Page 51 of Triplets for the Dark Elf

I kiss her head. “That’s the spirit.”

“Mimi, we stay here?”

I brush my hand over Hazel’s head. “Yes, you’ll stay here. With me.”

Her eyes widen.

“Before we get settled in though,” I step away from Annalise. “I have something to take care of.”

* * *

The mills aren’tmy favorite place to visit, but it’s necessary in order to get Annalise free from the lowtowns for good.

With her official paperwork in my hand, I climb the steps up to the main building, passing by workers with jaunt faces and strained backs. A shudder runs through me, just thinking about Annalise coming here to work every day.

How many times had she been yelled and screamed at to move faster? Or had the threat of the whip thrown at her unless she worked harder?

It was another reason I didn’t want her away from the shopping district. While I wasn’t going to force her to work if she didn’t want to, I could already tell how much more relaxed she seemed the moment we’d cleared the city line.

She seemed so much happier back at the shop and now at home with our kids running around. No longer was there a stress line forming a permanent crease between her eyes, or a worried frown tugging at her lips.

She was completely relaxed, just as she should be.

A zagfer mans the front desk, only glancing up when he sees me walking towards him. “Can I help you?”

I slap down the documentation. “I’m here to dispute a work contract.”

He frowns at me. “What’s the purpose?”

“Legal grounds. I never signed over my rights and my-” Internally I cringe. “Servant was illegally taken from me.”

The zagfer glances down at the papers, sliding them over the counter to review the official stamp at the top. I’m so glad I kept them after all of these years and didn’t destroy them like I’d wanted to in my darker days.

I’d wanted to keep every piece of Annalise intact, even if the possibility of finding her had been slim.

It only takes a few minutes for the zagfer to come back with Annalise’s contract with the mill, a pretty good looking forgery from what I can tell, before handing me back my original documentation along with the fake.

“We’ll take her out of our system immediately. So sorry for the inconvenience.”

“You should do better at checking for forgeries. Who knows how many humans are working here illegally.”

He frowns at me but doesn’t say anything more.

As I turn and walk out of the building, I smirk to myself.

Finally, she’s all mine. Now no one can lay claim to her and force her into hard labor again.

The moment I step out into the fresh air, I breathe it in deeply.

Now, we can move forward as a family.

27

ANNALISE

By the time Miothro gets back, the triplets have been well on their way to exploring the entire penthouse.

I’ve only just managed to keep them out of his office when the door downstairs swings shut and I hear footsteps coming up the staircase. At the sound of them, all three kids excitedly hurry back into the living room.