Page 83 of Sun Elves of Ardani

Chapter 22

By the time they woke Rhian and the other elves, the rain had begun to fall. It was a sprinkle as the group set out, and as they swept down the road toward Refka, it became a downpour. Kadaki’s cloak kept out the worst of the damp until it didn’t.

She didn’t have to try to convince Rhian to let her come along. The Commander ordered her, Roshan, Gregoris, and Safana to accompany them.

There was a particular type of quiet that happened just before a battle, though no one had actually used that word yet. Usually Rhian’s group would talk amongst themselves. Today, their customary soft conversation and occasional snickers at Kadaki’s expense were notably absent, replaced with grim silence.

“I thought they’d be happier about all this,” Gregoris said under his breath. He and Safana walked beside Kadaki, all of them surrounded by the elves. “The Ysurans are always looking for an excuse to hurt us and set things on fire. They don’t even have to make up a reason this time.”

“We don’t relish killing,” Neiryn said, walking close behind them. “Neither do we want to die. Plenty of us have died in this war. We’re as tired of it as you are. No one is eager to fight. No one who has done it before and knows what it’s really like, at least.”

“You treat fire magic like a sacrament,” Safana muttered disdainfully.

“Don’t you?” Neiryn said, sounding genuinely curious. “It’s a gift from Aevyr.”

She hesitated, as if afraid of drawing his ire. “It’s destructive. Anyone can see that you all enjoy using it a little too much,” she said quietly.

He did not look angry. If anything, he seemed regretful. “You weren’t raised in Ysura. You don’t understand. We know all too well what our magic can do. A single poorly cast flame can spin out of control in seconds. Flames cast in a moment of anger can cause irreversible damage and a lifetime of regret. None of us use it thoughtlessly. It is far preferable to use it as a deterrent.”

And when Kadaki thought back, she realized he was speaking the truth. She had often seen him use his fire to threaten people, but she could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him actually attack anyone with it. She felt another flash of guilt over how she’d reacted when he’d first arrived.

The elves at the front of the group gave soft curses as they rounded the bend in the road and the town came into view beyond the trees. Black smoke had just begun to billow into the dark sky, and something glowed orange beneath it. Whatever the rebels had been planning had already begun, and something was already on fire.

Everyone had the courtesy not to point out the irony to Neiryn.

As they arrived, they found the town in chaos. Ysurans in and out of armor, some still in night clothes, fought Ardanian rebels holding shields that must have been treated with some kind of fire-resistant coating, because the Ysurans’ fire seemed to dissolve on impact. Kadaki was shocked to see a few Ysurans with magic-suppressing collars around their necks.

People were running everywhere, scattering away from a commotion that seemed to be centered around the Ysuran quarter. Their lounge was aflame, with smoke shooting out windows and gouts of flame flashing within. A group of sun elves were working together to try to tame the flames from the outside.

Fire magic did not lend itself well to controlling wild flames. Guiding a magical flame you had created yourself was easy, but once it left your control and began to grow on its own, it became its own creature and was reluctant to be tamed. The Ysurans were having difficulty, by the looks of it.

The roof of the building beside it had caught, but no one seemed to have noticed. Kadaki’s throat tightened. Much of the town was built with timber. The rain wouldn’t stop a fire from destroying everything if it started to spread. She turned to point it out to Neiryn, and found he was already running toward it.

Rhian grabbed a passing soldier, and there was a fast exchange of information in Ysuran as the soldier explained what had happened. Rhian’s face had gone white, her lips tight. Kadaki couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she could read the situation as well as the rest of them. The rebels had been better prepared than anyone had expected, and they appeared to be winning.

Rhian rattled off orders. The elves split off into groups until only a few remained. Finally, she turned to Kadaki.

Don’t make me fight my own people,Kadaki was ready to say. She was willing to beg. And if that didn’t work, she was prepared to fight Rhian herself. She would not turn her magic against other Ardanians.

But Rhian only motioned one of her soldiers over and said, “Gwynna will take you four to the place where they’re holding civilians. Stay there and you won’t be harmed. Anyone who aids the rebels will be dealt with immediately and permanently.”

Roshan raised a hand. “I can try to help—”

“No,” she said sharply. “Do as I say. Stay out of the way. Keep your heads down. I can’t guarantee your protection here if you don’t do exactly as you’re told. Do you understand?”

Kadaki exchanged a glance with Roshan. They both understood what she meant. This had become a battlefield, with two different commanders guiding the Ysuran side, no less. She would have little control over what happened after this. It would be easy for them to get caught in the crossfire between the rebels and Ysurans.

“I understand,” Roshan said.

“Good.” She left without another word, running into the fray after her soldiers.

Gwynna pointed them in the other direction. “Go,” she said shortly. “Quickly.”

The four of them marched ahead, Gwynna trailing behind them. Suddenly they had gone from heroes protecting the town to prisoners heading to a holding cell.

“We can’t just stay put,” Kadaki whispered to Roshan. “We have to do something. We have to stop this.”

“How?”

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