Page 54 of The Curse of Golden Blood
She gave me a knowing smile. "Exactly. If we make it home, they will kill us. There's no place to hide. Nowhere to go. So I'm staying here, and so are you."
"No. Just... trust me. I'll find a way."
"Don't. Don't even try."
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Losing you!" Her voice rose, echoing off the stone. "Mira, can't you see what's happening? They're not just training you, they're breaking you. They're turning you into a weapon. For what? Why do they care so much about one human girl?"
"Pelbie—"
"And the way you're acting? The secrets, the lies? You're not the same anymore."
"You don't understand," I insisted. "It's not like that. It's complicated."
"Complicated? I don't care about complicated. You're not yourself. And I'm tired of being lied to."
I sighed. "Pelbie—"
"No. If you want to talk, tell me the truth. Why are they treating you like this?"
I couldn't tell her. The more she knew, the more dangerous it would be.
But she didn't back down. "I deserve to know. I'm not stupid, Mira."
"Fine." I crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, then drew my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. "There's... something about me. Something different."
Her eyebrows rose. "Different? What do you mean?"
"I can’t explain it either."
"You're being vague."
I took a breath. "I don't know. My blood has healing properties, or something. They use it for medicines."
Pelbie frowned. "Your blood heals?"
"Sort of. Not completely. But, yes. It's not exactly the same as normal blood."
She blinked, slowly. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know."
"Is it magic?"
"Maybe." I lifted one shoulder, the movement a little awkward.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because it makes me valuable. It's not safe to know. The less you know, the better."
She sighed and shook her head, but she didn't push the subject any further.
"So, tell me about Brond. I guess your lessons are going well, aren't they?" I nudged her with a teasing smirk, glad to have the spotlight off me.
"He's..." She opened her mouth, then closed it. "He's like no other man I've ever met."
Something about the admission struck me as deeply earnest, the kind of honesty only an almost lover was allowed to hear.
