Page 127 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“Not that kind of help.”

“Well, that’s the kind I’m offering.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Crow…”

“Look, I’m coming whether you want it or not. You can’t stop me. And you’re a fool if you were really planning to march back into that prison with only him as backup. No offense intended, Aruna.”

“I agree, actually,” Aruna said.

“Thank you.” She gave Vaara a pointed look.

Vaara shook his head. “I need some air. I’ll be back,” he said, getting up from the table.

Crow sat back in her seat and watched him disappear out the front door.

She glanced at Aruna, who quickly looked away from her. She shifted, equally uncomfortable. “I think I like it better when you can’t understand anything,” she muttered.

“So do I.”

She nervously twisted a finger through her hair, watching the door where Vaara had disappeared. “What do you think about all this?”

“I think he’s half mad, or a fool, or both. He’d be better off if he just went home.”

“He told me he has no home to go back to anymore.”

A line formed between his brows. “He said that?”

Crow nodded solemnly. “So why are you helping him, if you know how foolish this is?”

“It’s like he told you. Our people have an obligation to each other.”

“That’s all?”

He hesitated, his eyes dull. “I owe it to him. I’m the reason he has nothing to go home to.”

Crow took a sip of her drink, studying him. This was the most he’d ever spoken to her. Maybe he was in the mood for gossip.

“Do you know Vaara well? From when you were both in Kuda Varai?” she asked.

“Well enough.”

“Did he… have many female friends? Of the… intimate sort?”

He looked amused. “Why do you ask?”

“You know why. Don’t play dumb.”

He smirked. “An average number, I suppose?”

“What were they like?”

He shrugged. “Attractive. Not unlike yourself.”

She preened a little. “What else?”

“Confident,” he said. “Ambitious. Abrasive.”

“Abrasive?”

---