Page 20 of The Amber Sunburst

Eudoxos stands to take their plates away, and Zeno pulls Alexander up from the bench. “Let’s go to our room,” he says, starting for the spiral stairs.

“What about Eudoxos?”

“He’s fine. We’re meeting to spar later and he’s got other stuff to do beforehand. You’re welcome to come train with us if you’d like.”

Anyone else would have invited him along begrudgingly, because they felt obligated to, but Zeno does it with such sincerity that he almost feels bad turning him down.

“I think I’ll stay in our room. I’m sure I have an unimaginable amount of work to catch up on.”

“Wise.” Zeno nods sagely. “I’m here to help whenever. The curriculum is rigorous, but you’ll catch on fast.”

Oh, God. This is school. Real school where he has to do work. He’s always coasted on being smart, and personal tutors don’t assign homework to princes if said princes tell them not to, so he’s not really used to… expectations.

He and Zeno say their goodbyes at the door to their room, but not without Zeno shouting over his shoulder, “We’re waking up at seven tomorrow for classes,” and laughing at Alexander’s groan of despair.

Alexander wants to go to sleep so badly. Like, his eyes are practically closing even standing here looking at his bed.

But, instead, he takes his cargo pants and shirt off and plops on the floor, surrounded by all of the books he found on his bed.

The glossy cover of The History of the Republic glares at him, and, with a long-suffering sigh, he cracks it open and starts to read.

5

EUDOXIA

Eudoxos is a simple guy, really. Mostly because he is also a non-existent guy.

Eudoxia, though? She is not a simple guy. She is, in fact, a frazzled mess. Basically all of the time. It isn’t like she has much of a choice about it; she has a lot to be frazzled about.

Left hook.

First on the list would be Arete. Since the moment she was born and Eudoxia became an older sister, Arete has been her top priority.

Parry.

Second is the existence of ‘Eudoxos, the simple guy’ at all. It’s exhausting to keep up the veneer of masculinity, but better that than being a female Auxiliary. She and Arete need to be able to pick up and leave at the drop of a hat. It’s hard to do that if you’re seven months pregnant.

Uppercut.

Third, Kleitos. He is out for blood, and Eudoxia knows he isn’t afraid to slash her up to get it.

Duck.

Fourth is Zeno. Not anything specific about him. More just his presence. His comforting, beautiful, kind, funny… presence.

Kick and⁠—

“Shit,” Eudoxia groans when she hits the mat face first.

Usually their nightly spars end in an even win ratio, but tonight she has been knocked down first every round.

She hears Zeno laugh somewhere above her so she flips to lie flat on the mat and glares at his adorable smile. Her eyes stray to his brown skin and dimples and muscles and…

Forms, get a grip, Eudoxia!

Zeno grabs his chest like he’s been shot by her scowl and falls down next to her.

“Aw, Eudoxia, don’t look at me like that. You know it kills me,” he says, giggling quietly. It’s refreshing to finally hear her real name after another day of pretending to be Eudoxos. It’s not like the masculine version of her name is that far from her real one, but she can still feel the difference. Especially when she hears it from Zeno.