The elf watched them from the branch above. He straightened his cloak with a calmness that clashed against the chaos he had caused. The wound on his arm no longer bled. The smile remained on his face.
—Good. Now there are two of you. This is getting interesting.
Varkas growled. His beast form still stood between the elf and Darian.
—Come down —Varkas's double voice rumbled—. Or I'll bring you down myself.
—Tempting. But no. —The elf glanced toward the sky—. Time's up.
Darian forced himself upright. Barely. His legs trembled. He clenched his fist against the bark of a tree. Frustration burned hotter than exhaustion.
—What does that mean?
—Your group is coming. And they're not alone.
In the distance: torches. Voices. Hurried footsteps through the trees.
Kára. Elias.
And behind them, a group of elven guards clad in silver armor, bows already in hand.
—I'm sorry —the elf said—. I have to go.
—Wait —Darian called out.
The elf looked at him. Violet eyes glowing beneath the hood.
—Remember this, Darian. We seek the same thing.
—What is the same thing?
But the elf was already fading.
Shadows wrapped around him like a blanket.
Varkas lunged for the branch. His claws sliced through empty air. Nothing.
He inhaled deeply, trying to catch the scent.
Nothing.
The elf's smell had vanished entirely.
Varkas growled under his breath. His fists tightened. His claws slowly retracted.
—He's gone. There's no trail.
Darian leaned against a tree. His chest still burned. The Shadow Blades had taken their toll.
---
Kára arrived carrying Vael in her arms. The dragon immediately jumped down and rushed toward Darian. He wrapped himself around Darian's legs, chirping anxiously.
Darian crouched and picked him up.
Vael licked his face.
Kára sighed.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
—I'm fine —Darian said.
—You don't look fine —Kára replied.
—Thanks.
—You're welcome.
The elven guards surrounded them.
Five in total.
One of them—the officer—stepped forward. His armor gleamed beneath the torchlight. His expression was severe.
—What is happening here?
Elias moved before anyone else could answer. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
—My bodyguard. Sleepwalker. He left the inn without warning and frightened us. We were looking for him.
—Sleepwalker? —The officer studied Darian. The sweat. The ragged breathing. The marks of battle. —Looks more like he's been fighting.
—He fell. In the dark. Tripped over roots.
—And the wolf?
Varkas was no longer transformed. His fur had returned to normal. His tail was no longer crimson. His eyes were yellow again.
But his size was still intimidating.
—He's my escort —Elias answered—. He panicked when the boy disappeared. He's very loyal.
The officer examined each of them.
Darian.
Varkas.
Kára.
Vael, still tangled around Darian's legs.
—Return to the inn —the officer finally said—. And do not leave until sunrise. The night is not safe for foreigners.
—Thank you —Elias said.
—It isn't a favor. It's an order.
---
The walk back was silent.
The guards' torches gradually vanished into the distance.
Nobody spoke until the inn door closed behind them.
Elias dropped heavily into a chair. Kára rested her hammer against the table. Varkas remained standing beside the window, staring into the night.
—Who was he? —Elias asked.
Darian sat down. Vael curled into his lap, sniffing at his clothes. A low growl escaped the dragon's throat. Something about the elf's scent angered him.
Darian rubbed the back of his neck. Exhaustion weighed on every muscle.
—A dark elf —he said. —He took me to a forest. I don't know how. I don't know where. I only know I was there.
—Did he attack you?
—No. He defended himself. He could've killed me. He didn't.
—What did he want?
—To talk. About Aria.
Elias straightened immediately. His hands gripped the chair arms tightly.
—What does he know about Aria?
—He says her grandfather is planning something. Says he wants to stop it. Says we're after the same thing.
—And you believe him?
—No. But he didn't kill me. And he said something else. —Darian looked directly at Elias. —He said he knows more than you do.
Silence settled over the inn.
Elias rubbed his eyes with his palm. Suddenly he looked older. More tired.
—That wouldn't be difficult —he admitted quietly. —There are many things I don't know.
—But you know Aria. You know who she is. You know what she means.
—Yes. And that's exactly what worries me. If a dark elf knows we're here… who else knows?
—No one —Varkas said from the window. —Only him. And he hasn't betrayed us.
—Why? —Elias asked.
—Because he needs something from us —Kára answered. —If he wanted us captured, we already would be.
—Or he wants to use us —Darian muttered.
—Or help us —Kára replied.
—Or both —Elias concluded.
---
Darian stayed downstairs for a while longer.
Vael refused to leave his side. Every time he sniffed the spot where the elf had touched Darian, the dragon growled softly.
—I know, I know —Darian murmured, scratching beneath Vael's chin. —I don't like it either.
Vael clicked softly, then curled up and closed his eyes.
That creature holds grudges, Nox said. I like him.
It's not a grudge, Lumine replied. It's protection. Different things.
Protection, grudges… same thing once blood gets involved.
Not everything is blood, Nox.
No. But the best things usually are.
Darian smiled faintly and leaned back in the chair.
Tomorrow they would cross the bridge.
And the dark elf was still out there.
He didn't know whether the elf was an enemy or an ally.
But one sentence refused to leave his mind.
"We seek the same thing."
What was the same thing?
---
That night, Elias did not sleep.
He remained seated beside the map with the owl perched on his shoulder. The candle slowly burned lower as his fingers traced routes, cities, hidden tunnels.
Loth'Fael had told him about them.
She had used them to meet him in secret.
To love him in secret.
Now they were their daughter's only hope.
Elias took a small piece of paper and wrote only a few lines.
Just enough.
We're here. Hold on.
He rolled the note tightly and tied it to the owl's leg.
Then he opened the window.
The owl took flight, white wings glowing beneath the starlit sky.
Elias clenched his fists against the table, watching until the owl vanished into the darkness.
The candle died on its own.
—Hold on, Aria —he whispered. —We're almost there.