Page 107 of Sun Elves of Ardani

“Then you’ll do it?”

He looked conflicted. “No,” he said after a long moment. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“My current position gives me some power over what happens here. I can't control what my leaders do with your country, but I can control what I do, and I mean to use what little influence I have to protect you.”

“Will you protect the rest of the town, too?”

“Yes, if you insist,” he sighed, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. “How long do you plan to stay in Refka after this? You can use magic again now. And the war is over. You can go where you please.”

She had been considering that question for some time now. “In order to use magic, I still need to be near the obelisk.”

“There are sources of magic everywhere. There are other obelisks. We could leave Refka if you wanted to.”

“We,” she repeated. The word was still unfamiliar and exciting. She loved the sound of it. Feeling a surge of affection for him, she scraped the banks of her minimal Ysuran vocabulary and said,“I love you. Don’t run off again, idiot.”

He grinned. “Only an utter fool would let go of you twice, Kadaki. There is nowhere in the world you could go where I would not follow.”

She pulled him down beside her, and the bright afternoon sun soaked their bare skin.“Lie with me a little longer?”

He put his hand over hers.“Of course, my love.”

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