Page 8 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“I hope you won’t hold it against me,” he said, guiding her to the door.

She was so startled that words failed her. “Oh, no, I…”

She stopped mid-sentence as they came up to the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat.

The night elf was kneeling against the far wall of the cell, facing away from them with his arms chained above him. His bare back was striped with long gashes and coated with blood. They were the type of wounds that you could feel when you looked at them.

“Is he still conscious?” Alexei asked the guards.

“Yes, sir.”

“Usually he’d be out by now.”

“Do you want to have another go at him?”

“No. To my great disappointment, I’ve got other work to do. Let Lady Crow fix him up and I can visit him again in a few days.” He turned to Crow. “Take good care of him. He’s my favorite prisoner.”

Crow stared, her jaw stuck shut. She felt bile rising in her throat. Even Patros wouldn’t have approved of something like this.

She finally managed to loosen her jaw long enough to say, “Yes. I will.” She couldn’t produce a smile, so she tried for a neutral expression. “What did he do?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Alexei eyed her, and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t have them thinking she wasn’t fully on their side.

“I mean, he’s not... dangerous, is he?” she said.

Alexei turned his gaze toward the night elf. “Not like this, he isn’t.” He stepped closer to Crow, resting a hand on her shoulder. It felt too heavy, and she had to resist the urge to shake him off. “He’s done enough to earn this and more,” he said. “Don’t fret on his behalf.”

She gave a hollow laugh. “I wouldn’t fret over a night elf.”

“No one would,” he said with an approving pat on her shoulder. He turned to Callias, then motioned to the bucket in the boy’s hands. “Put the water inside and begone, boy.”

Callias rushed to obey. In his hurry, he tripped on a crack in the floor. The bucket flew from his hands and cold water sloshed over Crow’s feet.

Callias looked up at Alexei, wide-eyed. “Sorry!”

If witnessing what Alexei had done to the night elf hadn’t been enough to terrify Crow, the way Callias looked at him now was. Alexei merely glared at the boy. Crow had to wonder what he would have done if she hadn’t been watching.

“That’s all right,” Crow said before anyone else could punish him. “Go refill the bucket, Callias.”

Callias nodded, ducking his head, and quickly ran off.

“I’ll have someone bring you another pair of shoes,” Alexei said.

“That’s not necessary. I can dry them by the fireplace in my room.”

“I insist.”

She was just eager to be rid of him. “Fine. Thank you. But I’ll be fine. Really.” She nodded toward the cell. “I should be getting to work.”

Alexei dipped his head. “As you wish.”

She watched his back until he disappeared down the hall and around the corner, and felt a palpable sense of relief when he was out of sight.

She crossed the threshold into the dark cell. It was several degrees colder inside, and smelled of dirt and damp and blood. Two guards remained posted inside, waiting for her to cast spells she couldn’t cast. The elf knelt facing the wall, his head hanging down, not moving.

The door was made of solid wood and metal, not the rows of bars most of the other cells had. They couldn’t be easily spied through from the outside, except through a small window in the door that was currently covered.

She turned to the guards. “Get out.”

---