Page 84 of Dark Elves of Ardani

“It may just take me a day or two to make the change.” She looked around at the tunnels as they walked. “Not the tent?”

He shook his head. “I have a room. I think you’ll find it more comfortable.”

Deep in the labyrinth of caverns, he pushed aside the cloth he’d hung to serve as a door over the entrance to his space. Zara looked surprised to see the inside.

It was a small room, but it was neat and clean. The walls were smooth, made from blocks of stone in the same style as the other Auren-Li ruins found around the continent. The furnishings were sparse, and there was a simple bed on the floor.

“This is where you live?” Zara asked, looking around with interest.

He felt a little self-conscious watching her examine his minimalistic space, though she didn’t look like she disapproved of it. The room certainly wasn’t impressive. He hadn’t been thinking of that when he’d brought her here.

“It’s where I sleep, when I’m around. I don’t spend very much time here,” he said, which was the truth. These days, he was happiest on the road.

“What about Changa?” she asked.

He smiled, pleased by her concern. He was suspicious of anyone who didn’t like Changa. “You’ll be surprised to learn she doesn’t sleep in my bed with me.”

“Of course, but where is she kept?”

“There’s a space for her outside. She’s quite happy out there.”

Zara yawned again.

“You should sleep,” Nero said.

She removed her cloak and boots and climbed into the bed, but didn’t lie down. She sat against the wall with her knees pulled up against her chest and stared toward the opposite wall.

“I think he would have killed me if you had not come,” she said quietly.

A chill settled over him. “You’re safe now.”

“I know.”

He hesitated, then went to sit down beside her. As soon as he had settled against the wall, she reached down and took his hand.

“I think he killed that traveler,” she said.

Nero frowned as he considered that. “Would he do that? Kill other humans?”

“I think he is capable of anything.”

Nero squeezed her hand. “I mean to kill him.”

“I hope you do,” she said, a little blandly, like she wasn’t holding out much hope.

She had told him some of how he’d treated her. Theron had a special interest in her, for whatever reason. She was a weakness of his.

“You can help me,” he said.

She went still. He recognized the emotion in her face. Fear. He had not seen that look on her face when they’d talked about the Paladins before. It was new. Theron had made her afraid of him.

“I have always wanted to hold hands with someone,” she said.

He was confused by the change of subject. He looked down at their intertwined fingers.

“I have never done it before,” she explained. “Well, except with my mothers, but that is not the same. I used to see other couples doing it, and it looked like it felt nice.”

The loneliness in her voice was painfully relatable. “You never had a lover?”

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