Page 61 of The Curse of Golden Blood
Zydar's posture slowly changed.
As his hand lowered, the anger faded, and he slowly took a step back, some inner turmoil battling across his face. His warmth, his vitality, left with him. I didn't realize how cold I'd been until the heat slipped away.
Whatever I'd expected from him, whatever I'd imagined, it wasn't this. It wasn't standing in this room. Not like this, not pinned to the wall, about to confess something I didn't knowor understand. Something I'd never said, hadn't even thought before. And everything in me rebelled.
So I shoved the thoughts down. Forced them into a trunk where they belonged. Later, much later, when I had the luxury of examining and understanding, I'd deal with them.
"Leave," he whispered. "Please."
I licked my dry lips and nodded, forcing myself to walk down the hall. Slowly. Evenly. The muscles in my back relaxed, the knot in my chest fading to a distant ache. I reached for the door, pulled it open. But at the last second, I glanced back. Zydar hadn't moved, his body silhouetted by the low candlelight.
This time, his hands weren't crossed behind his back. Instead, they were curled into fists. So tight his knuckles had gone white.
And before I could question it, I stepped out and slammed the door.
I almost ran. As soon as the door was between us, everything I'd swallowed bubbled to the surface. Breathless, I placed a hand on the wall to steady myself.
This was...
It had...
"No," I breathed, turning and heading for the stairs. "No, no, no, no, no."
Anything to take my mind off his face. Those lips. Those eyes.
Damn me. Damn the world and the gods and fate itself.
"Mira. Mira!" A familiar voice startled me out of my stupor.
I looked back over my shoulder. I couldn't believe who stood in front of me.
I stood and walked over, my legs shaking. The boy, who I thought I'd never see again, had grown, and his smile was thin, his eyes tired.
But his hair was the same dark shade, and his face the same as the last time we'd parted.
"Tomos?"
"Yes," he said, and laughed. "Yes, it's me."
Before he could speak, I threw myself into his arms. He hugged me tightly, lifting me off the ground. We both laughed.
"I can't believe it's you!"
I clung to his tunic, pressing my cheek against the wool. The smell of him was so familiar, his laughter just the same as I remembered.
He was really here. Really alive.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "How did you get here? Did you know—"
"Mira." He set me back on my feet and gently held me at arm's length. "Slow down."
I was grinning so hard it hurt, and I was sure that I looked ridiculous.
"Lord Gryven sent me as his replacement," he said. "To act as your guard."
"You... You've been here this whole time, and I had no idea..."
He nodded, unable to conceal his joy either. "Me either," he agreed. "When I heard your name, I nearly ran the whole way here."
