Page 144 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

She grimaced.

“You got your revenge. I want mine. Please.”

She grasped his hands, frowning.

“Go back to Aruna. Stay safe,” he said.

“There’s no chance of that happening. You need me. Come on. Let’s finish this.”

She felt the wave of appreciation and affection flowing through his hands into hers, even if his face was like stone.

They both jumped as the alarm bells began to ring all through the building.

Chapter 39

The alarm bells beat a hideous rhythm in Vaara’s head. Those bells brought back bad memories.

He began to pull Crow down the hall with him, in a direction chosen at random. All he knew was that they had to move.

“No,” she said in a harsh whisper, pulling his hand in the other direction. “This way.” He followed her without question.

Booted feet and steel armor clanked in the distance. Voices echoed toward them. In the dark, enclosed halls, Vaara felt remarkably like a vole scurrying through tunnels to evade a snake. The longer they ran, the more panicked he felt. He stomped the fear down and tried to pretend not to feel it. It didn’t work.

The more reasonable half of him was thinking that he was a fool to have ever come back here—he’d miraculously escaped this place only to doom himself again. Crow had trusted and cared for him and he’d put her at risk in return.

The Goddess had gifted him with freedom, maybe even happiness, and he’d thrown it back in her face.

But, the Goddess blessed those who protected the vulnerable and punished evil. Vengeance was a sacrament. He had to believe that she was still with him, protecting him.

Crow’s fingers tightened around his hand. He felt her mind brush reassuringly against his.

They stopped and pressed against a wall as a group of guards ran past. Shrouded in the fade, they were close enough to invisible that none of the guards looked over.

Crow took him around the outskirts of the building, away from the main hallways, through doors and small passages that only one of the guards would have known about.

“We can hide back here until things settle down,” she said. Vaara began to nod, but then he heard voices and footsteps at the end of the hall.

They quickly moved in the other direction, only to hear more voices coming from the other way.

Crow cursed. They were blocked in from either direction. There was no getting by them in this narrow hall.

The guards rounded the corner and came closer, holding torches that burned through the shadows. Vaara placed himself between Crow and the closest guards.

And just before their light made him visible to their weak eyes, he struck.

His sword arced through the air. Blood sprayed the floor. The guard cried out. Without stopping, Vaara turned and thrust his blade into the next guard, through the gap in his armor under his armpit. His aim, if he did say so himself, was flawless. Both of them were on the floor in seconds. A bit of pride cut through his fear.

But more were quickly approaching to take their place. Vaara spun to see where Crow had gone, just in time to see her ducking through a door. One guard stumbled after her, but she was faster—and she had her glamour. She would be all right, as long as she didn’t do anything foolish like try to come back for him. He turned, faded, and ran. Angry shouts followed him.

As he turned the corner at the end of the hallway, he ran headfirst into another pair of guards. Steel flashed toward him. He tried to duck out of the way, and pain shot through his arm. The guard’s blade had caught his elbow. He kept running.

He took turns at random, having lost his guide, but in the shadows he quickly outpaced the guards.

He slowed once he found an empty hallway, then slid into an unoccupied room and shut the door behind him.

He held his arm, wincing, and dropped his fade to get a better look at the injury. Blood was soaking through his sleeve, but it was a superficial wound causing no real damage.

As shouts and running feet echoed in the distance, he glanced around his hiding place. Moonlight lit the room in dark blue light. It appeared to be a bunk room for people who worked at the prison. Against the walls sat four cheap, small beds. The window on the far wall had bars on it, like all the prison’s windows. There would be no escaping through there.

---