Shadow Slave

Sunny tried to evade the question a few more times, but it was too important to Cassie. She stubbornly returned to it no matter what he said, forgetting his answers a few moments later. Watching her lost expression was eerie and a little heartbreaking, like talking to someone suffering from dementia.

«So, tell me… are you?»

Sunny reminded himself to be patient. There were many suitable ways to prevent her from voicing the question. He just needed to find the correct one.

«Yes, I am. But…»

Cassie was stunned, then confused, then tense once more.

«Maybe I should distract her with a revelation or two about what is going on in Ravenheart?»

However, in the end, he did not have to.

Somehow, Cassie did not repeat herself again. Instead, she shifted slightly, reached for her tea cup, and traced its shape with her finger. Her face froze, and she fell quiet.

After a few moments of silence, Cassie said evenly:

«…My tea is cold.»

Sunny tilted his head a little. Then, his eyes gleamed in the darkness.

It seemed that there was no need to guide her away from the question, after all.

«So soon?»

Cassle was smart. She could not remember that which was forgotten, but she noticed the change in the temperature of her tea. Therefore, instead of remembering, she simply deduced that something had been erased from her memory.

The gears of her formidable mind were spinning now, connecting the negative space in her memory with the details of the conversation they were having. Observing the void and inferring its meaning.

Knowing Cassie, there were countless conjectures being formed in her head. Dozens of theories were being built, scrutinized, and discarded. Only those that could not be effectively disproven remained, leading to several parallel branches of assumptions. Those assumptions were then pitted against each other, turning into conclusions.

The conclusions were used to extrapolate what, exactly, she had forgotten.

«…Too smart, maybe.»

a

did not say anything, carefully exploring his own emotions. If he was right, then Cassie not only knew that a

sure, but suspect

he had ever been since leaving the Nightmare. Of course, there was a vast difference between a suspicion and a memory — but it was precisely because Cassle's Inference was based solely on deduction and not remembrance

tea was suddenly incredibly fragrant. Sunny drank it

of them spoke for

any questions. She couldn't.

an

moments later,

you… like to

startled

that

knowing how

sure. Why

sighed, and said with a

my eyes. Few people know about it, and you are now one of them. If you look into my

Sunny blinked.

reject her vehemently, Who would want their private memories to be exposed to a stranger? Not to mention the fact that Cassie's power was not limited to that. She had already admitted that she could also

limits to him- only those who looked Cassie in the eyes could

everything she saw just like she had

«Not everything.»

of everything that had happened to him after the

what benefit would there be

to fill the empty void left by

But then what?

cup down and smiled

at

not hiding

«I do… Saint Sunless.»