Chapter 10
H er brows crinkled. “Your name is Shikra?”
“And your name is Aelrie.”
“Isn’t that a bird?” It was a bird, a hawk, gray with red eyes, that lived in the northern stone hills, the home of the orcs.
“And what is Aelrie?” he answered with a question.
“I don’t know, a name my parents gave me.”
“Same here, but it was not the name my parents gave me, but another.”
“What was that name? The one your parents gave you.” She realized this made her sound interested in him.
He shrugged. “One best left forgotten.” He looked away from her, not wanting to continue with the conversation.
“Who gave you the name ‘Shikra?’” At this point, she was too intrigued and didn’t care if it sounded like she was prying.
He looked over at her, and his eyes narrowed, and all traces of the charming elf faded. “Someone who deals in secrecy and greets those who pry with a swift death.”
She shivered even though it was not cold.
Dealing with him was like charming a snake; you never know when it might turn its back on you and strike.
She needn’t forget who she travelled with, an assassin who killed for payment.
And she needn’t be fooled by his charm. Lest she end up on the wrong side of his dagger.
He’d flirted with her, even gotten her to trust him by saving her life, but all that paled in comparison to his mission. What he showed her now was where his true loyalties lay, and she was low on that list. Not that she expected anything different.
But there was a strange feeling deep down inside of her. If she tried to pull the feeling out and examine it, it felt almost as if it was disappointment. Had she wanted to be higher on his list of priorities? Why should she care? He wasn’t high on her list either.
Also, there was another feeling she had been trying to suppress, but now that she’d acknowledged her disappointment in him, it was time to bring it forth into the light.
She’d been too carefree around him. He’d eased his way closer to her with his charming wiles, and she let him, being taken in by his flirtations and handsome face.
She had willingly given up romantic love and sexual pleasures with her vow of chastity.
At the time, she thought nothing of it and was more than happy with this sacrifice for her position as personal guard to the high priestess.
It was something she and Lindana shared.
A higher calling in the service of the Starsun. But now…
A longing had crept up while she was too preoccupied with Lindana’s murder and her own survival to repress. A desire to touch and be touched. To feel sexual pleasure again .
No. This wasn’t real. She had cast those desires aside.
Her charge had been murdered. It was him.
It was his fault. He teased her. Got her to lower her guard and inhibitions.
She needed to stop paying heed to his lies and trickery.
She needed to focus on her mission, as he obviously only focused on his.
“Brooding are we?” he asked.
She realized she’d been staring at him with crossed arms and a scowl deeply entrenched on her face, and so lowered her arms, replacing her frown with a neutral look. “We should go. Who knows how long it will take to escape this labyrinth?”
He nodded. “You speak the truth. We should not stop until we clear this place. The minotaur hunts us now. It does not sleep, so too should we.”
They made their way through the maze, keeping to the right, as Aelrie battled her fatigue. It had settled in her muscles and seeped down into her bones. What time was it anyway? How could they tell time here?
“Is it night or day?” she asked.
“There is no night or day in the Evergloom.” He gave her a strange look. “I thought you should be aware of that by now.”
“I am,” she answered, a bit perturbed by his rudeness. “What I meant to say, how do you know the time?”
“How do you tell the time on the surface?”
“We use the sun, moon, and stars.”
“Without those to guide you, how would you tell the time?”
How to tell the time without the sky for guidance? She hummed. “I suppose your body would tell you when to sleep and when to rise.”
“Well,” he said rather matter-of-factly. “You’ve answered your own question. And before you ask, yes, I am tired too. It has been a while since we left the tree. But we mustn’t stop for sleep, for we would never wake again in such a place. Endure it for a little longer.”
“I can endure just fine!” His attitude was getting to her, or maybe she was still sore from his words from earlier. Maybe it was both of these things, or maybe she just needed a nap.
“Little flower is upset?”
He dared to call her pet names now after insinuating he’d murder her to keep his secrets earlier. She stopped walking to glare at him. “I am not a pampered highborn lady. I am a trained soldier. I can endure more than you think!”
“But you don’t have to. I could carry you, if you’ll permit me.”
“Ha!” She snorted and continued walking. “No.” He didn’t need any more of an answer than that.
He continued beside her, edging a little closer. “Little flower, do not be cross with me. I meant no presumptions. It would be for your benefit entirely.”
“Stop calling me little flower.”
“No.” He mimicked her “no” from earlier.
They walked in silence for a long while.
The dead on the floor piled up more here than when they’d first entered the labyrinth.
Though a thoroughly gruesome sight to behold, it was a good thing for them at the very least. It meant they must be getting closer to the entrance.
But these poor souls, just starting their adventure, only to be cut short in the most horrific ways imaginable.
“We have yet to find the treasure this labyrinth guards,” she said.
“The treasure is a myth, then.” He gave a quick look at a headless orc at his feet and took a large step over the carcass.
“Yes. They all died for nothing.” She felt sorry for the dead, even though they mostly looked to be a mixture of brigands and thieves, because some of them weren’t criminals but adventurers or those down on their luck seeking instant wealth.
“Surely there must be a treasure around here, gold, gems, perhaps a legendary sword.” He looked ahead of them as if the treasure were around the corner.
The treasure. They should have seen it by now. Did they already pass it? Surely they would’ve seen it.
She gasped; it was there all along. “The tree! That was the treasure. We must have come into the labyrinth from its exit.” Her excitement heightened as she turned to him, hoping he had come to the same conclusion.
“The tree?” He frowned in disbelief at first, but then thought about it for a moment, and his expression changed. “I think you might be right. Its leaves were made of pure gold after all. And that light, in this Evergloom, is a treasure to behold.”
That’s what that beautiful golden light was from. She sighed. “If only I’d known then, I would have grabbed some of its leaves before we left.”
“Is little flower in need of coin? ”
“Yes,” she grumbled. “Thank you for reminding me. Since you killed my charge. I am without a job. I will be banished from the temple upon my return.” He went quiet after this.
But she wasn’t letting him get off that easily.
She continued, “I was thinking about joining the volunteers going north to fight orcs after this. It’s all I have left. ”
“Why do that?” His mocking tone immediately prompted an angry reaction in her. “Don’t be like those fools throwing their lives away, like these poor idiots seeking treasure only to find their deaths.” He kicked a femur bone out of his way.
“You don’t get to criticize my life choices. Not after you destroyed it.” Heat rose to her head. How dare he say that after he was the one who ruined her life!
She turned on him and blocked his path, her temper driving her aggression. Her fists opened and closed at her side, itching for his face.
He didn’t respond to her but watched her erupt with a sly smile. “Confront me, you bastard!” she snapped.
“You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”
“Argh!” She turned around, unable to face him. Her arms crossed, and she tried to calm herself down, but her anger only simmered as a pot covered in a shaky lid about to boil over.
He was quiet behind her, but then she felt the closeness of his body to her back.
“You don’t know how badly I want to kiss you right now,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her earlobe.
“You should know what you do to me.” He chuckled darkly.
“You’re driving me crazy.” His arms wrapped around to cover her crossed arms. His lips met the nape of her neck.
“I want nothing more than for you to let loose that passion, leave your bruises on me.”
She whipped her body around, breaking from his embrace, and connected her fist with his face. He reeled back; she’d caught him by surprise, but he didn’t retaliate against the attack and merely laughed it off as he rubbed his sore jaw.
“That’s the only kiss you’ll get from me!” The indignation. She stood hunched over, breath heaving, trying to calm herself down, but damn, that felt good. “I bet that isn’t the bruise you expected.”
“I see. Little flower has thorns.” He finished rubbing his jaw. “I came on too strong.” He whispered the next part, mostly to himself, but she overheard. “I’ve got to change tactics.”
“Change tactics for what?”
“This was a … minor setback.” He stretched out his neck. “But mark my words, I will have you.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” She stood straighter and recrossed her arms.
His red eyes gleamed in the dark, unfazed by her outright rejection of his advances. “I always get what I want in the end.” His voice was in that purposeful way meant to seduce her.
“Not used to rejection?”
“It is a novelty, I must admit.” He smirked, as if it were a secret only he understood.
“But I have a feeling that if I continue in my pursuit of your heart, it will be vastly worth it in the end.” He added, “For both of us,” as a closing remark with his hands gesturing toward her, inviting her to agree with him .
Did he actually think he had a chance with her? Her punch must have knocked the sense out of him. But her anger had cooled …
How did he do it? Disarm her with that charm. There was not much else she could do. What was done was done, and the pain in his jaw should warn him from trying anything like that again. “Let’s just keep going. I grow tired of this conversation.”
He lit up. “Already, there is progress. I see my efforts were not wasted in vain.”