Page 65 of Pretense

Edmund described each of them to her. Apparently the head editor and three reporters from the Sentinel were there, and Jalissa made a note to keep an eye on them. None of them seemed particularly nervous, which was good. Hopefully that meant they hadn’t caught a whiff of the raid that was about to go down while they were here.

Across the room, King Averett, Queen Paige, and Prince Julien talked to a group of the head editors from all the newspapers that had been invited.

Edmund steered her to the punch table, handing her a glass before he took one for himself. “Who do you want to observe first?”

Jalissa resisted the urge to grimace. She would much rather focus on the Sentinel and spying.

But the reporters and editor were contained in the other side of the ballroom, doing nothing but harassing anyone who got close enough.

Jalissa sipped her glass of punch, using the motion to scan the elves and humans. Since Edmund wouldn’t recognize the elves by name, she described them to him instead. “The male elf with the light blond hair and black tunic.”

Edmund’s gaze flicked over the bustle for a moment. “He would be all right, but he believes in the superiority of elves over humans. I don’t think he would be willing to visit Escarland often.”

Now that Jalissa studied him, she could see how his lip curled whenever one of the human nobles got too close. He stayed with a knot of other elves who had come for this event. One of the other young lords who had been on her list also remained in that group, not mingling. She would eliminate him as well.

Getting along with humans was a priority for whomever Jalissa married. Even if she never again served as an ambassador to Escarland—though she would not mind doing so if she could ever shake this lingering attraction to Edmund—Jalissa needed to know that her husband would treat Elspetha well.

“Why do you think he and the others came, if they do not like humans?” Jalissa swung her gaze back to Edmund so that none of her fellow elves caught her staring.

“Probably the politics.” Edmund gave a slight shrug. “To get in your brother’s good favor, they are making a show of working with humans.”

That would make sense. Which was worse: the elves who had refused to come but were at least honest with their prejudice or the elves who were currently sneering at the humans but making a show of cooperation by coming?

None of them would make an acceptable marriage partner in either case. Jalissa mentally scratched all of them off her list.

She glanced around the ballroom again, trying to locate the next elf on her marriage partner list.

“How about the one with the dark hair? Dancing with the blonde-haired human woman?” Jalissa tilted her head in that direction. That one, at least, did not hate humans.

The dance ended, and the elf she had indicated bowed to the woman. He soon paired with another human woman as the next dance began.

Edmund held out his hand to her. “I think we need to get closer to observe.”

Jalissa took Edmund’s hand, her heart beating harder at his touch. When his hand rested on her waist, her knees went a little weak.

She should harden her heart. She was supposed to be trying to fall out of love with Edmund.

Instead, she swayed closer, as close as she dared in public like this. If only they were somewhere private. Then she would rest her head on his shoulder and lean into his strength while he held her in his arms the way he had when he comforted her in Kostaria.

Edmund’s breath warmed her ear a moment before he whispered, “This is all for show, right? Our fake relationship?”

Jalissa caught herself leaning even closer, and she yanked herself back from Edmund. She opened her mouth, but she could not flippantly lie. Her ears and face were burning, and she was not sure what to tell him.

“Of course. How dare I presume that this would be anything but a pretense? I can see you working up to proper indignation.” Edmund’s grin was quick, his tone light. But he looked away from her, hiding what expression lingered in his eyes. “That elf with the black hair. He would be a decent match, though he seems a bit oblivious to the needs of his partners. Was he your top choice?”

Jalissa shook her head and tried to focus on the room past Edmund. After a few moments, she located Merellien Halmar dancing with an Escarlish woman. His light brown hair flowed down the back of his light blue tunic. She had to clear her throat before she tilted her head in that direction. “Brown hair, light blue tunic.”

Edmund studied Merellien for several long moments, somehow still gliding through the dance steps without a stumble. He gave one nod. “He’s all right.”

Jalissa was not sure why, but her stomach dropped at those words. As if she had been hoping Edmund would tell her there was something wrong with Merellien so that she would have an excuse to take him off the list as well.

But that was foolish. If she eliminated all the elves on her list, it was not as if she would be free to marry Edmund.

The dance ended, and Edmund released her, leaving her cold.

He held his arm out to her, somehow still smiling as if his heart was not breaking the way hers was. “Then let’s ensure he asks you for the next dance.”

If she had been less of a princess, she might have dug in her heels. She should have been eager to dance with Merellien. If only he gave her the same feelings that she had when she was around Edmund.

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