Page 2 of The Dark Elf's Secret Baby
My aunt and uncle and cousin took us in, and we lived together as a family. The cabin we shared was always warm and full of laughter and conversation, even when Amara pulled my hair or took my favorite doll. I was allowed to work at the tailor’s shop until I was 12, mending clothes until I was big enough and strong enough to work in the mines.
It was only a few days before my thirteenth birthday, when I was supposed to start in the mines, that the collapse happened.
To this day, I don’t know what really happened. It could’ve been something as simple as the wrong stone being taken out, or perhaps the planet shifted deep down and the tunnel in the mountains closed because of it. I don’t know. All I know is that my parents kissed me goodbye that morning before heading into the mines, and then a few hours later, the earth swallowed them up.
The dark elves didn’t even bother trying to unearth the bodies.
I shiver, only partly from the cold, as the eastern edge of the village comes into view. The path winds through the last of the shops and up a small hill, and on the other side, is my home. And the only family I have left.
Despite the fact that it’s late, and knowing that my family is more than likely already worried about me, my footsteps slow to a halt. I do nothing but stare at the crest of the hill, the last stragglers of the villagers pushing past me on their way home.
It’s not that I don’t want to go home, at least not necessarily. My head just feels too full of thoughts to bear Amara’s judgemental gaze or Leandra’s lecturing on finding a husband, however well-intentioned.
Whenever Leandra mentions finding a nice, human man to settle down with, I never seem to be able to find the heart to tell her what I really think. The only thing Amara and I seem to agree on these days is our lack of interest in marrying off any time soon.
I understand why Leandra pushes the subject, of course. She wants her family to stay close, wants to be able to play a hand in mine and her daughter’s life for years to come, and I can’t bring myself to dash her dreams.
While I know I want more for myself than what I have right now, regardless of whether or not Camp Horizon is one of the best places to be as a human, I’m just not interested in any of the human men here.
I’m not ignorant to the sneaky glances some of them give me, both at work and in the village, but I just don’t find any of these men… appealing.
Movement sounds from behind me, far enough away that I almost don’t turn toward it, until the husky voice of a dark elf calls my name.
“Layla!”
Oh, shit.
2
Kerym
Layla whirls toward me, her dark curls bobbing with the sudden jerk of motion. I can’t help the smirk that rises to my lips as I see the panicked look on her face before she realizes it’s me, a laugh nearly breaking free when her features relax slightly and she rolls her eyes.
Layla steps toward me hurriedly, her eyes darting around for witnesses as she hisses “That’s not funny, you scared me!”
The laugh that had been building in my throat shakes free as I look down at her and give her a wink.
“You like it,” I murmur softly, earning another eye-roll, although she’s unable to hide the small smile playing across her full lips. My fingers itch with the desire to brush across them, to feel her soft, tanned skin beneath my hands. I’ve waited long enough for her.
The rest of the village is quiet, but that’s no reason to be sloppy. Before she can react, I grab the crook of her elbow and pull her into the alley behind us, pinning her to the wall with my body weight as I drop a searing kiss to her lips.
Surprise renders her unresponsive for a moment, her human senses struggling to catch up to my elven speed. As soon as her mind catches up with her body, however, her lips part beneath mine, returning my kiss with every bit of hunger and passion.
I can’t get enough of her.
Layla’s tongue darts from between her lips, brushing against the seam of my mouth in equal parts question and demand. I groan, opening my mouth against hers and letting our tongues tangle together.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of her.
Ever since I first spotted Layla last year, I haven’t been able to control myself. Dark elves take human slaves and play things all the time on the larger continents, especially in the bigger cities, but Layla is so much more than that to me.
When I first arrived at Camp Horizon, I was an eager, untried, bright-eyed soldier, intent on making his way through the ranks. Miou soldiers never stay in Camp Horizon too long, finding the camp boring and lacking any real way to move through the ranks.
Soldiers pass through here in rotations, using the camp as a stepping stone to bigger and better positions once they gain enough experience to warrant transfers to more exciting, opportunistic locations.
But the second I found Layla, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. It took nearly no time at all for me to be head over heels for the woman. I don’t care that she’s human, and I don’t care what beliefs or opinions others of my kind hold- she’s everything to me.
My ambitions within the ranks of the miou, my dreams of becoming a Lieutenant and proving my worth to my family, all feel childish as my lips move over Layla’s. Nothing, no victory or rank or recognition, could compare to the way she makes me feel.