Page 120 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

“Why do you think?” He waved at her to follow him.

Was this the moment he was going to force her to bind with Joran?

Her feet dragged and she looked over her shoulder for an escape route, for something to do. Would running now cause the rune mark to activate and thus hurt her since it was going against Sijur’s will? Or did he have to be in front of her and issue a command orally for it to happen? She wasn’t sure if it was worth testing it out.

When they reached a black tent, Joran pushed open the flap and gestured for Kolfinna to enter. She made her way through tentatively.

Sijur stood in the center of the tent in front of seven bound prisoners. Two of them were elves, with white hair and blood-red eyes, and the other five were fae with colorful eyes and wings. All of them had been stripped of their armor. The chains around their wrists and ankles glowed with runes.

Kolfinna’s heart caught in her throat as the prisoners glanced over at her. She noticed that all of them had pointed ears.

“Kolfinna.” Sijur clapped his hands together at her entrance.

A few of the prisoners flinched.

“As you can see, we have a few prisoners of war here.” He spread a hand to the men and women, who were now staring at Kolfinna silently.

Kolfinna shifted on her feet. Their gazes bored into hers. Did they recognize her name?

“I’d like for you and Joran to bind them to me.” He smiled pleasantly, as if he was asking for tea or a cookie. When his beady black eyes swiveled to Kolfinna, the corners of his mouth rose and a small chuckle escaped from him. “Come on,Kolfinna. You cannot act surprised every single time I call you to rune-mark someone.” Another chuckle. “We’ve got a long time together, I’m afraid. It’s about time you start realizing your role in my army and your responsibilities as a fae.”

One of the prisoners, a man in his mid-forties with salt-and-pepper hair and blazing orange eyes, tipped his head back to laugh. His orange and white ombré wings, which were tied to his back with a rusted chain that went around his chest, vibrated with the motion.

Sijur’s smile faded.

“What”—he stepped forward—“is so funny?”

“You three.” The fae jerked his chin at Sijur and then at Kolfinna and Joran. He had a thick accent, similar to Rakel’s. “Speak of rune-mark? You mean tether, I presume?”

“Tether?” Sijur glanced at Joran momentarily. “Is that what you call it?”

“Yes. Tether.” The fae male turned to the other prisoners. “This man hopes totetherus.”

The man burst into a fit of laughter once more, and the other prisoners joined in, though not as robustly as he did.

“A humantetheringus?” The man’s face became red from laughter. “Fools! All of them.”

The prisoner next to him glared at Sijur. “Foolish being. You forget your place.”

“Foolish, foolish indeed,” the orange-eyed man said with another laugh. “To think a human would do such a thing!”

Sijur’s face purpled. “You laugh now, but youwillbe bound to me.”

That made the fae laugh even harder, his body shaking against the restraints.

Kolfinna exchanged bewildered looks with Joran.

“Kolfinna.” Sijur snapped his fingers and pointed at the man. “Bind him.Now.”

When she didn’t automatically respond, he turned to her sharply, his lips curled back. “Kolfinna.”

She crossed the distance between the prisoner and tentatively knelled down beside him. He lifted his head to look at her, and something flashed over his eyes before all emotion other than cruel amusement shuttered out.

She didn’t want to do this—to rune-mark, or tether, this man, but he was the enemy. It shouldn’t have been a hard decision to make, and yet she faltered nonetheless.

Sijur cleared his throat and she placed a hand against the prisoner’s calloused, chained one.

The man tensed beneath her touch. Her mana swirled within her, pushing against his skin. But before she could even think of what rune to write down, her mana began draining out of her, like someone was pulling a leash within her and violently yanking tendrils of her being. She gasped and yanked her hand back, stumbling over her legs.

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