Page 12 of Peril

Weylind and Averett led the way onto the boat. While Edmund halted to talk to the two Escarlish spies who would double as their guards, Jalissa continued to her stateroom.

There she found Rheva sorting through a trunk. At Jalissa’s entrance, she turned and smiled. “Welcome back, isciena. I wish we did not have to immediately bid you farewell.”

Rheva gripped Jalissa’s shoulders, and Jalissa returned the gesture, stifling the pang that speared her chest.

She was not ready to leave so soon either. She wanted to enjoy being married and spending time with Edmund, not hustle off to Mongavaria.

If all went as planned, they would likely still be in Mongavaria when Farrendel and Essie’s baby was born. Her little brother was going to be a father for the first time, and she would not even be there. She likely would not even know the baby had been born until she and Edmund finally returned to Tarenhiel or Escarland, whenever that would be.

It hurt, but they had no choice. Who else could Tarenhiel and Escarland send to Mongavaria? Certainly not Farrendel and Essie, even if they were not about to be parents. Perhaps Edmund’s brother Julien could have taken on the duty, but he was tied up with securing the alliance with Kostaria.

No, this was a duty for her and Edmund. It was why he had trained to become a spy, for situations just like this. She had known when she married him that setting off to dangerous missions as ambassadors to foreign kingdoms would likely be a part of her future.

She just had not expected it this soon after her wedding day.

She forced a smile onto her face and gestured to the stacks of trunks. “This is quite the collection of luggage you have procured. Is it not a tad excessive? We may end up abandoning it in Mongavaria if things go wrong.”

Edmund had warned her not to pack anything that she would miss if they had to leave Mongavaria in a hurry with nothing but the clothes and weapons on their backs.

Rheva smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Perhaps. But you should arrive in Mongavaria in style. I believe Edmund requested that you appear the snooty, aloof elf princess?”

“Yes.” It would be a part of their cover. She would wear the mask of the aloof elf while he would be a ridiculous, empty-headed human prince. They would appear an odd couple, but hopefully everyone would focus on that and dismiss them as relatively harmless.

“The appearance of a great deal of luggage will aid the image.” Rheva returned to the trunk she had been sorting and pointed to it. “Besides, we had all the gear Edmund wished to smuggle into Mongavaria, and we could not do it in a single trunk without making it suspiciously heavy and too small inside. This way, we could spread the weight around.”

Jalissa rested her hand on the nearest trunk. With her magic, she could sense the trunk’s wood, and the hollow space at the bottom. When she opened the trunk, it was so skillfully constructed that she couldn’t tell the inside was smaller than it should be, even when she lifted the dresses inside to peer at the bottom. “This is good work.”

“Weylind built them himself.” Rheva traced her hand over the trunk’s lid.

Jalissa swallowed and blinked down at the silk dresses filling the trunk before her. Her brother was looking out for her any way he could. “Linshi. I will have to thank Weylind. These will be perfect.”

Jalissa shut the trunk and flipped the latch to keep it closed. Since these had been created by Weylind’s magic, the secret compartment could only be opened by another elf with plant magic. Like Jalissa or her guard Sarya. There was no latch or button for the Mongavarians to find, even if they suspected those trunks had a false bottom. They would have to take an ax to them, and even then, Jalissa suspected they would be tough to break open.

Yet that would mean only Jalissa and Sarya could access the hidden items. Hopefully it would not be a problem that Edmund could not.

Though they were married now. The seed of a heart bond should be there, presumably. If Jalissa threaded a hint of her magic through these trunks, maybe she could convince her magic to open for him too?

She would have to experiment. While security from prying Mongavarians was nice, it seemed dangerous to bar Edmund from his supplies.

Then again, if they were in so much trouble that both Jalissa and Sarya were incapacitated, they likely had bigger problems than Edmund being unable to open the secret compartments.

Rheva tapped one of the smaller trunks on top of a stack. “This one holds my contribution. The hidden compartment is filled with vials of tea infused with the strongest dose of healing magic it would hold. It will not heal a mortal wound, but it will heal much.”

“Linshi, isciena.” This time, Jalissa embraced Rheva with a quick, human-style hug. The elven hug did not seem enough in this instance, and Jalissa was becoming increasingly comfortable with the human gesture.

Having healing magic along could mean the difference between life and death. Rheva must have been working on this from the moment this mission had been announced to have so many strong healing medicines to send. A sacrifice on her part, when the demands for healers had been so great due to all the healers who had been sent to Kostaria.

“It was the least I could do.” Rheva stepped out of Jalissa’s hug, but she was not tense as if the human gesture had been unwelcome. Perhaps she, too, was becoming used to human hugs after being around Essie so much. “We wish to ensure your safety.”

No one could fully guarantee they would be safe. Not even Edmund, with all his skill.

But Rheva’s healing magic and Weylind’s hidden compartments would go a long way to ensuring that Edmund and Jalissa had the best chance possible.

ChapterTwo

Edmund leaned against the rail of the elven boat, the river breeze cool against his face. Ahead, a hint of a blue glow shimmered in the water of the Hydalla River, marking the border where the corners of Mongavaria and Escarland met along the river border with Tarenhiel.

At his side, Jalissa eased closer, her fingers tightening around his hand.

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