Page 35 of Captive

“I was abandoned, too,” she said. By Ardani, and by Aruna.

He gave her an examining look. “What are you doing here? The Ardani border is miles away. Surely even an Ardanian isn’t stupid enough to wander into Kuda Varai alone.”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Scouting mission,” he said. “Someone has to keep an eye on the Varai.”

“Scouting, or burning things?” Novikke asked wryly, remembering the bridge.

“Maybe both, if the opportunity arises.”

“Does the forest’s magic not affect you? Don’t you get lost?”

“Not if we don’t stay too long. I suppose humans have so little resistance to magic that the forest ensnares you as soon as you enter it,” he said, unnecessarily condescending.

“I guess.”

The elf gave her another up and down look, noting her muddied and torn uniform. “You are with Queen Vasso’s army,” he observed.

“Yes.”

“They’re the ones who abandoned you?” he said, giving her a humorless smile.

She shrugged. Could one really abandon something that one had barely claimed in the first place?

He sniffed. “So this is the reward for our loyalty,” he said, his tone laced with irony. “We devote our lives to them, and we’re still expendable. We are the sacrifices that must be made for the greater good. Did you ever think, when you made the decision to serve your country, that that decision would result in you dying alone in a dirty hut at the hands of a bunch of semiliterate bloodthirsty savages, not even halfway through your life?”

“No, I didn’t.”

They sat in mutual silence that felt almost companionable.

“I’m Novikke.”

He gave her a long look and then said, reluctantly, “Neiryn.”

“Good to meet you, Neiryn,” she said with a nod. “I think we should try to escape.”

He scoffed. “You think so, do you?”

“Do you agree?”

He stared at her dumbly. “Yes,” he said with the most patronizing tone she’d ever heard. “If you think of a way to untie yourself and get past a hundred night elves and out the gates without being seen and promptly shot in the back, do let me know.” He leaned back against his post. “Unfortunately, I don’t foresee that happening any time soon.”

“We’ll see.”

???

Novikke squirmed against her ropes for the next several hours. Neiryn occasionally gave her a glance that said he thought she was an idiot for trying. He might have been right, because she didn’t make any progress.

Eventually the light beneath the door begin to shift, changing from fire orange to early morning gray.

She jumped when the door opened. Dim light, which seemed very bright after the darkness, poured into the room.

“Look at this. My favorite human has arrived.”

Novikke stiffened. She squinted into the brightness as her eyes adjusted. Zaiur was smiling down at her. He crossed his arms. “You took your time getting here, didn’t you?”

Novikke thought it best not to respond. That didn’t deter him, though.

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