"Tom? What are you doing here?"

That's what I wanted to scream when I saw the boy standing in front of me. I settled for crossing my arms and glaring stonily at him instead. As a Shadow Man, I tried to never show my true feelings in front of others and I wasn't about to start now. Especially not in front of this pathetic excuse for a human.

Quickly, I took in my surroundings. Dark walls closed in around me on all sides. The small room I was in was bare of furniture and vaguely familiar. With a jolt, I realized I was in a closet much the like the one where I'd been imprisoned before. Tom was standing in the doorway, blocking the exit. The door was open behind him and I could just make out the inverted U of Uruz carved into the surface. I narrowed my eyes. At his feet was a long, flat branch. It was pulsing with a power unlike anything else in the world, human or Shadow. The runestave. The Stave of Life. I blinked. Tom had carved my name back onto the stave?

I raised my eyes to his face, arching an eyebrow. "What is this?" I asked, keeping my voice deadly quiet.

Hatred flared in his gaze, but behind that was something else. Something like defeat. "What does it look like?" he growled. "I brought you back, Julian."

This didn't help. "I can see that," I retorted nastily. "I want to know why."

He sighed heavily, not looking at me. Something gleamed in his right hand, catching the light like silver. I stiffened at the sight of the knife he held; obviously Tom wasn't taking any chances with a Shadow Man. "Listen," he began. "I...broke up with Jenny. It just...wasn't working out."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked tonelessly.

Pain flashed across his face. It was the first time I'd ever seen Tom Locke broken. One of my happier moments. "Jenny was happy with me," he said flatly. "But after that last Game, she changed. I don't think even she realized how much she was different. She was stronger. She doesn't me anymore." He closed his eyes briefly. "I broke her heart. She's more lonely than I've ever seen her. But I can't be with her." He opened his eyes again, meeting my gaze seriously. "That's why I carved your name back onto the stave. You can make her happy, Julian. I can't." He shook his head slowly. "Not anymore."

At first, I had no idea what to say. Tom was letting Jenny go and giving her to me? After everything he'd seen me do during the Games? After the surprise faded, however, wariness crept in. "You're serious?" I said, watching him carefully. "Because I don't want to try to leave this closet and then have the door slam shut in my face."

Tom huffed an irritated sigh, already turning away from me. "Yes, I'm serious," he muttered. "I didn't want things to turn out like this, but here we are. So...just leave already. Okay?"

He's serious. He's taking all the light in his world and throwing it away. No, giving it up to the darkness.

I looked at him with new eyes. It was rare for a human to ever earn my respect. I would always hate Tom Locke but at the same time, I had to admire his willpower. To let Jenny go... To me, it was unthinkable.

Jenny. She believed the Games had changed her friends forever. But had they changed me? "Where is she?" I asked.

Tom's back was to me now and I saw his shoulders stiffen. "At home," he said simply, ice edging his words. Then he let out a long breath. "Please, just promise me something, Julian." He spun back around, a new light in his eyes. He jabbed a finger at me. "Promise me you'll take care of her."

I bristled. I didn't make promises to mere humans. I didn't make promises to anyone. I was about to tell him so, but then I remembered Jenny, and her shining amber hair, her face alight with laughter and goodness and innocence. This wasn't about me; it was about her.

"I promise."

Shock and then relief swept over his features. He nodded, almost to himself, and turned his back on me again. "All right. That's it then. You won't hear from me again." He sounded choked for a second and he pushed on. "Neither will Jenny. I'm done. Okay, Julian?" He looked back over his shoulder, as though expecting an answer, but the closet behind him was empty.