Page 66 of Ties of Frost

My head ached, my eyes felt puffy and itchy, my nose was still stuffy, and my limbs dragged on me like heavy weights. “Sleep.”

“All right. Sleep. I’ll go out so I won’t disturb you—”

“No!” I grabbed the edge of his tunic in my fist. He stared at me, taken aback by my loud outburst. “I…” My mind caught up to my actions, and horror at my weakness shoved my fear aside. “Never mind.” Slowly, I released my grip on his tunic. “I’ll see you later.”

“Zidra,” Kyrundar murmured. “If you want me to stay, you need only ask.”

I swallowed. His piercing gaze held mine, as if compelling me not to look away. “Will you stay?”

He didn’t ask why. Didn’t force me to admit to my fearof an assassin finding me while he was gone or the aching loneliness that filled my chest at the thought of being alone.

“Always.”

Twenty-Four

Kyrundar

After I put up an ice barrier, Zidra fell asleep quickly. I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t leave. I didn’t know if I’d reached for the bond to check on her, if she’d shared her emotions willingly, or if her feelings had been so powerful they had traveled through the heartbond without her knowledge, but I’d felt her fear. Her worries of being assassinated, yes, but also her dread of being alone—abandoned and unwanted.

I would not let her wake and think I had left her.

So I sat on my cot and kept watch. Sajen checked on us, and I let him know Zidra was sleeping, then returned to my post. When my eyes grew heavy, I went to sleep myself.

The sound of Zidra moving about the room woke me before dawn. A candle flickered dimly in the corner, casting long shadows as she huddled over her pack.

“You’re up already?” I rubbed grit from my eyes and sat up. “What time is it?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Bells tolled five a few minutes ago. I can put the candle out—”

“It’s fine.” I yawned and tossed aside my blanket. “No sense in going back to sleep now when we’ll need to be at the docks in about an hour and a half. I’ll just be groggier if I try to sleep for less than an hour.”

“Sorry—”

“No need to apologize, Zee.” I smiled wryly. “You did get to sleep early last night.”

Her shoulders hunched, and she didn’t answer as she rearranged things in her pack.

“Are you all right?” I asked softly. “And you can be honest. You don’t need to pretend for me. I’m not judging you. I’m not upset with you for being a person with feelings, and I honestly want to know.”

Her sigh made the candle flutter, but the tension in her shoulders eased. “Is it terrible that I like that I can tell whether you’re lying?”

I frowned. “I do usually make a policy of telling the truth.”

Zidra huffed a quiet laugh. “I suppose you do. It was unfair of me to assume you were like my family, hiding derision or ulterior motives behind your words.”

My heart ached for her. “Unfair, maybe, but also understandable.” Abruptly, I straightened, the last of my sleepiness draining away. A sly smile crept across my face. “Wait. How do you know I wasn’t lying? Are you accessing the heartbond, Zee?”

She bowed her head farther down over her pack, so her thick curls hid the side of her face. “Maybe.”

“Mmm.” I slipped off the cot and padded over to kneel by her side. “Do youlikebeing bonded to me, Zidra Eilmaris?” I whispered near her ear.

She shivered. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Flirt.”

I drew back a little and watched her closely. “Why?”

---