Page 16 of Kissing Potions and Elves
My thoughts are highly inappropriate. I barely know Isobel; I shouldn’t be thinking of her this way. I clench my jaw, frustration simmering as I silently curse the potion once more.
“Alright,” she announces. “I’m done.”
When I turn around, I watch as she retrieves a small box from beneath a loose floorboard by her bed. Inside is a delicate locket with a broken chain. “I need to stop by the jeweler’s on the way.” She lifts her gaze to me. “It’s Tressa’s brother—Cyran. She said he might be able to repair my necklace.”
I nod, and she pockets it and finishes packing a few threadbare dresses and stockings into her small satchel.
She moves to the one tiny window in her apartment and opens it, calling out into the alley below. “Errol!”
“Who’s Errol?” I ask a bit more sharply than I’d intended as a strange and unexpected jealousy arises within, wondering if she’s calling out to a potential suitor to inform him that she’ll be gone.
“My cat,” she replies matter-of-factly, and my shoulders relax a bit.
I’m aware that humans tend to keep pets. They seem to have a particular fondness for cats, but usually their felines have names like Fluffy, Snowball, Shadow, and the like. “Interesting choice of a name,” I muse.
She smiles. “My father named him. He wanted him to have a proper, dignified name, like a fine Lord.”
My lips twitch. Errolismy father’s name. And yes, he’s indeed a fine Lord. I wonder briefly how he’d feel knowing he shares his dignified name with an alley cat.
Before I can comment further, a sudden rustling from the open window draws our attention. An orange blur leaps gracefully onto the sill, landing silently on padded paws. The cat’s fur sticks out in all directions, utterly scruffy, yet he surveys the room with regal confidence.
Isobel squeals with delight, rushing forward to scoop the feline into her arms. She hugs him close, beaming as if she’s found a long-lost treasure rather than a bedraggled cat.
“This is Errol.” She holds him out proudly toward me. “Errol, this is the nice gentleman we’ll be staying with.”
I blink at her, momentarily speechless.We’ll be staying with?
Errol twists lazily in her grip to fix me with a skeptical glare. A distinctly protective voice slips telepathically into my head.“Listen, Elf. You’d best not try anything with my Isobel. She’s got a pure heart, and you’d better not break it.”
“Excuse me?”I reply back in his mind.
“You heard me.”Errol narrows his eyes.“She’s trusting. If you hurt her, you’ll answer to me.”
“What?” I reply aloud, utterly bewildered that her cat is actually threatening me.
“I said, ‘this is Errol,’” Isobel replies cheerfully, completely oblivious to the silent exchange. “Say hello, Errol.”
“I already did,”the cat drawls dryly into my mind.“Consider it a friendly warning.”
I shoot him a pointed look, speaking silently back.“It’s not like that. This is merely a temporary arrangement.”
“Uh-huh,”Errol replies, clearly skeptical.“And I’m secretly a unicorn.”
Irritated by this rather rude feline, I turn to Isobel. “He’s a cat. Surely he can fend for himself for a little while.”
Isobel gasps, clearly aghast at my suggestion. “He’s not just a cat. My father found him when he was a kitten. He’s family.”
The cat lifts his head, giving me another pointed look, protectiveness gleaming in his eyes.“See? I’m family. We’re a package deal. Where she goes, so do I.”
I purse my lips. “Can’t your father look after him, then?”
“No.” Her expression dims. “My father passed away a few years ago.”
My chest tightens. It seems both of her parents are gone, and I wonder if she has any family left.
“She doesn’t,”the cat replies, having picked up my thoughts.“It’s just us now.”
Well, now I definitely can’t turn Errol away. “Fine,” I relent, though I need to set down a few ground rules. “But a cat in my home—”
