Page 26 of In Darkness Forged
“They consider me expendable,” she corrected, swallowing that pain and forging ahead before he could disappear into the forest again. “And I agreed to the price before I knew what it would entail.”
“And once you knew?” Scorn now accompanied his fury. “You tripped blithely onward towards your own death, like the witless human sheep that you are?”
“My family willdieif I fail!” Aislin all but shouted the words, anger eclipsing her fear. “I love them, and they will die. Is that motivation enough for you?”
The night elf’s expression did not change. As if human suffering was not a thing to care about one way or another.
“I don’t care if you understand,” she continued, “but I didn’t have a choice. Should I have hidden in my house and pretended that nothing bad would happen as long as I pulled the covers over my head? Should I have waited until my lord evicted us and threw my grandmother out into the cold without mercy?”
She hadn’t meant to keep going, but the words kept pouring out. “There is no one else to fight for us! Only me. And I am no warrior. I have no skills, no money, and no magic. All I have to give is my own life, so why should I not risk that if it will save them? Why should I not…”
Her mouth slammed shut, horror sealing her lips. She’d almost revealed her deepest fear. Almost admitted that her death might be what Lord Dreichel was hoping for. That he’d actively considered whether her mother’s magic would return if Aislin were gone.
At least the night elf now seemed to be considering her with something besides anger. More like calculation, or possibly confusion, but either was an improvement.
“What exactly do they expect you to do for them? How are you meant to save them by cominghere?” He infused the word with mockery, but Aislin ignored it.
“Our liege lord has tasked me with acquiring something from the night elves. If I succeed, he will forgive my family’s debt and allow us to stay in our home. If not…” She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze defiantly. “We will be thrown out. No one in my village can afford to risk defying our lord by taking us in. We would have nowhere to go, and my mother and grandmother are not strong enough for travel.”
One eyebrow rose, and a sneer curled the corner of the night elf’s mouth. “Then you’d best start making other plans, human. Whatever this lord of yours wants from the night elves of Dunmaren, you’ve no chance of convincing them to part with it.”
Aislin folded her arms stubbornly across her chest. “Well, you’re wrong, because I already bargained with Vanadar. He said he would give me what I asked for if I can acquire this… arantha venom.”
The night elf’s whole body seemed to grow still as he regarded her, his full attention now focused on her face.
“And what exactly did you ask for?” he demanded.
She swallowed. “My lord owns something called the Shield of Evernight, but it broke, and… it’s complicated.” She wasn’t sure if she should tell him. What if the stone was valuable? What if he tried to steal it and leave her behind?
“And Vanadar made this promise in front of witnesses?”
“Yes.”
The night elf let out a low, bitter laugh before his expression hardened once more. “Go home, human,” he said flatly. “There is nothing for you here but death.”
Her chin lifted. “No.”
“If Cuan does not eat you, eventually, something else will.”
Aislin shook her head. “Maybe it doesn’t matter to you. Maybe it looks hopeless. But I am all my family has, and this is the only road open to me, so I will not stop, I will not give up, and I will not go home.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
“Perhaps I am,” she snapped. “But am I any less a fool than you?”
His harsh, glowing gaze snapped up to meet hers.
“They don’t think you’re going to survive this either,” she reminded him fiercely. “Whatever we’ve been sent to do, it’s meant to be all but impossible, even for…” Even for you, she wanted to say. Even for someone who appeared to have spent his whole life preparing to personify Death. “So why areyouhere? Because it sounded to me like this is about revenge, and at the moment, I can’t think of a stupider reason to die.”
She didn’t even see him move.
But suddenly, he was mere inches away, one hand curled around her upper arm while the other clenched into a trembling fist. Fury and anguish seemed to emanate from his entire body, and yet, his grip caused no pain, even to her already bruised arm.
“I owe younothing, human.” He bit out the words as if barely holding back the full weight of his rage. “Not my aid, not my cooperation, and most certainly not answers.”
It took a moment to find her voice with him glaring down at her like that, while the power and menace of his presence pressed into her like the heat of a forge fire. “I don’t really need your answers,” she said, swallowing the urge to run once more. “But I do need your help. And I won’t stop trying until I’m dead, so either kill me now or be prepared to look over your shoulder forever.”
In reality, it would be mere hours. She had no water, no food, and was near to breaking from pain and exhaustion. It was mostly pride holding her up at this point, but he didn’t need to know that.