Page 48 of Dark Elves of Ardani

“Nod if you agree not to shoot me in the back.”

She gave a very subtle nod. Too bad a Paladin’s word was worth less than nothing.

He sighed a little. “What sort of magic can you do?”

She exhaled heavily as if in annoyance.

“Something other than torturing prisoners, I hope? Something useful, perhaps?”

As expected, she said nothing.

“Will your breathing problem prevent you from running hard?” he asked.

A slight shake of her head.

He supposed there was no time like the present. If he was going to do this foolish thing, he may as well do it now. Without further preamble, he reached up and sliced the ropes holding her arms.

The first thing she did was tear the blindfold from her face and glare at him. He expected her to shoot another jolt of that horrible painful spell into him, but instead, she reached past him and summoned a blast of mage light that exploded in the center of the camp in a blinding flash. Nero flinched away. He’d avoided the worst of the light, but his eyes still stung and watered.

“Run,” he said, blinking the pain away, and the Paladin did so without argument.

The light continued to glow bright, blinding all the Varai. Their eyes, and his, were made for seeing in darkness. Even normal daylight sometimes pained him. Through the blinding light, he could see figures moving as the Varai stumbled into action. He spotted a glimpse of long, pale hair, and then a flash of red. Fear made his chest constrict. He moved toward Zara, drawing his sword as he whistled for Changa.

As he approached her, he realized she didn’t need his help. She’d already stabbed someone who’d tried to grab her, and in the time it took him to reach her, she fought off another one, driving her dagger first into her assailant’s shoulder, then into his chest. She was so quick with the dagger that he hesitated, fearing she’d lash out at him next. Her relieved look as she saw him reassured him that he was not about to be her next victim.

Hoofbeats pounded the dirt as Changa approached.

“Get on,” he said to Zara. She sheathed her dagger and leapt onto the behelgi. To his relief, she had no difficulty with the task now that her ankle had healed. He paused to dodge another elf’s sword, then climbed up behind her. The Paladin’s mage light was already beginning to fade, and the Varai were quickly finding their bearings.

He wrapped an arm around Zara’s waist and then kicked Changa’s sides. Zara jerked backward against him as Changa leapt into a hard run through the camp and into the trees. He clamped his arm harder around her waist and ducked as they charged through branches. Someone ran in front of Changa, waving a sword, and Changa simply lowered her head, catching both elf and sword in her antlers and tossing them aside as if they weighed nothing.

He felt Zara’s hand slide over his. “What about Naika?” she called over the sound of Changa’s hooves, struggling to hold on.

He risked a glance over his shoulder toward where he’d last seen Naika. And then something hit him so hard that he pitched forward. If Zara hadn’t been there to hold him up, he would have fallen.

The pain hit him after the impact. He didn’t even have the breath to gasp. His entire body went rigid with shock. He pulled Changa’s reins to slow her slightly, because every bounce in the saddle set his muscles on fire.

“What was that?” Zara called over her shoulder.

Nero struggled to turn his body enough to look behind him. There was an arrow shaft sticking out of his back.

Fuck.

“Hold on,” he grunted, because his grip on her was failing and he wasn’t certain he’d be able to hold on to her for long. He couldn’t keep going like this. They needed to find a place to hide.

Changa galloped until she burst through the end of the woods and onto a field of grass and stone. Nero slowed her and directed her into the shadows of a jutting rock. Her breath puffed in the cold air. Nero leaned forward to rest a hand on Changa’s neck. At least she hadn’t been hit with anything. He would have been angrier if the arrow had hit her instead of him.

Zara peered over her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Blood was soaking down his side and through his clothes, an uncomfortable, sticky, hot dampness. “Fine. Stay quiet now.” Tightening his grip on both Zara and Changa, he concentrated on summoning his magic.

Any Varai could fade himself almost without thinking about it. Nero could fade himself and another person at the same time with a little extra effort. But fading himself, Zara, and Changa was not an easy task.

The magic was pulled from the depths of his body, and it felt like it was pulling his very soul out of him. His vision blackened for a moment and his head went light. The sound of the rain went quiet and fuzzy. He felt Zara’s fingers squeezing his, and he focused on the sensation, clinging to it as he wavered on the edge of unconsciousness.

Gradually, the blood stopped pounding in his ears. His limbs stopped tingling. When his vision cleared, the three of them had faded.

They all went silent, watching the edge of the trees. After a while, several shadows emerged from the forest. They scattered and stalked across the field. Nero closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on maintaining his fade.

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