Page 25 of Dark Elves of Ardani

“I suggest you try, or I’ll be forced to leave you here. I can’t carry so much dead weight.”

She looked around, trying to identify where they were. Nothing looked familiar. The path they’d been on was not even visible anymore, hidden by the fog. Night was falling. It had already been cold during the day, and it was about to get colder. And she could hardly walk. They must have been miles from where they’d left the Paladins—if the Paladins had even survived.

She might die alone out here if he left her. Abductor or not, she needed him.

She hobbled to a fallen branch and tore the twigs off it until it was smooth, suitable for use as a walking stick. “Where are we?” she asked.

“The middle of the Shields,” he said with a hint of exasperation. “And since you’ve so wisely separated us from all of my supplies, we are without food or water or shelter.”

She remembered his four-legged creature. They didn’t have those animals in Kuda Varai, but she thought it was called a horse. It’d had a pack attached to it, which must have held all his things.

She gave him a thin smile. “Maybe you should not have attempted to kidnap me. Or kill me. Whichever it was.”

He didn’t return her smile. He turned and started walking, not looking over his shoulder to see if she followed. Zara hurried after him, not wanting to be left behind.

She didn’t ask where he was going. They walked for a long time over rough, rocky ground, and it grew dark. The cold air stung her nose when she breathed, and her skin began to burn with cold. She didn’t speak until the darkness was so thick that she could no longer clearly see the ground in front of her.

“Wait,” she called into the distance, not sure how far ahead the half-elf was, or if he was even still there. She listened, and after a moment, she heard soft footsteps and saw a dark figure coming back to her. His steps were sure. She guessed he had inherited his Varai parent’s ability to see clearly in darkness.

He took her elbow and pulled her with him. “We have to keep moving.”

She scowled, but she couldn’t pull away from him. She needed him to guide her. “For how long?”

He didn’t answer.

Even with his own injury, he outpaced her. He jerked her arm when she moved too slowly for him, and she stumbled, grimacing as her ankle radiated shocks of pain. She scrambled to right herself before he could start pulling her again, but he waited until she was ready before he continued, and he walked slower after that.

After what seemed like half the night, he stopped.

“We have to climb,” he said, and pushed her forward.

Her foot hit a rock. Reaching forward, she found that there was a steep slope upward in front of them. She ran her hands over it blindly. “How?”

“Give me your stick,” he said, and she reluctantly handed it to him. “There’s a rock to your right that you should be able to climb.” He took her hand, and she grudgingly held onto him as she clambered up on her hands and knees. “Now straight ahead of you. There’s a handhold by your head. Watch your feet. There’s a hole on your right.”

She followed his clear, if slightly impatient, instructions. Occasionally he pulled sharply on her hand to steer her away from dangers. As much as she disliked being touched by strangers, she was glad for his help.

She wasn’t sure how far they climbed, but she was almost glad she couldn’t see the ground far below them. She tried not to think about how sheer the cliff was or how bad the fall would be.

When they climbed onto a narrow ledge and encountered a wall of rock, she paused, unsure of how to proceed. It was straight up and smooth as far as she could reach. The ledge was so narrow that she could hardly fit her feet on it. She could not see a way to proceed further.

The half-elf didn’t give her instructions right away. Suddenly she thought about how easy it would be for him to walk away and leave her stranded. If he wanted revenge, this would be a perfect way to do it.

To her horror, she felt him start to pull his hand out of hers. She grasped him tightly, panicked.

“Let go,” he snapped.

“Where are you going?”

“I will climb up and then pull you up after me.”

She clung to him for a long moment, then she released his hand and pressed herself close to the wall. She heard nothing more. If he was still nearby, she couldn’t tell.

Cold wind blew in her hair and cloak, as if trying to pull her toward the edge. She waited, focusing hard on controlling her breathing.

“Take my hand,” came the half-elf’s voice above her.

She was suddenly afraid that if she moved, she’d lose her balance and fall backward off the cliff. What if he lost his balance, too? What if he dropped her?

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