Page 92 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

Crow took another deep breath. She needed to get along with these people. She was probably going to need their help—and she was still trying not to get kicked out of the tavern entirely. “Does it matter?”

Novikke shrugged one shoulder. “I just like to know whether someone feels they have something to hide.”

Crow gave her a thin smile. “Everyone’s got something to hide, Novikke. I would know.” She pulled out a chair and sat at the table across from them. “My mother foolishly let my Ashara father name me. Maybe she thought it would help convince him to stay. Foreigners always give their children stupid names.” She glanced up at Nero. “Be grateful you got a normal one.”

“Why ‘Crow’?” Nero said.

“The hair,” she replied, twirling a finger through the black strands. “I think it was a shock to him when I came out this way. ‘Black as a little crow,’ he said.” The Ashara had uniformly snow-colored hair. Crow was glad she hadn’t inherited that particular trait from her father. If she hadn’t had a more human hair color, there would have been no hiding her heritage, whether her ears were covered or not.

“How is Vaara?” Nero asked.

“As good as can be expected.”

“He’s all right, then?”

“He will be.”

“You must be so relieved,” Novikke said. “Gods forbid anything compromise your slave’s health.”

Crow looked away, crossing one leg over the other. “Look. I think we got off on the wrong foot. The circumstances in which we met were… unfortunate.”

“Yes,” Novikke said. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why you put a soulbinder on him, I’m sure.”

“Of course there is. I don’t do things like that lightly.”

“Of course.”

Crow’s patience was becoming shorter. “And there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why you killed his brother, I’m sure?”

Her expression sobered. “That’s a completely different—”

“Of course,” Crow said with a cool smile.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Novikke stared her down. Aruna raised his eyebrows as he glanced between the two of them. Nero folded his arms impatiently, as unamused as always.

Crow swallowed her irritation. “I’m not here to cause a fight. We need help, and I thought you might be willing to provide it. Or at least, your companion might,” she said, glancing toward Aruna. “He fights well enough, despite being an obstinate bastard most of the time, and he came to our aid when we needed him. I wouldn’t have been able to save Vaara without him. So thank him for me, please.”

“I accept your thanks,” Aruna said. “And the backhanded compliment.”

Crow’s eyes snapped to his in shock. “What the hells? You asshole, you spoke Ardanian this whole time?”

He pointed to the cloth band circling his throat. “No, but I have this. It’s enchanted with a translation spell.”

“You didn’t think to make use of that yesterday?”

“The magic doesn’t last forever before it has to be recharged. I can’t use it all the time. Novikke was getting it recharged for me last night.”

Crow could feel her face flushing. She hadn’t meant for him to hear her comments about him. She supposed this was how people felt when they realized she’d overheard their thoughts. “Yes. Well. Thank you. For yesterday.”

“You’re welcome.”

Another pause. They were all staring at her. She realized her hands were fidgeting in her lap, and she forced them to stay still. “That girl who was here with you before—she’s a mage?”

Novikke crossed her arms on the table. “Yes.”

“And last time she was here, she did something to Vaara’s binding. She disabled it, for a time?”

“Yes…”

---