Page 89 of Sun Elves of Ardani

He ignored the fire scorching his palms, ignored the pounding in his head, ignored the waves of dizziness from the spell fever. Somehow, he was not afraid. He did not wonder whether he would die in that moment. The Goddess had given him this power for a reason. He had struggled to earn it, and she had deemed him worthy. She would not abandon him now—and neither would his magic.

Rather than shrinking back defensively, he fed more power into the wall of flames between them. The fire grew terrifyingly bright and hot. It distorted the air, casting the street in blinding light. Heat assaulted Neiryn’s skin and singed his hair. Licks of flame spiraled uncontrollably as the pressure between them grew too strong to contain them.

Caradoc stumbled back under the strength of the flames while Neiryn pushed them to grow even larger. He felt and smelled the skin on his palms burning. A stray burst of flame caught his vest.

“You’re mad,” Caradoc spat. “Mad, and a traitor. All for a human.”

“Yes,” Neiryn said. “I would do anything for her.”

Caradoc’s strength gave out, and the fire consumed him. A wall of flame reduced him to ashes.

Neiryn fell to his knees in exhaustion, letting the fire flicker out. The air suddenly felt cold in its absence.

He dipped his blistered hands in the water flowing down the street, and still they burned. It didn’t matter. Kadaki would heal them. He took even breaths, resting for a few precious seconds as he tried to find the strength to climb to his feet again. And then he felt cold metal touch his throat. The sharp edge of a blade pressed against his skin.

He went still, carefully tilting his head toward the person holding the knife. In the light of a dim mage torch, he saw Refka’s smith, Sergio, standing beside him. More Ardanians bearing swords stood behind him.

“Get up,” Sergio said coldly.

Chapter 24

Kadaki tore apart a tangle of magic. Tiny rivers of magic streamed away, freed, and the sparking flames over her head quieted.

But it was only one part of the anomaly. She looked down the street and found five more massive tangles of magic. Even as she watched, another one appeared, shooting a wild flame into the air. They were forming faster than she could dispel them.

She also noticed that Neiryn was gone again. She chewed her lip, torn between the desire to find him and assure his safety, and the pressing need to deal with the anomaly. She reluctantly decided that she needed to find Eliyr first. It was her responsibility to fix the anomaly, and she wasn’t going to be able to do it all alone.

As she searched the dark streets, she realized it had become quieter. The fighting had slowed, perhaps even stopped entirely, and she didn’t know whether that was a good thing. It meant one side had won, for better or worse.

She turned onto the next street, and at the end of the road, she could see a crowd of people watching something, listening to someone speak. As she ventured closer, she heard a few shouts ring out, but their bodies obscured whatever they were looking at.

She pushed through the crowd, and her breath caught. In the center of the group were half a dozen elves on their knees, all wearing collars. Among them were Rhian, Eliyr… and Neiryn. Their hair and clothes were plastered against their skin, darkened with rain and possibly blood. One of them was already slumped on the ground, dead. His throat had been slit. Sergio stood above him, flicking excess blood from the large kitchen knife in his hand.

Sergio moved to the next elf in the row of captives—Neiryn. He grabbed him by his hair, pulling his head back to expose his throat, and held the knife against his skin.

“Stop!” Kadaki shouted, shoving her way to the front. The crowd parted for her, nervous now that they’d realized the local mage was among them.

Sergio’s hand paused. Neiryn looked like he was considering vomiting, but his eyes grew hopeful when he saw Kadaki.

“What is this?” she demanded, raising her voice to be heard over the rain and thunder.

“Lady Mage,” Sergio said evenly, looking her up and down. “We could have used you during the fight.”

She had no patience remaining, and she was in no mood to mince words. “You could have, if I were inclined to help you with something this blindingly stupid.”

His mouth twitched downward. “So you admit it. You’re on the side of the elves.”

She had to get them to see sense, or this would end in a bloodbath. But she had never been a good diplomat. “I’m on the side of reason. And anyone here should be able to see that this is foolishness.” She glanced at the kneeling elves, who were silent. Probably wise, given the number of blades in the hands of the people surrounding them. “Do you think you’ve done something good here? What are you trying to accomplish by murdering Ysuran officers?”

“We’ve done more than anyone else has. We were the only ones brave enough to stand up to them.” There was a chorus of agreement from the crowd. The hair on the back of Kadaki’s neck prickled with dread.

“You’re just kicking a hornet’s nest! We can’t fight all of Ysura on our own. None of this will matter in the end.”

“Then what would you have us do? Sit back and let them spit on us, steal from us, rape us, do whatever they wish?” Sergio glanced down at Neiryn, then glared up at her. “But you probably wouldn’t mind that, would you? People say you’ve developed a taste for sun elves.”

This time, the crowd was silent. Kadaki’s eyes went to Neiryn. He just watched her unapologetically.

“What does your husband think about that?” Sergio said.

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