Shadow Slave

The journey back to the Valor enclave in East Antarctica was going to take several days. On the first day, the Awakened riders charged forward many times, slaughtering any band of Nightmare Creatures that was unfortunate enough to wander into the convoy's path.

Awakened and Fallen abominations were ruthlessly cut down long before they could pose a threat to the vehicles. When a Corrupted one appeared, the Knights of Valor attacked personally. Watching these exalted Masters fight was both an inspiration and a grim reminder of what Sunny contended against.

Each of them was no less deadly than Pierce and Welthe, Mordret's jailers, had been... maybe even more so. With the Knights slaying the more dangerous Nightmare Creatures, none of the Saints had to personally intervene yet.

There were also Morgan's Echoes. Strangely enough, there were only a few of them in view - the Princes of War must have dismissed some of them, for now.

Of course, there was also another possibility. Morgan could have sent several Echoes to stage an ambush of her own.

In fact, Sunny was more or less certain that she had.

He had spent the last month carefully studying the expedition force of the great clan. By now, he knew the faces of pretty much every Awakened, Ascended, and mundane specialist that Valor had sent to the Southern Quadrant, as well as the rough outline of their abilities.

Which was why it had not escaped Sunny's attention that several cohorts of Awakened that had participated in the battle against the titanic horde were mysteriously missing from the convoy. They were, most likely, en route to lay a trap for the returning force of Song warriors.

He did not envy them one bit.

Sunny himself spent the first day silently observing how the warriors of Valor fought through the shadows. He thought about striking up a conversation with Cassie, but found it hard to find a topic to discuss. At least one that did not have to do with Nightmare Creatures, machinations of the great clans, or the tumultuous future facing them all.

...Work, basically.

It was a bit strange. He had thought that they were close - despite everything, there were very few people in this world, if any, who were closer to him than her.

yet, Sunny realized that he did not know much about Cassie outside the dire reality of being an Awakened. He never met her family, which she mentioned so much on the Forgotten Shore. He had never visited her home, or learned of her hobbies - things she enjoyed, things she found frustrating. He

That realization was... disheartening.

between them. After Awakening, she seemed to have closed herself off from the outside world, somewhat. After the Ascension, her isolation had only grown more pronounced - it was as though the blind girl was making a conscious effort to blend into the background, becoming as obscure and forgettable as

But still...

complicated expression. A

think I ever wished her

around four years ago. On the day of the winter solstice, in the Academy cafeteria, Cassie had suddenly wished him

somewhere in late June or early July... close to

were the

for

shifted

Cassie, how is your family

moment, then turned her head slightly and

"...What?"

Sunny leaned back.

how is your

a subtle smile

I applied to have their citizenship rank raised, so my mom can't stop bragging to the neighbors. Dad had to have a talk to her... right after taking driving lessons and purchasing a PTV license. He parks the PTV

Sunny chuckled.

an actual ace pilot, by the way. Uh... my ride sort of blew up, but when we get back to NQSC, I'll definitely buy

a few moments, then asked

do you want to do when

the back of