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FARRENDEL SHIFTED onthe moss of the train platform in Estyra, faced his family, and tried to keep his breathing steady, his expression neutral. Behind him, the train waited, sleek and silver on rails formed of tree roots stretching into the vast forest. Their bags had already been loaded, as had their horses and the gifts he had picked out for Essie’s family. All that awaited now was to say farewell to his family.
This was a diplomatic meeting. He was not going to war. He would not end up captured and tortured. His sister Jalissa was coming along as the official ambassador. She stood next to him, serene with her hands clasped in front of her.
More importantly, he would be with Essie. Even now, she held his hand, their first two fingers clasped with the backs of their hands pressed together tighter than was proper in public. But he did not care if his family saw and was embarrassed on his behalf. He needed the steadiness that her presence gave him at that moment. Both the grip of her hand against his, and the connection of the heart bond tugging deep in his chest.
Even with Essie’s protection, he and Jalissa would be stepping into a kingdom that had been their enemy a mere fifteen years ago. A kingdom that had reason to imprison and torture him simply for being an elf. Her brother Averett had promised peace, but would he keep that peace when presented with two elves in his own castle?
Well, three. Jalissa had a single female guard coming with her, more as a formality than anything. If Escarland wanted to cause trouble, one guard or ten, it would not matter.
None of them knew what to expect. While the human kingdoms seemingly practiced sending diplomats to each other’s kingdoms all the time, it was not a Tarenhieli custom. Not even his brother, King Weylind, had left Tarenhiel except to go to war.
A war Farrendel would be called to join the moment he returned from this trip to Escarland. Visiting Escarland might be terrifying, but it was preferable to becoming the weapon of death to protect Tarenhiel, as was expected of him.
After a long, tense moment where his family stared back, as if waiting for a cue to tell them it was time to say farewell, Farrendel’s niece Brina stepped forward. A smile tipped her mouth. “I am jealous. I have heard the human cities are a sight to behold.”
Farrendel shifted and glanced at Essie. She had told him much about her home, but he could not picture it.
Essie touched Brina’s arm. “Maybe we can take you for a visit in the future. When things are less tense. I’d love to show you Aldon.”
As Brina moved to talk to Essie, Farrendel’s nephew Ryfon faced him. Ryfon straightened his shoulders. “I will help hold Tarenhiel until you return.”
Farrendel barely kept himself from stumbling back at those words. He had been barely older than Ryfon when he had been captured and tortured. When his father had been killed rescuing him. He would not allow history to repeat with Weylind and Ryfon.
He reached out and gripped Ryfon’s shoulders. “Do not join the fighting. You can help your father best by taking on duties here at Estyra.”
Not that Farrendel thought Weylind would allow Ryfon anywhere close to the fighting. They had all learned their lesson after what had happened in the last war. No, Weylind would hold the trolls off, if they attacked in the next two weeks, and wait for Farrendel to arrive before he made any large-scale counterattack.
This was what the battles and torture had turned Farrendel into. He was Tarenhiel’s weapon. Until he had met Essie, that was all he had thought he would ever be.
Ryfon nodded and stepped back as Weylind’s wife, Rheva, strode forward to give a quick farewell while Weylind spoke with Jalissa.
When Rheva moved to exchange a stiff farewell with Essie, Weylind gripped Farrendel’s shoulders. “Stay safe, shashon.”
Farrendel swallowed back the frantic clawing in the pit of his stomach. He and Jalissa would be essentially alone in Escarland. The most vulnerable Farrendel had ever been, except for his capture by the trolls.
Guards would not do any good should Escarland turn on them. If that happened, they would be better served by Farrendel’s magic than with guards Weylind could not afford to spare. Not that Farrendel truly believed he would be called on to fight against a betrayal by Escarland’s royalty. Essie would not allow it. But that did not satisfy the part of him that panicked over any risk like this.
Since he could not allow Weylind to see his fear, he forced his face neutral and gripped Weylind’s shoulders in return. “I will.”
But Weylind did not release Farrendel. If anything, his grip tightened, as if he was loath to let him go. “I am trusting the Escarlish king with the protection of my family. Your magic is strong, but even you cannot stand alone against their army should they turn on you.”
Surely King Averett of Escarland would not risk war—a war he had sacrificed his own sister in a marriage alliance to prevent—by allowing injury to either Farrendel or Jalissa.
Farrendel glanced at Essie beside him, her focus on his and Weylind’s conversation now after Rheva’s short farewell.
Essie stepped closer, wrapping her arm around Farrendel’s waist as she faced Weylind. “My brothers will keep him safe. I know you don’t trust them, and you probably don’t trust me a whole lot either, but war between our peoples is the last thing Averett wants. Nor does he want to have me grumpy with him over not liking Farrendel. So your family is safe.”
Essie? Grumpy? Farrendel tried to picture it. The few times he had seen her grumpy, she usually turned weepy, then back to talkative and sunny fairly quickly.
Essie sighed and shook her head. “I’m talking too much again, aren’t I? You’re giving me your bewildered look. Which, honestly, doesn’t look a whole lot different from your panicked look or your indulgent look, but I can tell.”
Here he had thought he was doing an admirable job of keeping his expressions to himself. The public train station was hardly the place to be expressive.
Weylind gave him an almost pitying look before he released him, as if he still felt guilty about pairing Farrendel with such an exuberant human. Now was not the time to give yet another correction that, no, Farrendel did not mind being married to Essie in the least. She would never be tame enough to truly fit among the elite of elven society, but Farrendel would not want that for her.
King Weylind moved to Essie, hesitated a moment, then gripped her shoulders. “Look after him for me, isciena. This is going to be harder for him than you know.”
