World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 67: Dark Elves

Mela ran through the village. Her feet were quiet on the dark earth between the houses that were built into the trunks of massive trees. She ran up a ramp that spiraled around a trunk and pushed open a simple wooden door.

"Mother!" she said, breathing hard.

An older dark elf looked up from the table where she was grinding herbs with a stone pestle. Her skin was the color of rich soil, and her white hair was braided with dark green leaves.

"What is it, Mela?" she asked, her voice calm. "Calm yourself."

"Intruders," she said. "They have entered the forest."

The woman, Elder Fena, set her pestle down. Her calm expression tightened. "Has one of the children been taken?"

"No," Mela said, shaking her head. "It’s a human, a young man. And he is with an elf."

Fena’s posture relaxed for a moment. "An elf? Is one of our patrols lost?"

"No, Mother," she said. "She is not one of us. Her skin is pale, and her hair is the color of sunlight."

The small bit of calm on Fena’s face vanished. Her expression became as hard as stone. "A Sun Elf," she said, the words sounding like a curse.

"She is injured," Mela added. "The human is carrying her on his back."

Fena stood up and walked to the open doorway, looking out into the dense canopy of their hidden village. "The Sun Elves have not set foot in these woods for a hundred years. Not since they stood by and watched our lands burn." Her voice was cold. "They are cowards and traitors to the forest."

"What should we do?" Mela asked.

"We must know why she is here," Fena said, turning back to her daughter. "And why she travels with a human. That is not their way." She looked at Mela, her eyes sharp. "Did the human seem like a captor?"

Mela shook her head. "No. He was tired, but he was carrying her with care. And she did not seem afraid of him."

Fena was silent for a long moment. She looked from her daughter to the open doorway. "A human and a Sun Elf," she said, her voice low. "This is an ill omen." She turned her head and called out, her voice sharp. "Liesa! Valeria!"

Two more dark elves entered the house. One had a wide, eager smile and carried two short swords on her back. The other was silent, her face a blank mask, a longbow held in one hand.

"Mela will lead you," Fena said, her eyes hard. "You will find the intruders. You will bring them here." She paused, her gaze locking onto her smiling daughter. "Unharmed, if possible. I want to know why they are in my forest."

"Yes, Mother," Liesa said, her smile not fading. "A Sun Elf huh. This will be interesting."

Valeria just gave a short nod.

"Go," Fena said to Mela. "Do not fail me."

Mela nodded and turned, leading her sisters out of the house. They moved through the village without a sound. When they reached the edge of the trees, they did not stay on the ground. They leaped into the high branches, their movements fast and sure. They were dark shapes moving through the canopy.

"Mela, are you sure the human was carrying her?" Liesa asked as she landed on a branch next to her.

"Yes," Mela replied, not slowing down. "He was very careful."

"Maybe he’s her slave," Liesa suggested. "I’ve heard the Sun Elves do that."

Valeria landed on a thick branch without a sound. She was always quiet.

"I do not think he is her slave," Mela said as she landed next to her sister. "He was not acting like one."

"Maybe he’s just a bad slave," Liesa said with a grin. She jumped to the next branch, her two short swords moving on her back. "Or maybe she likes him. The Sun Elves are weird like that."

"Either way, Mother wants to know why they are here," Mela said. "We need to focus."

"I am focused," Liesa said. "I am focused on how weird everything has been since the great quake days ago. Did you see the edge of the forest? All the ground is broken and strange. It wasn’t like that before."

Mela nodded. "I saw it. The earth does not look right out there. That is why Mother said no one is to leave the woods."

"But I want to see it," Liesa complained. "Maybe that human is from out there. What did he look like, Mela? You got a better look than we did."

Mela thought for a moment, remembering the boy she had seen. "He has black hair. And he was very... strong looking." She paused, her cheeks getting a little red. "He was also kind of hot."

Liesa stopped dead on a branch and burst out laughing. "Hot? Mela, you can’t be serious. He’s a human!"

Even the silent Valeria turned her head to look at Mela.

"I’m serious," she insisted, her face getting redder. "He was."

"You’re too young to be thinking about boys," Liesa teased, jumping over to her. "Especially human boys. They’re dirty and they smell bad."

"He didn’t look dirty," Mela mumbled, looking away.

Valeria spoke, her voice flat and low. "He is the enemy. It is illogical to find the enemy attractive."

"See? Valeria agrees with me," Liesa said with a grin. She patted Mela on the shoulder. "Don’t worry, little sister. We’ll capture your hot human for you, and then you can see him up close."

Mela just shook her head and pushed her sister’s hand away. "Just shut up. We have a job to do." She jumped to a higher branch and squinted, her eyes scanning the forest ahead. She was the best scout among them. "There," she said, her voice dropping. "I see smoke."

Liesa’s grin vanished, replaced by a look of focus. "Where?"

Mela pointed. "About half a mile that way. They must have made a camp." She looked at her two sisters. "We move in, quiet. We find out what they are doing. No one attacks until I give the signal. Understand?"

Liesa drew her two short swords. "I understand."

Valeria just nodded, her hand already moving to the longbow on her back.

They moved fast now, dark shapes flowing through the high branches of the forest. They didn’t make a sound. Soon, they could see the small cave and the fire burning in front of it. They stopped on the branches of a huge tree that overlooked the camp.

Down below, the human boy was putting more wood on the fire. The Sun Elf was sitting with her back against the cave wall, her leg wrapped in a bandage.

"So she is hurt," Liesa whispered, her eyes fixed on the elf. "This will be easy."

"Wait," Mela said, holding up a hand. "Let’s see what they do."

They watched as the boy finished with the fire and then walked over to the girl. He knelt and checked her bandage, his movements careful.

"He’s helping her," Mela whispered, a confused look on her face. "He’s not a slave. He’s her protector."

"So we just have to get him out of the way first," Liesa said.

Valeria didn’t say anything. She had already pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back. She nocked it to her bowstring, her movements slow and deliberate. She raised the bow, taking aim. The sharp tip of the arrow was pointed right at the back of the human’s head.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fre(𝒆)novelkiss.com Only