Page 41 of Sun Elves of Ardani

“She’s hardly any ordinary hedgewitch.”

“You’ll do better next time,” she said to Eliyr. It wasn’t a question, nor encouragement. It was a warning.

Eliyr bowed his head, frowning toward the grass. “Yes,” was all he said.

“We can’t have Ardanians upstaging us. You make all of us look weak when you fail in this way. It undermines our entire nation. A hundred hairline cracks will break even the strongest sword.”

“I understand, Commander.”

She frowned at him a moment longer, as if considering chastising him even more. “Very well. Get some rest. We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

Neiryn snorted. “You’re crazy if you think I’m working on anything tomorrow. I’m going to be lying in bed all day, thank you very much.”

“Did your mother and father ever tell you that you’re a lazy bastard, Neiryn?”

“They did, as a matter of fact.”

She shook her head to herself. “Fine. Both of you rest tomorrow. I’ll sign exemption forms for you. But be ready to work the day after tomorrow.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “We need to discuss Lady Kadaki. We will talk later.”

Neiryn stiffened, suddenly wondering if she somehow knew what had happened between them.

But, no. She was only disturbed by Kadaki’s obvious power—which Neiryn had already warned her of, but perhaps she hadn’t really believed him until now.

“And Eliyr?” she went on. His shoulders squared as she turned to him. “Since Lady Kadaki is clearly your better, as I suspected, you should do as I asked and learn from her. Make use of her while we’re here.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Neiryn waited until she’d marched away before he looked sidelong at Eliyr. “She won’t tell you this, because her position demands that she be harsh, but you did well down there.”

Eliyr’s lips twisted into a scowl. “I don’t require sympathy, Sair Neiryn.”

“And I have offered none. Don’t confuse my words for kindness. I’m merely stating facts.”

Eliyr hesitated before speaking, as if planning his words carefully. “My human was seriously injured when we fell. A stone landed on him. He was bleeding out.” He swallowed nervously. Neiryn guessed it was the first time he’d been exposed to real danger with real injuries. “I exerted too much energy helping him. If it hadn’t been for that, I may have been able to shift out on my own, without Lady Kadaki’s help.”

“You did the right thing,” Neiryn said quietly. “Saving an innocent life is more important than saving face. How could we proudly call ourselves the greatest civilization in Heilune if we did not use our greatness for the benefit of everyone?”

Eliyr said nothing. He was looking away. Neiryn wasn’t certain he was really taking in what he was saying.

“In this situation, merely surviving is a great accomplishment,” Neiryn said.

“You would know about that, wouldn’t you? They say you survived imprisonment by night elves.” Eliyr glanced up at him curiously. It was not often that someone survived the night elves. On that particular mission, everyone else in his detail had been killed. Neiryn knew, through the suspicious looks people sometimes gave him, that they wondered about the specifics of how he’d made it out of there. He usually didn’t offer any.

“That is true,” Neiryn replied. “And in order to survive, I had to do some things I would not have considered before then.”

“Like working with the Ardanians?”

“Like allying with some of the Ardanians temporarily when it stood to benefit me, yes.”

“Some people think you grew too attached to them during your time in Kuda Varai.”

Neiryn looked down at him sharply. “Who thinks that?”

Eliyr just shrugged.

“They’re incorrect.”

“You’re awfully defensive, sair.”

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