I realized with a twinge, had been full of little choices, and I’d never noticed it. I’d chosen to follow the geroi. I’d chosen to enforce the Contract. Choice after choice after choice.
Is that what freedom means?
“You’d better hurry,” I said, “before the Enforcers catch you.”
Eos nodded and guided his gurza towards Maetrin’s. I watched him, and thought, I hope you find Elytherios.
Then Eos paused, turning back to face me. “Enforcer,” he began hesitantly.
“It’s Marin,” I corrected. We’d come too far for him to address me by my rank any longer. Besides, the title no longer seemed to fit me.
That crooked smile again. “Marin, then.” He looked anxiously at Maetrin, then back at me. “You don’t have to stay here, you know.”
I stared at him for a moment, uncomprehending. He nudged the gurza forward, close enough that his words could be heard by no one but the two of us. “You’ve come this far,” Eos said. “It could be all that’s waiting for us out there is a cold death in the mountains, but… you have a choice.”
Another choice.
In Bright Horizon, I led a life to be envied. My apprenticeship was almost complete. Under the geroi, I would be guaranteed a life of comfort and security. Wealth, prestige, anything a person could hope for would be at my fingertips. My birthright.
What awaited me out there? We’d be chasing a fairy tale. More likely than not, Elytherios didn’t even exist. The odds were a million to one that there was nothing waiting for us in those mountains but death.
And freedom.