Page 75 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

She stared at him for another few seconds, then rested a hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow. Vaara just closed his eye, content to ignore her.

But instead of leaving, she shut the door behind her and came inside. He heard her soft steps on the stone, and then the shifting of fabric. Apprehensive, he looked up at her again.

She was facing away from him… wearing nothing. His breath hitched.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, smirking, and dropped her leggings into the pile of clothes she’d made beside his own.

She edged backward into the water on the other side of the pool, carefully facing her body away from him until she was underwater, as if she were shy—a ridiculous thing to pretend, at that point.

The outline of her figure was burned into his mind and now it was all he could see. Heat coiled through his veins and stiffened his cock as he looked at her. The events of the previous night were suddenly vivid in his mind.

She only smiled blandly at him from the other side of the pool, pretending she didn’t know exactly what he was thinking about.

“Alexei will have to grow tired of this chase eventually,” she said. “Doesn’t he still have a prison to run?”

Vaara sank deeper into the water. “I don’t want to talk about Alexei right now.”

“His mind is repulsive,” she went on, keeping unwavering eye contact with him. She shook her head. “I’ve seen it. It’s sick. Slimy. There’s something wrong with him.”

“I don’t have to see into his head to know that.”

Crow dipped her head under the water and came back up. Rivulets ran down her face and neck. Obsidian hair smoothed and clung to her skin, the tips floating in the water around her shoulders. Vaara glared at her. He resolutely did not look down at the rest of her body half hidden beneath the surface, but it was there in the periphery of his vision—a shimmering golden smear in the water, taunting him.

Just one contraceptive draught, he reminded himself. She was only teasing him.

They sat in mutual silence for long minutes after that. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the reflections of the water draw wavering patterns on the stone. The only sound in the room was the trickling of water from the fountains. The steam from the water smelled like heat and like something floral and clean.

“I’m sorry about your brother.”

He closed his eye, suppressing an irritated sigh. When he looked over, Crow was watching him from across the pool, her face lacking the smirk she’d been wearing earlier.

He didn’t know what to say. He just nodded, looking away again.

“I’m sure he was a good man.”

Vaara breathed a soft laugh. “He wasn’t.”

Zaiur had been a liar, a cheater, and a manipulator since he was very young. Vaara had discovered that very early on. It was a part of his personality that could not be taught or shamed out of him. He’d been born with a selfish, vindictive, prideful streak that grew larger as he got older.

There had been some incidents. Like the small animals Vaara had found in the woods near the house, all killed in oddly gruesome ways. Or, when they were older, when he’d overheard the women who lived next door advising each other not to be caught alone with him.

But most people didn’t understand what Zaiur was really like. He hid that part of himself from most people. He only did questionable things when no one was looking—when he was sure he could get away with them.

There had been escalating arguments between the two of them by the end. By the time Vaara left, they hadn’t spoken in months.

“Aruna told me his behavior was strange during the past year,” Vaara said. “He was never the same after I left. He became unwell. I don’t know if I would have recognized him, by the end.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“If I hadn’t left, he’d still be alive.”

She frowned. “You didn’t leave. You were taken.”

“Because I stupidly walked into an ambush.”

“It’s not your fault,” she repeated. As he opened his mouth to reply, she added, “You know I’m right. You’re being ridiculous.” He gave up arguing. “What about the sword? The one the woman at the tavern had?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want it. I told her she could keep it.” It would only remind him of things he was better off forgetting now. She’d looked like she was ready to fight him over it in any case, and that wasn’t a confrontation he wanted to pursue.

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