Castien, an elf mage who cannot speak except with the aid of a magical dagger, has been captured while on a mission. He is freed by his companion, the warrior elf Daeron, and returns with him to Daeron’s homeland. There they will join forces to rid the land of a Lord bent on the destruction of the elves.<br><br>Theirn, a young half-elf thief, attempts to rob Castien during his stay at an inn and is caught by the mage. Much against Theirn’s will, he is enlisted into the group of rebel elves. But as Theirn's infatuation with Castien grows, he becomes more than eager to risk treachery, betrayal, and even death on dangerous missions just to be close to the man he is growing to love.

Mage of Silence

After what seemed like ages, although Castien knew from the slight light of the rising sun through the windows it had been only an hour at most, they had slain every one of their foes. The cost to their own troops left them with about half of what they had been when everyone had entered the room. Malcolm had finally defeated the mage he’d been fighting at no small cost to himself. He would need a healer but claimed he would survive until they were able to leave and get back to camp. Daeron insisted two of the least injured of his men take his father there immediately. Malcolm demurred until he started to collapse and Daeron had to catch him, then, under the care of the two fighters, he left.


Daeron looked around assessing the damage to his men and sent the worst of the wounded off with his father, after which he came over to Castien.


“There is still something more we have to do, you know.”


Chapter 26