Homogeny (The Fractured Cities Tales Book 2) by Alek L. Cristea

Author:Alek L. Cristea [Cristea, Alek L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-22T04:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

“Y ou should go with Gold tomorrow,” Ghost said, head shifting in Soar's lap to look at him.

It was just the two of them, tucked away in the little salon that nobody else could ever find.

“What?” Soar blinked, surprised by the sudden topic, which Ghost knew was not sudden at all. He’d been mustering the courage to speak for some time.

Softly, Soar shrugged. “No, I think I’ll stay here.”

Ghost knew Soar would, too, if he only chose to smile and leave everything else unsaid.

"But you shouldn't," Ghost told him. "I'm not blind—I see the way you look at the others when they leave. How you listen to their stories when they come back, laughing and still in high spirits—from the performance and the chase both. Those are not things I want, Soar, but I won’t be the reason you hold yourself back."

"You're not," Soar insisted, albeit a little too quickly, and Ghost thought it was not quite a lie. But it came close—particularly since Soar’s growing restlessness these past few days said everything Soar himself did not.

“I know I am,” Ghost replied, pressing a finger to Soar's lips. A silly gesture, to keep him from disagreeing again, but to show that he was not angry or upset. “And I won’t have it.”

Soar blinked again, as surprised now as he was every time Ghost intuited the things he did not say. Ghost only smiled, for Soar was an open book he had acquired quite the taste for reading.

“You miss it, and no doubt they miss you.”

It was a simple truth: Soar missed The Patchwork Carnival. He missed the dancing and the spectacle and the joy of performing with the others; he missed the chase that came after, soaring high above the Monolith’s faceless enforcers as their magical carnival fled.

"I don't want you to worry," Soar whispered, kissing the finger resting against his lips.

"I will always worry." Ghost laced his fingers through Soar's, bringing his knuckles to his lips. "But that is simply the way of things. I wish we could all simply stay in the Warren, safe and happy and protected, but..."

Ghost hesitated, eyes drifting over the room. The small salon made for he and Soar alone, with its plush cushions and colourful paintings of impossible landscapes. The walls were panelled in warm wood, the floor covered in thick rugs, and it was so different to the undecorated beige walls he’d been used to all his life.

"But if the carnival didn’t perform, if you’d never gone into the city, then I wouldn't be here now.” Ghost shifted then, sitting up and moving to rest his head on Soar’s shoulder. “Of course I want to be selfish and keep you here where I know you’re safe, but I won’t rob the next Silver of the very thing that saved me.”

"It might not be me next time—or ever again,” Soar argued, but the look in his eyes as he tilted Ghost’s face towards his made it clear he’d already decided.

"You don't know that," Ghost told him.

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