Page 92 of Pretense

She made a frustrated growl in the back of her throat. “Just knock on the door already. If you keep standing there yapping, the guards are going to arrest us for looking suspicious.”

Right. Edmund faced the door and knocked.

After a few long seconds, the door opened a crack. In the dark, Illyna was barely visible, her posture tensed, her long blonde hair falling around her shoulders. “Who are you and what do you want?”

Jalissa pushed onto the top of the stairs next to Edmund, taking off her wig as she did so. “Illyna, it is me. Jalissa.”

Illyna straightened, letting the door swing open wider as she gave a slight bow. “Amirah.”

“This is Elspetha’s brother Edmund.” Jalissa gestured to him. “Can we come in? We need shelter for the night.”

Illyna’s eyebrows shot up as she peered at him. Edmund could see why she was puzzled. He didn’t look like he could be Essie’s brother, with the blond wig, the fake pointed ear, and the cosmetics and putty giving him elven features.

But Illyna nudged the door all the way open with her foot. “Please. Come in.”

As they trooped inside, Illyna sheathed the dagger she must have been holding out of sight. Her other arm ended in a stump just below the elbow. When they were all inside, she shoved the door closed with her forearm and drew the locking bolt.

When she turned back toward them, she glanced from Edmund to Jalissa to Sarya, then back to Jalissa. “Are the two of you…running away together?”

Jalissa stiffened, her whole body going rigid. “No, no. Of course not.”

He should not feel hurt at her quick denial. Even if things weren’t so strained, he would never run off with her. He would want to do things properly.

Or as properly as a human spy and an elven princess ever could.

“We’ll explain, but could we go farther into the shop?” Edmund waved toward the back room. “We can’t have the guards overhear multiple voices inside your shop. It would make it harder for you to deny that we’re here.”

Illyna’s eyebrows shot up even farther. “If I did not trust Laesornysh and his princess so much, I would worry.”

“You probably should be worried.” Jalissa sighed and headed for the door at the back of the shop. “But you will be providing a great service for my family if you can help.”

Edmund hoped that would be the case. If nothing else, he would quietly tell Illyna that she was protecting at least one of the members of the royal family from an assassination attempt.

If she would believe him, once he confessed to yet another of his secret identities.

After this mission, there would be no going back to the life of a spy. His cover was well and truly blown.

Yet, he no longer wanted that life the way he had even a few weeks ago. While he couldn’t regret the way he had served his kingdom, he ached for the stain he would carry because of it.

It was time to walk away. He was done with always lying and pretending. From now on, he wanted a life that was real. With relationships that were true and honest. Or, at least, as much as he could as a prince stuck in a world of court intrigue and politics.

He wouldn’t have Jalissa. He would live with regrets that would haunt him to his dying day, even as he hid them behind grins and banter.

But he would finally be free of the shadows once and for all.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Essie leaned against a comfortable tree—thankful that the elven forest was apparently filled with comfortable trees—as she watched Farrendel swing through the air on the rope swing, let go, execute a perfect flip in the air over the lake, and then tuck himself into a ball to create a gigantic splash the way her brothers had taught him.

On the tree branch, Ryfon was already leaning out to catch the rope as it swung back toward him. Brina scrambled out of the lake, water running off her clothes. They seemed to be having fun, even if there was a lot less shrieking and shouting than there would have been if it had been Essie and her brothers doing cannonballs into a lake.

“That looks cold.” Next to Essie, Melantha gave a shiver before she returned to mixing her magic into a jar of juice.

“I would think you would be used to the cold.” Essie tugged the blanket she had brought outside with her higher over her lap. The spring morning remained chilly, and she wasn’t sure how Farrendel, Ryfon, and Brina could stand swimming in the frigid waters.

She rested her hand on Farrendel’s swords, where they lay on the moss next to her. Farrendel had entrusted her with his swords, and she had the irrational fear that they would suddenly disappear on her if she wasn’t watching closely enough. His boots, socks, and belt lay in a neat pile next to a towel.

Melantha gave another exaggerated shiver. “I doubt I will ever grow used to the cold. I think I only survived the winter thanks to the hot chocolate you and Farrendel sent to me.”

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