Karim’s fingertips moved soothingly along my back.“Are you thinking about your mother?”
I kissed him tenderly.I appreciated his genuine attempt to understand how human families worked.In his world, it was unheard of for children to stay very close with their parents as adults.
As usual, he turned the kiss into a deep one, but reigned himself in to let me answer his question.
“It wasn’t my mom that I was thinking about.It’s better to keep the thoughts about her at bay.Otherwise I’ll go crazy with worry by the time that gargoyle scout reports back.”
After all, it had taken the first scout sent by Sue to my mother’s last known address a whole week to return with news.Since the second scout was from another homecloud–an ally to Sue’s kingdom flying over Asia–the diplomacy behind it all and the greater distance would undoubtedly take longer than a week.
“However,” I continued, “I should really find a way to repay Sue for her braid linkage gift.Seeing my mother’s handwriting, be it just on a sticky note letting me know where she was headed, means the world.”
“If she has made it to that human stronghold with your father and his wife, the gargoyles will find her.Even if she is no longer there, they are excellent trackers.You will not remain unknowing, my flower.”
Karim brushed an unruly curl off my cheek.“As for Queen Sue, it is I who should find a way to repay her.She took upon herself a task I should have undertaken the moment you told me about your parents’ unknown fate.”
I placed my hand over his heart, which beat faster than a human’s.“Don’t you dare feel guilty about it, Karim.Elves don’t have wings to travel that far, and you have done so much for me.”
He shook his head and placed his hand over mine.“QueenSue’s gift put tears of happiness in your eyes, Jasmine.My surprise filled them with concern.”
I winced.“You’ve given me back the job that I love, and I’m so grateful.It’s just that the responsibility is big.”
Head Flower Gardener of the Kingdom–who wouldn’t gape at the title and sweat at the task?And I was already in charge of helping newly brought human women settle here.They were now free to choose whether to stay with the elves and work normal hours in exchange for food, shelter, and safety, to be flown to a homecloud, or to try their luck at surviving on their own back where the elves had found them.
The majority actually chose to stay here, now that the working conditions were fair and the humans had their own area of the cave system to call home.The changes Karim and I had pitched to the Queen and she had begrudgingly accepted, were already resulting in higher yields in the gardens, making other kingdoms consider adopting our model.
Karim’s soft smile and tender caress of my cheek brought me back to the present moment.“You have supervised people before, again in a garden setting.You are closely familiar with the flower gardens.You’ve proven you can preserve my people’s floral treasures.Worry not, Jasmine.You will excel as Head Flower Gardener the way you do at everything else.”The last words were coupled with his thumb brushing over my swollen lips.
I blushed at the vivid memory of our lovemaking.I had lost count of how many times we’d made each other come tonight.
Karim’s smile grew, but he did not get sidetracked.“You’re yet to tell me what has you lost in thought.I’m right here, ready for anything you wish of me.Just share it, and I’ll make it happen… Unless I’m the problem?Did I hurt you?”
“No, absolutely not!You have nothing to worry about.In fact,” I bit my lip, “what I’ve been meaning to share with you since this morning is that… you’re going to be a daddy.”
His eyes went wide.“What?When?How?The tea… Didn’t you have your first bleed for the month days ago?”
“Firstly, Mr.Elf,” I said through a giggle, “human women suffer through that only once a month, thank heavens.”His lips formed an ‘o’, but I put a finger on them before he could say anything.“Secondly, unlike me, the edelweiss was not drinking morning-after tea.”
He searched my face for a confirmation that this was, indeed, a joke.Then he laughed.
Karim had the most lyrical yet sexy male laugh that I’d ever heard.In the two weeks that we’d been moss partners, I’d gotten him to smile a lot.But to laugh?I’d achieved the feat only a handful of times.So I knew it took a lot to get him to relax to that extent.He was simply too used to being guarded in front of others, him being the Prince and having to meet impossibly high standards and all.
Well, I’d once promised to get him to smile, lost in a dream of mine at the time.But look at him now, laughing at my stupid joke with me in his arms and under his hair.
I swooped in and kissed him, his laughter pouring into me.
Karim nipped my lower lip.“So, we’re having a second baby?”
I grinned.“Make that secondandthird.It makes no sense, Karim.That first edelweiss shouldn’t have survived the transplantation, let alone be multiplying.What’s with the crystals and soil in your world, seriously now?Does magic exist?”
“Asi.In your hair,” was his evasive answer.“I think that in this case, it’s not the environment to blame.It’s the edelweiss.”
“How so?”
“I told you it was a miracle, a sign from Nature herself.”He tilted my chin up with the brush of a finger.“I simply didn’t understand its purpose at the time.”
“Oh?”
“It was all aimed at leading me to you.”
