Page 66 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

“I was trying to learn Ysuran,” she said, nodding to the book. “I figure the sun elves will be in control of half of Ardani pretty soon, anyway. May as well get a head start.”

He slid the book back onto the shelf. “Is the war going that badly?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really keep up with the news. It won’t make much difference to me either way. I’ll still be here, doing Patros’s dirty work, no matter who’s in charge of the country.”

She started gathering things from around the room, pocketing things from the desk drawer and then gathering a few purses full of coins from under the bed and tucking them into her belt.

She went to the wardrobe and dug through it, then tossed him a new scarf to replace the one he’d wrapped around her bloody arm. “That’s the only scarf I have, so don’t complain about it,” she said.

He looked down at the thin, soft fabric in his hands. It was black and embroidered with blue-green and violet leaves. Colors choices that, as far as he knew, were quite fantastical by Ardanian standards. “Why would I complain?”

She heaved a sigh, still in a bad mood. “I don’t know. Isn’t it too girly for you, or something?” she said, waving a hand.

He looked at it again. “It’s Kuda Varai, isn’t it?”

She paused, taking in the colors of the leaves. “That wasn’t my intention when I was making it. Is that what it looks like to you?”

“Yes.”

She gave the scarf another thoughtful look, then went back to digging in the wardrobe, pulling out a few select items.

Vaara wrapped the scarf around his neck. “I speak a little Ysuran,” he said.

“In addition to your flawless Ardanian? Are all Varai so well educated?”

“‘Flawless’ is an exaggeration.”

“No, it’s really very good. How did you learn?”

“Our parents taught us,” he said. He felt a twinge of pain at the reminder of his dead sibling. “They thought it would be important to know in case any of the human nations waged war with us again.”

“They thought you’d be at war with humans but not the Ysurans?”

“Sun elves aren’t stupid and short-sighted the way humans are. It’s much less likely.”

She tilted her head, amused. “What about Ashara? Where do they land in your stupidity-of-other-nations rankings?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never met any.”

“You’ve met me.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “You’re somewhere between humans and sun elves, I suppose.”

“I’m flattered.”

She rummaged around the room, carefully picking out possessions she couldn’t part with since, presumably, she wouldn’t be coming back to the house after this. She didn’t seem heartbroken about it. Judging by the size of the room and the small number of items in it, she didn’t have very many things worth holding on to, anyway.

Vaara waited, wary, until he was certain she wasn’t about to have another outburst like she’d had with the mirror. “What will you do now?” he asked.

She straightened. “I’ll find him and kill him. I won’t stop until it’s done. My goal hasn’t changed.” She watched him, as if waiting for his reaction. Waiting for him to complain.

Vaara looked around the room. The one tiny space in the house that had been hers. “He kept you here?”

She slowly nodded.

“How long?”

She looked away. “A long time.”

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