Page 46 of The Curse of Golden Blood
"It's just... I was looking for a book to read to Riden. That's all," I managed to get out.
His eyebrows rose. "Who is Riden?"
"A friend."
"A lover?"
I blinked. "Gods, you're so curious!"
His expression turned amused. "It's a simple question."
I crossed my arms. "Yes. He’s my lover. I love him dearly. Now go away."
He laughed, taking a step forward. "You're lying."
How does he always know?
I shrugged. "Believe what you wish."
I put the book on the shelf and pushed past him. I was eager to go to bed and forget any of this had happened.
He spoke behind me. "Miralyte."
I stopped, looking over my shoulder. "What?"
"I can give you access to the main library."
I blinked. "The main library?"
He nodded. "Where all the books are. Every subject. Language. Culture. History. Maps. The old tongue."
This couldn't be real. Twelve year old Miralyte would be jumping up and down and screaming in joy. I couldn’t wait to share the news with Pelbie. Was I trapped in some bizarre fever dream? No, this couldn't be right. Zydar had to have some ulterior motive, some catch.
A small, uncertain laugh escaped me. "I get access to the entire main library, or you'll make me do something else for you?"
The corner of his mouth curled upward. "So suspicious."
He was toying with me. Somehow this was a trick. I didn't believe him for one second.
He leaned one shoulder against the shelf, the book still cradled casually in his hand as if the images inside weren’t searing holes in my memory. “Not true. Sometimes I give because I can.”
“That’s not reassuring,” I muttered.
“It wasn’t meant to be.” His gaze slid over me, slow and deliberate, as if he were cataloguing every shift in my breathing. “If I wanted something from you, little dove, you would know.”
The words coiled around me, heavy and intimate. My stomach fluttered in a way I despised. “So you’re telling me I can walk into the main library tomorrow and no one will stop me?”
“You’ll have my seal.” He tapped the leather cover of the book in his hand, then his chest. “That is enough to open any door in this court.”
I searched his face for the catch. There hadto be one. “Why?”
For the first time, his smile faded. The answer came quietly, but not without weight. “Because I am your High Warlord. And it is my duty to serve you, as much as it is yours to serve me."
A shiver ran down my spine. So many words, but nothing really revealed. Only the sound of it, the low, rough cadence. That and the sight of him watching me.
"It's settled then." He stood straight, towering over me. Gods, he was huge. My traitorous mind skipped back to the lush illustrations from the book.
There were ways he could make me obey without a bribe or bargain. I knew that. But he didn't seem interested in forcing me.
