Page 9 of Elves and Espresso

“The more you tell me about yourself, the more I think you’re just a figment of my imagination. No races, no realm visits, no silver balls. You come from the dullest place I’ve ever heard about.”

“My place is very relaxed, thank you very mu— Hold on. Hold still.” He paled as he looked at my shoulder. “Don’t move.” He raised a hand, but before he could make a move, I grabbed his hand and pulled it down. “I said don’t move!” he hissed.

“Don’t touch Dewdrop.”

“What?” he questioned. “Dewdrop? The…creature,” he shuddered, “on your shoulder has a name.”

“She’s a large jumping spider. A direct descendant of the Klaroinsie Regal family. I cloaked her until now, but we’ve been walking so long, she’ll be overheated.”

“She… What?”

“I can’t believe you were about to smack her!”

“Yes, well, where I come from, we don’t have giant jumping spiders just sitting on our shoulders.”

“Dewdrop isn’t giant; she’s actually the smallest in her family, and an absolute delight. As long as you…” I paused for a moment, giggling to myself. “As long as you don’t drop her.”

“Don’t drop her?” His crinkles returned as he looked at her closely. “Don’t drop…as in Dewdrop?”

“No, no.” I shook my head vigorously. “Dewdrop as in, don’t drop.”

Aleixo raised a hand to his forehead, stroking it for the millionth time today. “I think I need to sit down.”

Chapter Eight

“We can hide here for a while.”

The pile of lumber didn’t look like much, but based on my scanning of the area, it was a high traffic place with very little to complain about.

“Shouldn’t we hide somewhere more…discreet?”

The pile of lumber sat next to trees that hadn’t met the same fate and was nearly covered by moss and dead leaves. The front of it gave off the appearance of an abandoned logging camp—not that such places existed around here anymore.

“Now it just sounds like you’re trying to get me somewhere by myself,” I pointed out.

“Oh, come on! Can’t a man be alone with his mate?” His eyes were sparkling, and I was once again reminded of his average, yet extremely mesmerizing, appearance. How did such a man even stumble into this realm?

I glared at him before giving a firm, “No. A high traffic area means our trackings will be harder to pick up for the Realm Guard. We aren’t running from everyone; we’re only running from him. If I were hiding from all, I’d seek a discreet place where no one would chance finding me. It isn’t as though anyone knows we ran.”

“That logic appears to make sense, actually.”

“Don’t act so surprised.”

Walking behind the stack of lumber, I set my bag down and gently eased Dewdrop onto the ground next to it.

“Won’t she run away?” Aleixo asked, taking a few steps back.

What an odd thing to say.

“Run away? From what?”

“From you? From us?”

“Why on earth would she run away from me? We’re practically best friends. We’ve been together for years.”

“Right… How dare I ask a question about a tarantula sticking around an elf?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice, but there wasn’t much for me to respond with.

Except one thing.