Page 124 of Pretense

She wanted to run to him. To throw her arms around him and say his name on a squeal of delight as he swung her around.

But her feet rooted to the spot, her body frozen. She could not even whisper his name as she took in the sight of him.

Instead, it was Elspetha who jumped to her feet, shouting her brother’s name loudly enough to make the elves gathered in the room flinch, before she flung herself into his hug.

Edmund laughed, that human laugh that never worried about being too loud or too boisterous, as he lifted his sister off her feet and swung her around.

That was all right. Jalissa had waited this long for Edmund to come back to her. She could be content to wait until the right moment for a proper greeting.

He was hers. Her heart knew it. And now her head did too.

Chapter Forty

Edmund tried to ignore the shocked, wide-eyed expression on Jalissa’s face as he swung Essie around. “Good to see you too, Essie.”

She groaned, pressing her face into his shoulder. “Put me down unless you want me vomiting on your shirt.”

“What?” Edmund hurriedly set her back down, keeping a hand on her arm, his mind racing.

She wasn’t sick. If she had been, she would have been curled in her bed, Farrendel alternating between doting on her and anxiously disinfecting everything Essie had touched.

A quick glance from Essie to Farrendel confirmed Edmund’s suspicion. They had the answer written all over their faces.

Essie opened her mouth, but Edmund cut her off by giving her another hug, making sure to leave her feet on the ground this time. “Congratulations! When is my niece or nephew due? Unless you’re having twins? I always thought twins would be fun to have for nieces and nephews.”

Behind Essie, Farrendel’s face went white, as Edmund had known it would. He probably shouldn’t tease Farrendel, but it was just too easy sometimes.

It was going to be so much fun to watch Farrendel’s face when he realized that he was never getting away from Edmund, no matter which family gathering he attended.

Essie rolled her eyes and pushed out of Edmund’s hug, giving him a light smack on his arm for good measure. “Stop teasing. I’m pretty sure Melantha or Rheva would have mentioned if if we were having twins by now. Considering one or the other has checked on the baby every day for the past two weeks, I think one of them would have noticed if there were two of them in there.”

She glanced past Edmund to where Melantha and Rheva were sitting, as if seeking confirmation.

“You are not having twins,” Rheva said firmly.

“I can confirm. No twins,” Melantha added.

Farrendel released a sigh and sank back against his seat, as if in utter relief that his introduction to fatherhood would happen one child at a time.

Essie returned to her seat next to Farrendel, whispering to him. Probably something mushy about how he was going to be a great father, since Farrendel’s ears turned a little bit pink.

Edmund grinned, glad to see such happiness in their eyes. Another nephew. Or maybe a niece this time. Either way, he couldn’t wait to play the role of fun uncle again. “Have you done the announcement ceremony yet?”

“Ceremony?” Essie’s forehead wrinkled, and she glanced at Farrendel.

Oh, good. They hadn’t. Edmund might have missed their wedding—both of their weddings—but he would be here for this.

“Children are rare for elves. Of course we have a traditional ceremony.” Farrendel squirmed, as if he wasn’t looking forward to it. “When we wish to officially make the announcement that we are expecting, we paint the rune meaning happiness in white paint on our foreheads, then visit our family, friends, and walk the streets of Estyra. Anyone who sees us will stop to offer their congratulations and advice, and sometimes a small gift if they have something on hand. We should have already done it to announce our news to my family.”

“But someone couldn’t help but blurt out the news every chance he got?” Essie fixed him with a look that had Farrendel squirming even more.

“Yes.”

Edmund struggled to hide his smirk. The whole point of the ceremony was to tell the news to everyone without having to say the words We are expecting out loud. Because, of course, elves couldn’t—or weren’t supposed to—be that indelicate. But Farrendel was taking on more human mannerisms than even he probably realized.

Essie sighed. “Well, in that case, we should plan on tomorrow or the day after. We already made the formal announcement to Escarland. It wouldn’t do to wait too long to officially announce it to Tarenhiel as well.”

“Day after tomorrow would be best, I should think.” Rheva shared a look with Leyleira, then Melantha.

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