Born Human - Part 4 (Habel Trollblood) Read online

  Khyran leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. She felt calmer at that moment. “Well, I hope that you had an interesting day.”

  He lifted his head and smiled. “It has been very educational.”

  She didn’t know what he meant by that, but she got to spend a few more hours with her family before they were shipped home by train. It was nice to know that they were alive, successful, and had little trolls-to-be of their own. Even Miiba said she would be happy if one of her children was an elf when the time came. That was huge.

  It was a very healing day for her.

  One week later, she was kneeling in the chamber with her eyes covered, and a robe with a single delicate tie was all that she was wearing. The teapot was in front of her, and the teacup was waiting.

  She waited.

  And waited.

  Finally, the door to the room opened, and she heard the rustling of fabric and something else. He knelt next to her and touched her hand. She felt callouses and a strength in the hand that was not present in most of the elves she knew.

  He squeezed her fingers, and she nodded and reached for the cup and the teapot. She lined them up and poured a cup of hot tea before taking it between both hands and pivoting to hold it toward him. His fingers touched hers, and she jolted, sending the hot tea over her fingers. He sipped at the teacup, set it aside based on the click, and then he pulled her hand toward him, and his mouth wrapped around her scalded fingers. The breath left her lungs in a rush.

  He licked at her fingers and then pulled her to him for a kiss. He remained silent, as he was supposed to, but over the next eight hours, she was fairly sure that she knew who her first lover was, and she wasn’t upset in the least. Even if the guess was wrong, her instruction had been very thorough. She now understood the elven fascination for coupling. She wanted to try it again herself.

  Exhausted, she fell asleep in her lover’s arms. He was gone when she woke.

  Her bracelet chirped. “Habel, it is time to remove the blindfold and return to your quarters.”

  She took off her blindfold and sat up. She found the robe she had been dressed in and slipped it back on. She was moving slowly, but it was bemusement at the memories rather than the discomfort a few friends had warned of. Her body had already healed all of her aches and twinges.

  She ran into no one on her trip to her quarters. She left the top of the tower and entered her room, walking to her bedroom for a look in the mirror before her skin removed all trace of him.

  Camder spoke to her. “You look a little surprised.”

  “I am. I think I am supposed to be.”

  “Khyran left a message for you.”

  She smiled and turned. “Really, what is it?”

  “Look out the window.”

  She walked to the window, pulled back the drapes, and a dragon’s snout was resting on the stone. She squeaked, he snuffled, and then he kicked off and flew westward.

  “He stated that it was the proof you have been after and to get off his balls.” Camder’s tone was dry.

  Habel spluttered out a laugh and watched the huge and graceful figure fly off. She knew why he had shown her. She had been doing research on dragons for years, and while their origins were even more mysterious than her own, they had a strict sense of honour. She had called him out in public, and this was his answer.

  She smiled and went to bathe. She technically had the day off, and that meant she could spend a day in the forest.

  When she left the bathing room, she walked to the closet and flicked through the options.

  Camder asked, “What are you looking for?”

  “I am going for a walk in the forest. I have the day off, so I want to spend it there.”

  Camder was amused. “You are supposed to spend the day in contemplation and repose.”

  “That is for the elf virgins who don’t heal before their partner has pulled out. I am physically fine and just want to go for a run to consider the remembrance of yesterday.”

  The scans moved over her face. “You are lying.”

  She grinned. “I just want to go for a run. I rarely have a day off lately.”

  “Fair enough. I would recommend this clothing.”

  The trousers, tunic, and long vest were more than she usually wore around the tower, but today was not a usual day.

  As she stood and waited for the new outfit to be crafted against her skin, she heard Camder say, “By the way, the energy that you put into the tower last night was tremendous. Plants in the arboretum shot up several inches, and the great tree shuddered as it tried to grow. Everyone who is on a harvesting team is busy right now.”

  She winced. “What happened, exactly.”

  “The tower was bathed in light intermittently throughout the evening.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Yes.”

  “In that case, I definitely want to get out of here today.”

  “You needn’t worry. Everyone who could pair up last night did. No one is going to look at you for your interactions. No one comments on the first night. It is considered impolite.”

  She stood while the clothing was woven over her. She had a decent wardrobe now, and Camder kept track of what she preferred to wear. He adjusted the patterns he could make to her preferences.

  “So, I have asked this before, but why do you have Khyran’s voice?”

  Camder chuckled. “The engineers have all donated copies of their mental imprints to the tower, including voiceprints.”

  “Why?”

  “As I have stated before. Sometimes the elves need others to speak to.”

  The webbing around her legs was covered with the extruded fabric, and when he chimed completion of her clothing, she stood straight and rubbed her hands down her legs. The long vest emerged on a hangar, and she slipped it on, buckling it together and then turning to check the view. She grabbed a crossbody bag for snacks and checked her appearance. Wearing all black in a pastel community was now her thing. It wasn’t a stigma; it was just accepted as part of her identity.

  “You have a message.” Camder was amused.

  She walked over to her desk and checked her messages. The displayed text and image made her smile. “My nieces and nephews. I can really tell whose parent is whose. Wow. They are going to be changing soon. Time has sure flown by.”

  Camder’s voice came from her bracelet. “You will have to get used to that. It is why your first night was important. It is your switch from the mortal world to the ageless. Your turning from your own people to the elves.”

  She sent a reply to her mother, and then, she headed to the dining area to have some breakfast and tea. Niika was an early riser, and she was always a good person to talk things out with. This was the best time to catch her.

  She headed down to the dining area, got some sandwiches that were wrapped for her adventure, and a cup of tea, as well as a flask of water.

  Niika was sitting with a book and a pot of tea. Habel walked up to her and paused. “May I join you?”

  Niika beamed. “Habel, please. Have a seat. So, how was it?”

  Habel cocked her head and focused on her tea. “It was definitely something I would like to repeat.”

  “Do you have a guess as to who it was?” Niika was squirming in her chair.

  “I have a guess who it was and also who it was supposed to be. The two were not the same.”

  Niika paused. “What?”

  “One of my instructors was tapped to do it, but that was not the man in bed with me. The hands were different. Different callouses.”

  Niika was stunned. “You are joking.”

  Habel gave her a look over the rim of her teacup.

  “Who do you think it was?”

  “I do not wish to get anyone in trouble, so I am not going to say, but I am fairly certain.”

  Niika sat back. “That never happens. There is always a record made by the lover the night after the event. I was going to peek right after breakfast.”

  Habel grinn
ed. “Does Ibera have it?”

  “It is in the private archive of Monathian.”

  Habel got to her feet. “Gotta go. Bye!”

  She had her bag of snacks over her, and she sprinted to the private archive, using Monathian’s code to enter. She read the account in the book after a bit of searching for the right tome. It was out on a lectern. The signature was the one she associated with that scent and those hands. Nodding to herself, she headed out to her day in the forest. It was just what she needed to absorb the details of what had just happened.

  She ran into the forest and kept running until she was winded. She turned and looked back at the tower and smiled at the distance she had covered. Habel sat silently and felt her ears twitching at the sounds of nature around her.

  So. She sighed. According to the documents, it had been Khyran with her the previous day. How he had gotten there and why he was allowed to sign the official documents were baffling. Nerion had been the original decision. She could tell because his contact during their combat trials had changed. He had wrapped his arms around her and tried to get her used to his touch, which was strange considering their two decades of friendship without any romantic overtures previously.

  She sat for hours and replayed the touches, the stroking, and the strange feeling of trusting someone else with her body. The hours had been spent in silence, and that was something that she wished had changed.

  She heard a footfall and turned to see Nerion standing on a nearby rock. “Afternoon.”

  She dug out a sandwich. “Want one?”

  He chuckled. “You don’t seem despondent or depressed about yesterday. Niika was worried.”

  Habel cocked her head. “Why did you put your name on the list?”

  “I wanted you to have someone you trusted who cared for you in return. I believe that is what we had.”

  She laughed. “It wasn’t you, dumbass. The hands were wrong. Khyran’s hands are a lot rougher than yours are. You have bands of tough skin from the sword work. Different feeling.”

  He sat next to her and took the sandwich. “You knew the whole time?”

  “The moment that I burned my hands with the tea.” She shrugged. “Also, there is the little issue that I still have most of my troll senses. Dragons and elves smell different. He did do a good job of hiding his wings, though.”

  Nerion mumbled as he ate. “He can hide them if he wants to but not for very long.”

  “That was the confusing part. He smelled like Khyran, but the wings were missing.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. He and I had it worked out, and I was willing to swear to even you that it was me and not him. I am both relieved and disappointed that you don’t think it was me.”

  She grinned. “We are friends, Nerion. You can take lovers as you like. I am not like that. Even though this was supposed to open me up to the wonderful world of following my impulses, I am not inclined to do so. I like being me, just as I am. The sex was lovely and exciting, but it isn’t what I am going to build my life around. Khyran has gone his way, and I will go mine. I am good with that, and he is as well.”

  Nerion smiled slowly. “Are you sure? I haven’t seen him this focused on anyone, and I have known him for hundreds of years.”

  She shrugged. “Focused or not, I have a job to do, and I do it very well. His focus isn’t my concern. By the way, don’t tell him that I know if he doesn’t bring it up. He might not want it to be common knowledge.”

  They chatted as they drank the water, and then, they started back to the tower at a slow jog when Nerion asked, “So how was he?”

  She tried to stomp on her reaction and said, “Pretty good.” Her mind flashed back to lying with his body around hers and their breathing even. She stumbled and slammed into a tree.

  Nerion helped her back up and laughed. “Pretty good, indeed.”

  They continued back, and she took more care of her path. He was going to be teasing her about this for years. She just knew it.

  She grinned as they got back to the tower and headed for the dining area. Definitely pretty good.

  Author’s Note

  Well, with only one instalment left for book one of the Habel Trollblood series, I have some decisions to make. I know where she is going, but what will she do once she gets there?

  As the only elf in the last hundred years, she has responsibilities and duties to the elves of the tower, but is it worth pledging the rest of her very, very long life to?

  I will figure it out. I am sure.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.

  Table of Contents

  Part Four: Tempus Fugit

  Author’s Note

  About the Author