Page 78 of Pretense

The train gave a piercing whistle, then a shudder vibrated through the wall, the bench, and the floor beneath Jalissa’s feet. The train chugged into motion, shaking and rattling in a way that felt like it would fall apart.

Edmund reached over and rested a hand over hers. Only then did she realize she had grabbed his arm and was currently clinging to him in a way that was probably painful.

“Sorry.” She would have released him, but he kept his warm grip over her hand.

He grinned and slumped on the seat as if to get comfortable. “Feel free to sleep. It will be a while until our next stop.”

Now that they were on the train, her weariness pressed down on her. By this point, she had been up for over twenty-four hours.

She squirmed on the bench, which might have been more comfortable without the poor excuse for a cushion that was lumpy in all the wrong places. The wall and tiny, soot-grimed window next to her were gritty with a layer of filth even on the inside. She did not care how tired she was. There was no way she was leaning against it.

Edmund pointed to his shoulder, his gaze soft. “You can lean on me.”

Jalissa blinked, frozen as she processed that. She could lean on him. Not just as a pillow, though the freedom to snuggle with him for real and not just for show sent her head swirling with a giddy feeling. But he was safe and strong and someone she could trust with her heart.

She rested her head on Edmund’s shoulder. He shifted and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tugging her more firmly against his side. She tucked her fingers underneath his coat, warming her fingers against his shirt.

Her tension eased, and she let her eyes fall closed. As the train rattled and whistled its way north toward Tarenhiel, she finally fell asleep, curled against Edmund.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Edmund leaned on a cane and limped behind the elf nobleman he currently worked for as they navigated the branches of Ellonahshinel, headed for a meeting with King Weylind about the war effort. A meeting where Edmund would be studiously taking notes. And trying not to think of the elf princess he had to avoid.

Almost as if he had conjured her with his thoughts, he spotted Jalissa on the same branch, strolling toward them. His heart lurched at seeing her.

But he kept his head down, and she didn’t even glance his way as they passed.

This was all he could ever be to her. The invisible clerk beneath her notice. He could never talk to her again, much less tell her the truth.

The train shuddered, and Edmund braced himself against the seat with his free hand. His other arm was wrapped around Jalissa.

Jalissa groaned and buried her face against his shoulder. “Please tell me this is our stop and not another pause for water and coal.”

“This is our stop.” Edmund couldn’t help a relieved smile of his own. He shifted on the bench. His rear end had gone numb from the hard, lumpy cushion. His shoulder blades ached from the back of the bench.

He had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to travel across Escarland in the cheap seats on the passenger train. It had been nearly a year since he’d made this trip, sneaking from his spy station in Tarenhiel to Aldon to attend royal duties, and back again.

As uncomfortable as it had been, this trip had been pleasant due to Jalissa’s company. Between napping, they had talked for hours, keeping their voices low so that no one would overhear Jalissa’s Tarenhieli accent. Even after all that talking, he had not found her boring, and even their silences had been comfortable.

Behind them, Sarya had napped whenever they had been awake and had read an Escarlish novel she’d picked up on one of their stops when she was on guard duty. The novel must not have been that engrossing, since she had barely made a dent in it, despite hours of reading.

Jalissa sat up and stretched, groaning. “That was the most uncomfortable ride I have had the displeasure of experiencing.”

Edmund chuckled and leaned forward to gather their bags. “This was always my least favorite part of the trip.”

They joined the line of people flowing out of the train onto the platform. From the platform, a bustling street formed the town of Ayre, the end of the line for passenger trains along this section of the northern border. The Fyne River, the same river that flowed through Aldon, joined the Hydalla at this point, turning Ayre into a bustling center along the river trade routes.

Ayre’s main street ended at the Hydalla River, where docks jutted into the river for steamboats to ply the waters, carrying passengers along the Escarlish shoreline and transporting goods all the way to the Tarenhieli and Mongavarian seaports at the mouth of the Hydalla where it dumped into the ocean. Riverboats from Aldon meandered up the Fyne to dock at Ayre, disgorging passengers who had enjoyed a more comfortable and leisurely trip than Edmund, Jalissa, and Sarya had.

Next to the docks, a tower built of stone rose high above the town. Escarlish soldiers walked along the top while steel plates covered openings where cannons could be run out, pointed across the river at Tarenhiel.

Beside the train platform, long lines formed outside of the outhouses that provided the latrine for the train station. Running water had yet to be installed here.

Jalissa glanced that way and grimaced, shifting.

Edmund led the way through the bustle. “I know a better place. This way.”

On the east side of town, he led Jalissa and Sarya around the back of the one-room schoolhouse. This late in the day, it was empty of children. Edmund gestured to the outhouse. “I’ll keep watch.”

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