Page 130 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

The half-elf lowered his hand, and the roots straightened into sharp-tipped spears, all of them pointed toward the sky. His wings unfurled, making him appear larger and more sinister.

“Do not waste your time fighting me, when you have little time to kill the man,” the half-elf said, his red eyes flinty. Suddenly, the roots all aimed toward Blár. They hovered over his body and Kolfinna couldn’t breathe.

“No, please, no!” Kolfinna raised her trembling hands, her gaze glued to Blár’s unconscious body. “Please, not him.”

“Kill the man tethering you, or I will kill this man, whom you seem to,” the half-elf said with a curious tilt of his head, “care for so much.”

It didn’t make sense why he wanted her to kill Sijur when he could’ve easily done it himself.

Was this another test? Just like how Sijur had tested her an hour earlier? Was this man also doing the same, wanting to see how far she would go?

Kolfinna hesitated while Sijur shouted something incoherent. “If I kill him … Will you lethimgo?” She nodded toward Blár, who looked unnaturally pale at this point. How much blood had he lost? All she wanted to do was rush over to Blár, tend to his injuries, and take him to the wounded tent and never leave his side.

The half-elf chuckled. It was soft and she almost missed it by how quiet it was, but the slight rumbling of his chest told her he was laughing. At her.

“You seem to misunderstand the situation you are in,” he said, red eyes flashing with murderous intent. “All of you are at my mercy. I am not here to make any bargains. You will either do as I say, or I will do things as I wish. The outcome will be the same.”

Kolfinna had no choice in the matter?

She dropped down to her knees, as if to surrender. “Please, just don’t hurt him.”

“Once again, you misunderstand. You are in no position to make requests?—”

She snatched a broken fragment of a sword and placed the sharp edge of it to her own neck. It was cold and sharp against her skin. The half-elf froze, his eyes narrowing.

“I know you need me alive,” Kolfinna snapped. “So on the contrary, Idohave options.”

“You wouldn’t—” he started.

She pressed the blade further against her neck and gasped as fresh blood welled over the metal shard. The half-elf took a step closer, but she raised her other hand to stop him. “Not another step, or I will kill myself.”

“Why go so far for these”—he gestured to Blár with disgust—“humans.”

“Because I love him.” Even in the midst of battle, with the worst enemy she had ever met standing in front of her, she had never been so sure of anything. Kolfinna’s blood ran down her hands and she ignored the throbbing pain. “And I know you need me alive for your sick plans of freeing the evil queen.”

The half-elf’s eyes narrowed further.

“Let Sijur and Blár go, and I’ll go with you willingly,” Kolfinna said. She hated that she had to keep Sijur alive, but he was the only one who could take Blár out of this situation. “Sijur, you’ll have to take Blár out of here.”

“Yes, yes, of course!” The relief in Sijur’s voice was palpable and he bobbed his head quickly. “I can do that!”

“You act as though I’ve accepted your terms,” the half-elf snapped. “I have not.”

“Really? You haven’t?” She dug the blade harder to show him she was serious, but not hard enough that she would kill herself.

“Wait.”

“Let them go, and I’ll go with you.”

“You wouldn’t?—”

“Don’t test me!” she shouted. “You don’t know what I’m capable of!”

He sighed loudly, but before he could give her an answer, Kolfinna’s vision blurred and when she blinked, it grew even hazier. Her chest felt like something had burst. Suddenly, she couldn’t hear either, like something had pooled in her ears and created a barrier. She looked up at the half-elf, whose eyes had widened. He was saying something, she thought, but she didn’t know what.

She tasted iron in her mouth and her body gave out. She fell to the ground, her energy slipping away. In the edge of her vision, the last thing she saw was the rune mark on her wrist glowing violently, and that was when she remembered that even though the half-elf had taken the pain away, she had still been disobeying Sijur.

So this is death.

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