Chapter 15
Temptation
“What about moss partners?” I asked, shifting a bit to reduce the throbbing in my ankle.
Deidre wiggled her eyebrows. “All about them, of course. Other than that dick whose car you scratched, how many have you had?”
I laughed. “None. The dick was my first and only boyfriend. We hooked up after I graduated from university and were together for a year. So no juicy stuff, sorry. How about you?”
“Ugh.” She lay down on one side, reminding me of a relaxed, well-fed cat. “No juicy stuff in my own garden, either. In fact,” she tapped her chin in thought, “I can’t say I’ve had a moss partner. Two moss interactions with two different males don’t qualify, do they?”
“Um, I guess not?” I shrugged.
“Hey, it’s okay being single.” She caressed the moss between us, a smile tugging at her lips.
“My first moss interaction was Karim’s fault.
We were on an official visit to another allied kingdom.
There was this feast, and he let himself be enticed by Katsia.
” Deidre spat the she-elf’s name out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
I shared the sentiment. “What was she doing there?”
“The tramp’s family was originally from that kingdom. Sometime before the war, a nearby dam wall broke due to human negligence, and the kingdom was inundated. Hers and some other aristocratic families who survived the disaster and the perilous journey have been living here ever since.”
Deidre sighed. “Anyway, I saw Karim leave the feast with Katsia. So, when a half-elf relative of Tisvali invited me to his moss, anger–and the fermented berries I’d drunk–made me accept.
“I had warned Karim to stay clear of the skank, who craved nothing but his title. But did he listen? Nope. He couldn’t resist the first pure-blooded elf ever to show interest in a half-elf like himself.
And now the tramp believes she has rights over him, although he has been resisting her advances ever since that feast.”
I bit my lip. I had no right to feel relieved that Karim wasn’t with Katsia, but I did. “She must be getting desperate, given how she invited herself to his home yesterday?”
Deidre smirked. “Very desperate.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder where it pooled like a tiny tropical lake in front of her belly. “As for my first moss interaction, I was so disappointed that even if Sabin had invited me to his moss again, I would have said nah.”
“He didn’t invite you again?”
My genuine surprise brought a pleased smile to her face.
“Aren’t you sweet?” She twirled a lock of blue hair around her finger.
“I think he would have dragged me to his moss again, had Tisvali not gotten to him first. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned my disappointment in front of Tisvali.
” She snickered. “It’s hard to drag someone to your moss when you can barely walk. ”
I cringed. Elves could be as violent to their own kind as they were beautiful.
“For my second moss interaction,” she continued cheerfully, “I was the one to extend an invite. He was an experienced half-elf visiting here for three days, and on the last day of his stay, we tested my moss.” A wistful sigh.
“Let’s just say he restored my interest in moss interactions.
It was intense and rough, of course, but not as much as Tisvali had warned me about. Part of our kind’s nature, you know?”
I gulped so loud that she probably heard me. Does Karim like it rough? Pain wasn’t something I wanted to experience between the sheets with my man.
Wait, why was I even considering being in bed with Karim? I seriously had to stop thinking about the Prince in that way.
Deidre’s swift switch to sitting cross-legged in front of me got my mind out of the gutter. The dangerous glint she now had in her eyes made me pay attention as well.
“So, Curly-Q, if you want to meet Karim halfway on his moss, that hidden strength of yours will come in handy.”
“Hidden strength?” I sputtered.
“Now, now, don’t pretend to be the delicate little flower whose name you bear.
” Deidre shook a finger at me. “I’ve seen you in action.
You’re just like a cornel tree: cute on the outside, but holding a tough core that makes for the strongest bows and arrows.
” There was pride in her voice when she added, “You don’t break in the face of danger. ”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at–”
“I’ve faced enemies who, once left at my mercy, crumbled in a sobbing mess, begging for their lives.
While you,” she looked me directly in the eyes, “were clearly terrified on the surface yesterday but you didn’t break down when attacked by our deadly enemies.
And when your life was in my hands earlier today, you spoke stab-worthy truths and stood resolute. ”
“Is that why you spared me?” I asked what I’d wanted to know ever since she’d chosen to be my friend instead of fighting me.
An enigmatic smile broke over her face. “Perhaps. It also takes guts to offer friendship in the face of death. In short, you’re a tough little flower. Meaning you just might survive a moss interaction with Karim.”
I cleared my throat. “I appreciate the advice, Deidre, but I don’t believe I will be putting it into practice. Firstly, I like my toes where they are. Secondly, to Karim, I’m nothing but a disgusting human, and he would never–”
Her laughter interrupted me before I could say anything else. She was laughing so hard that she nearly tumbled off the bed.
When she could finally speak, Deidre said, “Firstly, your toes are safe with me. I’ve desired Karim since forever, but he has made it perfectly clear a million times that my dreams will remain just that–dreams. Since I want him to be happy, I’m willing to curb my stabby tendencies when a worthy female shows up. ”
She pointed at me, grinning. “As that worthy female happens to be my friend, I’ll also help her get in his dress.”
I gaped. “Umm–But, Deidre–”
“Secondly, Karim doesn’t find you disgusting. You’re on his moss, ain’t you?”
I bit my lip. “Yes?”
“Then there’s the fact that he let you in his garden. That place in an elf’s home is off limits to all but relatives, close friends, and braid partners. Ah, and let’s not forget he wouldn’t let anyone else carry you yesterday. When males get territorial like that…” Deidre sighed dreamily.
“But he wanted you to carry me around his home yesterday,” I reminded her. “And he could barely look at me when Tisvali left us on our own, and–”
She clapped her hands excitedly. “Exactly! Him being weird is yet another sign that he’s not disgusted by you: he’s afraid of you.”
“What?!” That was absurd.
“He’s afraid of falling victim to the curse of his father’s blood.
The curse is said to make elves succumb to the unnatural attraction to a human.
” Deidre grew serious as she continued. “No one knows who was the first cursed. But it is known that once in the bloodline, the curse may skip generations, but it never lifts. And temptations of the human kind are known to increase the chance of the curse in the blood activating.”
Whoa. So that was what the curse I kept hearing of was about. Trust elves to historically label the attraction to what they considered a bad species a curse.
“But,” Deidre went on, “I believe that Karim is already into humans. I mean, all these years, and not a single elf has captured his attention? That’s suspicious right there, if you ask me.
Also, I believe that if something makes you happy, you should go for it, public norms and curses-murses be damned.
So,” she wiggled her blue eyebrows, “if you ramp up the temptation factor with some itsy-bitsy assistance from me, he’ll be making both of you happy in no time. What do you say?”
“I don’t know.” This sounded like a very bad idea. “I thought him being seen carrying me was enough to put his life in danger? If something were to truly happen between us–”
Deidre snorted. “You two would just be doing what everyone thinks you already are. Karim bringing you to his home sealed the deal, as I warned him it would.”
I gasped. “He’ll get executed?”
“No, no, he was right about that part. If the Queen wanted him eliminated over this, she would already have him in the dungeon. He’s safe.”
“Thank heavens.”
But even so, what good could possibly come out of trying to seduce Karim? A one-night stand? That was not me. A chance of winning his favor for the sake of humans’ rights in the Kingdom? I wasn’t capable of such manipulation. No, I should not be playing with fire, no matter how much I was tempted.
Then again, wasn’t I already playing with fire? I’d been the one to suggest Deidre sit on Karim’s moss to get back at him. When she’d come up with the idea to eat all his apples in another violation of her kind’s hospitality rules, I had encouraged her to do so.
Playing by the rules might keep me alive, but what life would that be if I never saw Karim again? If I spent the rest of my days in the gardens, wondering what it could have been if I’d been bold for once? As the saying went, one who hasn’t dared to live fully hasn’t truly lived.
“Deidre, can you bring that sticky saccaba thing you use for your legs?”
Her silvery lips stretched into a wicked grin.