Page 42 of War Bound

She leaned against him, thankful he didn’t flinch away. “You didn’t kill him.”

“My people did.”

“It was war. A war neither of our kingdoms wanted but felt was necessary for a variety of reasons.” Essie rubbed her thumb across the back of Farrendel’s hand, tracing the faint line of a scar. “After he died, Mother still took us camping here, even though staying out in the woods isn’t her favorite thing to do. She did it anyway because she didn’t want us to miss out on this. This is a special place for us. It’s a family rule only to bring family here.”

The extra loud stomping on the trail behind them gave plenty of warning before Edmund’s voice called out, “And that means you’re stuck with us.”

Farrendel flinched, as if he intended to pull away from her, but Essie kept her grip on his hand, though she raised her head from his shoulder.

It wasn’t as if they had been caught kissing, just a little handholding and sitting close. Edmund and Julien might complain, but Averett couldn’t. Not if he didn’t want her complaining right back about him and Paige. Which was extra strange, since Essie had watched her best friend and her brother get all snuggly with each other.

Essie glanced over her shoulder. All three of her brothers trooped up the path, arms laden. Julien and Edmund each had heaps of bedrolls and blankets in their arms and sacks of supplies hanging from their shoulders. Averett held a steaming kettle in each hand with a sack slung over his back.

Julien deposited his bundle onto one of the benches. “If he’s stuck with us, I guess we’d better give him the rite of initiation. What was it again?”

Edmund dropped his armload of supplies on the bench next to Julien’s and knelt by the fire pit. “I believe he needs to stand on his head, squawk like a chicken, and solemnly declare that what happens at camp, stays at camp.”

Beneath Essie’s hand, Farrendel tensed, like he was prepared to actually perform her brothers’ made-up initiation rite. “Don’t believe a word they say. There’s no such thing as an initiation to family camping. Not unless it’s them hiding in the forest making growling noises trying to scare their little sister.”

“Would we really do that?” Averett set down the kettles while giving Essie an expression far too wide-eyed as he attempted to look innocent.

“Yes, you would.” Essie glared at them with exaggerated anger.

“We paid for that one. She kept sending us under her bed to check for wolves.” Julien handed Edmund a wad of kindling.

Edmund tucked it into the center of the neat stack of firewood he’d built, lit a match, and worked to convince the kindling to light.

“If you got eaten, I’d know there were wolves under my bed. Besides, I had plenty of brothers if the wolves ate a few. It was very logical.” Essie glanced at Farrendel and had to suppress her grin. His gaze flicked between her and her brothers as if he wasn’t sure what to make of this easy banter after they had been about ready to beat him up earlier that night.

Perhaps she and Farrendel should help out instead of making her brothers do all the work. Keeping Farrendel’s hands busy might make him feel less awkward.

She tugged on his hand as she stood. “Come on. Let’s sort through all the bedrolls and move everything to the right spot.”

Since Farrendel didn’t know which bedroll belonged to each person or which spots around the campfire they normally picked, Essie sorted through the pile, handed whatever she’d extricated from the jumble on the bench to Farrendel, and pointed where it needed to go. Within a few minutes, Julien joined them, and between the three of them, they had the waterproof tarpaulins laid out on the ground, layered the blankets and bedrolls on top of them, then added another tarpaulin on top to keep off the dew.

By the time they finished, Edmund had the fire burning brightly, sparks snapping occasionally. He had a stack of firewood at his feet, ready to add more when needed.

Averett had laid out the food on the bench, set up a tripod over one side of the fire, and was pouring hot chocolate and coffee in various mugs. He held up both kettles. “Farrendel, do you want coffee or hot chocolate?”

“Hot chocolate?” He glanced at Essie, as if checking that was the right answer.

“You haven’t had either, have you?” Averett shook his head. “Essie will try to convince you hot chocolate is better. She’s never become a coffee drinker. The rest of us love it. I’ll pour a little in a mug, and you can see what you think.”

Essie didn’t think Farrendel would like coffee, but she didn’t say it. He should try it out for himself, and, to be honest, she wanted to see the look on his face when he tasted it.

Averett poured a swish of coffee into a mug and held it out to Farrendel.

Farrendel took the mug, peering into it as if he expected the coffee was poisonous. After blowing on it and shifting beneath all of their stares, he sipped. His face twisted, as if he couldn’t figure out an elven expression strong enough to convey his level of disgust. He thrust the mug back at Averett, shaking his head.

“Not a coffee drinker either. It’s an acquired taste, I guess.” Averett tossed the remains of the coffee into the fire where it hissed briefly before being swallowed by the flames. With a glance at Essie, probably knowing her thoughts on hot chocolate in a mug tainted with coffee, he rinsed the mug with water from a canteen and wiped it dry with a rag before filling it about half full of hot chocolate. “Try this.”

While Farrendel cradled his mug and blew on the contents, Essie claimed her own mug of hot chocolate from Avie. She returned to her seat on the bench, pulled the blanket around her shoulders, and risked a sip of her hot chocolate. It still scalded too hot against her tongue, but the sweetness and warmth filled her down to her toes.

Farrendel sat next to her, still eying his hot chocolate as if he didn’t dare take a sip after the whole coffee-tasting debacle. With a glance in her direction, he sipped. Swallowed. Sipped again.

The tension eased from his shoulders. That hint of a smile tiptoed at the corners of his mouth.

“It’s so much better than coffee, right?” Essie nudged him gently with her elbow.

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