddenly, Sunny heard a familiar voice:

"Move back, damn it! Don't push! If you have a spot in the queue, present an ID! If you are a member of the First Army, come that way! Get a hold of yourself and behave like people!"

He looked around and saw a tall, handsome man with indigo eyes and hair that seemed somewhere between black and blue standing in front of the barrier, struggling to hold back the panicked crowd.

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

Pushing closer to the man, he called out:

"Naeve? What the hell are you doing here?"

The man — it was indeed Master Naeve of the House of Night — blinked a couple of times, then looked in his direction with a confused expression.

"...Sunny? Gods, it's you! What are... ah, doesn't matter. I'm now in charge of boarding, I guess."

Sunny led his group to the barrier, stopping right in front of the Nightwalker. Naeve gestured for a nearby Awakened to assume his position and took a step to the side.

He gave Sunny a somber look.

"That ship over there is where I'm assigned to. We are going to leave once we're at capacity… actually, we are already over capacity. But a few more people can still be squeezed in, so..."

Sunny frowned.

"What about Bloodwave?"

The Nightwalker sighed.

"He led the other ship away a few hours ago, with Saint Tyris aboard. There will be more ships tomorrow, and more the day after that… if the Winter Beast does not arrive sooner. But Uncle won't be coming back. He'll guard the strait until the… until the relocation is over. And then, we will resume evacuating people over the ocean, to the Northern Quadrant."

Sunny nodded.

'Figures.'

"Listen…"

Naeve spoke first, interrupting him:

"Do you need to get on the ship?"

Sunny grew quiet, suddenly ashamed for no reason. Strangely, he felt thankful to the Nightwalker for not forcing him to say it aloud.

a few moments of awkward silence,

I just need

in the Antarctic Center, a Saint would then be able to bring them back to the waking world, to a safer region. Granted, there were no Saints on the Ivory Island, so Sunny was a bit more inconvenienced in that

concentration, so doing it in the middle of a battle was usually impossible. Any Ascended that remained in the city would

on a ship

.

long decided to stay and

He looked at Naeve.

one. But

Beth, Professor Obel, and the members of his cohort. Naeve looked at them,

His face fell.

hesitated for a

of your cohort onboard, too. Members of the First Army have a priority right to be evacuated. But those additional spots, they will come at the expense of civilians

paused, and then added

This is going to be the

ground with a metallic screech. The soldiers started checking the IDs

froze for a moment. His face grew

'So…'

His heart grew heavy.

this is what it came

or having to displace civilians who had a

said. Sunny turned around, looking at them. Kim, Luster, Dorn, Samara, Belle…

was he

'Curse it all…'

the faces of his soldiers, Belle,

giant man looked at Sunny and slightly shook his

yet, for a moment, Sunny felt as though his heart was pierced by

head, then looked at Professor Obel. The old man met his gaze, and the two of them remained motionless for several seconds, as if having a silent

the mob of frightened refugees crowding behind the line of the barrier,

He sighed.

did I want to be an officer?

straightened his back and

You go

old man gently pushed her forward. They moved past

she did, Professor Obel silently took a step

gentle. The two stumbled past Naeve, ending up on the other side

were one of the last people to be let through. A moment later, the barrier rose with a screech, and a wall of alloy mesh cut off

and

and Beth were on the