Contents
VI. Determinism — Gideon
Overview
Gideon wakes with Nico, savoring their fragile intimacy but concealing a looming threat. A mysterious creditor linked to Eilif infiltrates Gideon’s dreams, demanding payment for a failed job involving freeing “the Prince.” Believing Eilif dead and the debt transferred, Gideon recognizes the Prince in person and realizes the real danger isn’t Dalton.
Summary
Gideon wakes alongside Nico, caught between joy and dread. Their tenderness heightens Gideon’s fear of breaking the fragile calm, so he withholds what troubles him. Nico vows future “devotion,” momentarily disarming Gideon’s unease.
In secret, Gideon recalls a recurring intrusion into his dreams: a masculine voice that reaches the edge of the Society’s telepathic wards. The visitor implies Eilif’s loss and a transferred debt, linking Gideon to a failed job—extracting “the Prince” from his own mind. The creditor refuses to show Eilif, confirming Gideon’s fear that she is gone and that her obligation now binds him.
The voice warns that patience will outlast the wards, promising to claim payment once Gideon is reachable. Gideon, boxed in by the choice between servitude and flight, asks what he must do.
Without leaving the house, the answer appears: Gideon recognizes the Prince—by face and manner—now physically present and seemingly whole. He had assumed Dalton Ellery would be the problem, but this sight makes clear the greater, immediate threat is the Prince’s arrival and the creditor’s claim tied to him.
Who Appears
- Gideon DrakeDreamer bound by the Society’s wards; targeted by a creditor over Eilif’s unpaid debt involving the Prince.
- Nicolás de Varona (Nico)Gideon’s partner; offers earnest devotion, unaware Gideon conceals a mounting telepathic threat.
- The PrinceFormer captive of his own mind; appears in person, signaling the true danger tied to Gideon’s debt.
- Mysterious creditor (The Accountant)Telepathic intruder outside the wards; claims Eilif’s unpaid debt and threatens to collect from Gideon.
- EilifGideon’s mother; implied dead after failing to settle the Prince-related job, leaving her debt to Gideon.
- Dalton ElleryPresumed problem in Gideon’s mind; ultimately a misdirection compared to the Prince’s threat.