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They had done a mild version of this when interacting with their courts and investigating their nobles for signs of treachery or spying. But they were still mostly themselves.
This wasn’t them. It was a shell.
“How did you keep up the act for so long while spying on Tarenhiel?” Jalissa shook her head against his chest. “You changed your voice, your stance, your manner, your accent. Everything. And kept it up for years.”
Edmund cupped her chin and gently tipped her head up to face him. “Yes. But it was a struggle at times. Especially once I met a certain elf princess who made me want to be more myself than I should have been as a spy. I could change everything about myself but my heart. And that won’t change, Jalissa, no matter how ridiculous and empty-headed I seem while in public the next few weeks. I’m still the man you love, underneath the mask.”
Jalissa nodded, leaning into his hand and closing her eyes. “My ispamir.”
Her spy prince. Edmund held her close for several more, long minutes. It felt so good to hold her as he’d longed to do for years.
And now she was his wife. It was his duty to cherish her, and that was going to be a little difficult to do as he ought over the next few weeks.
After a few more minutes, Edmund cradled Jalissa’s face in both of his hands. “We promised each other that we would always help each other remember who we are beneath the masks. We’re going to be tested over the next few weeks, but together we are strong enough.”
Her mouth twisted with the smirk she was letting him see far more often now than she used to. “Yes. I suppose I will just have to be strong enough not to stomp on your foot every time you call me a ridiculous nickname.”
He threw back his head and laughed. Now there was the Jalissa he had fallen in love with.
ChapterThree
Jalissa braced herself against the rail at the bow of the ship and breathed in the sea breeze that tossed her hair. To her left, the ocean stretched out as far as she could see, deep blue and so vast she could not fathom it.
To her right, a distant smudge marked the shoreline. When they had swung closer to the shore, she had caught sight of long stretches of sandy beaches and grassy shorelines so unlike the rocky shores and high ocean cliffs along Tarenhiel’s coastline.
“Princess Jalissa, may I intrude?” Lord Crest stepped to the rail to join her.
Jalissa schooled her features into the regal mask she wore when around others. “Of course, Lord Crest.”
“I have observed that you seem to be rather astute, Princess Jalissa.” Lord Crest leaned against the rail glancing from her to where Edmund stood near the captain, laughing as they discussed the ironclad’s steam engine. “It makes me wonder if the prince is not as empty and charming as he seems.”
Jalissa resisted the urge to stiffen. Had she and Edmund given themselves away even before they had reached the Mongavarian capital? She forced that indulgent smile onto her face. “He can have his moments.”
“Perhaps.” Lord Crest eyed Edmund with a piercing gaze that reminded Jalissa of Edmund’s, when he was not pretending to be a brainless fop.
Could Lord Crest tell that Edmund’s genial, schmoozing act was disguising the fact that he was gathering information on the Mongavarian ironclad ships from the captain and crew? Had he noticed that Jalissa, with all her staring out at the ocean, was taking notes on the number of both merchantmen and warships flying the Mongavarian flag that plied the waters up and down the coast?
“Was there something you wished to discuss?” Jalissa raised her eyebrows, tilting her head to stare down her nose at Lord Crest with her most aloof, elven expression.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the…struggles Mongavaria has experienced between the king and the Consular Prime?” Lord Crest phrased it as a question, but his tone indicated that he already knew the answer.
Jalissa tilted her head into a slight nod. All the answer she would commit to giving him.
“While the king doesn’t view Escarland and Tarenhiel in a favorable light, there are others in the government who could be persuaded to take a more peaceable stance toward your kingdoms, if you take my meaning.” Lord Crest’s eyes bored into her, making it clear that he was one of those.
Jalissa did not dare commit to anything. “I see. I shall keep that in mind, Lord Crest.”
Was he truly implying that there were those among the Consular Prime who would back peace with the alliance, if they had the power to do so? What did he want out of the alliance in return? It could be rather messy—and dangerous—for Escarland and Tarenhiel to get mixed up in the politics of Mongavaria.
“That’s all I ask.” Lord Crest nodded, then stepped away from the rail. “If you will excuse me, Your Highness, I need to consult with the captain on our entrance into Landri Harbor.”
With that, he strolled away, leaving Jalissa with her churning thoughts. Was Lord Crest an ally? Or a very dangerous enemy?
More smoke poured from the stacks as the ship shuddered into a turn, angling toward the coast.
Jalissa braced herself against the rail, focusing ahead as the coastline drew closer. The smudge turned into a long, sandy point. The sand changed to tall seagrass, then curved as the full extent of the bay came into view.
Even with the extra, affected saunter, Jalissa could still recognize Edmund’s footsteps on the deck behind her a moment before his arms wrapped around her from behind. She leaned into him, savoring the feel of his arms around her.
