Visions of Love and Heroes

Chapter 15

The next day I saw one of the dark elves for the first time.

Theo had gone to look for more food while I sat beside a stream near our camp. We were finally nearing the valley's end with just a few hours walk remaining the next day. Though we were still within the mountains, the feeling of the dark elves' presence had started to fade. 

I drank my fill before splashing some of the cool water over my face. I used some of what remained of my loosened shirt to wipe off my face, frowning at the burned and ripped material. If Mother saw me now, she would likely have a conniption.

It was hardly an appropriate state for a young woman my age to be walking about in. I made a mental note to make sure I at least bathed before we continued on into Alfhaven. If being a mage didn't draw attention, my sorry state of dress surely would.

I stood and my gaze snagged on a figure standing across the water. I froze, heart racing as I took him in. 

At first, there was nothing unusual about him. He appeared simply as an elf would if they were accustomed to living in the outdoors. Bronzed skin and jet-black hair tied into a loose brain and slung over his shoulder. But when I met his eyes that was when his otherness hit me. They were a vivid violet, constantly glowing like how my eyes glowed blue when I had a vision.

A dark elf.

We stood in silence for some time. He held no weapon, but I would be a fool to think he had nothing on him. My fingers fluttered over my chest, feeling for the crystal tucked under my shirt. The elf followed my motion, gaze narrowing.

"As we suspected. A mageling. You are far from home, little one."

His voice was smooth and deep. It would easily blend in with anyone else. All except for the chill it left over my skin. I didn't reply, instead trying to go through all the spells Erinna had taught me, wondering if any of them would even work on someone so large.

"No need for any of that, I will not harm you. I just wanted to see for myself before you left us."

I didn't drop my hand, clutching my crystal tight now. "You followed us?"

"We all did. We had to see."

I quickly glanced in the direction Theo had gone. The elf followed my gaze.

"He returns. The one that smells like him."

I snapped my head back toward the elf, sensing movement, but he was gone. What did he mean by 'smells like him?' He had to have meant Theo, but who would Theo remind them of? Based on my research of the Yaelmyr name, he had no connection to any of the elf nobility or notable families. It was part of why it had taken me by surprise to learn he was an elf at all.

I collapsed against a nearby tree just as Theo came back. He paused and searched the area around me before his gaze settled on me. I still clutched my crystal as I sat next to the tree.

"One of them came."

I nodded. Theo must have sensed it, much like he had been all along. "Yes."

He neared, inspecting me from head to foot, his muscles loosening when he saw I was unhurt. "What did it want?"

I shook my head. "I haven't a clue...it simply spoke with me."

"What did it say?"

I stared in the direction the elf had been, recalling how he had looked at me. Intense and knowing.

"That they had been watching us, that I was far from home, and that he wanted to 'see' before we left."

I left out the part about Theo. I didn't really know how to make sense of it. All I gathered from everything was that though the elves had been watching us, they also seemed to have no inclination to interfere.