novelxo The Dark Elf’s Surprise Baby: Chapter 26
I’m sad when Demethys has to leave but he looks so excited for his new watch. I wonder what’s got him so excited, it’s just a watch.
We play in the parlor for a little while before it’s time to get Addie ready for bed. She’s fussy for some reason but I give her a bath with some calming rirzed herb to soothe her. By the time Addie is done with her bath and is dressed for bed, Demethys still isn’t back yet.
Well, maybe he was delayed for a bit. I try not to worry too much but this is the first time we’ve really been separated for any length of time in weeks. Still, my heart is beating a little quickly so I go downstairs to have a glass of zhisk, just to calm my nerves.
It’s starting to get very late and there’s still no sign of Demethys. Maybe I ought to go lay down with Addie. I don’t want to be in that big bed by myself. I can’t sleep alone anymore. I’m already too used to sleeping with Demethys.
I finish my glass of zhisk and take it into the kitchen before grabbing myself a little fruit for a snack and some water. I think I’ll read one of my new books for a while, just in case Demethys gets back soon. Even if I’m asleep when he comes back, he’ll look for me.
Resolved, I start heading upstairs to Addie’s room when I almost bump into someone. “Oh gods!” I hold my hand to my heart. I wasn’t paying attention well enough. “I’m so sorry, Bryrion, I didn’t see you there.”
She’s there with Mimlai and Darhine. They are some of the only ones who stayed loyal to Demethys. Bryrion apologized for her part in my situation profusely, telling me she was misinformed and would have never tried to send me away. I was glad to reunite with my best friend.
“I’m just going to Addie’s room,” I tell them. They keep blocking my way though and Bryrion crosses her arms.
What are they doing? “Guys, c’mon, what’s going on?” I ask. The look on their faces has me nervous. Why are they acting like this? Addie is in her room, right? At least she’s safe in there, no matter what. I don’t like the look on their faces.
“Bryrion, what is going on?”
“You bitch,” Bryrion growls. “Why would you bother showing back up? I told you to go far away!”
“What?” I don’t understand. “Bryrion what is going on? I thought we were friends?”
“You don’t deserve to be Master Demethys’ mate,” Mimlai sneers.
“Or his lover,” Darhine adds.
“You think you’re so much better than us, don’t you?” Bryrion says. “Always prancing around in your finery with that smug look. Acting like you’re so high above us because you’re human. Well guess what? Demethys doesn’t want you!”
She lunges at me and grabs at my hair, pulling hard while I struggle to remain upright. I try to get her hands off but I can’t. My mind is a whirlwind. All this time? I thought Bryrion was my best friend! I shared everything with her!
And how dare she tell me I’m not deserving of being his mate? I can’t get free so I bring my hands up to her face, clawing at it in the hopes she’ll release me.
The other two throw themselves into the fray when Bryrion starts screaming. “Hold her down!” she orders them. Mimlai grabs me by the arms and pins them behind me while Darhine slaps me hard across the face, a red mark blooming instantly.
“Stop!” I plead. “I never thought of myself as above you. I don’t understand! Were you just pretending to like me?”
“Oh please,” Darhine scoffs. “As if we would ever accept a human servant as our equal, let alone as our better.”
“You bring disgrace to Master Demethys’ family name,” Mimlai hisses.
“And your child is a stain on the name of elf,” Bryrion adds. “She’s a bastard. No one will ever accept a half-human child!”
“But Addie is a good girl,” I tell them, tears in my eyes. “She’s amazing. She’s got magical powers!”
The girls are laughing at me now, pointing and taunting my words. It feels like a nightmare. “You really think that Master Demethys wants you here?” Bryrion scoffs. “He was doing pretty damned well without you around.”
“But he said he was a mess without me,” I tell them, protesting.
“Yeah, he fed you a pack of lies and you fell for it hook, line and sinker,” Mimlai says with a giggle. “Why would you come back?”
“Yeah, we sent you away once,” Darhine says with a cruel smile.
“You shouldn’t have come back,” Bryrion says, pulling on my hair hard enough to get me to the ground. They hold me down and spit on me, slapping me around some more.
“I’m sick of having to pretend to be nice to you. I thought I could stick it out long enough for Master Demethys to get bored but you just. Wouldn’t. Leave! Then you told me you were carrying that disgusting whelp and I thought all hope was lost. When the Master was injured, I saw my chance to get rid of you. You had to go.”
“So you’re the one who orchestrated this whole thing?” I ask, feeling even more hurt and betrayed now that I know the truth.
“Of course I was, stupid girl. I lied! And you should have stayed away. You have no idea how pathetic you are,” she says with a smirk. “Master Demethys has had scores of women in his bed since then. All of them willing and eager to replace you. He’s had all three of us as well. In fact, he’s told us that he doesn’t want you at all.”
“He only wants the kid,” Darhine says, kneeing me in the stomach so I double over. “He’ll do anything to get his hands on her. To keep her from being even more polluted by your human blood. So he’s feeding you pretty lies to keep you from guessing his true intentions.”
That’s not true! It’s not! That isn’t like Demethys at all. “I don’t believe you,” I tell them.
“Why do you think he took you on some “grand adventure” today?” Mimlai asks.
“He was trying to soften you up, give you one last good memory before he throws you away,” Bryrion says with a smug look. “I know that for a fact. He sent me with a note to your friend’s house to tell them what he was planning. Don’t believe me? You can ask her yourself.”
Her words are like a knife to my heart. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I feel as though my heart is breaking in two. How could I have trusted him like this? I stop struggling and they stop attacking me, leaving me alone on the floor.
They saunter off and I feel the hot tears roll down my cheeks and drip onto the wood floor below. I curl up, unable to move for a long time. Demethys was just using me to get to Addie? It can’t be true. It makes no sense.
But why would a handsome, perfect man like him want a lowly human servant girl like myself? It must be true, he only got angry at me when he thought our daughter wasn’t his. That’s why he was upset, because he wanted her.
As the pieces click in my head, I realize I’ve been played the fool again. I feel so stupid, so used and foolish. How could I let myself be taken in by him?
I can’t stay here. It isn’t safe. Not for me and certainly not for Adelaide. I have to protect her from them. From him.
Slowly dragging myself up to my feet, I limp to my daughter’s room. She’s asleep, hair splayed out across the pillow, long lashes resting against her cheeks. I hate that I have to disrupt her entire world once again but I can’t let her be hurt by those vicious zagfer or by her own father.
“Addie,” I shake her gently. “Addie, wake up.”
“Mama?” Addie asks, blinking up at me with sleep in her eyes. She rubs her face and I try not to cry. She’s so young. Gods!
“We have to go,” I tell her. “We’re leaving and going to see Auntie Layla and Uncle Kerym.”
“We are?” she asks. “What about Dad?”
“We’ll see him later,” I lie, not ready to tell her that her father is a cruel, soulless monster yet.
“Okay,” she says, getting up slowly. I hurry around, picking out clothes for her and packing them in our small traveling satchels. When that’s done, I sneak her to my bedroom and pack my own satchel as well.
I don’t know where we’ll go. Maybe back to the island. Maybe we’ll go to Milthar. I’ve heard that if you work for five years for the minotaur there, they will grant you freedom and citizenship. I’d like Addie to be able to grow up as a free citizen.
Once I’m done packing my things, I hoist Addie onto my back and carry our bags, careful to avoid running into any of the servants. I can’t trust any of them now. Who knows whose side they’re on.
I thought Bryrion and the other girls were my friends. I thought they cared. The only person I can trust anymore is myself. I won’t let Addie get hurt.
It takes a while to walk to Layla’s home but I arrive and bang on the door. The butler answers, looking shocked at my state. “Will you please fetch Madame Layla?” I ask, eyes filling with tears.
Layla appears quickly and her eyes grow large when she sees us.
“What happened, Harper?”