“Don’t worry your hair in vain, Jasmine.You’re safe here with us.And if Karim tries to send you back to the gardens, I’ll have a word with him.Tisvali will, too, because my friends are his friends, always.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest at her sweet gesture.It wasn’t that I minded my tasks in the gardens; if the working hours were more humane and we were allowed to move freely, not kept under guard and the threat of death… But that change would never happen, not unless the Queen and high-ranking elves saw they had nothing to fear from us.What if I could stay up here, at this upper cave level, and advocate for our rights?Not that I had a clue how to do that, but I could at least try.
“Thank you, Deidre.As long as it won’t get you in trouble and–”
She scoffed.“Just so you know, in my culture that would get you a hair-tug, like a misbehaving sibling.In your case, a close friend.”Deidre tilted her chin up as she added, “There’s no amount of trouble that I won’t get myself in for a friend.”
“Thank you, truly.It means the world to me to have such a loyal friend.Though,” I added with a delicate smile, “I’d prefer not to have my hair tugged by anyone.”
Deidre gave me a solemn nod.“Understood.”She then got up to put away the nearly empty food bowls.“But enough serious talk.”She smirked as she returned to the bed.“Let’s talk moss partners.”
– 15 –
Temptation
“What about moss partners?”I asked, shifting a bit to reduce the throbbing in my ankle.
Deidre wiggled her eyebrows.“All about them, of course.Other than thatdickwhose car you scratched, how many have you had?”
I laughed.“None.Thedickwas my first and only boyfriend.We hooked up after I graduated from university and were together for a year.So no juicy stuff, sorry.How about you?”
“Ugh.”She lay down on one side, reminding me of a relaxed, well-fed cat.“No juicy stuff in my own garden, either.In fact,” she tapped her chin in thought, “I can’t say I’ve had a moss partner.Two moss interactions with two different males don’t qualify, do they?”
“Um, I guess not?”I shrugged.
“Hey, it’s okay being single.”She caressed the moss between us, a smile tugging at her lips.“My first moss interaction was Karim’s fault.We were on an official visit to another allied kingdom.There was this feast, and he let himself be enticed by Katsia.”Deidre spat the she-elf’s name out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
I shared the sentiment.“What was she doing there?”
“The tramp’s family was originally from that kingdom.Sometime before the war, a nearby dam wall broke due to human negligence, and the kingdom was inundated.Hers and some other aristocratic families who survived the disaster and the perilous journey have been living here ever since.”
Deidre sighed.“Anyway, I saw Karim leave the feast with Katsia.So, when a half-elf relative of Tisvali invited me to his moss, anger–and the fermented berries I’d drunk–made me accept.
“I had warned Karim to stay clear of the skank, who craved nothing but his title.But did he listen?Nope.He couldn’t resist the first pure-blooded elf ever to show interest in a half-elf like himself.And now the tramp believes she has rights over him, although he has been resisting her advances ever since that feast.”
I bit my lip.I had no right to feel relieved that Karim wasn’t with Katsia, but I did.“She must be getting desperate, given how she invited herself to his home yesterday?”
Deidre smirked.“Verydesperate.”She tossed her hair over her shoulder where it pooled like a tiny tropical lake in front of her belly.“As for my first moss interaction, I was so disappointed that even if Sabin had invited me to his moss again, I would have saidnah.”
“He didn’t invite you again?”
My genuine surprise brought a pleased smile to her face.“Aren’t you sweet?”She twirled a lock of blue hair around her finger.“I think he would have dragged me to his moss again, had Tisvali not gotten to him first.I probably shouldn’t have mentioned my disappointment in front of Tisvali.”She snickered.“It’s hard to drag someone to your moss when you can barely walk.”
I cringed.Elves could be as violent to their own kind as they were beautiful.
“For my second moss interaction,” she continued cheerfully, “I was the one to extend an invite.He was an experienced half-elf visiting here for three days, and on the last day of his stay, we tested my moss.”A wistful sigh.“Let’s just say he restored my interest in moss interactions.It was intense and rough, of course, but not as much as Tisvali had warned me about.Part of our kind’s nature, you know?”
I gulped so loud that she probably heard me.Does Karim like it rough?Pain wasn’t something I wanted to experience between the sheets with my man.
Wait, why was I even considering being in bed with Karim?I seriously had to stop thinking about the Prince in that way.
Deidre’s swift switch to sitting cross-legged in front of me got my mind out of the gutter.The dangerous glint she now had in her eyes made me pay attention as well.
“So, Curly-Q, if you want to meet Karim halfway on his moss, that hidden strength of yours will come in handy.”
“Hidden strength?”I sputtered.
“Now, now, don’t pretend to be the delicate little flower whose name you bear.”Deidre shook a finger at me.“I’ve seen you in action.You’re just like a cornel tree: cute on the outside, but holding a tough core that makes for the strongest bows and arrows.”There was pride in her voice when she added, “You don’t break in the face of danger.”
