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Grinning, Edmund nudged the door open with his foot. “All right, mostly dead.”
He strode inside, then kicked the door shut behind them. Setting her down, Edmund kept a hand on her waist as he looked around, taking in the room.
Jalissa tried to see it as he did. It was a pretty standard elven room, formed of living branches melded together and arching over the windows and doorways. Magical protections over the windows kept out the bugs and could be darkened for privacy. A small section of kitchen cupboards had been grown along one wall, while a seating area had been grown into the other side, including a padded bench along the wall instead of only cushions on the floor. While Farrendel preferred sitting on the floor, Jalissa did not.
On one wall hung a painting of the Kingsley Gardens that she had purchased from an artist in the Aldon Market. It was the only personal touch in the room.
Most of her personal belongings were in the bedroom, like the book on the Kingsley Gardens Edmund had given her or the photograph portrait that she and Edmund had posed for in a studio in Aldon. They looked far too serious, outlined in black and white and, as instructed, not smiling. But it still made her smile, remembering how long it had taken for them to keep that pose without breaking into laughter.
She glanced toward the nearest window. Through it, she could see the roof of Weylind’s main room, even if a screen of broad leaves kept their windows from looking into each other.
A pang shot through her. Farrendel had never lived in his own room here on the royal branch. When Dacha had been killed, Farrendel had still been living in one of the rooms off the king’s suite of rooms, the rooms that now belonged to Weylind and his family. When Weylind had moved in, Farrendel had refused a room on the royal wing and instead moved into the farthest set of rooms he could find in all of Ellonahshinel.
Jalissa had been hurt back then, feeling like her brother was pushing her away. And he had, in a way. But now she could better understand how he had needed the space to process and attempt to heal from the trauma. And he had not wanted the rest of them to know how bad his nightmares were.
Even now that things were getting better, he and Essie were perfectly happy where they were. They were not about to move to the royal branch.
Edmund wrapped both arms around her waist, hugging her to his chest. “The royal branch is…cozy.”
Jalissa glanced toward the roof of Weylind’s rooms again. Now that she thought about it, his room was uncomfortably…close. The thick leaves and the darkening windows kept the rooms private, but Weylind would be able to see all of her and Edmund’s comings and goings. She had never thought about it too much when it came to Weylind and Rheva. They had been married when Jalissa was too little to think anything of it other than be excited that she got to wear a pretty dress and gained a sister. But now that she was the one married…
Maybe Farrendel and Essie had the right idea. A little more space might be nice.
Sure, things would still be on the cozy side in Buckmore Cottage. But at least there, Essie and Farrendel had claimed the turret on the second floor and Edmund and Jalissa had claimed a room on the first floor on the entirely other side of the manor house. They only had to share the parlor and kitchen space.
Cozy, yes. But Farrendel wasn’t smotheringly overprotective like Weylind. And who knew how often all of them would be in Escarland at the same time.
“You might have a point.” Jalissa turned in Edmund’s arms. “I am not too attached to this set of rooms. We can explore Ellonahshinel and pick out new rooms together. If we do not find empty rooms that speak to us, we can always pick an empty branch and have new rooms built. After all, Ryfon and Brina will want to move out of their current rooms to their own suites sooner rather than later. With royalty visiting from other kingdoms more often, having more guest rooms will be appreciated. Averett and Paige, Rharreth and Melantha, could each have permanent rooms here, if they wished. An extra courtesy and symbol of our alliance, perhaps.”
She could picture it already. A cozy set of rooms on a far branch with their own lift like Essie and Farrendel had so they could come and go as they pleased. She would grow that little white orchid into part of the wall, a reminder of what they had survived. Perhaps she would beg a few flowers out of the gardeners at the Kingsley Gardens, and she would have her own mini garden right inside her home.
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Edmund murmured in her ear before he nuzzled her neck. “But I’m thinking maybe we go house-searching tomorrow. For tonight…”
He swept her into his arms again and kissed her.
Jalissa kissed him back, fisting her fingers in the warmth of his loose shirt.
She had loved him as Elidyr, the quiet elf clerk. Then she had loved him as Edmund, the loud Escarlish prince. She had married him as Edmund, the spy prince who had stolen her heart.
Yet somehow their adventures in Mongavaria had tied them together in a new, more intimate way. Perhaps it was the heart bond that made everything between them feel richer, deeper. Or maybe it was the new understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It might even be the fact that she had spent a day and a night never farther than a hand’s clasp away from him. She had seen him at his lowest, his weakest.
And they had survived it, coming through it all stronger than ever.
She had not thought it possible, but she loved Edmund even more than she had when she married him a mere four weeks ago.
How much more would their love grow over the years and centuries they had before them?
She was looking forward to finding out.
