Page 16 of The Dark Elf's Surprise Baby

My heart aches and I shed a few more tears as I finally manage to drop off a few hours later into a fitful, dream-plagued sleep.

As the dawn breaks, my eyes fly open as the light hits through the curtains. I barely slept at all.

I rush to the window, glancing out to see if Master Demethys’ carriage has returned. I don’t see it outside. Where is he? Did he return? Why did he not come for me if he did? I decide to check in his office, just in case.

Creeping down the stairs, I pass a few of the servants who are up early. None of them have seen the Master either, they tell me when I question them.

But when I arrive at his office, the light is still on. I breathe a sigh of relief and sit outside of his office, waiting for him to emerge. Maybe he got back late and is still working. If he’s working I don’t want to bother him. I’ll just sit here and I’m sure he will be out soon.

A few minutes turns into thirty and I don’t realize it but I start drifting off, curled up in the leather armchair.

“Harper?” It feels like I’ve just drifted off when a warm hand settles into my hair, petting it. “Harper?”

I look up, blinking through the fog and realize it’s Master Demethys. I sit up quickly and he reaches out, catching me before I can tumble off the chair. “Have you been here all night?” he asks, brows furrowed.

“No,” I say, yawning and shaking my head. “Just a few minutes. I think.” The clock chimes, revealing that it’s been just under an hour since I fell asleep in the chair. “Or longer.”

“Oh Harper,” Demethys shakes his head and sighs, scooping me up into his arms. “Come, we’re going to bed.”

He carries me off to his room and lays me down, settling in the bed next to me and wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close. I inhale his spicy, musky scent and feel myself relaxing for the first time since he left yesterday.

“Sleep,” he says, leaning down to kiss my forehead. “We both need the rest.” It feels much easier to fall asleep this time, laying with my head on his chest and breathing in his scent.

We wake a few hours later, the both of us still a bit groggy but much more refreshed than before. As I sit up, Demethys takes my hand in his. “I have to tell you something,” he says, rubbing a thumb over the back of my hand. “I’ve been called away again.”

“No,” I say, pouting. “How long this time?”

“Longer than before,” he admits, a frown on his face. “Much longer. They want me to go to battle against the orc threat in the south. I’ll be leaving in two weeks time.”

I immediately launch myself at him, holding him tightly. I can’t let him go. I don’t want him to go. “No,” I repeat, tears in my eyes. I cling onto him tightly and look up, staring into his inky blue eyes. “Don’t want you to go.”

“I know,” he says. He doesn’t look happy about it either. “I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to.”

“It’s so unfair,” I say quietly. “Why can’t they just stop having wars?”

Demethys chuckles and peppers kisses on my face. “If only they would listen to you,” he says, gently teasing.

“I’ll wait for you,” I tell him. “Like I always do. I’ll wait and be right here when you get back.”

“I love you,” Demethys says softly. I know he loves me, he shows me all the time but hearing it makes my heart feel full to bursting.

“I love you too,” I tell him, squeezing my arms around him. “Can we spend the time until you leave together?”

“Yes, of course,” he says. “I’ll relieve you of your chores for that time. You can spend every moment that I’m here with me, until then.”

We spend the rest of the day in bed, dozing on and off and taking our meals together from his sitting room. I think we botharen’t ready to leave our safe little cocoon yet. Not after the news.

Two weeks seems like a long time but it goes by much too quickly. We spend every single day together, going to the shops, traveling to the docks to watch the boats come in, playing parlor games together, and taking walks in the park.

Demethys buys me new dresses as well, making me promise not to wear them until he returns. He wants something to look forward to for when he’s gone, he tells me. I put them away carefully in my room, which is all but abandoned at this point. I spend every night sleeping in Master Demethys’ bedroom now, the two of us almost afraid to be apart.

There are only a few days left and I feel like the deadline is rushing at us. “Can we go to the bookshop today?” I ask him. I’ve almost finished my translation of the Cirsheco the Wild and I’d like to find more fairy tales to read.

“Of course we can, sweet surri,” he says, kissing me softly. “Whatever you’d like.”

After breakfast, Demethys orders his carriage and I come down the stairs, dressed in the same purple dress as the day of the picnic. I’ve got a waistcoat on over it, as appropriate for daywear, and gloves and a hat.

“You look stunning,” Demethys says, eyeing me up and down with a hungry look in his eyes. “I can’t wait to show you off.”

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