Page 22 of Dark Elf's Good Girl

It is best that Lorien does it.

Then there won’t be any sign of impropriety.

“And I’ll talk to her too,” Lorien promises me. She must think I am still worried, from my silence. “I’ll make sure she is okay, and that she understands how things work. By tomorrow, she’ll be ready to be part of this household.”

I nod gratefully.

I am disappointed that I won’t be able to see Isla, but Lorien will do all of this much better than I will.

I help Lorien make a pot of tea for Isla. I also add some of the snacks that Lorien was bringing up to me, to Isla’s tray.

As I help her at the kitchen sink, I am dragged back to my childhood.

I spent so much time in these kitchens that I cannot believe how little I come down here now.

It is different when you’re a child.

When you’re a child, your status in this world, on Protheka, doesn’t matter.

All that matters is that you aren’t a burden to your parents.

But then you grow up, and then suddenly status matters, and being seen in a kitchen, helping with the dishes is not the done thing.

I am tired, I realize, as I think slowly about the past and how it has impacted the present.

Would I be as attracted to Isla if my mother had raised me, the way she raised Calix?

Because I do not think Calix is truly attracted to Isla – she is just a pretty thing that he wants to own for a while.

It’s not like he wants to get to know her, or anything.

I help Lorien put the teapot on the tray, and then I carry the tray for her out of the kitchen.

She follows me more slowly. Something in my chest twinges with worry.

She’s getting old. She might still be strong, but she’s getting old.

I stop with the tray outside Isla’s room, and hand it to Lorien, who first pats my cheek softly before taking the tray.

I hurry away before I can do something stupid, like push into Isla’s room and say something that I cannot take back.

Lorien will be perfect at this.

You know she will be.

So why can’t I shake off my worry?

I wanted to be the one to check on Isla.

And I still do not know why I want to do it so badly.

8

ISLA

I jerk forward, pressing my lips together to conceal a yelp as a hand slides down my lower back. I spin around, already knowing that I will be met with a pair of yellow eyes that stirs disgust in my stomach.

“Oops.” Calix’s smile is nothing short of a silent threat. “Did I scare you?”

---