Page 67 of Dark Elves of Ardani

Making sure none of them were looking in her direction, Zara slipped around the corner of her shed. When she got to the back of the building, Nero was not waiting for her.

Instead, she was face-to-face with a Varai man she didn’t know. He was leaning heavily against the wall, his arm tucked in against his side as if in pain, but his head jerked up as she rounded the corner. He leveled a glare at her with one bright yellow-green eye—the other was covered by a strip of dark cloth.

He looked her up and down suspiciously, and she realized he was just as wary as she was. And, looking at his hands, she saw why: blood coated his skin and had darkened his clothes. There was a bad wound somewhere on his abdomen, and there were a dozen Paladins waiting to finish him off only a few steps away. All it would take was one shout from her.

She saw his gaze go to her hand, and it was only then that she noticed she’d instinctively started to draw a dagger from her side. The man’s expression darkened. He took a step toward her, looming over her. Zara didn’t doubt he would be formidable even while injured.

She took a quick step back, out of his reach.“Why did you knock?”

He hesitated, surprised. Zara forced herself to drop her hand from the hilt of her dagger.

“I didn’t,”he said.

Footsteps brushed the ground nearby, and then Nero appeared from the shadows of the woods. He was breathing hard, as if he’d been running.

“Zara.” He took in their aggressive stances, then strategically positioned himself between them. “This is Vaara. He’s a friend.”

“You cannot be here,” Zara whispered, conscious of the Paladins moving around, possibly coming closer.

“He was caught by a Paladin’s sword. The wound is too deep for running or riding. We need a hiding place.” He gave Zara an apologetic, desperate look. He knew he was asking a lot, but she was the only person in the village who might help. They had nowhere else to turn.

Zara eyed the other man, Vaara, again. He was giving her a look that made her think he was fantasizing about stabbing her. But then, that was how Nero had looked at her when they’d first met, too.

She beckoned them toward the door. Peering around the corner to make sure no one was watching, she quickly ushered them inside. Vaara could hardly move. He leaned on Nero the entire way, and each step made him grimace.

Zara shut the door behind them, cutting off all light except what came from the lantern on her table. “Lie down,” she said to Vaara, pointing to her small bed. Neither of them argued. In the light of the lantern, Zara saw a fresh gush of blood ooze from his side as he dropped onto the mattress.

The wound was even worse than she’d realized. Hidden or not, there was a good chance that he was not going to make it.

She hurriedly retrieved a clean sheet, folded it into a bundle, and handed it to Nero, who firmly pressed it against Vaara’s side to stem the blood flow. Vaara gave a strangled curse. Some of his ferocity had faded now that he was inside, and he instead looked tired and pained.

“Nero,” he said, “I want you to make sure Crow—”

“No. It’s not time for that,” Nero said. “Not yet.” Vaara shot him a glare, but he said nothing more.

A pang of sorrow hit Zara like a hammer. The words were so similar to what Kashava had said just before she’d died. She did not know who Crow was, but the fact that he thought of her as he was dying made it clear that he loved her.

“I will be back,” Zara said. “Stay silent. Lock the door behind me, and do not open it for anyone.”

There were precious few ways to heal such a bad wound. Magic was necessary. And she didn’t dare get Naika for this, so she only had one remaining option.

The Paladins were searching the village now, holding torches aloft. Zara darted to the inn and shut the door behind her.

Basira was already up, moving logs to revive a dying fire. She looked up as Zara entered. “You’re early. Are you so eager for the day’s drudgery? I have some pots that need scouring, since you’re in such an energetic mood.” Her smile faded when she saw Zara’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Zara stopped beside her in front of the hearth. She hesitated. This was a bad idea. And once she did it, there was no going back.

But there was a man bleeding out in her bed, and the longer she wavered, the worse off he’d be.

“I need panacea,” she said, her voice hushed. “Please do not ask me why.”

Her face fell. “Zara, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“It is urgent.”

Basira gave her a long look, her eyes dark. “An elf?” she asked.

“A person.”

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