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But Asher was gone now.
    I was so wrapped up in thought, I didn’t
realize the sound was advancing footsteps until I saw Chevelle step
around the corner. And then, when I felt Steed shift, was struck by
the fact that we were locked in embrace.
    Apparently, he’d shifted to see who was
approaching, because his arms dropped from my back and his chest
slid away in a decidedly abrupt movement. I kind of just hung there
for a moment, watching Chevelle’s frozen form at the end of the
corridor.
    Steed cleared his throat. I straightened.
Both of us resisted the urge to explain it was not what it looked
like.
    I wasn’t positive how long the three of us
stood so, but it seemed like an incredibly long moment before I saw
Steed’s mouth quirk out of the corner of my eye.
    “ Well,” he said, “I’ll see
you in a bit, Sunshine.”
    I turned just in time to catch him wink at me
and casually continue down the corridor in the direction we’d been
heading. He began whistling a tune and I could only be thankful it
was the opposite direction from Chevelle.
    We stayed frozen for an eternity, and then I
picked up Steed’s cue and smiled at Chevelle, as if everything were
completely normal. “Hungry?”
    He finally opened his mouth to answer but the
clatter of metal on stone caused us both to pause. When no other
sound followed, I waited for Chevelle to respond, his hearing
superior to mine. I held my breath until he rushed toward me, and
then I spun to catch him on his way past. He was heading for the
noise, and he didn’t look happy.

     
     

Chapter Five
    Pretender
     
    As we ran, it occurred to me Chevelle was
holding back. I was far from able to keep up with him when he was
at full speed. What I didn’t know was whether he was setting the
pace to stay with me, as my guard, or if whatever he’d heard wasn’t
such an immediate threat. We met Rhys and Rider in the corridor and
the four of us turned into the dining area to find Steed, sword to
the neck of a small male elf on the stones before him.
    The scene made me pause, as I’d not seen
Steed use a sword, and then I realized the clanking metal would
have been this elf’s sword hitting the stone floor where he now
lay, arms bent behind him as if he planned to crawl backward, away
from the very intimidating form of an angry dark elf. I was a
little proud of my guard, he looked quite impressive at the
moment.
    Steed had heard us enter, was aware of who we
were and that we were not a threat, so he didn’t take his glare off
his captive. “Bind him.”
    “ Done,” Chevelle
answered.
    Without turning, Steed tossed the sword back
for Chevelle, who caught it by the base of the blade and did a
cursory examination of the handle. Steed grabbed the prisoner by
his arm and hefted him up to walk beside us as we crossed to a more
secure location.
    Two doors down, Rhys and Rider were posted
outside while Steed tossed the elf into a chair and bound him to it
while Chevelle sealed the room. They did quick work and I simply
stood in the center of the room to stare at this strange character.
He wore particularly nondescript clothing, no markers of any kind.
His hair was muted brown. He definitely did not have the look of a
light elf, not that inner glow or glistening eye, but he didn’t
appear to be of the northern clans either. He was young. He looked
scared.
    “ What’s this?” Chevelle
asked, suddenly beside me.
    “ I am not exactly clear on
that,” Steed answered. “But it seems he has some business with our
lord.”
    Chevelle threw the sword at the elf’s feet. I
could feel the anger roll off of him, but his tone was smooth.
“Business?”
    Arms bound, stuck in a chair, the prisoner
lifted his chin defiantly. Both Steed and Chevelle took a step
forward. He swallowed as he gathered his courage. “Bring me to
her,” he demanded. Neither man glanced back at me.
    So, he didn’t know who I was. Then what was
he doing here?
    “ What do you want with her?”
Chevelle’s voice