Page 83 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

He wiggled the door as if trying to shake her off.

She pushed on the door, and he pushed back. “Just wait, will you? Just—talk to me! Gods, you’re even more difficult to deal with than I thought you’d be.”

He snarled a string of Varai words back at her.

It occurred to her that he hadn’t said anything else yet. She hadn’t heard him speak the previous night, either.

“You… you don’t speak Ardanian, do you?” she sighed.

He leaned a little closer to her and said, very clearly despite a thick accent, “Go. Away.”

Well. He spokesomeArdanian, apparently. “Just listen. I need your help.Vaaraneeds your help.”

He shoved at the door, bruising her foot, and she gasped in pain.

She hadn’t planned on using empathy. It always made things easier in the short-term and a lot more difficult in the long-term. Obviously he was the type to take offense to that sort of thing.

But he wasn’t leaving her much choice, and when she saw the opportunity—his bare hand wrapped around the edge of the door—she took it without thinking.

He saw her looking at his skin a fraction of a second before she reached for it. She grabbed his fingers just as he began to pull away.

Be still,she roared into his mind.

His breath caught. He stopped moving, frozen, but she could already feel him fighting her influence. Alarmed, she doubled down, squeezing his hand.

Obey me,she commanded.Obey me. Be still. I mean you no harm. Relax. Don’t fight me.She put the full force of her will behind the words even as she felt him gradually breaking loose. Hatred and fear clawed through her commands, shredding them to inert pieces.

And then he was free. She saw his eyes sharpen and refocus on her. Dread vibrated through her.

He flung open the door and then he was on her. The next thing she knew, she was thudding to the floor and he was on top of her. He pressed the sword to her throat and spat another long sequence of Varai words at her.

She cringed away, waiting for a killing blow that didn’t come. He was waiting, as if expecting her to try something again. Just how much of a fool did he think she was?

“I’m sorry,” she said. “All right? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I panicked.”

Icy blue eyes stared at her. She couldn’t tell how much he understood her.

“I need your help. Vaara…” She knew he’d recognize the name if nothing else. “Vaara needs help. I…” At this rate, she was never going to get to him in time.

Someone appeared at the top of the stairs. Crow glanced sideways. It was the half-Varai from the front door. He crossed his arms, glowering, looking the picture of disapproval. Then the dog appeared at his side, happily lolling her tongue, which somewhat ruined the effect.

“What did I just tell you?” he said. “Don’t cause trouble, I said.”

“Forgive me?” she asked with a regretful smile. She made a tiny gesture in Aruna’s direction. His blade was still a twitch away from ending her. “Perhaps you could be so kind as to ask this one to move his sword a little farther away from my very delicate skin?”

The half-Varai said something to Aruna. His words flowed much slower and less smoothly than Aruna’s and Vaara’s.

Aruna retracted the sword by less than an inch. Crow rolled her eyes.

The half-Varai narrowed his eyes at her. “He says you’re Ashara.”

“I am,” she admitted. “Half, at least.”

That made him look up at her again, studying her more closely. Crow offered him another smile, which he did not return.

“And he says that you tried to use Ashara magic to control him,” he went on. “Therefore, I’m not certain it would be wise to let you up.”

Crow sighed. She was filled with shame and regret, as she often was. “Then will you translate some things for me?”

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