Page 125 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

She sat down, sniffed it, and drew back. “By the Five, that’s foul. What is it?”

“Herbs from Kuda Varai.”

“‘Herbs’?”

“For your hangover.”

She eyed the concoction suspiciously. There were things floating in it, like tea—or dirty pond water. “Have you had this before?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, then youdoknow how to cut loose and have fun once in a while.”

“I did.”

Truthfully, she knew why he’d changed. She knew how much he hated the feeling of losing control. She felt a little itch of guilt for teasing him.

She downed half the cup in one gulp. She cringed. It tasted like salt and grass and something sour. Cautiously, she took another sip. Actually, it wasn’t that bad once you got used to it.

She looked down at the paper in front of Vaara, eyeing the drawings—little maps with branching paths, like mazes. She knew what it was, even if she couldn’t read it.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “You’re going back to the prison for Alexei.”

He leaned back in his chair, watching her steadily. She could tell by the look in his eye that he was not going to be dissuaded.

“How do you know he’s gone back there?” she asked.

“Sarna had one of her mirrors with her yesterday. I asked her to try to locate him.”

“And she found him?”

“She determined that he’d left the city.”

Crow drummed her fingers on the table.

“You don’t have to go back,” she said. “You could go home. Forget this ever happened.”

He snorted a soft laugh. “Forget?”

She shrugged. “You don’t have to go get him just yet, at the very least. Take some time to go live a normal life for a while. Maybe you’ll even change your mind, if you give it some time.”

“I need him dead,” he said simply.

Somehow, she’d known he would say that, and that she wouldn’t be able to change his mind.

Before she really thought about what she was doing, she reached across the table to take his hand. He froze. He glanced up at her, looking as uncertain as she felt.

There was a sudden quiet in the room. Crow realized the only other people present, a group of four Varai at a table across the room, were looking over at them.

Vaara glanced up at the other table. Crow felt a flash of shame in his mind—and something else, something too complex to analyze in that instant—and then he pulled his hand away.

She folded her hands in front of her, trying not to let her disappointment show on her face. “Let me help you,” she said coolly.

To her surprise, he nodded. “I… will need the help,” he admitted. “From you, especially. You know the layout of the prison better than I do. Can you make me a map?”

She nodded. She still remembered the layout from the maps Patros had made her memorize before she went to the prison. He flipped the paper over and pushed it in her direction, and she started drawing.

It wasn’t long before Aruna came down to join them. He looked like he’d been run over by a dozen horses. Crow sympathized.

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