Sage let me go and walked away. And I sat up slowly, my heart suddenly beating frantically inside my chest as Sage handed him the whip he had been holding and walked away, closing the cell as he did. For a while, I heard nothing but the beat of my own heart and the steady thud of Sage's retreating footsteps, till I could no longer hear it.
A tremble past through me, and for a while, I thought, maybe I shouldn't have provoked him, maybe I should have simply remained quiet and taken whatever I had coming. Because who was I kidding? Compared to Sage, Ender wasn't going forgive me or pity me, especially not after all the things I said. But there was no going back.
I turned to him, swallowing hard. The fact that we were both alone in that empty cell was clear and vivid in my mind. And in his.
