Elina

Anja knocked again. "Salem, are you there?"

I got up and to open the door. I put my hand on the handle. I was about to open it. But I stopped.

Why did I stop? Something in my gut didn't feel right. An ancient corner of my brain whispered. My heart beat faster.

I glanced behind me. Elina's gaze was trained intently on me. I searched for signs in her expression, anything that could give me a clue as to why I felt uneasy. But she didn't give anything away.

I opened the door. Just a crack.

"Yes?"

Anja stood there, a torch in her hand.

She looked at me, then at the ground. She glanced left and right, her face flushed.

"Uhm...I was just wondering...uhm..."

"Yes?"

"Uhm...would you like to take a walk with me?"

She wasn't wearing the dress she wore earlier. She had changed into a nightgown. Her hair was loose, illuminated by the torch she was holding.

She smiled slightly.

"Oh, uhm..."

She said, "Tomorrow you are going to leave and I..."

Her words trailed off.

"You what?"

"I...I wanted to spend more time with you."

In the glow of the fire, her gown was a little transparent. I could see her waist, her legs.

I felt Elina's eyes on by back. Intense, stoic, all-seeing.

"I'm sorry, but I think I'll stay in tonight," I said. "My wife needs me."

A look of surprise on her face. Then a flash of emotion I couldn't quite catch. Because she erased it immediately. She nodded, turned and left. I closed the door.

Elina laughed and fell to her side.

"What?" I said.

She laughed until she had to wipe tears from her face.

"Your wife needs you?"

I shrugged.

"Your WIFE needs you?"

I said nothing.

She calmed down. "I thought that you were completely smitten with that girl. But it seems like you are smarter than you look."

"I just felt there was some danger. I'm not sure what it is. It's better to stay in until I figure out what it is."

Elina blinked.

She said, "You still haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?"

Her shoulders sank. She lay down on the furs. "I guess your instincts are greater than your intelligence."

"What do you mean?"

She pointed at me. "Only human after all."

I sat down next to her. Not point in giving into her provocations. Better use her good mood to find out something else.

I said, "You were raised by your father, right?"

Elina froze. She looked at me.

"How do you know that?"

"You said your father was against killing you. And your mother left you to die as an infant. Even if your magic is powerful, I doubt you can fight a bear at that age. An infant with magic is still an infant. So your father must have picked you up after your mother left you."

Elina sat up. She looked impressed.

"Anyone could've picked me up. Anyone could've raised me."

"I think your father raised you."

"Why?"

"Because if I was a father, that's what I would do. I wouldn't abandon my child so easily."

"You sound like you had a child before."

"Not exactly. But I basically raised my sister. I imagine it's a similar feeling." A pause. Then I said, "It's impossible to let go. Your heart won't let you."

Elina smiled. No smugness, no mockery. Just a sincere smile.

She rested a finger on my chest.

She said, "Can you afford to have thoughts like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Now you picture me as a poor little girl who was left to die by her own mother, abandoned by her own kind, and raised by only a father. Can you still deliver me to the Church of Deliverance without any lasting pangs of guilt?"

I said nothing. Because Elina's plan finally dawned on me.

Elina said, "You look like you've realized something. But whatever it is, it's not the whole picture. Because you are still blinded by your instincts."

I wanted to reply, but there was something in the air. I sniffed. It was a distinct smell.

Smoke.

It creeped through the wooden walls. Sweat dripped from my nose. I was so focused on Elina that I hadn't noticed how the temperature had slowly risen.

A part of the roof collapsed. A flaming heap of wood and rock landed on the furs. Right next to Elina. I grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Held her close.