Page 42 of Sun Elves of Ardani

“I don’t appreciate being slandered.”

“My apologies. I didn’t mean anything by it. Just repeating what I’d heard.”

“You should be careful who you repeat that to.”

“Of course.” Eliyr gave a shallow bow and moved off toward the house.

Neiryn dragged a hand through his mussed hair. Belatedly he remembered that his hand was covered with soot, and he probably had black streaks in his hair now.

He spotted the housekeeper on his way inside, and he raised a hand to stop her. He realized he still didn’t know her name. “You—housekeeper. Get me a bath.”

She had rooted herself on a spot against the wall, as if afraid he might incinerate her if she came too close. She frowned. “We only have one tub, lor—sair. The lady of the house is currently using it.”

I could go share it with her. She won’t mind,thought a mischievous part of him. He bit his tongue. Ardanians disliked sexual innuendo. It was probably safe to assume that even Ardanian sun elves felt the same.

Would Kadaki really mind, though?

He thought about it seriously. She’d admitted she wanted him. He took surprisingly little satisfaction in that revelation.

What if he just went to her right now?

Did he even want to?

“Sair?” the housekeeper said uncertainly.

“Just bring some water to my room,” he said, waving her away. She made an irritated grumble under her breath, which he ignored.

He returned to his room, and as soon as the housekeeper had brought his water, he locked the door. He turned to the bucket of water on the floor, squinting at it. “This is what I’ve been reduced to?” he muttered. “Sponge baths?” What he wouldn’t give for the hot springs of Mount Uriethwyn—to sink into the hot, mineral-rich waters and have it take the aches from his body.

As he splashed water over his face and scrubbed it through his hair (there was indeed quite a bit of soot in it, it turned out) he thought of Kadaki somewhere downstairs.

They’d bathed in rivers occasionally during their time in Kuda Varai, but always separately. He wondered what she looked like when she bathed. Would it be like watching a sensuous dance, or did she scrub perfunctorily at herself? Did she like to relax in the water for a while, or did she do it as quickly as possible so she could get out? Maybe she liked to take books into the bath with her. The thought made him smile.

As his hands dipped into the water again, he looked down at his palm. The skin was perfectly smooth, except for the scar beneath his thumb from when he’d fallen out of a tree as a child. He had thought he would have another burn scar across the heel of his hand, but Kadaki had healed it perfectly. He had never seen such flawless spellcraft.

As he drew a washcloth over his arm, he remembered the sensation of her magic tingling over his skin. He could remember every time she’d touched him with perfect clarity. Every detail of her body made itself a landmark in his memory. The dry coolness of her hands. The chill of her bare feet tucked against his body. Her soft and tentative mouth.

He had always thought her beautiful, but she had never mentioned any past romantic partners, nor any interest in obtaining any. Kadaki and romance had seemed to be two parallel lines that did not converge.

But maybe that was just how Ardanians approached relationships and sex. Gods knew they weren’t all waiting until they were married, if Novikke’s behavior was anything to go by, but he knew they weren’t as straightforward about it as Ysurans were.

What Kadaki had said in the ruins was about as straightforward as it got, though.

It had been a common story for years: Ardanians secretly seeking out Ysurans, their hated enemies, for a night, or a few nights, but never more than that. Ardanians knew Ysurans weren’t as prudish as their own folk were. They thought his people were easy and skilled lovers.

That was how Kadaki thought of him. She hated him, but he was still worthy of a reluctant lay, if there was no one else and they were about to die.

Pathetic. Villain.

He towel-dried his hair and went to the pack where he kept the few possessions he’d brought with him to Ardani. He took out two doses of dream and downed them both.

Chapter 12

The sun in Ardani felt somehow duller and colder than it did in Ysura.

Neiryn had thought it was just Kuda Varai, at first. But even after he and Kadaki had escaped across the border into Ardanian lands two weeks ago, it had remained this way. It was less invigorating. Less warm. He could sit in it all day and still feel chilled.

He realized why, after a while. This land was untouched by Aevyr. The light here was not a goddess’s comforting, life-giving favor. It was merely light—cold, dead, and unfeeling.

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