Page 85 of The Curse of Golden Blood
The hours slipped through the small cracks of the windows, turning morning into afternoon and then evening. The candles burned down to waxy pools in their sockets before the shadows finally settled around me. The silence had gonelong and thick, and when it broke, I started from my chair and nearly spilled a pile of scrolls across the floor.
Voices drifted from a row to my left. I did not pay attention at first. People spoke in the library often, but the walls liked to keep the sounds hidden. These came closer. The shelves in this corner curved inward, and sound carried in strange ways. I closed my aching eyes to let them rest as the voices found me.
“She altered her form before our very eyes,” a man said. He sounded young, but tired. The words had edges. “A minute before she was breathing at a steady pace. A minute later her back broke the table.”
A woman answered in a low voice that shook. “How much of the Vessel’s blood did she partake?"
“Four vials over three days.”
They were talking about my blood. The vials that had been drawn from the well in my arm. My throat tightened. Something had happened in the healer's wards. I could tell from their voices that it had not been good.
"The dose was too great.” That was a new voice, deeper, older. "That could have roused so swift and so violent a change."
"It wasn't just the dose." The first voice again. He had started pacing, his footsteps slow and measured on the cold floor. "Nay, it was something in her blood."
In her blood. In my blood.
"That cannot be." The woman spoke again, and I heard her move. Her robes made a soft noise that reminded me of wings, though I knew she had none. "The Rot cannot be altered like that. Not by mortal blood."
The man laughed. It was a dark, bitter sound that left ashes in my mouth. "That girl is no ordinary mortal."
Yes, I was. I was the daughter of a mere hunter. My family was dead. I was a nobody.
I didn't want to hear anymore. I grabbed my shawl, pulling it around my shoulders as if it could protect me from the conversation happening only a few feet away. I pushed back the chair and stood, making my way out of the library. My heart was racing, and I felt as if I couldn't breathe.
I had to get out of there. I had to find somewhere safe.
I walked down the hall, my mind racing. What had happened? What had changed in her shape? Had she turned into a monster? Was it even possible to do such a transformation? I shook my head. No, I couldn't think about that right now. I needed to find a way to escape.
Tomos was a few steps behind me, matching my pace easily. "Where are you going?" he asked, catching up to walk beside me.
"To see Zydar."
He stopped abruptly, grabbing my arm. "Why?"
"Because I'm tired of being left in the shadows." I pulled away from him. "I am done with silence and half-truths. I must know.."
His jaw tightened. "He will not yield them."
"I know. But he's the only one who might have them."
"Mira..."
"Tomos, please." I looked up at him. "You don't have to come with me. But I'm going."
For a long moment, he stared at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then he sighed. "Fine. But if he gets angry, don't say I didn't warn you."
I nodded, and we started walking again. I didn't know what I would say to Zydar, or how he would react, but I had to try. I had to get answers. I had to find out what was happening to me.
The palace was quiet at this hour, most of the courtiers having retired for the night. The only sounds were ourfootsteps echoing through the empty halls. We passed by several doors, each one locked, until we reached the end of the corridor.
Tomos stopped outside a large double door. "This is it," he said. "The throne room."
I took a deep breath and knocked.
A moment later, the door opened, and a guard poked his head out. "What is it you seek?" he growled.
"I'm here to see Lord Zydar," I said firmly.
