Page 96 of The Guru: Shadow

“So, it was your revenge, too.”

“Could phase it like that, yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I anticipated you to run.”

“In case you didn’t notice, I ran this way. What changed?”

He considered her for a moment.

“Deis, you need to be honest with me.”

It took him a moment to answer. “Honesty above all,” he finally whispered.

A shudder ran down her spine. And she could only stare at him.

I’ve heard those words before. I’ve said them before.But it could not be, could it?

It was, in the end, just a normal sentence people use, right? But something about his look was funny. He had his head tilted and looked at her with intense curiosity.

“Yes. Honesty above all.”

He stared at her just a bit longer before he spoke again.

“I knew it the moment in the event center. Then Carl happened, but as you were the one pulling the trigger, I could be sure.”

Her heart began to race as the tension in the car sizzled through the air, bringing the sweet foreboding of a truth to be released.

“Sure of what?” What did you know?”

The pause he made let an explosive feeling of curiosity grow in her chest, up to the point where she could no longer contain it.

Say it.

Part of her knew what was going to come, and a part wanted to run far, far away because once it was out in the open, there would be no going back. And when he finally spoke, his voice was so silent and controlled.

“That you are the queen to my kingdom.”

His words hit her like the surge of a hurricane. A heat like never before exploded in her chest. The sweet sound of being cherished and wanted glowed her into an unraveling mess of longing. She had to bite her lip to contain herself from giggling, screaming out loud and stomping her feet sillily on the ground. What she couldn’t contain was a broad smile growing on her face.

It was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever heard.

It was better than anyI love you, better than any affections anyone had ever shown.

Everything was different with him.

And there she was, being consumed by him, lost for words.

He stared at her the whole time, piercing her with his eyes. It was as if they communicated without words, just by staring into each other’s soul.

“Get us home, Ed,” he said up to the front, without breaking his gaze.

Home.

His home. The home he wanted to be my home, too. It was all so intense, so out of the ordinary. But mostly, it was dangerous, thrilling, consuming. And it made her feel alive with every last one of her cells. If there had been a guy with red flags, he would have wiped a million of them right in front of her face, and she still would only see Deis’ eyes, stripping her soul to its rawest existence. Existence, which was daring, playful, living. The self she was, not because of him, but because she could be herself. The real, unmasked self. Liberated from all the weight she carried around with her.

As they turnedthe corner onto Deis’ street, it was like she was whirled into a different universe. Flashlights buzzed as she sat like a star behind black windows of an armored luxury car. Somewhere in that mob were people who wanted to get to her, maybe take or do whatever else to her.