Ch.18

Arelia stared at it for a long time, uncertain whether she was safe or not. In the end, the elf's words about keeping his secrets haunted her more than anything else. She turned back to where Evander lay on the floor, still gasping for air. When he looked over his shoulder, she dropped to her knees beside him, placing a hand on his forehead.

"How can you be sure he won't attack me?" the elf demanded again, standing just outside the room. His eyes darted worriedly between Arelia and Evander.

"I know him," she replied, after a moment of consideration. "I trust him. For now."

Evander squirmed as soon as she moved. He pulled himself slowly into a sitting position, leaning against the wall until he could stand, then reached for his clothes. Once he had dressed, he spoke.

"How did you get in here?"

Arelia shook her head. "I went in from the outside."

Evander nodded, seemingly satisfied, but not entirely. "Why didn't you kill him?"

Arelia stared at him, then leaned against the wall next to him. "Because," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've been following you."

Evander reached out a tentative hand toward her, as if afraid to touch her. She let him take hold of her fingers, though, letting him know that she didn't mind. It was still an odd thing, however. They'd never touched, either by accident or on purpose, before.

"Then, where are you from?" Arelia asked.

He glanced around them, and seemed to realize who he was speaking with. Then, his hand dropped to his side, and his gaze returned to her face. "From . . . where? You mean this world? Well, no, I didn't come here—I came from somewhere else. I am a Darkspawn."

Evander took hold of his hair again, gripping it tightly. "I remember what they did to me! And, well, they did more, afterward. All these years I have spent trying to forget, but now, I . . . I don't want to live anymore."

It wasn't surprising, then, that Arelia hadn't noticed the scarring. If she'd been held in captivity, and tortured regularly, it was only natural that she wouldn't notice physical damage. Then, too, she'd surely healed. "What happened to you?"

"I lost everything. I told you, all of my memories. Everything. I used to be a warrior—a prince—but I have no idea how I got there." He looked away, back toward Evander's bed, as if looking for something. Then, he caught sight of the elf. "What will you do with him?"

Arelia continued to watch the door, her expression showing no sign of understanding. Then, when the elf spoke up again, she turned her head quickly in surprise. "Are you expecting trouble?"

Ardi hesitated, then shook his head slowly. "Not from him. From someone else. Someone who seems to have this place under control."

"Who could that be? More elves?" Arelia inquired.

"No. Humans." The elf paused. "That is, I assume so. It does not matter, though; if it comes to fighting them, I will not hesitate to defend myself."

Arelia nodded, then returned her attention to Evander. "How can I help you?"

"My sister. She said she'd come here to get me. I tried to contact her, but they . . ." His words faltered, and he glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know what happened."

"They?" Arelia questioned.

Evander turned back around, facing the wall. "The people I was working with, before I fell into your hands. I thought they were going to kill me. They must have found out about my . . . my gift, if you can call it that."

"This is where you're from, then?" Arelia asked, and he nodded.

"Yes. I just want to go home."

***

Over the following days, Evander insisted on being taken everywhere with him, at least in part because he felt he needed help getting around. In truth, Arelia knew he had little strength to spare, and so she allowed it, seeing nothing wrong with giving him some time to himself. Even so, the time spent with him didn't seem like it was helping his memory any.

For example, while Ardi was in one of the buildings, she followed a group of armed humans down a hall, their eyes darting constantly among the walls, each other, and anything else they might see. Another sentry appeared behind them, drawing their attention, and they quickly moved out of sight.

"Did they see us?" Evander inquired.

"It doesn't matter. They're not here now." She continued walking, leaving the human's area as quickly as possible. Then, she returned to where he lay on the bed. He wasn't wearing his armor any longer; instead, he wore a simple tunic, open at the chest. There was no doubt in her mind that his heart was no longer beating, and she wasn't even sure there was enough left for blood to flow through.

She continued speaking, though. "I never saw any elves here—not directly, anyway. I'm certain they must be nearby, though."

He nodded. "They tend to do that when I get too close."

Ardi could only stare at him, baffled by the change in tone. The elf had sounded angry at first, but now he seemed genuinely hurt, which was surprising. It didn't make sense, however. If he was truly Darkspawn, then why would he care?

Still, a moment later, he explained. "I don't know how to explain it . . . but I'm still human inside. Just, in case, I wanted them to think of me as a friend."

It made no sense, of course, but she didn't know what else to say. She watched him for a moment, then glanced down at her hands.

"What?" Evander asked.

She shook her head, unable to meet his gaze. He finally noticed. "Yes?"

"You really believe you can find your sister again?" she asked, unable to say more without revealing how much she already suspected.

His lips pursed tightly together. "I have to."

***

One night, while Arelia was returning from a nearby room, she turned the corner to find several guards standing near Evander. He turned to watch them approach. "What's going on?"

The first one paused. "Well . . . something big is about to happen, isn't it?"

Evander shrugged. "I suppose."

"That's what we were told," added another. Then, they turned their attention to Arelia.

She folded her arms, and stood there for a long time. Finally, after enough time had passed where she had nearly convinced herself that everything was fine, she spoke. "Who are they? The men you mentioned earlier?"

"Yeah, those guys. We're supposed to shoot them if they try to come back here."

Evander sighed, and pulled himself up. "Just because they tried once before doesn't mean they're going to do so again."

Arelia bit her lip, resisting the urge to argue. He had a point, of course—she could only imagine what it must be like to be trapped here for decades on end with no hope of ever returning home. He deserved some peace, at least until he chose to leave. She supposed it wasn't right to wish her own death on anyone . . .

At that moment, one of the guards turned his attention toward her. "Are you going to just stand there?"

She shook her head slowly, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he continued, "There's been an increase in troublemakers lately, as well, so we're going to be here for a while."

"Then I have a question," Arelia responded, walking up to him. "Can one of you tell me what happened to my friend? To Evander?"

The man frowned, then motioned to a second guard. "Why don't you ask this guy, then."

The second guard glanced between the others for a moment before stepping forward. "We haven't found anyone by that name. Maybe you should give it up, miss."

"I did! I left him in a place called the Spire, near the forest‌—"

Evander's eyes widened. "The forest!"

Arelia nodded. "If you go east from here, you'll find it. They helped me a lot there." She paused, then added, "Now, how can you explain Evander's absence?"

The man shook his head. "All I know is what the others told us. This elf, Ardi, said that he'd seen you come out of the Spire. When he asked where you went, you didn't reply. Then, we went in to find the entrance open, and everything inside covered in blood. We collected our belongings, and searched for clues, but we couldn't figure out who or what you might be. There was no one around, anyway, not even any traces of who you'd been." He glanced back toward Evander. "We figured you must have escaped, although that didn't make sense. You said the Darkspawn killed everyone you knew, remember? How could you have survived without leaving anything behind?"

"That's because I'm human," Evander interrupted.

Arelia pressed her lips tightly together, while the other guards stared at him with wide eyes.