Page 21 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

The key clicked in the lock. The shackles fell open. Vaara’s hand darted out to grab them before they could clatter to the floor, knocking her hand away and breaking her contact with his mind.

He looked at Crow, and she looked back. There was nothing between them now. Nothing holding him back, and no safety net for her.

He stood up, rubbing his wrists, and she inched backward. Somehow she hadn’t realized how big he was before then. He looked completely different from when he was lying down or on his knees. He was even taller than Alexei.

His faintly glowing eye narrowed in the darkness. “You said you know a way out.”

She nodded. “Follow me.” She turned her back to him, against her better judgement, and led the way out of the cell. She didn’t hear him following, but when she turned around to check, he was right behind her.

Closing the cell door behind them, they crept down the hall, then down the stairs to the ground floor. Their exit was on the other side of the building.

Crow caught sight of a mage torch down the hall, swinging with the steps of the person holding it. She grabbed Vaara’s arm and pulled him back down the way they’d come and into a rare window alcove. The blue moon shone in from outside, bathing them in pale light.

They were quiet as the steps continued. To Crow’s dismay, they kept coming closer. This hall wasn’t supposed to be on the guards’ route—she had checked beforehand. Did that mean they already suspected something was amiss? Had Alexei rearranged the patrol routes?

As the light of the mage torch swung along the wall and the steps marched closer, Vaara wrapped an arm around Crow. She sucked in a breath as he pulled her against him and leaned into the wall. There was a tingling of magic over her skin—a spell being cast.

She looked down at herself, and the moonlight was shining clear through them to hit the wall behind them. Both of them had gone dark and transparent, like shadows.

She had heard of this magic, but never seen it in person. It was the innate power of the Varai. Their own version of empathy.

She shuffled her feet, and his arm tightened around her waist, as if in warning. As if he still feared she might give him away. She went completely still, even though her body was noticeably, uncomfortably, flush against his. They carefully avoided each other’s eyes.

A guard walked into view.

But he walked by without stopping, shooting no more than a glance into the alcove.

Crow let out a breath when the guard rounded the corner and the light bobbed out of sight. She paused to consider where to go from there, peering into the corridor as Vaara’s spell fell away.

“I need a weapon,” he whispered in her ear.

She shifted, disconcerted by having him so close behind her. “I think not.”

“Excuse me?”

“Prove you can be trusted with one, and then, maybe.”

“I assure you, human, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need a blade to do it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said tightly.

She turned to keep moving, and he grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull away, and he held fast.

“I am not here to do your bidding,” he hissed. “The shackles are gone now. In fact, perhaps you should do asIsuggest, not-mage, unless you’d like me to show you the things I can do to an unarmed human with or without a blade.”

A chill went through her. Vaara drew back suddenly, frowning at her in confusion. His hold on her grew a little more gentle.

Crow’s eyes widened. She reeled her mind back, away from his. Her emotions had grown too strong for a moment, and her self-control had broken. Her fear had projected into him. He’d felt it.

But only for a second. Judging by his expression, he hadn’t understood what the sensation was.

She took a breath, glowering up at him. She’d known this was going to happen. He was going to ruin everything. Why had she expected anything else? Because she was a fool.

No. It was the empathy. It made her weak. It made her identify with other people more than she should. It made her want to believe in them.

“We can have this discussion after we’re safely out of the building,” she said.

“We can have it now. Where is the armory? Take me there.”

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