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She had no response that he would like, so she didn’t reply. She turned away, keeping him in her peripheral vision, grinding her teeth.

He’d never shown any interest in her before. He’d patiently waited until her guardian was out of the way before trying to take advantage of her. He was exactly like every other man she’d ever met. Kashava was right. Zara could not trust any of them, and she was a fool.

“I know you want me.” He stepped closer, and Zara edged away. “You’re just emotional. You’re confused. I’ll make you feel better.”

She began to form the first consonant of the wordplease,then stopped herself. “No,” she said simply. She looked up at him coldly, daring him to come closer. If he wanted to force her, he’d have to work for it.

“I had no idea you were so arrogant,” he said, disgusted.

“I’m not arrogant.”

“No? Then why do you spit in my face when I show you kindness?”

He reached out and grabbed her by the collar. Startled, she struck him across the face before she could think better of it. He looked shocked, then furious.

He shoved her downward, forcing her to her knees, and then she was face down on the ground, his knee in the small of her back and his fist in her hair.

“Do you think you deserve my pity?” he said, yanking her hair until she cried out. “Do you think I should care about you? You’ve forgotten what you are. You will never be one of us. No one here believes you are our equal, so don’t behave as if you are. Kashava might have indulged your delusions, but we will not.”

She cringed, waiting for the attack to be over. Still not satisfied that she’d been humiliated enough, he shoved her face into the dirt.

“This is how much you’re worth,” he said. “You’re nothing. You should be grateful to me for looking at you.”

Giving her a final shove, he got up and stalked back toward the others.

Zara lay still, breathing hard. Her heart raced as she listened to Jura’s footsteps fade.

She slowly sat up, watching the group put up tents as early morning light filtered through the fog. None of them were looking at her, but that didn’t mean they weren’t watching her.

She was lucky that he was not disposed to cruelty. He could have done much worse. One of her earliest memories was of her first master breaking her arm in a fit of temper. The break had been an accident, but that hadn’t made it any less terrifying.

Perhaps she should run. But the idea of being alone among strangers in this unfamiliar land made her head spin. She tried to imagine the advice Kashava would give her, and came up blank.

As she knelt there, torn, a sudden movement from the group caught her attention. One of the elves fell to the ground. There was an arrow embedded in his chest.

Chapter 2

All the Varai immediately used their innate power offading: turning their bodies as dark and transparent as shadows. For the millionth time, Zara cursed herself for not having been born with the same camouflaging magic they had. She raced toward the group, ducking behind rocks as she squinted in the direction that the arrows were coming from. As she watched, another arrow hit home in the skull of one of the elves, whose fade failed as soon as she was hit.

The attackers made themselves visible soon enough. Humans, more than a dozen of them, all wearing shiny steel armor, emerged from behind hills and boulders. How they had approached so quietly, Zara didn’t know. It was one of the risks of raiding. The Varai were always at a disadvantage when traveling outside of Kuda Varai. The Ardanians grew more organized and more difficult to fight every day.

As she got closer, she could make out the faces of the fallen elves, Nahasha and Kurva. She ran to Nahasha’s side and, after a second of hesitation, took the sword from her motionless hand.

In the morning light, and with no trees for cover, the elves’ fades did little to hide them. Humans appeared from the other side of the camp, flanking them. Someone drove a sword through Ravira’s middle. She gasped, making an agonized sound as blood poured from the wound and stained the stone beneath her. A bolt of something that looked like lightning shot across a hill and hit Saiun in the chest. The humans had a mage with them.

Zara spun, raising the sword, in time to see Zasaar and Vevna hit the ground. Jura was the last one still alive. He was dueling a large human man carrying a massive sword. Jura managed to hold his own until another human attacked from behind him, delivering a slash to the back of his legs as the big one drove a sword through his side.

Jura’s fade dissolved as he fell to his knees, the sword still stuck deep in him. He looked up, and his eyes fell on Zara. She gaped at him as he gave her a look filled with hate.

“Traitor,”he said. Zara’s jaw clenched.

The big human jerked the sword out of him, and Jura fell to the ground. Blood pooled around him.

Zara turned to the humans, taking a step back as she raised her sword with both hands.

“Easy,” said the human who’d killed Jura, holding out a hand and lowering his sword. “Take it easy. We’re not going to hurt you.”

The humans had all turned their attention to her, the last one still standing. Zara took another step back, but they had circled around behind her, blocking her escape. Looking around at the dead, Zara felt lightheaded.