Page 59 of Joy Guardian

“By all means necessary,” he echoed mechanically, as if in trance.

“Including murder.”

“Including…” His voice wavered.

“Don’t forget what happens to promise breakers. Don’t let Master Arter’s death be in vain. He believed in you. You’ve always been one of the most devoted Guardians the Joy has ever had. Do it, Kurai,” she urged gravely. “Or I’ll do it for you when I return.”

The moment Oria left, I scrambled out of bed.

“Ciana, wait.”

Kurai grabbed for me, but I dropped to all fours and scurried out of his reach.

“Stay away from me!” Jumping to my feet, I ran, only to be yanked back by his tendrils that connected us.

He caught me around my middle, stopping me from falling backwards. “You can’t go up there. The guards may be here looking for you.”

“Better the guards than you.” I hissed through my teeth, then grabbed a tendril embedded in my arm.

I yanked at the shadowy appendage with all my might, ripping it out of theleilatha.

“What are you doing?” Kurai exclaimed in alarm.

“Get off me.” I pushed away from him, ripping another tendril out.

My knees buckled. My legs turned too weak to hold me. The room spun around me. My vision blurred with darkeners seeping in from all sides.

“Ciana.” Kurai caught me on my way down.

In his arms, the world suddenly righted itself. My head cleared, and my muscles grew strong with renewed energy as the two tendrils had attached themselves to me again.

“We can’t separate yet,” he said. “Not before you eat something. Or you may die.”

“Isn’t that what you want?? Isn’t it yourmissionto kill us all?”

He didn’t look surprised at me quoting his conversation with Oria. He knew I’d been awake and heard it.

“Why have you been keeping me alive all this time, Kurai?”

His chest rose with a deep breath. A corner of his mouth lifted slightly in a hesitant smile.

“For weeks now, I’ve been asking myself the same question.”

I found my footing, standing up straight, but he kept his hands on my shoulders.

“Is it true?” I asked. “Were you supposed to murder everyone in thesarai?”

He inhaled to reply, but I stopped him by lifting a finger in warning.

“Don’t lie to me, Kurai. You’ve lied enough over all those weeks as it turns out.”

His eyes flared with indignation.

“I haven’t told you a single lie, Ciana.”

“But you haven’t told me the truth either. All this time, I thought you were my friend…morethan a friend. I trusted you… How so very stupid of me. Again. I haven’t learned a damned thing from my past mistakes, have I?”

Regret, disappointment, and excruciating self-loathing pressed on me heavily, sending me down on the bed.

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