Page 18 of Triplets for the Dark Elf

They both giggle and tell me stories about what they have been up to before Charmaine calls them inside for lunch. I watch them go, and when the door shuts behind them, I look up at Imris.

He’s now watching me with that same look my father has been giving me. “What is going on with you, Miothro?”

“What do you mean?” I grunt, rocking back and sitting down.

“You haven’t been like yourself… The drinking? The distance? It’s not like you. You were always…”

“Responsible?” I snort.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

But we both know that it is. I am not blind to how different my behavior has been. But I am not willing to tell anyone else what I have been doing.

I’m still protecting Annalise, the best I can. If anyone knows that I am looking for her, I fear that it will put her in more danger. She can’t seem special, especially to me, even if it is just my brother.

I know what most elves do to humans that fall in love with elves. And if anyone knew how I felt about her…

Pushing up to my feet, I clap Imris on the shoulder. “I’ll get out of your hair,” I tell him as I stagger away.

“Miothro!”

I don’t stop as he calls afters me. I need to get out of here. It’s so hard to face their family when it’s everything I wanted. I can’t even say Annalise’s name out loud for fear that someone will hurt her like Inilie…

Just the thought of Annalise meeting the same fate of my first love has me instructing my driver to the bar district. That’s the only place I want to be.

I stumble into my favorite. They don’t masquerade as a club with music and girls in my face. Here, I can sit at the bar and down glass after glass of amber liquid until I can’t remember my name.

And that’s just what I do. I keep going until the bartender even says something – a rarity among dark elves. He won’t stop me, but I can barely lift my head as I order more drinks.

When I finally fall off the barstool, he suggests I have enough. “I think it’s time for you to go home, Miothro.”

I scoff. How dare he act that way toward me? “Like I want to be in your stupid bar anyway.”

I’m not sure how I even manage to get my feet under me, but the next thing I know, cold air hits my face. I must be outside, but I’m not ready to go home.

Maybe I should go to another bar… But that’s not the feeling I’m chasing. I’m just numb enough that the memories of Annalise come rushing forward and I don’t have the energy to push them away.

I can’t give up on her, but the questions start to filter into my head. Ones that I can’t bear the answers to. Like what will I do if I never find her? It’s already been three years. How could she just be hiding all this time?

I stumble, my vision bleary, and I realize I am not on the path to my home or shop. Instead, I’ve reached the edges of lowtowns.

It’s not like a dark elf can’t be here, but it’s uncustomary. Still, this might be the closest I get to Annalise, and so I let my feet guide me, wandering the streets. Everywhere I turn, I can picture her there, laughing or walking home or helping a neighbor.

Gods, she was so perfect. I was really foolish to endanger her by indulging in my emotions, and now she is gone.

The thought nearly brings me to my knees.

And I might have hit them, too, if something didn’t catch my attention out of the corner of my eye. I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up as I turn toward whatever I saw. It can’t be her. I’m foolish and drunk and so heartbroken that I must be making it up.

But I’d know Annalise anywhere.

And that girl turning the corner is her. Her hips swaying and her strawberry blonde hair bouncing with each step. How many times did I just watch her because I loved the way she moved?

I try to rush forward, but she’s gone before I make it to the sidestreet. I spend another sobering hour searching for her, and by the time I accept that I must have made it up, the moon is already sinking.

Trudging back home, I try to make myself accept that I have let my grief consume me. It’s gone too far.

But no matter what, I can’t shake the feeling.