Page 56 of Peril

“Good.” Jalissa gave a small shudder.

He drew in a deep breath, preparing himself for the next part. “And I’m going to tell General Bloam that I resign from the Intelligence Office.”

“What?” Jalissa shoved upright, facing him. “No, you cannot do that.”

He stared at her. He’d thought she’d be happy with that, not shocked. “Why not? I thought you would want me to stop spying.”

“Yes. And no.” Jalissa sighed, then rested her hand against his cheek. “Yes, I am not pleased with some of your decisions as a spy. But I also know you. If you retire from spy work to simply become a prince of the court, you will die of boredom. Do not think I was oblivious to how bored you were at Lethorel.”

He chuckled and tilted his head enough to press a light kiss against her fingers before he murmured, “You noticed that, did you?”

“It was hard to miss.” Jalissa framed his face with both of her hands and met his gaze, her dark eyes twinkling, before she leaned closer as if imparting a secret. “You, my ispamir, were an absolute pest.”

Maybe pestering Weylind hadn’t been the most mature way to deal with his boredom.

Perhaps Jalissa had a point. He needed something to keep his mind occupied, otherwise he started playing mind games on what was supposed to be a relaxing family vacation.

“Linshi, my amirah.” He tugged Jalissa closer again. “In that case, I’ll talk to General Bloam and reiterate that I’d prefer to no longer be sent into the field. What we were doing this past summer was not so bad. Perhaps I could be assigned to counterintelligence rather than active intelligence gathering.”

“I enjoyed working at your side for that.” Jalissa looped her arms around his neck.

“I would like that.” Edmund gathered her into his arms and kissed her.

* * *

Two days later,Edmund strolled toward Averett’s office, pretending that his legs weren’t already aching from the walk from Buckmore Cottage to Winstead Palace.

The door was cracked open, an invitation to enter. He strode inside and promptly sank into his favorite chair facing the desk with his back to the wall.

Averett glanced up from his stack of paperwork, a grin already on his face. At the front of his desk, prominently displayed, was the most grotesque lamp Edmund had ever seen. It was made of twining branches shaped like a screaming human face. It was lit from within by an elven light.

“Where did you get that?” Edmund jabbed a finger at the lamp. He couldn’t remember seeing it before—and he certainly would have remembered something like that. It definitely wasn’t his brother’s usual taste in décor.

“From Weylind.” Averett’s grin widened. “I lost a wager.”

There was something about his grin, the look in his eyes, and the way he said it. What had this wager been about? What would he and Weylind have had a friendly bet over?

Essie and Farrendel’s baby. That had to be it. Weylind must have sent word this morning, and Averett was just waiting for the official telegram from Essie and Farrendel before he told anyone else.

Edmund suppressed his own smirk to avoid letting Averett know that he knew. “You sent for me?”

“I received a message from Lord Crest. He is prepared on his end to set up our meeting with King Jimson.” Averett’s grin dimmed only a little bit as he spoke about Mongavaria. “I just sent off the official message to King Jimson requesting a parley.”

“I’m sure he will get back to you quickly. We are holding his daughter hostage, after all.” Edmund sprawled in the chair, hoping he looked casual instead of as if he was trying to ease his aching muscles. Recovering from being poisoned was worse than being shot. At least when he’d been shot, only his chest hurt. With the poison, his whole body had a dull ache. Nylian had assured him that the ache would go away in a few days.

“Yes.” Averett shrugged, then rested his elbows on his desk. “Julien mentioned that you and Jalissa are going to continue taking over his court duties for the foreseeable future. I think it’s a good idea, if you both are up for it.”

“We are.” Edmund met Averett’s gaze. “And I’d rather not get sent on any more ambassador-spy missions if you can help it. I know you didn’t have much of a choice to send us to Mongavaria, but I have Jalissa to think of now.”

“I understand. Hopefully, no more missions like that will be necessary.” Averett shrugged, a twist to his mouth. “Besides, Parliament has been rather unhappy that I’ve been doing so much of the negotiating with foreign powers lately. I’m sure they’ll be happy to take over missions to some of our neighboring kingdoms.”

Edmund nodded. Averett had been holding that power close, knowing that as soon as he gave it to Parliament, he would never get it back. It was part of the tug and pull that had been going on for centuries as the Parliament slowly took on more power. Perhaps by the time Edmund was an old man several centuries from now, the Escarlish king would be no more than a figurehead.

Until that day, Averett preferred to keep a balance of powers between Parliament and his throne so that neither of them grew too powerful.

Still, many of the neighboring kingdoms were ruled by oligarchies or an elected senate. They would probably respond better to an emissary sent by Parliament than someone from the royal family.

A knock came from the doorway, and Edmund turned to see a footman standing there. “Your Majesty, Your Highness. The Queen Mother has received a telegram from Tarenhiel and has requested the presence of both of you in her personal parlor.”

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