Page 69 of The Dark Elf's Surprise Baby

“Come upstairs.”

She nods. “Coming, sir.”

His dark indigo eyes sweep over her and then to me, and he seems to pause as he takes me in. It’s not in the lewd, greedy stare that most dark elves possess, but it’s assessing all the same. Then he breaks his gaze away and slips back upstairs.

Charmaine turns to me, and though she tries to hide it, I can see how nervous she is. It’s written across her features. “It was good to see you, Harper.”

She doesn’t hug me as she turns away, and though I know better than to make her master wait, I take a step forward. “Char-”

She turns toward me, and I’m not sure what to say. I just know that I want to save her the way she did for me. Butsometimes, we can’t help our situations. So, I settle for, “I’d love to see you again sometime.”

We both know the words are empty. Humans don’t have freetime, and she never told me where she is now. But she smiles and says, “Of course.”

Then she makes her way up the steps, and I watch her the whole way. It’s not until she disappears that I realize something.

A dark elf. One of a higher caste. Though a k’sheng, which is what he must be, is not particularly high, he’s not a zagfer. Could he be…

That must be the dark elf that Charmaine is pregnant by, the reason she no longer works in the shops. And if he is keeping her hidden away while she is pregnant, I fear for what will happen to her once she gives birth.

I make a note to have Demethys look into this elf when I get back. A miou soldier is above the k’sheng. He may be able to do something for Harper.

Though the dark elf may just deny that he knows her at all, which is more likely. And it will be hard to prove him wrong.

I listen for any signs of struggle or attack as I collect the rolls of parchment. But the office upstairs has either been silenced with a spell or there is only a conversation going on. The uncertainty makes it hard to quell my nerves, and I linger a moment longer than I need to.

But I know that although I am mating a dark elf, I cannot step outside of my own caste. Demethys can protect me, but he can’t save every human. Not if I launch myself into the dealings of another elf.

No, I will have to wait until I get back home to handle this.

And I can only hope that I will be able to help Charmaine.

Oh, Char. What have you gotten yourself into?

The End.

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By Celeste King

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32

AMELIE

Amelie

It feels like my birthday.

It’s not that I’m excellent at keeping track of the days, from the window of this little room. Hardly a room at all, I have to admit. No, it’s a feeling I have in the pit of my stomach, that’s growing more sour with every passing day. The tension of my keepers, getting impatient as I come of age. I must be twenty, by now, though the seasons have drifted by like the clouds above. Meaningless.

I lean against the narrow frame of the window, watching the street below. It’s my only entertainment here. The lone book they gave me weathered and worn from too many read throughs. I already know it by heart. They don’t think humans need much to survive. This place is little more than a cell: a toilet, a bed, a sink… Enough to keep me alive, and little else.

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