Page 111 of The Curse of Golden Blood
The guards retreated immediately. Tomos hesitated at the threshold, shooting me a look that promised we would discuss this later.
When the door closed, Gryven finally raised his eyes to mine. The fury there could have burned down cities.
"Do you know what you have caused?" His voice was deadly quiet. "A war. War is what you've brought to our doorstep with your recklessness."
"I'm not here about the other night."
"No?" He rounded the desk with predatory grace, closing the distance between us until I could see the gold flecks in his pale eyes. "Then enlighten me. What brings the infamous changeling to my chambers?"
I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze without flinching. "I’m here to deliver my heart."
For the first time since I'd known him, Gryven looked genuinely surprised. Then his eyes narrowed, calculating. "That procedure was deemed too dangerous. Lord Zydar made it quite clear that anyone who attempted it would face his wrath."
"What if it was done at my request?"
"And why would you request such a thing? Death is rarely a popular choice among the living."
I thought of the black veins spreading across Zydar's chest. Of the time we didn't have. Of the choice that wasn't really a choice at all.
"I want him to live."
Understanding dawned in Gryven's expression, followed quickly by something that might have been respect. "You know."
"I do."
He studied me for a long moment, weighing options I couldn't see. When he spoke again, his voice carried the weight of decision.
"This is treason against Lord Zydar's direct orders."
"But you'll do it."
A smile played at the corners of his mouth, sharp as a blade. "Lord Zydar's judgment has been... compromised. The realm requires a more practical approach."
"Then we have an agreement."
"Indeed." He moved back to his desk, pulling out a sheet of parchment and beginning to write. "After the twilight hour, meet me in the lower chambers beneath the eastern tower. "
I nodded, my throat tight with something that might have been fear or relief. "And after?"
"After, the rot will be cured, and Lord Zydar will remember what it means to put duty before desire."
I turned toward the door, then paused. "Gryven?"
"Yes?"
"Make sure he knows I chose it."
"You have my word."
I didn't break my stride as I left the room, crossing the threshold without looking back.
The corridor stretched ahead like a throat waiting to swallow me whole. Stone walls pressed in on either side, their surfaces carved with runes that pulsed faintly in the torchlight. Ancient words that spoke of binding and breaking, of power that demanded sacrifice.
The twilight hour was still bells away, but time moved differently when you knew it was running out. Each heartbeat felt borrowed, each breath stolen from a future I wouldn't see.
Tomos was waiting for me at the junction of two corridors, his face a mask of barely controlled worry. He fell into step besideme without a word, but I could feel the questions burning behind his eyes like fever.
"Don't," I said before he could speak.
