Page 134 of Pretense

Gently, she traced the runes on his forehead, then cheek, her touch sending shivers through him, and said the blessings with each. As she went to trace the rune on his chest, she froze, the tips of her ears going just a hint pink.

He smirked at her.

She wrinkled her nose back at him, drew in a breath, and traced the rune on his chest.

As she spoke the last word, Edmund caught his breath at the spark of something that pulsed into him. Essie had warned him that he might feel a hint of Jalissa’s magic, but he had not expected it to be quite this strong. Like the magic had stabbed down into his very soul.

He blinked and handed the bowl to her. After dipping his finger into the paint, he traced the rune on her forehead, then on the soft skin of her cheek, and repeated the elven vows. When he traced the rune on her upper chest above the line of her gown, her ears went pink again, and his own face got a little hot. Farrendel was right. This was a weirdly intimate moment to have in front of such a large audience.

And then, as he spoke the final blessing, Jalissa sucked in a breath, her eyes widening and flashing up to meet his.

He smiled and gave her a tilt of his head to let her know that he had felt it too.

Leyleira stepped forward and claimed the eshinelt, a knowing twinkle to her eyes.

The Escarlish officiant cleared his throat. “Then by the power vested in me, I now declare you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Gasps came from the elven side of the bridge, as if a few of the stuffier nobles were so shocked that even they, with their overblown sense of decorum, could not hold back such a loud reaction.

Edmund took one of Jalissa’s hands in his and cradled her face with the other, whispering, “Are you sure? We don’t have to.”

If the elven vows were a little intimate by human standards, then the human practice of a kiss at the end of the ceremony was just as much, if not more so, by elven ones. Jalissa had agreed to this part of the ceremony, but he would not pressure her if she changed her mind now that the moment had come.

But Jalissa smiled, stepping closer instead of back. “Yes. Very sure. I want everyone in both our kingdoms to know without a doubt that I am your amirah and you are my ispamir.”

Edmund was not about to argue with that. Ignoring their audience, he leaned down and kissed her. His elf princess. Her spy prince. For now and always.

Epilogue

FOUR MONTHS LATER…

Essie followed the sounds of a baby’s shrieking belly laugh and Farrendel’s rumbling chuckle onto the porch that surrounded their bedroom in Estyra. For a moment, she simply stood in the doorway, drinking in the sight of Farrendel and their son.

Farrendel hung upside down from one of the rafters that held up the porch roof. He slowly curled his body upward, making faces at the baby held against his chest the whole time. Fieran’s eyes widened, mouth in a round O, as if in anticipation. At the top, Farrendel held himself still for a heartbeat, as if doing upside down sit ups while hanging from the ceiling and holding a baby was no feat whatsoever.

Then, Farrendel dropped, swinging both himself and Fieran to hang upside down once again all in a rush that earned him another peal of baby giggles. Farrendel kept steadying hands on the baby’s back and head, so the movement didn’t jostle him.

Again, Farrendel curled upward. Again, Fieran stared wide-eyed as Farrendel made faces at him. Then they whooshed down once more in a rush of giggles and chuckles and Farrendel’s long hair flying in an arc.

As the strands of silver-blond hair brushed the porch floor, their fluffy orange cat Mustache—named for the white line on his upper lip that gave him a permanent milk mustache—pounced from where he had been sunning himself and trapped a lock of Farrendel’s hair beneath his paws, tugging on it.

Farrendel winced, then glared down at the cat. With his attention no longer so focused on their son, his gaze finally flicked to where Essie stood in the doorway. “Why did we get the cat again?”

Essie grinned and pushed away from the doorjamb. “To get us both used to messes and hair pulling.”

“Then he has served his purpose very well.” Farrendel cradled Fieran with one hand, curled until he could grab the roof branch with the other, then swung lightly to land on his feet.

Now that Farrendel was right side up, Essie crossed the porch, stepping around the cat, and kissed him. “Good morning. Thank you for letting me get more sleep.”

Sometimes she fed Fieran and stayed awake, even though it was a ridiculously early hour that Farrendel, and now Fieran, apparently considered the normal time to rise. On those mornings, Farrendel would go off by himself for his usual exercise session. But some days, Farrendel would take Fieran while she went back to bed for more, well-appreciated sleep.

“I hope we did not wake you.” Farrendel sat cross-legged and laid Fieran on a soft blanket spread out near the railing, several of his toys scattered about.

Essie eased to the floor next to Farrendel and rested her head on his shoulder. “No. Besides, I love waking to the sound of baby giggles and your laughter.”

Farrendel picked up first a round wooden disk, then a spruce tree made of stone that Melantha had given them. He offered both to Fieran, giving an extra waggle to the wooden toy.

Still, Fieran wrapped his fingers around the stone tree, immediately jamming part of it into his mouth and gumming it.

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