Page 27 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“You’ve made me a slave,” he said breathlessly.

She said nothing.

He dropped to his knees, burying his head in his hands, and didn’t move. Crow looked away.

“You planned this from the beginning,” he said quietly, as if chastising himself for falling into her trap.

She was half offended and half ashamed by the sense of betrayal in his voice. She didn’t reply.

“I can’t be a prisoner again. Just kill me. I would rather die.”

She whirled to look at him. He sounded sincere. “No. And don’t hurt yourself.” She didn’t know if the soulbinder would keep him from harming himself, but he’d have to follow her commands.

“I’ll kill you,” he promised. “One day, I’ll kill you for this.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

He slowly raised his head, as dead-eyed and hate-filled as he’d been in the prison.

“I’ll release you when you’ve fulfilled your end of our deal.” She gave him a hard look. “Youdoremember our deal, right? The one you assured me you agreed to? I guess that was a complete lie?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Stop saying that,” she snapped.

He closed his mouth, resuming his hateful stare. She could tell him to stop doing that, too, she supposed, if she were feeling particularly cruel.

“You’re not to harm me or yourself,” she said, deciding it would be best to lay out ground rules to begin with. “Nor anyone else unless they’re a direct threat to one of us. You’re not to draw attention to us. You’ll do everything in your power to help me achieve my goals according to your honest best judgement. And then, I will release you. Is that clear?”

He just glared at her.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. “Come on. We have to keep moving.”

She saw him try not to obey again. She wondered how many times he would try before he gave up. After a few seconds, he got up and followed her.

“Humans are a blight on the world,” he muttered. “You should all be—”

“I’m not human, so you can stop calling me that.”

“What are you, then? Orc?”

She stopped, then pulled her hair back to show him her ears. They were not quite the tapered length that his were, but they had the unmistakable pointed tips that marked her as someone of mixed heritage. He stared.

“Sun elf?” he asked.

She slowly shook her head.

He didn’t speak again at first. Crow watched the realization and dread come over him.

“Ashara,” he said, saying the word with the same sort of gravitas one might use to call hervampireordemon. She didn’t have to read his mind to know what he was thinking, because it was the same thing everyone thought when they found out. How many times had he let her touch him? How much had she seen? How much did she know? Had she influenced his thoughts? Had he been manipulated without being aware of it?

She didn’t suppose she had to say that she had empathy. Not all half-elves carried their parent’s magic, but he must have guessed the obvious.

“Don’t touch me again,” he said. Crow sighed. Another common request from people who found out about her.

“I won’t,” she agreed.

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