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Rharreth smirked, his white hair and teeth flashing in the early morning sunlight, before he stepped in. With his large, burly arms, he gathered up a whole bunch of them and squeezed.

Now it was Essie’s turn to give a groaning laugh. She hadn’t thought this through all that well. She was now smashed between Weylind and Farrendel in the center of the group hug.

“Fine, fine. I am not grumpy.” Weylind’s tone had that fake scowling note he had when he was amused but didn’t want to admit it.

Good. The last thing Essie wanted to do was be stuck on a train for hours with a glowering Weylind. Especially since she was likely going to feel miserable the entire way as it was. She didn’t need him making it worse.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Jalissa stood on the platform, watching the train disappear into the green, leafy tunnel of trees that arched over the train tracks. All too soon, the silver train was nothing but flashes among the trunks until even that disappeared.

She understood why Weylind had wanted her to stay behind, even if he had been grumpily high-handed about it.

But for the first time in months, she did not want to cut herself off from her family while her heart was aching. This was the kind of ache that was soothed by being around people who were waiting for Edmund’s return alongside her.

She drew her shoulders straight. Edmund would not want her to spend her time moping while he was gone.

“With Weylind gone, I should oversee the rebuilding of the kitchens.” She was not sure who she was telling. Her machasheni was still there, but other than that, they were alone except for Sarya and the other remaining guards.

But now that Jalissa had said it out loud, the resolve filled her. She might not be the strongest with her plant growing magic, but she could help. She had taken down two of the spy-assassins, and she had created those vines for Edmund to help him on his mission.

If anything, her magic was more suited for things like creating portable growing magic. Weylind’s magic was so powerful that, like Farrendel, he had to expend great effort and concentration to keep it contained. But her magic was willing to be small, be patient, in order to fulfill its single purpose.

“Yes, we will both see to the rebuilding efforts.” Machasheni Leyleira faced the direction of Ellonahshinel. “But first, tea.”

“It is a little early for teatime.” Jalissa fell into step with her grandmother’s brisk strides.

“But never too early for tea,” Machasheni said with that same finality that she had used on Weylind.

“The kitchens are in ruins. Can we even make tea?” Jalissa glanced ahead as they strolled the main street of Estyra. After all the excitement of the previous day and night, the street remained peaceful and subdued. A few people nodded as they passed, acknowledging their princess and former queen. At the far end of the street, the charred remains of the kitchens smeared black against the otherwise green and vibrant forest.

“Farrendel, the dear boy, gave me one of his heating devices.” Machasheni Leyleira wore a contented smile, even as they faced the wreckage the Mongavarian spies had left behind. “I quite enjoy the convenience of being able to make tea whenever I wish, no matter the time of day or night.”

“He is quite proud of those devices.” He had offered her one, since he had a few extras after that sledding and boarding event he and Elspetha had hosted during the winter. At the time, she had turned him down, not wishing to see anything that reminded her of humans—and of one human in particular.

Another person she had hurt while having her pity party. When she saw Farrendel again, she would have to ask if he still had one available. Or if he could make her one. Maybe he would even let her help. It sounded rather fascinating, how he melded human mechanics and elven magic.

“He will go far with his magic, I believe.” Machasheni nodded, as if in approval of the future she was envisioning for Farrendel. “I have seen many centuries come and go. I have witnessed the humans and their innovations change our world again and again. Now, the humans are in a particularly inventive period. It will be to our people’s benefit if we learn to make those inventions our own.”

Jalissa nodded, thinking about the things she had seen in Aldon on her visits. There was great good in holding to traditions and history and old ways of doing things.

But her people tended to get stuck in the past, their world as nearly unchanging as their years. That kind of naivete would only get them swallowed up by some power-hungry, expanding human empire.

Like Mongavaria. Like Escarland could become, if they had a less honorable king.

Jalissa and Leyleira had to pass the ruins as they climbed the stairs, the acrid smell of smoke still lingering in the air.

Tarenhiel had already adopted some things, like trains. But, it had stalled there.

Elspetha and Farrendel had pushed Tarenhiel to look beyond its borders once again. His and Elspetha’s child would further that end, a child of both kingdoms.

Jalissa and Edmund could work for that goal as well. Elspetha and Farrendel mostly stayed outside of the court. They were the prince and princess of the common people. Well-loved, but with little power among the nobility.

But Edmund was devious, and Jalissa was the perfect elven princess. Together, they could play—and win—the game of court intrigue and manipulation.

Edmund was a chameleon, adapting his outward personality to whatever was expected of him. But then again, so was she. It had felt so natural to her, conforming to expectations, that she had not even questioned it.

Someone else might try to change that trait of hers. They might dismiss her serene conformity as a weakness.