Page 53 of Dark Elves of Ardani

She crawled into the bundle of blankets beside him, putting her back to him.

“Zara?”

She froze. When she cautiously turned to look at him, his eyes were still heavy-lidded with sleep. They searched her face.

“I am here,” she said uncertainly.

He sighed and closed his eyes again. There was silence for a few moments.

“Why do you keep your hair like this?”she asked, looking at the long, dark waves that fell between them.“Doesn’t it tangle?”

“No.”

“I wonder why.”

“Elf magic.”

The sarcastic response startled a laugh out of her, and she quickly moved a hand to cover her mouth.

Long and loose, it did not quite match the Varai fashion of keeping hair partially tied or braided, nor did it resemble the Ardanians’ less elaborate, shorter styles. The Varai kept their hair long, but Zara had never seen anyone else with quite this length.

Maybe that was intentional. It conveyed to anyone who looked at him that he was not interested in fitting in with either group.

“Avert your eyes, if it bothers you so much,”he said.

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s beautiful.”

He had no response to that.

As she lay there beside him, she was surprised to find that she felt comfortable there. She had not felt at ease sleeping next to another person in a long time.

* * *

When Zara awoke,she was alone. Nero and Changa were gone. The fire had turned to cold ashes. She pushed down the faint disappointment she felt. She shouldn’t have expected him to say goodbye to her.

Her clothes had only halfway dried, but she put them on anyway, shivering as she went to look outside. Both the rain and the fog had gone, and for once, the sun was shining, which allowed her to see the group of Paladins that were working their way up the slope toward the cave, led by Naika.

They had come back for her. She held back a sigh as she started down the slope to meet them.

Theron looked to be in an uncharacteristically sour mood. He barely smiled as Zara approached. “Thank the Five,” he said. “After you disappeared, we worried the night elves had killed you. What happened?”

She realized he didn’t know about Nero or Devana. He didn’t know about anything that had happened since they’d last seen each other, because Naika wouldn’t have been able to tell him. Naika had been able to convey to them that they should follow her, but probably not much else.

Zara looked at her, wondering how much she should tell them, and whether Naika would give her away if she lied. Her expression gave Zara no hints.

Had she brought them here for Nero and Devana? Or for her?

“The Varai attacked us,” Zara said slowly. “They attacked me, I mean. Naika came back to rescue me. We escaped, but I was nicked with one of their arrows. I fell ill.”

Theron’s expression was dark. “Poison?”

Zara nodded. “I was able to make an alchemical solution to fight it, but I was too weak to walk before now. Perhaps Naika thought I needed help.”

Naika gave no reaction. She didn’t look upset about Zara’s reimagining of the previous night’s events. Perhaps it didn’t hurt that Zara had given her sole credit for their escape.

“She should have carried you out with her, then,” one of the Paladins said. “If the poison had been any worse, you might have been dead by the time she brought us back to you.”

“We shouldn’t be too harsh on her,” Theron said, giving Naika a tired look. “We all know she’s more of a brute than a brain, but she meant well.” There were a few chuckles from the group. Zara had never gotten the impression that Theron actually liked his Witch-Paladin, but this was the most overt disdain she’d seen him show toward her.

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