Page 31 of Pretense

Edmund raised his glass in that direction. “We might as well start the game now. Can you tell what each of those Parliament members thinks of Farrendel?”

Jalissa studied them, taking in their stance. “Two of them are attentive. They must be in the coalition that supports closer ties with elves. The one in the green coat is shifting away, his lip curling whenever he glances at Farrendel.”

“And the one in the dark blue coat?” Edmund raised his eyebrows as he took a sip of his punch.

Jalissa studied the fourth man talking with Farrendel, Essie, King Averett, and Queen Paige. “He keeps glancing away toward the crowd. I think he is bored with the conversation.”

“That’s my assessment too.” Edmund shared a smile with her. “Good work, spy-in-training.”

His words should not warm a place inside her. She did not truly want to be a spy. Nor were there any kingdoms left upon which Tarenhiel needed to spy, now that they had made peace with both Escarland and Kostaria. Sure, Mongavaria had given them some trouble over the Hydalla River and the ocean trade, but that was a minor scuffle compared to the tension and wars that had been fought with the other kingdoms.

The orchestra launched into the first song, and across the room, King Averett bowed out of the conversation to open the dancing with Queen Paige.

Edmund set aside his glass and held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Jalissa set her own glass on the empty side table where it would be cleared by one of the servants bustling around the edges of the room. She took Edmund’s hand and glided onto the dancing floor with him.

Yet, as much as she had been dreading this night, she found herself relaxing in Edmund’s arms as they danced. Occasionally, he leaned close and whispered some observation. A dessert stain on someone’s shirt. A lipstick smudge that indicated a couple had been kissing in the garden before joining the dance. A lord with mismatched socks that could be glimpsed when he walked.

Somehow, Jalissa found herself smiling. Laughing, even. Her heart was lighter than it had been in a long time.

For one night, she let herself pretend that she could allow her heart to fall for this human prince. What was one more pretense, after all?

“Do you feel like you have a purpose?” Jalissa looked up from her book, watching Elidyr as he bustled about with his duties. Even when he happened across her in the library, he never seemed to stop moving, as if he did not dare appear less than the most dutiful servant.

Elidyr halted, then gestured to the bookshelves. “Yes. I am serving my kingdom. It may appear insignificant to shelve books and run errands, but someone needs to do the small, invisible things. Not everyone can be a warrior.”

Jalissa wished she had his conviction. Weylind and Farrendel were both great warriors. Farrendel, especially, had single-handedly turned the tide of war. Melantha had power that made her valuable, even though Tarenhiel had many healers already.

But Jalissa had an average strength of magic and the most common form of it. What purpose could she serve?

Chapter Eleven

Essie climbed into the open carriage, taking her seat as Jalissa and Edmund claimed the velvet-covered bench across from her. “I’m glad you were able to come with me today. After the ball yesterday, Farrendel isn’t up for going out and about again.”

Instead, he, Julien, Iyrinder, and the other guards were spending a few hours in practice bouts. And that was after Farrendel had already spent most of the morning by himself in the treetops. How he had enough energy for fighting after getting up far too early and exercising was beyond Essie. Even after sleeping in, she was still tired after the late night.

Actually, she had been tired all week. Apparently she was out of practice handling such a busy schedule.

Captain Merrick rode before them while the rest of their guard detail fell into place around the carriage.

Edmund relaxed against the bench as the carriage exited the palace gates. “It has been far too long since I’ve spent a morning wandering Aldon with my sister. Not that I would have argued if Farrendel had wanted to come.”

“You could have stayed behind and joined the sword practice.” Jalissa smoothed her skirt, her words holding a bite underneath her smooth expression.

“And miss this chance to show Aldon just how in love we are?” Edmund’s eyes twinkled as he draped an arm along the back of the seat, though he didn’t touch Jalissa.

“Of course.” Jalissa looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she pasted on a smile and waved at some of the people they passed. “We do seem to be the darlings of the press at the moment.”

Essie couldn’t dispute that. She hadn’t thought anything could push aside the scandal of Farrendel’s birth, but it seemed that a romance between Edmund and Jalissa, the beautiful elven princess, could do exactly that. The people seemed to be eating it up, and the papers that morning had been filled with such a lengthy report on how attentive Edmund had been to Jalissa throughout the ball that even Farrendel and Essie had been little more than a footnote.

Not that Essie minded, but it was strange how suddenly popular Edmund and Jalissa had become.

Instead of asking Jalissa and Edmund what was going on, Essie turned and waved to the people they passed. She would have to trust that Edmund and Jalissa knew what they were doing. They didn’t need her interfering.

“Was there somewhere you wanted to go?” Essie glanced at Edmund and Jalissa. At least the cheers had returned rather than the disapproval. “I have a few errands I’d like to run, but then I’m free.”

Since Farrendel wasn’t with them, she would take the opportunity to get his anniversary gift. Farrendel had been telling her all about this new model of safety goggles Lance had gotten. The goggles had all kinds of built-in gadgets and stuff, and Farrendel hadn’t been able to stop talking about it.

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