Page 94 of Blood of Ancients

The wood elves looked around at each other, suddenly falling nervous. They gripped their spears tighter, ogling Ravinica and the others.

My teeth ground together, feeling disrespected at their searching eyes of mylunis’ai.

“We kill infestations, noble,” the man said, his long ears twitching.

“We don’t seek violence. What is your name,varus?”

“Jhaeros, Hunter-Chief of the Northern Kiir.” He squared his shoulders proudly. “The better question, who areyou, to be traveling with humans?”

I sighed and blew out a breath.

“I am Corym Vaalnath-Taramore E’tar. Torar’tis and Fifth Company-Prince of Heira’s Eastern Crossing.”

I could feel the stares at my back. My friends, eyes widening. Despite them not understanding my language, they certainly understood when I said my name, and the mouthful of words that went along with it.

The wood elves glanced around suspiciously, their murmurs dying into stunned silence. They looked to their leader, Jhaeros, who was tilting his head curiously.

He blinked a few times. “Company-Prince, you say?”

“Fifth, to be exact, Chief Jhaeros.”

“I pegged you right, then. Noble indeed.”

I lowered my chin, eyes narrowing on him. If it was a fight the wood elves wanted, I would only be pushed so far. I knew Ravinica and the others agreed, though I felt it was my duty to at least try and avoid conflict and bloodshed.

The elders wouldn’t smile upon a prince of the Eastern Crossing slaughtering wood elves. It would lead to a headache for the nation.

“We want you leaving our home, Prince,” he said with an overly exaggerated bow. “The same way you came in.”

“And we will. Just as quickly as we find who we came looking for.”

More murmurs sprouted up from the wood elves. Their eyes widened, nodding as they exchanged whispers.

“You know who I’m talking about, do you?” I asked, brow furrowing.

My heart raced for fear over Magnus’ wellbeing. If a human like him had shown up in Kiir’luri, alone . . . and met Jhaeros and his hunters . . . that did not bode well.

Jhaeros said, “You came for her, did you?”

I opened my mouth—closed it, scrunching my face. “Wait.Her?”

A nod. “The human doppelganger.”

I was utterly confused now. Glancing back at my friends, they implored me with expressions of anxiety, as if to ask what we were chatting about.Human . . . doppelganger?

“Surely you are mistaken,” I said, waving a hand at him. “The one we search for is a man. Plain as day. Tattoos across his skin. Scarred. Crimson hair.”

One of the wood elves walked up to Jhaeros and whispered in his ear.

With a pout, Jhaeros said, “Oh. The creature. Yes.”

I scratched my head. “Creature? That’s a bit harsh. Have you wounded him?”

“We will hunt for him soon.” Jhaeros nodded sagely.

I sighed. More confused than ever. “Hunt? Please explain what you mean,varus.”

“We’ve kept our distance until we discover what he is. Found him meandering through the banks of River Th’race. We arrived to investigate a disturbance in the spirits—the doppelganger—and found him by chance. His blood doesn’t speak to us as it should.”

---