Ch.41

They moved in the dark‌—always making sure they were ready for anything. The first thing Evander did was open up one of the branches he was holding onto, using the light to guide his eyes until he finally came face-to-face with the person sitting right in front of him.

"Hello," said the figure.

Evander jumped back in surprise, finding himself staring straight into a pair of pale eyes. Then he jumped again, thinking about what Rozalia had told him. Rozalia knew what this was about, Evander realized. Because she and her kind always ended up inside monsters, talking to the victims.

He hadn't wanted to believe her, of course. But now he could see why she had reacted the way she did. Since Rozalia couldn't stay in contact with those creatures for a very long time, there was no other option‌—especially when there was someone else around.

"Who are you?" asked Evander.

The woman slowly stood up, looking him dead in the eye as if she was trying to figure out how to answer. "My name is Kothlen. But my people call me Duer. I don't know anyone else's names‌—at least not after a while."

Evander slowly turned around, watching the woman closely. Was this an orc? Or maybe another creature he hadn't seen before?

She continued to smile at him. "You have to trust me, Evander. You know that‌—don't you?"

The half-elf took a few steps backward, turning his head just enough so he could look down at the ground. There was nothing to be afraid of, he told himself. He wasn't going anywhere.

He began to hear Rozalia's voice inside his head. I will protect you. No matter what happens.

And although he had a bad feeling about all this, Evander shook his head. Because he was tired. Exhausted from traveling alone for days. And it had taken every ounce of willpower to get to where they were right now. He needed some time to breathe, he thought. And while he hadn't been able to give her any specific promises, Evander could feel his anger rising again.

Then the dark elf opened his mouth. "Why do you have a thing like you‌—if you're going to try to trick me into trusting you?"

There was a moment of silence before Duer finally spoke up. "I understand, Evander. But we're not here to trap or kill you. That's why Rozalia came‌—and that's why I'm here."

Evander nodded, keeping a close watch on the woman as he tried to keep her in his view. "This is the part where I say thank you and ask what you want. So you can either tell me right now or forget about your plan."

"That's just how I am," said Duer, watching as she walked closer to him. The half-elf didn't budge an inch‌—not until he saw the woman slowly raise both of her hands. Then he quickly began to back away, but it was already too late.

A small tree suddenly grew out of nowhere, growing right between the half-elf's legs. A moment later, something much larger‌—something that would eventually weigh over a thousand pounds‌—was standing right behind him.

He tried to jump back, but the forest didn't let him. It quickly closed off any escape he had from behind, and no matter what he did, the creature was holding him tightly in its grasp. His heart began to beat rapidly within his chest, and although he couldn't hear anything at first‌—he was still trying to fight‌—he felt himself slip from the creature's grasp.

But Duer held onto him tightly. And when she looked down at him, Evander couldn't help but notice how pale she seemed.

She stepped toward him, and something inside his stomach turned sour as he thought about everything he'd gone through so far. If he didn't know better, Evander might have believed it was an orc who had trapped him in this netherworld. Or perhaps that's exactly what they wanted him to think.

"What do you want?" he asked the woman again.

At first, she didn't answer‌—she just stared at him for a few moments. Then she replied. "I told you before: We don't want to trap or kill you. Do you understand? And if you're telling the truth about not wanting to hurt anyone, then we can go somewhere else‌—somewhere far away from this forest."

The half-elf tried to shake his head‌—but only because he didn't understand what she was trying to do. Why wouldn't she just let him go? Or wasn't there anything they could talk about now? Wasn't it time to figure out what the elves were really doing here and why?

In all honesty, he didn't know whether he believed her or not.

But if nothing else, Evander knew this creature had to be working with those creatures Rozalia had killed. Even though she hadn't seen anything, he still realized she was responsible for all of this. Maybe she was going through the same thing he was‌—trapped inside a monster and fighting against an entire army.

Evander slowly stood up, keeping his eyes on Duer as he did. He was taller than the half-elf, which was something he would have never expected when the woman had first jumped out in front of him. But since he could see right through Duer, the dark elf quickly came to the conclusion that he looked completely human. At least in his appearance.

"What exactly are you looking for?" asked Evander, trying to find the right words to break the silence. The half-elf decided to continue searching for them until he got his answers. "And why were you following me? What do you want with me?"

"All of us have something similar inside us," answered Duer. Then she finally glanced down at the creature. "Do you understand how we feel?"

Evander followed her gaze, seeing a new set of trees growing from the ground around her. And although he had no idea where all this was taking him, he quickly understood the game‌—or perhaps, the ritual that Duer was talking about.