Page 21 of Sun Elves of Ardani


Font Size:

He took her wrist again and pulled her to a large tree in the middle of the open field, where he sat down. “Stay with me,” he said. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, extinguishing his fire.

After a moment, she gave a resigned exhale and sat down beside him. She channeled a meager amount of magic and raised her hand to his chest, not quite touching him. He looked down at her in surprise, but didn’t try to stop her as she used a weak healing spell to look inside his body.

His heart was beating faster than usual, especially for an elf, since their hearts ran slower. There were some unusual things happening in his head due to the dream, but nothing that seemed to be harming him. He did not feel like someone who had ingested a dangerous amount of anything.

As she scanned the various systems in his body, she noticed his heart rate increasing even more, his blood quickening, and his reproductive organs growing more active. She realized how close she was leaning, how close her face was to his, and glanced up at him. He was watching her impassively, his unfathomably beautiful face betraying none of the arousal his body showed her.

And suddenly, she was wildly tempted to kiss him. Somehow, at that moment, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. She’d been drinking, and he was dreaming. It wasn’t as if either of them were thinking clearly. Neither of them could be blamed for giving in and doing something foolish.

She realized she’d been hovering there indecisively for far too long, and she leaned back. “You seem fine,” she said.

“I know,” he replied. That stupid smile was pulling at his lips. “And so are you.”

She didn’t know what he meant by that, and assumed it was nonsense that only made sense if you were dreaming. She put her back against the tree. The hallucinations from dream only lasted an hour or two. She settled in to wait.

* * *

Gradually,Neiryn’s euphoria faded. The weight of living came down upon him again, hard and merciless. Coming back from that blissful, bright world was as painful as always. When he peeled open his eyes, everything was dark and still and dead.

Kadaki sat beside him, her arms wrapped around her knees, looking out into the darkness. He watched her shadowy face for a long time before he spoke.

“Why didn’t you get rid of them yourself?” he asked.

She looked up in surprise. Then she looked him over, as if she was again checking if he was hurt.

“I’ve seen you put people to sleep with magic,” he said. “I’ve seen you make yourself invisible. You wield fire magic as well as any sun elf.”

“I was afraid,” Kadaki said, looking away.

He didn’t doubt that was true, but there was something else. She was hiding something. “You should have killed them for treating you that way.”

She frowned. “Are you blaming me for this?”

He’d seen what they’d done to her. What they’d tried to do. He’d watched from the window of the lounge, at first unsure whether he was imagining the scene. It hadn’t seemed real.

The Kadaki he’d known would never have allowed herself to be manhandled that way. She would have rendered herself unconscious pouring all the spells she had into fighting them before she would surrender.

They would have hurt her if he hadn’t stopped them. Was she so afraid of his people that she had lost her will to fight?

He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. He wanted to tell her that she could trust him, that he would protect her from the others, that she should come to him if she needed help.

But he couldn’t promise that he could protect her. He didn’t know if it was true.

“How long has this been going on?” Kadaki said.

“How long has what been going on?”

“The drugs.”

Her prim disapproval made him smile. He leaned in a little, sniffing her, and she jerked away, glaring. “Is that alcohol I smell on your breath?” he said.

She got up, crossing her arms. “Do you do this every day?”

He sighed. He was tired. His head was pounding. His body ached. Slowly, he climbed to his feet, summoning a small flame in his hand. Kadaki winced at the sudden brightness, but kept glaring up at him. He recalled that when they’d first met, she’d reminded him of a very stern school teacher he’d once had—an old woman who never smiled and was quick to rap knuckles. He still saw the resemblance. He’d been very intimidated by both of them.

“Let’s go home,” he said, and started toward the house. He was relieved when he heard her fall into step behind him without argument.

Chapter 6