Page 45 of Dark Elves of Ardani

“So you’ve said.”

“Nero,” she said. He looked up, eyes sharpening at the sound of his name. “I am not one of them. People like them were responsible for my mother’s death. After seeing the things they have done—after seeing what they did to you—” Her throat closed off.

He just looked at her, seemingly unmoved. But then, he surprised her. “I know,” he said. “That’s why you came to release me that night in the inn, isn’t it?”

She blinked at him. “You knew I was trying to get you out?”

“Why else would you have been there that night?”

She shook her head, embarrassed by the memory. “It did not matter, anyway. You had already freed yourself.”

“Not quite. I needed someone to unlock the door.” He cleared his throat, glancing away. His hands were folding and unfolding in his lap. “I might not have left that room alive if you hadn’t come.”

Zara raised her eyebrows. Before she could reply, Naika’s guard was relieved from his duty by someone else, and to Zara’s dismay, the guard approached her and Nero.

“You like this one, half-blood?”the elf said, eyeing Zara lasciviously.

“I’m taking her back to my people,”Nero said, evading the question. Zara slanted a suspicious glance at him. She decided that she should do her best to stay close to him, even if she was still his hostage. His group had to be better than this one.

“She belongs to us,”said the other man.

“I captured her, so she belongs to me.”He jerked his chin toward Naika.“I was responsible for her capture as well, but I’ll give her to you as a gift.”

The elf looked unimpressed.“How generous. But I prefer this one.”He took Zara’s arm and started to pull her up. Nero reached out instantly to grab his hand off of her and shove him away. To Zara’s shock, the elf stumbled back and nearly fell, though Nero didn’t seem to have exerted much effort. He might have been terrible at zef-khanja, but he was strong.

The elf scowled.“What in the hells is wrong with you?”

“I told you, this one is mine.”

The other Varai began to take note of the interaction. Chills crept over Zara’s skin.

“What do you care?”the elf said.“If you consider yourself too noble to have her, at least let the rest of us at her.”

“The old man is right. It’s bad luck to disrespect a woman.”

The elf narrowed his eyes.“Or, you’re protecting her. Perhaps you sympathize with the humans. Perhaps you’re a spy for the Paladins.”

Nero looked stunned.“Humans destroyed my entire life. They took everything I have. They are the reason I’m forced to ally with the likes of you. If I did not need this one as leverage over the Paladins, I would gladly kill her.”

“And yet you treat her like a princess, sitting beside her like a well-trained guard dog and talking to her in your ugly human language when you could be showing her her place.”There was a smattering of agreement from the others.

“Are you questioning my loyalties, or my virility?”Nero asked.

The elf smiled.“Perhaps both, half-blood.”

Zara felt Nero’s hand slide up her back and tangle in her hair. He grabbed a handful of it in a fist, pulling her head back painfully, and she gasped. As her mouth opened, he leaned in and sealed his lips over hers.

A shock went through her. She felt a swell of surprised pleasure even as pain scraped over her scalp. His fingers were tight, his grip unrelenting as his mouth devoured hers. She felt his tongue enter her mouth, and she moaned involuntarily.

She had thought he only meant to put on a show for the others, to make them trust him, but there was an undeniable hunger in the way he kissed her. If it were only a performance, would he have been this forceful, this hot, this thorough in the way he made love to her mouth? And if he held no animosity toward her, would he be gripping her tight enough to hurt?

Sudden panic overcame her, setting her nerves on fire and driving her limbs into motion. She couldn’t stand being trapped. She tried to push him away and he grabbed her wrist, holding her arm away from him. He broke away from her mouth and pulled her hair again, forcing her head back, and then his lips were attacking her throat. When his teeth marked her skin, she flinched. Out of habit, she waited for his hands to move on to her breasts or her thighs, or to strike her. But he only touched parts of her body not covered by clothing.

Finally he let her go, smiling savagely as he turned toward the other man. The expression was almost manic.“Are you satisfied, voyeur? Or would you like to watch us fuck, too?”

The others laughed. Zara felt like she couldn’t breathe. She jerked away from him, finally freeing herself, and staggered into the trees. More laughter echoed behind her as she stumbled blindly through the dark woods.

As the firelight faded behind her, she heard footsteps chasing her. She stopped and whirled. She drew the dagger from Nero’s belt and held it to his throat as she pressed his back against a tree.

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