Page 109 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

He froze. He stared at Crow, shocked. Toreg quickly ducked out of range.

For several long seconds, no one moved. Then Patros turned to Crow. “Tell him to drop the spell.”

Crow’s lips went thin. “Show yourself, Vaara,” she said.

The pull of the binding began to tighten his insides into a knot. Compulsively, he dropped his fade. Crow’s brow twitched downward. Patros gave a shallow smile.

“Tell him to drop the poker and come closer,” Patros said.

“Drop it, and come closer,” Crow repeated flatly.

Vaara hesitated, grinding his teeth with the effort of disobeying the command. And then he dropped his improvised weapon, his feet carrying him toward her until he was standing before them.

He glared at Crow, trying to communicate to her silently. She only stared back at him, morose. He wanted to shake her. He would still have fought Patros, even without his sword, even without any weapon at all. He could still have saved her.

Why had she given up so easily? Or was this simply a betrayal? Had he done something to make her turn on him?

Patros cocked his head at Vaara, taking stock of him. “Tell him to kneel,” he decided.

Crow exhaled softly. “Do as he says,” she said.

He dropped to his knees, even though every part of him was still fighting the binding.

“Tell him to bow,” Patros said.

“Do it,” Crow said.

Vaara leaned forward onto his hands and knees, and put his head to the floor. Patros breathed a lazy laugh. Crow said nothing.

“You’re going to play with him, first?” Toreg said disapprovingly. “Just kill him and be done with it.”

“I didn’t bring you so you could offer advice, Toreg,” Patros said. “Be silent and watch.” There was movement. Vaara held his breath, unable to look up. He expected a blow.

But none came. Instead, he heard Patros say, “You may have the honors.”

“What?” Crow hissed. “You don’t have to do this. Just let him go back to Kuda Varai. That’s all he cares about. He’ll go away and we’ll never see him again.”

Patros didn’t reply.

“Please,” Crow said quietly. “Punish me with anything else, but not this.”

“Do it,” Patros said.

There was a long silence. Then feet padded closer to him. A hand touched his shoulder, beckoning him upward. He slowly sat up on his knees.

Crow was standing in front of him. In her hand was a knife.

She brought up her free hand and rested it on his forehead, and then his mind was flooded with her memories.

He saw Crow’s mother handing her off to Patros when she was a child. He saw Patros bringing her into his big, lonely house. He saw Patros asking for her arm, then placing something over it…

A silver bracelet covered in runes. It sank into her skin and disappeared. A twinge of something foreign and unwelcome settled into her chest, embedding itself there forever.

The memories faded, and he came back to the present.

Crow was soulbound to Patros.

It was why she’d needed help to kill him. The binding wouldn’t permit her to kill him herself. She had found a way to bend the rules enough to allow herself to plot his potential death, but not to do it herself.

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