Page 7 of Captive

Chapter 2

As they went deeper into the forest, the land changed. The plants turned unnatural hues of violet and blue and black and, occasionally, even green. Some of the flowers and fungi gave off a soft, pulsing glow, which she welcomed, because it was incredibly dark. The light from the moons barely penetrated the trees, as if the air had intentionally thickened to block it out.

Birds and insects chirped and sang in the middle of the night. The night elves weren’t the only nocturnal beings inhabiting the forest, it seemed. Maybe all the animals here were creatures of the night.

It was all strangely beautiful and fantastical, like something from a storybook, and it might have charmed her if it hadn’t been so terrifying.

She quietly pulled her mage torch from her pocket to light the ground at her feet. The night elves might be able to see in the dark, but she couldn’t. They gave her annoyed glances when the light flashed on, but didn’t object. A good thing, too, because if she hadn’t had the light, she would have spent the entire night tripping over roots and stones.

After a while, she realized that they were walking on a narrow path, still grassy because it was not well-trodden enough to be worn down to dirt. It was a barely-there trail that only the night elves must have known about. She’d never have noticed it if they hadn’t brought her to it.

Her feet were leaden with dread as she walked. She didn’t know where they were taking her, or why. Maybe they had allied with the sun elves and were taking her to a slow, tortuous death at the hands of Ardani’s enemies.

Or maybe they were bringing her back to the city in the center of the forest, Vondh Rav, to be sacrificed to their evil goddess.

The old couple had escaped. They’d tell someone what had happened. Even if no one found the wagon and Dimos’s body, the people at Fort Greenbar in Livaki would realize they’d gone missing when they didn’t arrive on time.

She shook her head. Knowing what the upper ranks thought of non-essential types like herself, they’d probably assume she was sleeping off a hangover somewhere, if they even noticed her absence at all.

And none of that mattered anyway, because even if she’d been someone important, they would not have come into the forest to rescue her. It was a fool’s errand.

No one went into the forest.

No humans, at least.

It was said that millennia ago, the night elves and sun elves had both been just elves. When ancient humans had pushed them to the brink of extinction, the goddess of the sun and the goddess of night had stepped in to defend them, giving each group a part of their respective power.

The goddess of night had transformed the forest and its inhabitants, infusing them with magic and giving them aspects of herself. Now the forest was a natural stronghold for the night elves.

They called themselves the Varai. Kuda Varai was theirs, and had been for as long as history could remember.

Novikke didn’t know that she believed in any sun or night goddesses. But regardless of their source, no one could deny the strange effects Kuda Varai had on visitors.

Outsiders who entered it became disoriented and inevitably lost their way without a night elf guide. Magic and supernatural beasts defended it from people who would do it harm. The trees resisted attempts to burn them. You might succeed in torching a single tree, but the fire never seemed to catch the surrounding brush.

She had little hope of escaping, even if she ran. Even if nothing attacked her, she’d get lost in the forest. So she was stuck with them and stuck with whatever fate they had planned for her.

The Panic had gone, though. At least she had that.

When the sun had brightened the sky to a dusty gray, they stopped under a hillside, beneath an overhang of rock that created a small cave. The elves set about making a camp. There was already a fire ring inside the space. It was a campsite that they, or someone, had used in the past.

They paid her no mind as they worked. She sat heavily against the wall of the cave. It felt better having a something solid against her back.

The elves pulled food from packs as a fire crackled to life in the fire ring. They spoke little. When they did, it sounded casual and unconcerned. Novikke frowned. It reminded her of the army camps she’d sometimes stopped at between runs. They behaved as if this was all completely normal. As if her life wasn’t at stake. As if they weren’t evil. As if nothing here was wrong.

As they cooked, Novikke worked up the courage to speak. She waited for Serious to look in her direction, and when she caught his eye, she quickly said, “Where are you taking me?”

He stared at her blankly.

“He does not understand Ardanian,” said the other one. He smiled in a way that felt like he was enjoying a joke at her expense. It was how he always looked at her. He was always smiling smugly at nothing, as if he knew perfectly well that he had complete control here and he liked it.

And the other one—she wasn’t sure yet what she thought of him. He seemed less loathsome than his companion, but that was a low bar. She eyed him again, watching the way his gaze went curiously from her to the other elf and back.

She had wondered if the two of them would fight again, after what had happened when they’d first encountered her. But the disagreement seemed to have deescalated. Smiler hadn’t tried to touch her again, and Serious hadn’t argued against anything else he’d done.

“We’re going to a ranger outpost,” Smiler went on.

Her jaw tensed. “And then what?”

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