Page 19 of Sun Elves of Ardani

She wasn’t much for dancing, but they’d come to town for a drink, and she really did want that drink. The idea of going back to the house was bleak. She needed to escape for a while. She needed to go somewhere where she didn’t have to worry about running into Neiryn in a hallway.

“I’m going to stay out for a bit,” she said to Roshan.

He frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine. You go on ahead. Make sure Sair Asshole gets back unscathed.” She’d thought her voice was low enough to keep Eliyr from hearing, but he shot her a nasty look.

Roshan gave a reluctant nod. “Come knock on my door when you get home, so I know you’re safe. I’ll be worrying all night otherwise.”

She nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder and briefly squeezed. A shock went through her at the touch.

It was the same small burst of excitement she felt whenever someone touched her, however briefly. She felt guilty whenever it happened. It felt like taking advantage of him, almost, though she didn’t mean for it to happen.

The feeling wasn’t specific to Roshan. He was too much like a brother for her to feel attracted to him. But she was touched so rarely that she always felt a burst of startled warmth in response to the contact.

She lowered her head and ducked into the tavern.

For the next hour, she tried to lose herself. Normally, she spent her time trying not to think about her weakening magic. Today, she was trying not to think of Neiryn.

She still didn’t know what to make of their last interaction. It had scared her.Hescared her.

She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever. But for now, she could pretend. So she stayed, drank, and tried to forget.

When the music had stopped and most of the people had left, the barmaid informed her that they were closing, and she was finally forced to leave.

The street was quieter and colder at this time of night. The moons were hidden behind clouds, and the darkness was broken up by pools of light cast by the occasional torch. She clutched her cloak closer around her to stave off the chill. She didn’t pay much mind to the other people on the road until she reached the Ysuran quarter, where she realized someone was coming toward her.

“You,” said the Ysuran, and Kadaki stopped short as he stepped in front of her. He looked familiar. “I saw you when I was dreaming.”

She realized why she recognized him. It was the glassy-eyed dream-high man she’d seen earlier. The dream seemed to have worn off slightly, and now he just looked tired and red-eyed.

His eyes wandered up and down her body. “You’re new. I haven’t seen you before.”

She bristled at the way he was watching her. “No, sair, I just don’t come into town often. Excuse me.” She tried to move past him, and he put up a hand to stop her.

“What’s the hurry? Am I frightening you?”

Kadaki stepped back, biting her tongue. Two more elves were approaching from the nearby lounge now. Suddenly she regretted taking the risk of staying out late by herself. Her magic abilities, limited though they were, were not obvious at first glance. She looked like an easy target. If Roshan had been with her, they wouldn’t have approached her.

“You’re very beautiful,” the elf said. “Stay and have a drink with us.”

“Get out of my way,” Kadaki said.

He scoffed in surprise. “This is how you speak to your betters?” He took a step closer. The others closed in behind her. “I just want to talk. Where’s the harm in that? I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Then let me leave.”

“You can leave when I’m finished talking to you.”

She tried to step around him again, and this time he put his hand on her arm. She stiffened, afraid to pull away. His grasp was rough and hard, like iron around her forearm.

“Have you ever tried dream?” he asked. “You’d enjoy it. It makes you feel good.” He pulled a small bottle out of his pocket. He uncorked it and held it out to her. “Drink this.”

“Let go of me.”

He suddenly grabbed her by the hair and forced her head back, pushing the bottle toward her lips. She twisted her head aside, whispering a few sharp spell-words as she channeled magic. Energy rushed into her palms.

With a sound like thunder, magic exploded out of her hands in a wild burst of raw energy, knocking all three of the elves away. The one who’d been holding her slammed into the wall of the lounge and fell to the ground.

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