Page 94 of Dark Elves of Ardani

“I never believed that I could defeat them, Zara. I fight Paladins because I hate them and I want to hurt them, not because I think it will make a real difference.”

Zara eased closer to him, taking his hand. “Why not hurt themanddefeat them?”

He looked away from her, his expression pained. Perhaps he was afraid to hope. “We all know we will never belong anywhere. We’ve accepted it.”

“When many outsiders come together, they make their own place of belonging,” she said. “But you must be willing to defend your place here.”

She thought of Theron ordering torture on Nero. She thought of him collaring Naika. She thought of him imprisoning Tahir. She thought of the days she’d spent lying on the ground in the cold, of the hours she’d spent in pain.

She no longer felt afraid. She felt angry. She was no longer helpless, and she was no longer alone.

“Theron is a danger to everyone,” she said to Nero. “I want to kill him. And I want you to help me do it.”

Nero gave a slow smile. “Don’t you think it’s wrong to plot to kill a man, Zara?”

“No. That sounds like something an Ardanian would say, and I am not Ardanian.”

“No, you are certainly not.”

The air was filled with the soft, tranquil sounds of talking and quiet laughter, until suddenly, it wasn’t.

A shout cut through the calm, and then another. Filled with dread, Zara turned toward the sound.

She looked up in time to see a sword slicing through the neck of one of the Varai standing near the entrance to the camp.

Chapter 28

Paladins poured through the gap in the wall that surrounded the caldera. Zara spotted Theron the moment he stepped through the wall. He scanned the caldera, squinting through the fog. His eyes came to a rest on Zara, and her heart stopped.

Even from a distance, she felt that there was something off about him. She couldn’t explain what it was, but there was something about his expression that chilled her to the bone. Had he really gone mad? Or was there something else? Was this what obsession did to a person?

All at once, everyone was running and shouting. The Varai were always calm and collected when it came to battle, but no one had been expecting this. There was a jumble of movement as some people ran, others picked up weapons, and the Paladins chased them. Zara saw Crow, Vaara, and Basira taking Farhana and Inaya and leading them to the crevice that led into the mountain.

A few of the Varai had picked up bows. Arrows streaked across the camp. Most of the arrows bounced off the Paladins’ armor.

Zara looked for Naika. The mage was still standing with Devana, her eyes wide with shock. Devana looked at Naika questioningly, drawing his sword. They’d just met, but Zara could still see the hurt and betrayal in his face.

But Naika could not have intentionally led the Paladins to them, Zara realized. Crow’s empathic magic would have discovered her betrayal. The Paladins must have followed them from afar—which meant that they’d allowed the Paladins who had been escorting Basira to die.

It had all been a trap. Theron was so desperate that he had been willing to sacrifice his own men in his quest to exterminate the Varai.

Instead of moving to defend herself from Devana, Naika turned toward the Paladins and shot a bolt of energy in their direction. It missed, hitting the wall and sending a shower of rock flying. The Paladins scattered. They’d been expecting a collared mage, Zara realized. Or, perhaps they’d thought the Varai would have simply killed her.

Either way, it was clear they had not expected a magical defense. For a few seconds, their attacks ceased while they ran for cover. Naika shot another bolt in their direction, then another. Zara wondered how many of those bolts Naika had in her. They were amazingly effective, but she would run out of strength before long.

Devana grabbed Naika’s hand. Naika rounded on him as if to attack him next, but she held back when she realized he was only pulling her toward the tunnel entrance, away from the Paladins.

Zara didn’t want to retreat into the mountain. But with the Paladins between them and the exit, there was nowhere else to run. The caldera was wide open and filled with morning light, leaving no place to hide. It would be a slaughter if they stayed.

For once, Nero looked petrified. This was the worst thing that could have happened. The Paladins had found their sanctuary, the one place where they’d been safe.

Zara took his arm, pulling him toward the entrance to the mountain. “Come on.”

“We’ll be trapped inside,” he protested.

“We have the advantage in the darkness,” she reminded him, pulling him into a run. “Hurry.”

Naika created some kind of magical shield to cover them all as they escaped into the tunnel—a wavering wall of magic that looked a bit like water. Zara nodded to her as they ran past, noting the sweat on Naika’s brow. She already looked like she was growing tired.

---