Chapter 39
Everything felt empty once Varum left. Kalyani wandered around his home, wondering about his being able to walk away without bringing anything.
That wasn’t exactly true. He was bringing Nirav, and he could be considered the most important thing in Varum’s life.
She smiled, thinking about the stories Nirav had shared about Varum.
The older elf might not have been the one who had welcomed Varum as a father, but he had ended up being that in the end.
“Varum probably came out better for it,” she murmured.
Kalyani felt as if she should be doing something besides sitting around.
Varum and Nirav were doing their parts, but she had nothing to do.
It was just as maddening as it had been waiting for Rohan and Farah.
She wanted to be in the action, regardless of how dangerous it was.
It was her home—her world—too, and she had a right to defend it how she saw fit.
She sighed and plopped onto the sofa. This wasn’t exactly the same, though.
She was hiding in order to stay alive. It bothered her that a race could hate as deeply as the Sea Elves did.
They didn’t just hate humans, either. That’s what she couldn’t quite wrap her head around.
Each elven race had something special. Why did the Sea Elves believe themselves above all others?
Varum’s words from earlier returned. She touched the skin behind her ear, but just as before, there was nothing there. The quick way he had let her change the subject told her he had decided not to push the issue. She was grateful, because she wasn’t ready to think about such a thing.
But what if she did? What if she contemplated it even for one minute?
Kalyani drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine being in the water, the currents moving around her.
The door suddenly burst open, splintered wood and fragments of coral flying through the air.
She raised her arms to shield her head and dove to the floor between the sofa and the coffee table.
Her ears rang from the explosion as debris rained around her.
Rough hands grabbed her and dragged her up.
She blinked to get her eyes to come into focus and found herself surrounded by a number of armed elves wearing uniforms.
Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed at all the faces registering shock and anger at the sight of her. That’s when it hit her that she had been discovered. She scanned the area around her for Varum and Nirav, but they were nowhere to be found.
“Bring her,” barked a deep voice.
A bag was yanked over Kalyani’s head, and she was unceremoniously hauled from Varum’s home. She had no idea where they were taking her, but she knew it wouldn’t be good. Varum had warned her what would happen if she were caught. Was she going to her death right now?
If they’d found her, that meant they would go after Varum. She fought wildly against the elves holding either side of her.
“Wait!” she screamed. “Please, wait!”
Something slammed into the back of her neck, and everything went black.
Nirav ducked into a hallway as he heard Kalyani’s voice. He watched the patrol cart her now-unconscious body out of Varum’s home. Nirav briefly closed his eyes. He had to let Varum know before he found out from someone else.
If he hadn’t been taken by the soldiers.
Nirav worried that Varum was out of his reach.
If both Kalyani and Varum had been taken, it wouldn’t be long before soldiers came for him, too.
He was their only chance at getting out of Tarangarh alive, which meant he had to stay one step ahead of everyone.
It would be easier if he knew what was going on, but he didn’t have that luxury.
And that meant he would have to piece it together bit by bit.
It was a good thing he had set up different stations around the city with supplies for just such an occasion.
He waited until he knew the guards were gone and then set out to the nearest location that housed a change of clothes and some weapons. He’d learned a lot during his time on land, and it was all about to be put to use.