Page 53 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“I need to speak to that woman,” he said.

She squinted across the street, and saw the only woman he could have been talking about—a stunning sun elf in a rather low-cut red silk dress, standing outside a bar. Several men had already gathered around and were competing to attract her attention. Crow gave him a sidelong look. “The sun elf?”

“No.Her.”

He jerked his chin to the right, toward a tall human woman standing at a food vendor’s cart. She wore men’s boots and a ratty cloak and had a sword strapped to her side. She began to gnaw on the skewer of meat she’d just bought, then almost choked when it was too hot.

Crow gave Vaara another look. “I don’t understand.”

The woman started walking down the street away from them. Vaara started after her.

“I have to follow her,” he said.

“Wait a minute,” Crow said, and Vaara stopped short, halted by the binding.

He whirled to her, his eye wide with agitation.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder at the woman in time to see her disappear around a corner. “She has my brother’s sword.”

“What?”

“She has my brother’s sword!” he said, raising his voice enough to attract the attention of a few people around them. He grabbed her arm. “Let me go after her. I’m begging you.”

She stared at him, taken aback. “Okay, I—”

Before she could give any caveats, he’d turned and sprinted down the street after the woman.

A wave of apprehension went through her. She had no idea what she’d just agreed to. She ran after him, hoping he wasn’t about to attack someone in the middle of the street.

She rounded the corner and, with some difficulty, found Vaara in the crowd ahead. The woman was ahead of him, and he was stalking some distance behind her. Crow hurried to catch up to him.

“What in the hells is going on?” she murmured to him when she got to his side, walking quickly to keep up with his long strides. Suddenly she wondered whether this wasn’t just some scheme to free himself. She eyed him suspiciously. “What’s this about a sword?”

He glanced down at her, then returned his hard gaze to the woman ahead. “The one on her hip. Look at it.”

She looked. She got a few glimpses of it under the woman’s cloak when she turned. It was short and in a black leather sheath. She didn’t know enough about swords to know what might be of interest about it. “What about it?”

“It’s a Varai weapon,” he growled. “And it belongs to my brother. It’s a unique sword. Handmade by a man in the village where I grew up. I’d recognize it anywhere. Where do you suppose she got it?”

“You’re suggesting she went to Kuda Varai and stole it?”

“I’m saying she or someone she was in contact with must have encountered Zaiur somewhere, and he wouldn’t have given up that sword willingly.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you, Vaara, but you’re probably mistaken. Ardanians don’t wander into Kuda Varai very often.”

“I am not mistaken,” he said through gritted teeth. “I can see twice as well with one eye as any human can with two. I know what I saw.”

“Half human.”

“Whatever.”

She remained suspicious and annoyed with the diversion, but there was a desperation in his voice that gave her pause. He had family he hadn’t seen for over a year. He didn’t know what had become of them.

“You have a brother?” she asked.

He shot her another look which she assumed was a glare. It was difficult to tell with his face covered up, but that was usually a safe assumption with him. “Yes. I’m a real person, with family and everything. I had a home before prison, remember? I was going to go back there.”

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