Page 87 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

His skin was coated in a sheen of blood. Long, seeping red lines ran all across his body. Dozens of them. Carved there by a madman who knew exactly how much damage he could do without making someone bleed out. Meant to leave scars, to pain him and mark him, but not to kill him. Never that.

Her eyes went to his hand. And then she saw the missing finger. Where his little finger should have been, there was only a bloody stump.

Her eyes darted to his other hand, and her heart sank. It was the same. Both his smallest fingers had been cut off.

He moved his arm a little, and his entire body twitched in response to the tiny movement. He probably couldn’t move any part of himself without stretching the wounds and sending waves of pain through him.

Crow took a step toward him, and then another. She pulled her gloves from her belt and tugged them on.

She knelt beside him and gently took his wrist as she looked at his mutilated hand. And suddenly she could feel only rage. Suddenly she cared nothing for the people she’d killed downstairs. She wished she’d killed them slower.

She wished Alexei had been there. She wanted him to die. She wanted to rip his mind to shrieking shreds and watch him cut his own body the way he’d cut Vaara—cut himself apart until he was dead.

When she looked up to meet his eye, Vaara was watching her, still frowning slightly. The only feeling she saw in his gaze was defeat.

She blinked, and tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. Her throat was dry and hoarse when she spoke.

“I don’t know how to remove the binding,” she whispered.

Vaara’s brow twitched. Shame made her want to avert her gaze, but she made herself look him in the eye as she confessed.

“Patros gave me the soulbinder. The plan was to use it on Toreg, and have a mage at the Conclave remove it later if necessary. I know of no way to remove it myself.”

She waited, bracing herself for his outrage. She’d deserve it. But he said nothing.

“I’m sorry,” she said, this time bowing her head. There was a smeared bloody handprint on the floorboards. She wondered whether it was Vaara’s or Alexei’s. “I’m so sorry.”

Vaara didn’t say anything. She kept waiting, hoping to see fury or even sadness in his face, but there was nothing. He nodded slowly.

“I promise you I’ll find a way to fix it,” she said.

His gaze had wandered to her collarbone. “You’re injured,” he commented, as if he hadn’t heard her.

She looked down. There was a slice in her tunic and she was bleeding from a long, shallow cut. “It’s fine. It’s nothing.”

He cleared his throat. “Alexei—” he started to ask.

“He’s not here,” she said. “And the rest are dead.”

Vaara glanced over her shoulder. Crow turned to see Aruna still standing near the doorway, watching them with a conflicted expression.

“Can you walk?” she asked Vaara.

She was relieved to finally see some emotion on his face—even if it was annoyance. “It’s not my feet that are injured,” he muttered. “Obviously I can walk.”

“Good.”

But he winced and held his breath when she pulled him to his feet. As he stood he swayed, and for a moment, Crow thought he would faint.

She pulled off her cloak and reached up to put it around his shoulders. It looked tiny on his tall frame. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Crow…” he began, and stopped.

“What is it?” she prompted. He shook his head. She took his arm uncertainly. Aruna gave Crow another suspicious look, but didn’t come between them as she pulled him toward the stairs.

Chapter 24

Given the late hour, Crow wasn’t surprised that she had to knock on the door to Sarna’s shop several times before the door opened.

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