Page 87 of War Bound

“How could Melantha have forgotten that day?” Jalissa twisted her skirt as if trying to strangle it. “How could she remember the blood dripping from his face and the tears he was trying so hard not to cry and still do this to him?”

Essie swallowed back the lump in her throat, heart aching inside her.

“Father packed up and moved to Lethorel with Farrendel that same day. He spent most of the next few decades ruling from there with Weylind taking over most of the day-to-day responsibilities in Estyra.” Jalissa swiped at her face, dashing away the single tear that had trickled down her face. “I spent most of my time in Lethorel while Melantha stayed in Estyra. I did not think anything of that until now.”

Essie rubbed her fingers against her dirty dress, sneaking a glance at Jalissa. “Weylind loves Farrendel, and he spent just as much time away from him while Farrendel was growing up as Melantha did. It cannot be only that.”

“No, I suppose not. But Melantha had been free to visit in a way he was not. She could have chosen to spend more time in Lethorel if she had wished. Weylind was already married at the time, but she was...well, had been...”

“Had been what?” Essie remembered Melantha had said something about how her and Jalissa would never be happy as long as Farrendel was alive. Was this what she was talking about?

Jalissa drew in a shaky breath. “She was betrothed. He nearly broke it off once Farrendel’s birth was revealed, and she managed to convince him not to take such a drastic measure. But when it became clear after that attack that Father was not going to banish Farrendel and our family would forever be labeled as tainted because of it, Melantha’s betrothed broke it off and married someone else less than a year later, a scandalously quick wedding for elven standards.”

“That would be scandalous even by human standards.” Essie couldn’t help the wry grimace. If less than a year was scandalous, her and Farrendel’s marriage was horribly gossip-worthy.

“Neither Melantha nor I have ever gotten another offer. None of the respectable elven families would wish to marry into ours, for all we are royalty. I did not realize Melantha blamed Farrendel for that. I certainly do not.” Jalissa finally unclenched her fingers and smoothed the front of her dress. “I was only a hundred and two when Farrendel was born. I had not yet established my own life like Weylind and Melantha.”

“I know you and Farrendel are close.” It made sense, since they were the closest in age. For Jalissa, the age gap between her and Farrendel was the same as it was to her and Melantha. Not so for Melantha or Weylind.

At a hundred and two when he’d been born, Jalissa had been roughly the same age Farrendel was now. An adult, yes, but for an elf, barely an adult. She’d been like an eighteen-year-old human. An adult on paper, but still living much like a child under the parents’ authority. It had been easier for her to be a true sibling to Farrendel in a way it was harder for Weylind and Melantha.

Jalissa turned, facing Essie. “I am sorry for the times I have been harsh to you. I was not as welcoming as I should have been when you married Farrendel.”

Essie pushed away the echoes of Jalissa’s words from back then. “You love your brother and were worried for him. I know I’d be worried if one of my brothers married a girl he’d never even talked to.”

“I still should have trusted that my brother knew what he was doing. He must have seen something in you that first day to make him so certain.”

“He told me it was my smile.” A ghost of that smile flickered on her face before dying. How could she smile when Farrendel was out there somewhere? Hurt. Captured. Maybe undergoing torture.

Jalissa nodded, as if Farrendel being attracted to Essie’s smile made perfect sense. “You have been good for him. I have not seen him happy and smiling like this in decades. Not since...” Jalissa’s voice faded as her eyes shimmered. She looked away as a tear escaped to meander down her cheek onto her chin.

This time, Essie couldn’t help herself. She wrapped an arm around Jalissa, giving her a side hug.

“He was so broken last time.” More tears slid down Jalissa’s face. She gripped Essie’s hand painfully tight, her tear-filled gaze swinging up to stab into Essie. “He is still alive, is he not?”

“I don’t know.” Essie rubbed at her upper chest, as if she could relieve the ache there. How she wished she knew if Farrendel was alive or dead. This place stuck between hope and fear tore her apart.

Jalissa’s brow wrinkled. “You should be able to tell. But perhaps the elishina does not work that way with humans.”

The heart bond. It hadn’t occurred to Essie to use it to find out if Farrendel was alive or dead. She assumed she could only feel it when they were physically touching. How much was there to this heart bond that she still didn’t understand?

Essie drew in a deep breath, trying to calm the churn in her stomach and ache in her chest long enough to feel the heart bond. She’d only felt it when touching Farrendel. Because she was human, did that mean she wouldn’t be able to access the magical connection without him there?

“I don’t know.” It was such a horrible answer to have to give. For herself and for Jalissa. “I think I may need some time and quiet. I’ve never tried something like this before. But, I think...I think he must be alive. Surely I would have felt it if he died.”

Or was his death that aching hole she felt even now in her chest?

“You would have. I have heard the feeling of an elishina breaking is unmistakable.” Jalissa swiped at her face again, even though the tears continued to drip down her face. They were the silent tears of someone trying to hold back the depth of their emotion and succeeding for everything but those telltale tears. “My parents had an elishina. Did Farrendel ever tell you that?”

“No, he didn’t.” Why wouldn’t he have told her? Perhaps because the elf queen hadn’t been his mother. Perhaps he felt guilty, somehow, for the breaking of that heart bond even if he’d had nothing to do with it. The elf queen had already been dead for several years by the time Farrendel was born.

Except that Essie saw this for what it was. Evidence that Farrendel was his father’s son. He loved like his father. Completely. Whole-heartedly.

Jalissa gave both of Essie’s hands a squeeze. “In these past months, I have become thankful you are what Farrendel needed. Now, it seems you are also the sister I needed,iscienata.”

Little sister. For the elves, saying brother or sister was an endearment used among family members. But the addedlittlewasn’t a denigration but signified even more affection than if Jalissa had simply called hersister.

There was only one response Essie could give to Jalissa. She pulled her hands free and hugged Jalissa as she would a sister.

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