Page 110 of Troll Queen

Weylind braced himself with hands pressed against the snow, his jaw tightening. When he spoke, he glanced toward Averett rather than looking at Farrendel. “It can wait. For now, there is nothing any of us can do.”

Farrendel’s shoulders went stiff, his face hardening. “Weylind...”

Essie’s chest tightened as well. Weylind wasn’t the type to travel to Aldon on a whim. Whatever his reason for coming, it couldn’t be good.

“Truly. There is nothing you can do. We will discuss it later.” Weylind’s voice was firm, final, as he met Farrendel’s gaze. “Right now, I do believe you should enjoy the rest of this morning.”

With that, Weylind scooped a handful of snow and threw it right into Farrendel’s face. Before Farrendel could do more than blink, Weylind was on his feet. He dashed a few yards away before he paused, bending to form another snowball.

“No fair!” Farrendel fumbled to unbuckle his skates, each of his shouted words punctuated by snowballs pelting him in the back of his head. “I am still wearing skates!”

Weylind just smirked and tossed another snowball, hitting the back of Farrendel’s neck.

Squirming due to the snow that was probably going down his back, Farrendel flung aside his skates, leapt to his feet, and took off after Weylind.

“Huh.” Next to Essie, Julien gestured toward Weylind and Farrendel. “I thought those elves didn’t have any sense of fun.”

“I think they just forgot how to use it for a while.” Essie shrugged, then bent to unbuckle her own skates. “I guess we might as well join them.”

At the edge of the forest, Farrendel had almost caught Weylind. But as he lunged, a root burst from the ground and snagged his foot. Farrendel face-planted into the snow once again. He came up swiping his face. “No magic! It is against the rules!”

“I made the rules. I can break them.” Weylind whipped another snowball at Farrendel.

Farrendel rolled, dodging the snowball, and sliced the root with a bolt of magic. He took off after Weylind once again. Were they still having a snowball fight? Or a real fight? Essie wasn’t entirely sure anymore.

She craned her neck as she worked at the buckle on her skate, glancing at Averett and Mother. “Did either of you know Weylind was coming?”

Mother glanced over to Averett, her expression somber. Averett’s grin dropped from his face. “Yes. But as Weylind mentioned, the explanation can wait.” He unbuckled his skates, then stepped out of them.

As he straightened, Essie noticed too late that he held a snowball. She tried to dodge, and the snowball clipped her shoulder. “Avie! What was that for?”

“Well, I can’t let all of us gang up on Weylind. I suppose, in the interest of diplomacy, one of us ought to be on his side.” Averett dashed a few steps away before he reached for another snowball.

“Then it’s younger siblings versus oldest!” Julien elbowed Essie as he reached for the snow.

Mother raised her hands, hurrying off to the side. “I’m a neutral party.”

Laughing, Essie entered the snowball fight fray. She and Julien chased Averett, trying to hit him with snowballs. Paige joined Averett’s and Weylind’s team while the nephews tossed handfuls at anyone they came across, including Essie’s mother, accompanied by a lot of laughter and squealing.

The fight ended when Farrendel launched himself off a tree trunk and tackled Weylind into a snow drift. Both of the nephews seemed to think that was a great idea, so they flopped on top of Farrendel in a fit of giggles.

Once everyone was cold, snow-covered, and tired, Averett, Julien, Weylind, Farrendel, and Essie trooped into Buckmore Cottage while Paige, Mother, and the children returned to Winstead Palace.

As Essie waved to Paige before entering Buckmore Cottage, she had the feeling that today would be the day she and Farrendel returned to Tarenhiel.

Now that they weresitting in the parlor of Buckmore Cottage, warming from the heat of the fire and waiting for mugs of hot chocolate to be served, Farrendel tried not to let nerves twist his insides into knots.

But it was hard, with Weylind sitting there not speaking about whatever brought him to Escarland, even as he exchanged somber glances with Averett.

Weylind would not have made the journey for anything trivial. Why would he not explain and get it over with?

With Essie in the kitchen with Miss Merrick, silence cloaked the parlor. Farrendel clenched and unclenched his fists, glancing from Averett to Julien, and finally to Weylind where he sat in one of the overstuffed chairs near the fireplace.

Julien opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if deciding against whatever topic he had been about to broach.

“We bring hot chocolate!” Essie strolled inside, her hands behind her back.

Miss Merrick followed with a tray filled with mugs, steam wafting from them. She headed for Averett first, holding out the tray.

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