Page 15 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

She smiled annoyingly. “The small talk is important. Tell me.”

He ground his teeth. But there was no reason not to tell her about it. What did he care? “I foolishly allowed myself to be captured by some of your countrymen just outside of Kuda Varai. They sold me to this place. To the mage, I suppose.” Kuda Varai. Saying the words aloud made him homesick. When he thought of it, he could almost smell the trees, feel the fresh air.

He would most likely never see it again. He’d never return to the small, close-knit village he’d grown up in, or walk the dark streets of the great city of Vondh Rav. He’d never see Zaiur or Liiva or any of his people again. Memories were all he had. They’d never be enough.

“Night elves don’t leave their forest often. What were you doing outside of it?” Her tone was merely curious, not accusatory.

“Patrolling the border.”

She examined her nails, then peeked over at him suspiciously. “Patrolling? Or raiding?”

He looked her in the eye, unapologetic. “Both.”

She seemed to think about that. “You were a fighter?” she asked after a while.

She was scheming. He didn’t like it. “Why do you want to know about me?”

“I’m curious.”

He shook his head to himself, shifting his hands slightly against his restraints. Answering pointless questions was still a lot better than getting cut up for hours. He should count his lucky stars. “I was a ranger. We look after the forest. Sometimes we fight.”

“Are you good at it?”

“Fighting?”

“Yes.”

“All Varai are skilled fighters. We teach all our children combat skills from an early age. It’s in our blood.”

She met his eye steadily. “Could you kill someone?”

He slowly tilted his head toward her, fascinated. A muscle in her cheek flexed.

“Do you want me to kill someone for you?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t reply. After a long moment, she walked away and started pacing. She rubbed a hand over her face. Whatever she was thinking of, she was wrestling with herself over it.

She turned to him. “You were right. I’m a fool,” she said. “I don’t want to be a prisoner anymore.” She approached the table again, standing over him. “How would you like to get out of here? Permanently?”

Vaara’s heart juddered. He didn’t know what to say.

“What are you offering?” he asked when he’d recovered enough to form words. In no way did he believe she was being truthful, but still, no one had said anything like that to him since he’d arrived at the prison.

She leaned over him, her intense gaze aimed directly down at his face. “I think we can help each other. I can get you out of here, and you can help free me from my own prison.”

“What prison?”

“There’s a man I work for. I’m here on his orders.” Something old and dark entered her eyes. An emotion that was deep, and long-held, and painful. “I want to be rid of him. You agree to help me kill him, and I’ll help you escape.”

“What do you need me for? If you want to leave him, just go.”

“What makes you think I haven’t tried?” she said, irritation sharpening her tone. “I told you, he has ways of controlling people. I’ve tried to escape him many times, but it’s never gone well.”

“And you think this time will be different?”

She didn’t look as certain of herself as he would have liked. “I think it’ll be the same outcome for you either way, won’t it? Do you want to get out of here or not?”

“How do you plan to get me out?”

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