Page 85 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

They padded down the dark streets of Valtos, guided by Crow’s dog.

Crow glanced over her shoulder at Aruna. He kept his distance, following behind her with his hood shading his face. She could see the faint blue glow of his eyes in the darkness. They narrowed at her.

He hadn’t tried to stab her as soon as they left the tavern, though. That was a surprise.

“So,” she said as they half walked, half ran down the street, turning to avoid the few roads that still had people milling about them at this late hour. “What brings you to Valtos? Here to see the sights? Have you caught any shows?”

He didn’t say anything.

She grew more serious. “Is it that woman with the sword? You came here because of her, didn’t you?”

“Can’t understand,” he murmured shortly, his accent rounding the words oddly.

“Does she speak Varai, then? Surely not. She didn’t strike me as the intellectual sort—no offense meant—and even if she were—”

“Quiet.”

She turned to smirk at him. He couldn’t understand her attempts at casual conversation, but he understood enough to tell her to shut up.

He raised a finger to his lips for emphasis, glancing down the street as if afraid of being overheard.

Crow gave up and continued in silence, but she kept thinking about Aruna and his human companion.

She thought back to the way they’d been sitting in the tavern. They hadn’t been stiff and uncomfortable around each other the way she and Vaara were. They hadn’t seemed like mere business associates, either. They were friendly. Maybe more than friendly.

Was that possible? She’d never heard of such a couple.

She looked over at him again. “Aruna,” she said quietly. “You and that woman are together, aren’t you?”

He didn’t reply—either not understanding, or just not wanting to answer.

Crow shook her head and kept walking.

But she couldn’t stop wondering about it. Suddenly, it was something she very much wanted to know—whether a night elf would ever befriend a human. Whether one might ever forgive an Ardanian for doing something horrible to them.

She didn’t know why that was something she wanted, or when she had started caring what Vaara thought of her.

She tried to swallow down the fear and worry that was stirring in her stomach. She’d been talking to try to distract herself, and somehow she’d just ended up thinking about Vaara again and making it worse.

Aruna’s hand on her arm abruptly pulled her against the wall of a building. She felt a spell being cast over her, and then her body had turned to shadow.

Ahead, a pair of men in familiar armor hovered in front of a nondescript building with boarded windows. Prison guards, and an abandoned building.

If she and Aruna had gotten any closer, the guards would have seen them. She gave him a grateful nod. He gave her a guarded look in return.

Their dog had wandered ahead, either deciding that its mission was complete, or simply forgetting Crow when it saw its masters again. One of the guards raised his head as it approached.

“Five above, the damned thing has finally wandered back,” grunted the man, going to retrieve the dog and pull it inside the building. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them lately.” The dog yelped as the man gave it a kick and shut the door behind it.

Aruna pulled a book, of all things, out of his pocket. He opened it and showed it to her, tapping the words inside. She could just make it out in the light cast by a street light nearby. It was written in the Dreioni language. She knew enough to recognize it, but couldn’t understand more than a few words.

She shook her head at him. They’d have to make do without verbal communication. That would make planning their approach difficult.

She pointed to the dark windows on the second and third floor of the building, then made a motion like drawing a bow. He glanced up at the windows, his faintly glowing eyes peering into the blackness beyond, then shook his head. No archers.

The only people who might see them approach were the two by the door, then. She motioned down the path they’d come from and twirled her hand in a circle to indicate they should go around. Aruna nodded.

They backed away from the guards, and Crow motioned for him to go one way while she went the other. Aruna gave her a hesitant look, like he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. She wasn’t sure whether it was because he didn’t trust her not to stab him in the back, or if he merely questioned her ability to take down a man by herself. She just smiled, began peeling off her gloves, and ducked around the corner.

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