Page 4 of Peril

“Are you saying my name is too long and elven?” Farrendel picked up the twine and sent it skittering across the patio again. The newly named Mustache raced after it.

Edmund took that as his cue to gracefully bow out. He backed away, then quietly slipped into the cottage.

Yet a hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. Would he and Jalissa someday have the same discussion over what to name their child?

Inside, Jalissa sat on the couch in the parlor, sorting through a pile of envelopes. She glanced up and smiled as he entered.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Are those all invitations?”

“Yes. It seems the nobles of Escarland are rather delighted to have an elf princess engaged to their spy prince.” Jalissa smiled and tossed the entire stack on the coffee table. “Do you have a preference as to which events we attend?”

In other words, which ones would aid in his investigation. It was the same thing they had done in Tarenhiel for the first month after they started courting. They schmoozed the elven court and the citizens of Estyra, searching for any indications of traitorous intentions. Once they were satisfied that Mongavaria hadn’t managed to plant any spies in Tarenhiel, they returned to Escarland.

While he hadn’t turned up any more Mongavarian spies among Escarland’s nobility, several of them were up to some highly suspect importing practices—well, smuggling—that Edmund wanted to look into further.

Edmund joined her on the couch and began sifting through the invitations. This dinner party was hosted by one of the nobles on his list. He and Jalissa would definitely have to attend that one. This soiree would also have many of the nobles he was investigating in attendance. He set aside a few more of the invitations, making sure none of them conflicted with each other or the weeks he and Jalissa planned to spend at Lethorel with her family. “We’ll need to attend these.”

Jalissa’s smile took on a hint of a smirk. “I see.”

“Do any of the other invitations sound appealing to you?” Edmund spread them out on the table. “We might as well attend a few for enjoyment and not just for work. Besides, if we only attend parties for the investigation, someone might catch on.”

Jalissa sorted through the invitations, then plucked one from the table. “Lord and Lady Fiskre invited us to attend an opera with them. I have heard of this human custom, and I would like to experience it at least once.”

Lord and Lady Fiskre were elderly and loyal to the crown. Edmund wouldn’t mind an evening spent in their box, though Lord Fiskre would likely snore his way through the opera. “Yes, let’s accept that one. How about this one as well? It is at Lord and Lady Humberley’s estate just outside of Aldon. They have extensive gardens that I think you would love to explore.”

Jalissa’s eyes lit up, and she all but snatched the invitation and slapped it onto the accept pile. “Yes, we must go to that one.”

“We’ll have to ask if Essie and Farrendel were invited to that one as well. They might be willing to attend if we’re there as well.” While most of the furor over Farrendel’s illegitimate birth had died down, it still wouldn’t hurt if Farrendel and Essie made a public appearance or two while they were here in Escarland.

“Yes.” Jalissa nodded, tapping the invitations they were going to accept into a neat stack.

Edmund looked through the remaining invitations and didn’t see any others that looked even remotely appealing. Besides, they wouldn’t want to overschedule themselves. They were sure to receive more invitations, and they would be leaving shortly for the vacation at Lethorel.

Not to mention, they had a wedding to plan. He’d heard those were complicated things, if one didn’t hold it last minute like Essie and Farrendel had. And as much as simply eloping with Jalissa sounded like the better option, Edmund wasn’t even going to suggest it. Sure, their wedding was likely going to be more for their kingdoms than for them. He and Jalissa were both politically minded enough that they would even play into that aspect.

But in the end, he would finally be married to Jalissa. And he’d do it as himself, not under disguise or hiding in the shadows. It was more than he had dared dream a year ago.

Family Vacation

Edmund was so incredibly bored. Sure, spending time at Lethorel with Jalissa and her family had been fun for the first few days. He’d challenged Farrendel and Ryfon to a cannonball contest, and even Weylind had joined them in swinging from the rope into the lake, though Weylind performed a perfect dive rather than attempt to make the biggest splash.

Edmund had talked Jalissa into teaching him archery, and he might have taken advantage of her showing him how to hold a bow to snuggle with her. He’d proven to be rather terrible at archery, though he blamed his distraction. She rolled her eyes at him—a human gesture she’d picked up and was becoming rather too adept at—and lightly swatted his arm.

He was even running out of ways to annoy Weylind, from slurping the soup at dinner to giving him brotherly backslaps at every opportunity.

But now they were a week into their two-week vacation, and he was about ready for an assassin to attack to break up the boredom. There was only so much rest and relaxation he could take before his mind went crazy craving a puzzle or danger orsomething.

Right now, Essie, Jalissa, Rheva, and Brina lounged near the lake. They laughed at something Essie said, and Jalissa’s face lit with her smile. At least Jalissa was having a good time. Whatever he did, he couldn’t let her see how bored he was. He didn’t want to diminish this time with her family.

He’d just have to come up with another way to entertain himself.

He glanced at Farrendel, who was sprawled on the ground a few feet away. “Any ideas of what else we can do?”

Farrendel tilted his head enough to shoot a glance at Edmund. “You can join me for a run through the treetops.” He spoke far too eagerly for someone who had already bounded through the treetops before the sun had even fully risen.

Edmund suppressed a shudder. While he was comfortable on the branch pathways the elves preferred, Farrendel ran along branches that were mere twigs. As bored as he was, Edmund wasn’t bored enough to attempt that. “Thanks, but no thanks. What about a round of cards?”

“Cards?” Weylind lounged on the grass a few yards away. His mouth curled a bit. “As in, gambling?”

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