Page 163 of The Amber Sunburst

But Eudoxia wouldn’t kill Kleitos.

Kleitos tries to scramble backwards but Eudoxia’s shoe holds him firmly in place. She tears the spear out of his arm, and his scream is guttural.

“Please,” Kleitos begs. “Please. I’ll go, okay? I won’t say anything more. I’ll help you save her.”

“Then go. Now,” Zeno barks, but Eudoxia isn’t finished.

“I never want you to forget who is in control between you and me. I don’t think this—” she points to the hole in his arm “—is a permanent enough reminder.”

Zeno’s eyes widen in surprise. “Eudoxia—” he starts, interrupted by wailing.

Her hand is wrapped around the spear and she’s yanking it back and forth, through layers of sinew and muscle. Blood spills across the dirt and onto their shoes, clothes, and skin. She’s cleaving Kleitos’ arm, he realizes, paralyzed in disbelief. She ignores the whimpering and pleading and crying, twisting the spearhead further and further.

“Please, please, Eudoxos. Stop. I’ll do anything. Please!”

It takes minutes for the arm to be removed fully. Minutes in which Zeno is frozen. He doesn’t know how to feel. Proud. Horrified. Vindicated.

Kleitos deserves to be punished, but this? It’s awful.

And somehow watching Eudoxia do it is more awful than doing it himself would be. Not because he’s afraid of her, but because he’s afraid for her. This violence, cold as it is, will take a toll even though she might not think so now. But she wants vengeance and she deserves to get it, so he stands back.

Then the blood starts coming out of Kleitos’ armless shoulder in pulses, and he goes slack, and Zeno can’t justify it anymore.

“Eudoxia,” he begins. “You’ll kill him if you keep going like this.”

Eudoxia looks up at him, then back down with disgust. “And?”

“You don’t want that. You don’t want to kill someone.” He says it resolutely even though he’s not so sure anymore.

“He put her in danger, Zeno. There’s no telling where she is now.”

“But you’re better than him. So let him go.”

Eudoxia lets out an explosive, angry breath, takes her foot off of Kleitos’ chest, and pulls the spear back.

“Leave before I change my mind,” she growls, and Kleitos climbs up the wall with his good arm until he’s standing. He doesn’t look back as he staggers away, fast as he can.

Zeno turns back to Eudoxia once he’s gone. Even covered in blood that she spilled, he finds himself no less in love with her. She could kill, steal, maim, and nothing would change for him.

Maybe that’s not healthy, but he really, truly doesn’t care.

“I know that was wrong,” Eudoxia admits, blank and tired.

“It was.”

“I don’t regret it.”

“You shouldn’t.”

Eudoxia looks up at him in surprise. “You’re not afraid of me now? I just cut his arm off. Like a monster.”

Zeno shakes his head and holds her chin. “You did what you had to. And I was here to stop you from doing anything more.”

“I wish he was dead.”

“He’ll get what he deserves. The Forms will make sure of it.”

They stare at each other for a moment, then Eudoxia, after a brief glance to check that the camera is still obscured by the mirror, gets on her tiptoes to kiss him.