He looked at the elf’s face. He had pulled the top part of his long, white hair away from his face, exposing pointed ears. His gray skin showed thick, white brows that slashed over yellow eyes. There were multiple scars on his face. The deepest ran from the inside corner of his left eye and cut diagonally down his left cheek to his jaw. Another bisected his mouth at an angle right to left. A third ran from his left temple through his left brow, then across his nose and along the right cheek.
The elf walked to the opposite side of the fire and elegantly sank to the ground. Kendrick noted the small, silver metal bands around locks of his hair. Two on one side, one on the other.
“I didn’t imagine you to be so amenable, Dragon King,” the elf stated.
Kendrick quirked a brow. “Word travels fast.”
“Did you imagine it wouldn’t?”
“I doona think it matters either way.”
The elf snorted. “That just proves you know nothing of elves or Shecrish.”
“That’s something I plan to rectify.” Kendrick shifted. “Let’s start with names. I’m Kendrick.”
Yellow eyes watched him for a long moment. “Dain.”
“Your entry was interesting. What can I do for you?”
“It’s what I can do for you.”
Kendrick grinned. “Is that so?”
Dain leaned on one hand and propped a foot on the ground, his knee bent. “It is.”
“Why?”
“You’ll disregard me if I tell you. It’s better if you find out for yourself.”
Kendrick mimicked the elf’s posture. “Or you could just tell me.”
“What would be the fun in that?”
Kendrick hated to admit it, but he liked Dain. The Dark Elf had come for a reason, and it wasn’t just to spar with words—though Kendrick enjoyed it. The warning was real, and he suspected that Dain wouldn’t tell him anything more, no matter how much he pushed.
Dain’s gaze was steady as he held Kendrick’s. “Dark Elves are feared.”
“Is it warranted?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted.
Kendrick nodded. “The same could be said for the Kings.”
“Then you understand.”
Kendrick did, in fact. Those terrified of the Dragon Kings usually had no reason other than they were told to be. They knew nothing about dragons. Esha had told Kendrick that the Dark Elves could be cruel and never showed mercy. That didn’t mean they were evil. It was simply their way.
“Tell me what brought you here,” Kendrick asked as he sat up.
Dain turned his head slightly and lowered his gaze to the ground. “Another time.” The elf rose to his feet in one fluid motion. “One word of caution. Not everything is as it seems.”
In the next instant, shadows flowed around him, covering Dain completely. Then they vanished, taking the elf with them.
Kendrick didn’t have time to think about that before he heard someone approaching. His dragon eyes probed the dark jungle, and he hoped it was Esha. Instead, Savita made her way to him. She didn’t stop until she stood in the same place Dain had been.
“May I join you?” Savita asked.
Kendrick held out his hand, his palm up as he motioned for her to sit. “Of course.”
He thought Savita might balk at sitting on the ground, but she said nothing as she lowered herself. She watched him over the dancing flames, her copper eyes giving nothing away. Savita hadn’t come just to soak in the moonlight. She was here for a reason, but Kendrick didn’t intend to say anything until she announced her intention.
The silence grew, broken only by the pop of the fire and the gently lapping waves of the water on the shore. If the elf thought she could make him nervous or apprehensive, she was about to learn that it would take much more.
“I want your word that you will leave in three days.”
He had expected a time limit to his stay, but not one so soon. “You think we can find this entity and kill it in three days?”
“Is that too much for you?”
“What is it you doona like about me?” he pressed.
She lifted one shoulder. “I don’t trust you.”
“Nor I you. But that’s what I want to do. Build trust.”
“The runes have spoken.”
He didn’t completely disregard the runes or the idea that they could speak to the Readers, but he felt as if Savita were using them as an excuse to get rid of him. Though only she would know since she was the only one who could read them. “What did they say?”
“You bring death.”
“The thing I’m tracking is what brought it to your lands, no’ me.”
She tilted her head to the side. “We’ve faced many dangers in Shecrish, but nothing like this. The runes told me it was something new. Something that came about at your arrival.”
Kendrick’s stomach churned. He had feared such a thing and wasn’t the only one, but he had held out hope that this new foe had been here all along. “Excuse me?”
“You aren’t of our world.”
Shite. Maybe the runes did speak to her. There was no other way she could know that information.
“Nay.”
“Go home. The entity will leave us alone if you do.”
He frowned and shook his head. “You can no’ be certain of that.”
“The runes do not lie,” she stated, a hint of anger in her words.
Kendrick tried to think of something to say when Savita rose.
She looked down at him. “Leave. Or more blood will cover you.”
He watched her leave, her words echoing in his head.
Chapter Eight
Esha fought the anger rising like a storm as she caught sight of Savita just outside Flamefall. When Esha arrived to speak to her sister, she was told she had to wait. She kept herself busy until she tried to see Savita again, only to be told that her sister was busy. After more waiting, Esha tried a third time. That’s when she learned that Savita had gone to see Kendrick.
Savita stopped before her now, her eyes cold and angry. “You know I make the decisions.”
Esha remained silent, even though a retort lay heavy upon her lips.
“Don’t ever undermine me again,” Savita stated in a low voice. “We might have been raised together, but that won’t save you from punishment.”
Savita had always liked to be in control and make the decisions. Even when they were young. Nothing had changed other than the power her sister now held. Savita had a gift, but sometimes it was hard to take. Especially when Savita lorded it over Esha as she did now.
“I was right, wasn’t I?” Esha asked. “The runes said Kendrick was an ally, didn’t they?”
Her sister held her gaze for a long moment. “The threat to us hasn’t changed.”
Esha blinked and took a step back. “You can’t honestly think Kendrick is the threat the runes spoke of. That’s the thing we’re tracking. The creature that kills our people. Kendrick could be our friend. Do you have any idea what kind of magic he wields?”
“I know.”
“He told you, then? He’s not trying to hide anything.”
“Everyone hides something, sister.”