Page 28 of War Bound

She loved Farrendel, but sometimes his magic could be downright terrifying. If he ever lost control of his magic, it might just destroy a kingdom, and himself along with it.

No wonder he didn’t want her brothers to know all this. If they knew the extent of his magic, they might begin planning a way to neutralize him if they needed to. It was just practicality and politics.

Essie rested her head on Farrendel’s shoulder. “Are you going to be all right, staying here? I didn’t realize staying inside Winstead Palace would be so hard for you. Maybe you should have stayed in Tarenhiel.”

Saying the words hurt deep inside her chest. She’d wanted him to love her family and to fit into her home the way she had into his. But she should’ve realized how much of an impossible dream that was. She might be flexible and adaptable, but Farrendel wasn’t. It wasn’t his fault. It was the way he was, and the damage from the torture and trauma only made it worse.

Farrendel leaned his head on top of hers. “This is your home. I will be fine.”

He wasn’t. He couldn’t sleep because of nightmares. The stone was apparently physically and magically affecting him. That was far from fine.

What should she do? She couldn’t ask Farrendel to continue to suffer like this. Even if she appreciated that he was willing to sacrifice for her, this wasn’t the kind of sacrifice she should ask of him. “Farrendel...”

“I will be fine.” His voice had something of a growl to it this time. “You sacrificed much to move to Estyra. I have dealt with these nightmares for a long time. I can survive this.”

That wasn’t encouraging. She didn’t want him just to survive.

But they might not have an option here. There would be more diplomatic meetings, a few parties, balls, and other things that would keep them inside the palace. For the sake of peace, they needed to be here.

Why did coming home have to be this difficult?

ESSIE WOKE to her husbandliterally bouncing off the walls. Well, bouncing might not be the right word, but he was ricocheting off the walls and even the ceiling in a way she hadn’t thought possible until that moment.

Farrendel dashed across the room, launched himself from a chair with such grace the chair didn’t so much as wiggle, much less tip, and ran partially up the wall before he flipped backwards and landed easily on his feet. With barely a pause, he spun, did a springing leap from the top of the bookshelf, pushed off the ceiling, and flipped once again before landing on the bedpost.

He must have noticed she was awake since he did a small flip and landed cross-legged on the end of the bed.

Essie sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “Sorry. You should have gotten me up.”

There was a wooded section on the grounds that would have done Farrendel some good, though he probably would have needed her to let the guards know that he was allowed there.

It hurt how little freedom Farrendel had here. In Estyra, Essie had been able to wander through the elven palace on a whim without an escort. No one had paid any attention to her.

Here, Farrendel didn’t even dare wander the hall by himself without fear the guards would misinterpret his actions. What kind of message did that send? It was as if he was still an enemy, not her husband.

“What do you need? Do you want me to ask a guard to show you a place outside that has trees?” Essie rubbed at her eyes. She had gotten far too little sleep the past few nights.

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