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Illyna hurried from the back room of the shop, her blonde hair floating behind her. As her gaze settled on Farrendel, Essie, then their clasped hands, Illyna’s smile twisted with a hint of wariness.
Farrendel braced himself as Illyna stepped toward him. He was not looking forward to having to reassure yet another set of people that Essie was not a danger to him, despite the quick marriage or the fact that she was a human.
Illyna grasped his left shoulder with her hand, the stump of her right arm bumping against his shoulder as she spoke in elvish. “It is good to see you are well. You did not seem happy at your wedding. I never would have expected you to leap into marriage like this.”
Illyna, Fingol, and the others had been able to sit in the back rows at the wedding. That far back, they would not have been able to see much, nor had they been able to come forward to congratulate Farrendel.
Not to mention, much had changed over the past day thanks to talking to Essie.
“It was a surprise. But not as unwelcome as it might have looked.” Farrendel gripped Illyna’s shoulder with his free hand, not willing to let go of Essie’s hand yet. Something Illyna was sure to notice. He glanced at Essie, still speaking in elvish. “This is my wife, Essie.”
Illyna studied Farrendel’s face, then turned to Essie.
Farrendel met Essie’s gaze and switched to Escarlish. “This is Illyna.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Illyna faced Essie, going stiff. “The rumors have been swirling in Estyra about the human princess our Laesornysh brought home.”
Farrendel suppressed a sigh. He was inundated with overprotective siblings and friends. Though, he was not too worried about Illyna. She would figure out quickly enough that Essie was not a human to be feared.
“You fought against the trolls, didn’t you?” Essie’s tone softened.
Illyna darted a glance toward Farrendel, as if asking what he had told Essie. He gave a shrug and a small shake of his head. He had not told Essie anything about Illyna yet, but Essie was very good at reading between the lines. It was one of the things he liked about her. Half the time, she figured out things before he had to come up with the words to explain them.
But he probably should explain a bit more about Illyna. Thanks to his illegitimate birth, the elven court was not above creating salacious rumors about him any time he so much as talked to an unmarried female elf, much less counted them as a friend as he did Illyna.
Would Essie read the wrong thing into his relationship with Illyna? It was strictly friendship. Always had been. They had been bonded by shared experiences, not by any kind of attraction. His grip tightened around Essie’s fingers. “She was with the unit who rescued me.”
Essie stepped forward. Instead of jealousy, her gaze held a steady openness. “Can I give you a hug? A real, human hug? Because you deserve a hug for helping rescue Farrendel from the trolls.”
“A human hug?” Some of the wariness drained from Illyna’s shoulders. She shot another glance at Farrendel, and he smiled. It was way too satisfying to watch Essie bewilder someone else for a change.
“Yes. Like this.” Releasing Farrendel’s hand, Essie wrapped her arms around Illyna in a human hug that was much more gentle than the one he had seen her share with her brothers before they left Escarland.
Over Essie’s shoulder, Illyna motioned to Essie, mouthing, “Is she always like this?”
He nodded, and the expression that tugged on his mouth almost felt like a grin. Yes, Essie had won Illyna over just like that. Essie had her own kind of magic. One of warming smiles and infectious joy.
Essie released Illyna after only a moment, as if realizing any more than that would push Illyna’s boundaries too far.
Illyna’s smile had teasing instead of wariness now, her stance relaxed. “I see the rumors have been wrong. But I should have known. Our Laesornysh does not let people into his life without good reason.”
Farrendel’s ears burned, and he had to duck his head. What was worse? Having to explain Essie to his wary friends? Or the moment they stopped being wary and started teasing?
“I’m beginning to be really curious about these rumors.” Essie clasped her hands in front of her, glancing between Illyna and Farrendel as if hoping one of them would tell her.
Farrendel could not meet her gaze. He had yet to hear the rumors, but he could guess. Probably something along the lines of how the illegitimate prince could not help but cause more scandal by marrying a human. Or how if one of the elven royalty had to be sacrificed, it might as well be the prince whose blood was already tainted.
“I am sure you are.” Illyna’s tone gave nothing away. Instead, she gestured at her shop, with a smile. “But you are not here to trade gossip. You are here for some of my products.”
That brought the smile back to Essie’s face. “What do you have for shampoo?” She dropped her gaze almost immediately. “Not that I need anything. The shampoo I was given will work fine.”
There was something to her tone of voice that itched at him. He opened his mouth, trying to think of what to tell her. This was her home now. She should feel free to pick out something as simple as new shampoo and conditioner without worry about what he would think.
Illyna stepped in before he managed to get a word out. She sniffed a lock of Essie’s hair, grimacing. “No, it will not. Basic grass is a perfectly reasonable scent to keep on hand for guests when you want a generic smell, but it is not suitable for a princess.”
He could hear Illyna’s teasing reprimand, and he winced. If he had had time to better prepare for getting married, he would have replaced that awful grass shampoo before bringing Essie home. Perhaps, if he had been less panicked by everything, he would have thought to send a message to Illyna to prepare the guest room for Essie.
Too late now.
