Page 79 of Pretense

Jalissa’s grimace deepened, but she didn’t complain as she slipped inside. When she exited, she scrubbed her hands on her clothes, her mouth curled and her nose wrinkled. “That was disgusting.”

“It was that or the forest.” Edmund shrugged.

“I think I would have preferred the forest.” Jalissa gave another shudder.

Sarya eyed the outhouse, then took a step back. “I will wait.”

Edmund grinned and led the way out of the school yard and down the road toward the Hydalla River. Before they reached the river and the guard post, however, he turned onto a thin trail that led off into the scrub brush that bordered the river.

He, Jalissa, and Sarya hiked for nearly two miles before another stone structure rose above the short, scrubby trees. As they approached, a few crows cawed and flapped into the sky.

“What is this place?” Jalissa glanced around as they stepped through a stone archway.

The wall to their right was still standing, but it was nothing but a pile of rubble to their left. Before them, the collapsed remains of a castle keep loomed in a heap of stone, ivy, and trees growing up through what remained of the towers.

“This is an ancient elven castle.” Edmund rested his hand on one of the stones. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine the ghosts of the people who had lived here hundreds and even thousands of years ago. “It was modified by the humans who founded Escarland, but it was eventually left in ruins after one of the many wars back then.”

Jalissa also reached out but stopped short of touching it, her eyes considering.

Edmund studied the stones as well. What had it been like, when elves ruled an empire that stretched over what was now Tarenhiel, Kostaria, Escarland, Mongavaria, and parts of several other kingdoms? The elves had ruled by the strength of their magic, back in a time when many elves had magic like Farrendel’s. Would marriages like Essie and Farrendel’s and Rharreth and Melantha’s bring back some of that strong, wild magic of old?

No wonder kingdoms like Mongavaria were becoming worried. The decline of the elves had led to the rise of the human kingdoms, and Mongavaria, with its hundreds of miles of ocean coast, had an advantage over a nearly land-locked kingdom like Escarland.

Only the Hydalla provided Escarland access to the ocean, and even then, Escarland had to depend on the good graces of either Tarenhiel or Mongavaria to allow their steamboats to reach the ocean. Before the treaty with Tarenhiel, the power over the Escarlish ocean trade had rested solely with Mongavaria. Now, Escarland could bypass Mongavaria entirely if they so desired.

Edmund didn’t move for a moment, giving Jalissa time to wander and absorb the sight of these ruins. As they had hiked, her kerchief had come undone and her glossy, dark brown hair had fallen from its pins, cascading down her back and revealing her pointed ears once again.

He loved her when she dressed in an Escarlish disguise, with dirt smudged on her face and smelling like a sewer. But here she was in her element. Graceful and serene as she explored the ancient ruins of her people.

She was as adaptable as he was, maneuvering through everything from the underbelly of Aldon to the court at Winstead Palace with little trouble.

When Jalissa returned to him, Edmund led the way through the maze of the ruined castle. They entered the keep, clambering around fallen stones and undergrowth until they reached what looked like an old door with a rusted iron lock.

This time, the Mongavarian spies hadn’t even bothered to re-lock the door. After checking it was safe, Edmund swung it open, revealing a wooden floor and stone walls that were far sturdier and better maintained than the rest of the ruins.

On the floor were scattered wigs and clothing that Edmund recognized as some of the missing disguises that the Mongavarian spies had taken from Aldon.

It was galling, seeing them here. Edmund, and the Intelligence Office, had spent years setting up the safe houses and network in Tarenhiel. And here these Mongavarian spies were just cutting out all the hard work and stealing everything Edmund had built.

Sure, it was time this was dismantled, now that such an extensive spy operation was no longer needed in Tarenhiel. But he had not wanted it to end like this, stolen by their enemies and turned against both Tarenhiel and Escarland.

“We can change into our sturdier clothes and leave the carpet bags here.” Edmund set down his and Jalissa’s bags in the center of the small, stone room.

Jalissa stepped inside, then halted. Her nostrils flared slightly as she sniffed. “Do you smell that?”

Edmund drew in a deep breath, trying to sort through the smells. Damp earth. Musty stone. A hint of dust. “You have a better nose than I do. What is it?”

“There is a floral scent.” Jalissa frowned. “I think it is the same scent I smelled in the apartment where the assassin set up his ambush.”

Edmund turned around, scanning the costumes once again. There had been female costumes missing from the safe house in Aldon. He had thought the Mongavarian spies were planning to dress as women to obscure their trail.

But what if one of their number was a woman? Those costumes were for her.

“We’re chasing six spies, not five.” Edmund crossed his arms, still staring at the items scattered around the tiny room. “Five men and one woman.”

The landlady had mentioned several female visitors, but what if it had been only one woman who changed her appearance each time? She would have been the one bringing messages back and forth between the assassin waiting in the tenant house and the rest of the spies at the Sentinel.

“Where did she come from?” Jalissa spun to face him. “She was not one of the editors or reporters at the Sentinel, was she?”

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