Page 54 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“Stop with the pity party,” she snapped.

The woman turned onto a dark street off the main road. Vaara reached for Crow’s wrist and faded them both as they followed at a distance.

“What exactly do you mean to do when we catch up to her?” Crow whispered. “I won’t let you put our mission in jeopardy. I won’t let you hurt her, either.”

There was a pause. “I just want to see where she goes,” he said, which Crow didn’t believe for a second.

“You’re not going to attack anyone unless they attack first,” Crow said. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, mistress, of course,” he muttered.

They followed the woman down an alley and around a corner, and then they lost her.

Vaara said a word Crow didn’t understand—presumably a curse. “Where did she go?”

Then there was a flash of light from a nearby stairway leading to the basement of a nondescript building. They crept to the top of the stairs and looked down in time to see the light fade again as a door at the bottom of the stairs closed.

Vaara started down the stairs without hesitation and tried to open the door. It was locked. He raised a fist to pound on it.

“Wait a minute,” Crow hissed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m finding that thief. What else?”

“And if she’s in there?”

“You’ll help me interrogate her.”

Crow stared at him. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you want to gain my trust, remember?” He raised a hand to knock again.

“Don’t!” Crow hissed, but he’d already rapped on the door. She shot him a glare, which he paid no mind to.

A small slot in the door opened, and a pair of violet eyes examined the both of them. “What do you want?” said their owner gruffly.

Vaara squinted in disbelief. “Varai?”

The eyes blinked at him. Their owner responded in a language Crow couldn’t understand. There was a surprised pause before Vaara replied in kind.

There were a few more exchanges, leaving Crow out of whatever was going on. She was about to demand to know what was being discussed when the slot slammed shut and the door opened.

Standing aside just beyond the door was the owner of the strange eyes—a young man with silvery blue-gray skin and slightly pointed ears. A half-Varai.

Crow had never seen one. She hadn’t thought they existed. The Varai seemed to be exceptionally careful about making sure their rare dalliances with other races didn’t leave any mutts behind.

The man met her extended stare. “Paint a portrait. It’ll last longer.”

She smiled and winked. “I just might have one commissioned.”

The man raised an eyebrow. Vaara was already walking through the entryway and into the dark, smoky room beyond. Crow hurried to catch up with him.

When she reached the next doorway, she stopped, rooted to the spot. It was a tavern, much like any other… except that it was filled with night elves.

She could never have imagined such a thing. Vaara was the first night elf she’d laid eyes on in her life, and now, down a not-too-remote alleyway in the middle of Valtos, dozens of them were casually eating and drinking, just like anyone else in the city, like they belonged here. To think that they’d been here all along and that she might have passed more than one on the street before was a shock—and being suddenly surrounded by them was unnerving.

But none of them looked the least bit interested in her. A few looked up as they entered, then looked away, occupied with their drinks or their companions.

Straight across from the doorway was a table with three people sitting around it. The woman they’d followed sat in the center, flanked by another night elf and a human girl who looked too young for a place like this. The younger girl was the only one who looked up at them. Her eyes narrowed as she studied them.

---