Page 26 of Invocation

“All right,” she said uncertainly. “What’s going to happen in there?”

“Nothing good, probably. Maybe you should be ready to run, just in case.”

She raised her eyebrows, and before she could inquire further, the door opened.

A tall night elf woman who looked a lot like Aruna stood before them. As soon as she saw him, her expression soured. Then she noticed Novikke, and it soured even more as she looked her up and down.

“Avan,” Aruna said after a long silence. His weight rested on the balls of his feet and he was already half turned away, like he was indeed getting ready to run.

Avan drew herself up straighter, tilting her nose up in a way that reminded Novikke of Neiryn. She wore a flour-dusted apron that felt at odds with her regal bearing.

“Aruna,” she said in a cold greeting, crossing her arms. “Here I was thinking I’d never see you again. Or that you’d be in the custody of the guard if I did.”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but—”

“I’ve heard a lot.” She lifted her eyebrows, disapproving. She looked over their shoulders at the empty street, then stepped back. “I suppose you should get inside before someone sees you,” she said grudgingly.

Aruna let out a quiet breath of relief. He wordlessly entered, watching the woman as he passed, and Novikke followed.

They were in the entryway of a narrow but high-ceilinged red stone house with tapestries and cloth draping over the walls and intricate rugs on the polished floors. Novikke’s eyes widened. She didn’t know what the economy nor interior design fashion were like in Vondh Rav, but she was fairly certain this was the home of someone with a significant amount of money.

A few lanterns lit the room and the hall beyond. It was brighter than the road, to Novikke’s surprise, as if it had been lit for human eyes. She caught movement in the corner of her eye. Down the corridor, a human girl peered timidly from a doorway. She wore a collar like Novikke’s and a floury apron that matched Avan’s. Her eyes widened when she spotted Aruna, and she shrank a little farther behind the wall.

Avan shut the door behind them and crossed her arms, still scowling at Aruna. She glanced over at Novikke again, then back at Aruna.

“I didn’t know you were so desperate for a woman that you would resort to slaves, Aruna.”

Aruna’s eyes dulled. “This is Novikke,” he said flatly. “Novikke, this is Avan. Second High Priestess of the Temple of Ravi and also my sister.” Novikke’s eyes flicked to the woman in surprise.

“Also, yes,” Avan said, mocking. “Good to know you haven’t forgotten.”

“I know you didn’t want to see me,” Aruna said. “We can make this quick. I wouldn’t have come, but I need your help with something important.”

“Yes. You want something. That’s the only reason you’d come to me. So what is it?”

“It’s a long story. But I can explain—”

“Might it have something to do with what Kashava told me the other day? That you abandoned your post and are aiding the Ardanian soldiers that have been encroaching on our borders?”

He closed his eyes. “You know that’s not true.”

“Is it not? Is my wife a liar? Are all the other witnesses to your betrayal liars, also? They’ve seen you leading groups of humans around the forest. Why?” By the time she reached the last word, she sounded more hurt than angry.

She’d cornered him against a wall. Novikke took a half step back. Her eyes went to the sword on Aruna’s hip, but his hand had not moved near it.

She got the sense that it would have been better for her to keep quiet. But Aruna wasn’t saying anything to defend himself.

“He was taken prisoner,” she said, and Avan’s head jerked up toward her. “He didn’t have a choice.”

“There is always a choice,” she said, her lip lifting with disgust. “Any Varai worth the air they breathe would put a knife through their own heart before helping your people.”

Aruna’s expression darkened. He looked away.

Novikke struggled to hold her tongue. He had been willing to die. Until Theros had threatened her. She was the reason he’d done it. It was her fault if it was anyone’s.

A door at the other end of the hallway opened, and another Varai woman entered the house. As she lifted her face, brushing hair behind a pointed ear, Novikke realized, with a pang of apprehension, that she recognized her. It was the woman from the ambush—the one Aruna had spoken to after they’d killed the rest of the Varai.

She froze when she spotted Aruna. Then her expression twisted. “Son of a hishveh,” she hissed, and strode toward them, drawing the sword at her hip. This time, Aruna’s hand went to his sword.

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