Shadows by D.M. Turner

Author:D.M. Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Otherworlder, Book 1 - Fantasy with a Christian Worldview
Publisher: Dawn M. Turner
Published: 2016-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

ZARA turned to confront Tarsius. His gaze locked with hers. Level, unflinching, silently demanding the truth. Stern determination in his hazel eyes did nothing to conceal his warm nature. He’d been nothing but kind, even when she hadn’t wanted it. A haughty declaration died in her throat. For the first time in her life, she was ashamed to admit who and what she was.

“I do what I need to in order to survive.” She marched toward the door.

His gentle hand on her arm pulled her up short. She couldn’t meet his gaze.

“In other words, a thief.” The words fell like rocks into a pond, breaking the surface, sending ripples through an already tortured soul. One more reminder of everything she’d lost.

“I was. Now, I’m nothing.” She looked up at him. Could she even begin to make him understand? Everything had been stripped away. All she’d ever known. The man she loved. A sense of purpose and belonging. Her child.... “The night I came to this world, I became nothing. I might as well be dead.” She tugged her arm free.

Tarsius let her go.

Zara opened the door, peeked into the hallway to make sure no one loitered nearby, and headed for Tarsius’ bedchamber. His footsteps echoed off stone walls behind her. She crawled into bed and pulled the blankets up to her neck. A chill had settled over her.

* * *

She might as well be dead? Who thought that way? How could pain cut deep enough to even incite such thinking?

“You are not dead.” Tarsius pushed the door closed.

Cygnet raised her head and watched him cross the room. He sat on the bed beside Zara, and the dog dropped her head onto her paws again. He put a hand on Zara’s shoulder. Her body rocked almost imperceptibly beneath the covers.

“There’s nothing left,” she whispered, her voice flat.

“The emptiness you feel is part of the grieving process.” He stroked her hair. ”It will get easier. I promise.”

She rolled her head on the pillow to look at him. The haunted, sorrowful look in glistening eyes sent pain through his chest.

“Everything’s gone.” Anger and hatred flared in her eyes. Her voice tightened with hostility. “He took everything from me. I’d rather die than help him.”

“You have no need to do either.” Tarsius caressed her temple with the back of one finger. He needed to calm her. Somehow. “If I could give back all you lost, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

Zara studied him curiously. “Despite what I am?”

“Yes.” Sadness filled his heart at the prospect, but he smiled. “As long as you are happy, nothing else matters.”

Zara smiled even as tears flooded her eyes. “U’uskoh made me happy. Nothing mattered as long as he was with me. What do I do without him? He’s everything. My whole life.”

He had no answer to give. “Tell me about him. What is he like?” Tarsius leaned against the headboard and focused on her. He couldn’t be sure which motivation drove him more fiercely to pursue the subject.

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