Page 91 of Pretense

Edmund peered around the edge of the table as he disentangled himself from the poor elven woman, who remained frozen on the floor in utter panic.

The spy was already gone, his food abandoned on the countertop.

Edmund bit back more curses as he pushed to his feet. He glanced around until he found Jalissa and Sarya.

Sarya hauled Jalissa back to her feet after shoving her to the ground when the gunfire started. Instead of panicking like the others running around the room, Jalissa’s face was set. She, after all, had been shot at before, during the war.

He shoved his way between elves and around scattered chairs until he reached their side. “We need to get out of here.”

“The desk clerk. We need to help him.” Jalissa tugged at Sarya’s grip, glancing in that direction.

Edmund joined Sarya in directing Jalissa toward the door. One elf vaulted the countertop, dropping behind it to kneel next to the fallen elf. “Neither of you are healers. There is nothing you can do. Right now, guards are on their way, and they are just as likely to arrest us as apprehend the spies.”

Jalissa’s jaw worked, but she stopped fighting them as they reached the door and elbowed their way outside, caught by the frantic tide of elves fleeing the inn.

When they stepped outside, Edmund glanced around. But as expected, he couldn’t spot the spy. Not in the chaos.

Instead of giving chase, he led the way back to the forest floor, then down the no longer quiet street. Once he, Jalissa, and Sarya had found a sheltered spot beside a café that was in the process of closing for the evening, he halted to take a breath and assess their situation.

Jalissa turned to him, then frowned. “You are missing an ear.”

He felt first one ear, then the other. One of his fake ear tips must have been knocked off when he took the elven woman to the floor. His wig also felt slightly askew, and he did his best to adjust it without a mirror. “We can’t check into another inn for the rest of the night. The guards are going to be searching all the inns tonight. They’ll likely start turning this street upside down in a few minutes.”

“Maybe we should head for Ellonahshinel.” Jalissa shrugged, then tugged at her own wig, though she didn’t yet remove it.

Edmund shared a glance with Sarya, and after a moment she gave a nod. Good. He and Jalissa’s guard were in agreement. The last place they wanted Jalissa to go was Ellonahshinel. That would only add her to the spies’ list of targets. If Edmund did nothing else, he could at least keep Jalissa from being assassinated.

But to Jalissa, he shook his head. “I’d still rather stick to the shadows. It will keep the spies looking over their shoulders, and perhaps they’ll make another mistake in their jumpiness. After all, shooting that elf was already a big mistake. If the spy had kept his cool, he would have quietly walked away. He and his fellow spies had enough time before guards arrived to slip away without causing a fuss.”

Spies were bad enough, but unprepared spies were worse. These Mongavarian spies were very skilled, he would give them that. But they had trained and prepared for a spying mission in Escarland. Their mission must have been unexpectedly changed in the past year since the treaty with Tarenhiel.

A year was far too short a time to properly prepare for a mission like this, especially while still maintaining their cover and spying in Escarland. They hadn’t had time to perfect elvish or elven mannerisms. All of their information was stolen, not gained firsthand.

Edmund had managed a similar, quick change of spying location when he had joined the spying efforts on Kostaria. But he’d had access to the elves’ established spying network, and Edmund only had to adapt to a dialect of a language he already knew. Even then, he had felt like he had been running blind, causing him to take risks that had ultimately led to his capture.

The Mongavarian spies had that same desperate edge to them. That desperation made them especially dangerous.

“So where do we go now, if we are not going to Ellonahshinel?” Jalissa glanced back the way they had come.

The bustle around the inn was increasing as a squad of elven guards arrived. Time for them to get moving.

“This way.” Edmund led them farther up the street, then up the stairs to a small shop tucked into the branches of a maple tree. Even with the door shut, a myriad of floral and minty scents wafted from inside. A soft glow came from one of the windows toward the back, showing that someone was still awake and inside.

“This is Illyna’s shop.” Jalissa pointed at the door.

“Who better than one of Farrendel’s friends to give us shelter?” Edmund raised his hand to knock.

“But how do you know where…” Jalissa shook her head. “Wait, never mind. I do not want to know.”

She might not want to know, but Edmund figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell her anyway. It wasn’t like the pain between them could get any worse. “I’d tell you it was because I spied on Essie and Farrendel whenever they ventured into Estyra during the first three months of their marriage, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. I knew Illyna before then, but she knows me as someone else.”

“Of course you did, and she does.” Jalissa huffed out a breath that was the elven equivalent of an eye roll. “Is there anyone you didn’t spy on?”

“I avoided spying on your Machasheni Leyleira. She has a spy’s instincts when it comes to observation.”

“Oh, well that is comforting. At least you left my grandmother out of your nefarious activities.” She gave another tilt of her head. “I can see why you do not want Farrendel and Essie to know everything. Your own sister might join the stabbing party.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning despite the snap to her tone. “You do sarcasm very well. You should trot it out more often.”

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