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Valentin shook his head. “My parents died two years ago. My sister, too.”
“Aunts? Uncles?”
“No, sir.”
“What about outside the city? Do you have anywhere to go?”
Valentin stood straighter, puffing up his chest. “No, sir, and if I did, I would not go anyway. My place is serving Cyprian, and I will stay where he is until the end.”
“What if I needed to send a letter to my sister in Hungary? One that I could send only with someone I trust absolutely?”
Valentin smiled, with an expression too knowing and weary for a boy as young as he. “Then I would say I suspect you of tricking me, and anyway, I have heard your stories of your sister and would rather take my chances here.”
Radu laughed, shocked at how much the boy had picked up on. “Very well. But promise me one thing: If the city i
s falling around you, you do everything you can to get out. Do you understand? And if I am not here, you help Nazira and Cyprian get out.”
Valentin stood even straighter, giving a dignified nod. “I will protect them with my life.”
“Good boy.”
Valentin left, closing the door softly behind him.
Cyprian moaned. Radu rushed to the bedside. “Cyprian? Can you hear me?”
Cyprian tried to lift a hand to his head, his eyes squeezed shut. “Radu?”
“Yes! You are safe, at home.”
“I think—” he croaked, his voice cracking.
“I will get him something to drink!” Nazira hurried from the room.
Cyprian swallowed, still not opening his eyes. “I think the city fell down on my head.”
Radu laughed in relief. “It did. But you Byzantines are remarkably hardheaded.”
Squinting, Cyprian looked at Radu. “Radu! You are here!”
“Yes. I am right here.”
Cyprian lifted a hand, searching in the air. Radu took it in his own.
“I went back for you.” Cyprian’s eyes drifted shut again.
“No,” Radu said, gently. “I was not hurt. I brought you home. Remember?”
Cyprian shook his head, then cringed, crying out in pain. He squinted again. “No, I went back to Edirne for you.”
What if the blow had permanently damaged Cyprian’s mind? “We are not in Edirne. We are in Constantinople.”
“I know that,” Cyprian snapped, rolling his eyes. “You are very confused.”
Radu tried not to smile. “You are right. I am the confused one.”
“We never spoke, but your face…The look you shared with him about the book. I never stopped thinking of you.”
“What book?” Radu wanted to keep Cyprian awake and talking, even if it was nonsense.
