Page 127 of The Curse of Golden Blood
"Define 'well.'"
"We've been spending more time together. Not just during training." She rolled again, not quite meeting my eyes. "He's been showing me the archives, the history of healing magic. And sometimes we just... talk."
"Just talk?"
"Mostly talk." Her grin was impish. "He kissed me yesterday. After I successfully brewed a pain-relieving draught that Master Kelvane said was perfect on the first try."
"Pelbie!"
"What? It was just a kiss. A very nice kiss, but still."
I laughed, and it felt good. Normal. Like we were just two girls gossiping about boys instead of two people caught in the middle of a war between immortal courts.
"I'm happy for you," I said, and meant it. "You deserve happiness. Both of you."
"What about you?" She leaned forward, eyes sharp with curiosity. "What's happening with you and the warlord?"
Heat crept up my neck. "Nothing's happening."
"Mira."
"Fine. Something's happening. I don't know what yet."
"But you care about him."
"I care about not dying," I said, which was both true and completely inadequate.
She gave me the look that said she saw right through me, but didn't push. Just gathered up the dice for another round.
"Oh!" She snapped her fingers suddenly. "I completely forgot. I have advanced alchemical brewing with Master Kelvane in an hour. We're working on something called starlight essence. Apparently it can extend fae lifespans by decades if prepared correctly."
"That sounds important."
"It is. And dangerous. One mistake and the whole batch explodes." She climbed off the bed, stretching. "I should go prepare. The ingredients need to be measured precisely."
She paused at the door, looking back at me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," I nodded.
After she left, I sat alone in the vast chamber, absently moving the dice around the silk coverlet. Tomorrow felt like both a promise and a question. Would we still have tomorrows when this war finally came to our doorstep?
The silence pressed against me until I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed to see myself. Really see what I'd become.
The mirror stood in the far corner of Zydar's chambers, tall as a door and framed in silver that caught the dying light. I'd avoided it for days, afraid of what I might find staring back.
My reflection stopped me cold.
The girl looking back wasn't the one who'd been dragged to this court in chains. This creature was something else entirely. Something divine.
My skin held an inner radiance, like moonlight trapped beneath glass. Not the harsh glow of my power when unleashed, but something softer. Eternal. My hair fell in waves of liquid gold, each strand seeming to capture and hold light from sources I couldn't name.
And my wings.
They spread behind me in a cascade of white and gold, each feather edged with fire that didn't burn. Massive things that should have made me look monstrous but somehow made me look like I belonged in the courts of gods.
I was beautiful. Terrifyingly, impossibly beautiful.
