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Perhaps she would stay here forever.

She heaved one last trembling sigh. “I don’t think a couple is supposed to use the heart bond to keep each other alive quite as often as we do.”

“No. We have made far too much use of the elishina. Let us hope this is the last time it is needed.” Farrendel’s arms tightened around her slightly, and he smoothed some of the sticky, tear-soaked strands of her hair from her face. “Your macha is here. She came along on the train when…”

When Essie was dying. Of course her mother would want to be with Essie at a time like that.

Farrendel’s fingers rubbed Essie’s shoulder, the stiff one that had been wounded. “Rheva is giving her a tour of Ellonahshinel right now, but they will be back soon. I knew you would want to show her Estyra yourself, when it is safe to do so.”

Essie nodded against Farrendel’s chest, relaxing still further as his fingers eased the knots in her muscles. She had dreamed of having her mother here, but now with the assassin hunting Farrendel, she wasn’t sure when she would have a chance to show her mother the city she had come to love as much as the one where she had grown up.

“I have not told her about…everything.” Farrendel kept working at the stiffness in her muscles, easing the tension there until Essie felt as relaxed as a cat in the sun.

“We can tell her together.” Essie smoothed her fingers against Farrendel’s soft shirt.

Essie’s stomach rumbled, giving another nauseous lurch. Perhaps they shouldn’t wait too long to tell her. She was bound to notice if Essie started puking every morning. Her mother enjoyed having grandkids too much to overlook something that obvious.

“I can bring you food.” Farrendel’s voice rumbled in his chest beneath her ear. “There is soup. And fresh bread.”

She tipped her face up so that she could look at Farrendel. “The bread sounds good. But you know what I would really love right now? A nice, warm bath. That tub was truly the best birthday present ever, you know.”

He’d had a deep, copper tub grown in place with twisting, living branches. It was truly the most elegant bathtub she had ever seen. Between that and the handrails that finally made these elven rooms feel safe instead of precarious, she would never have a better birthday present.

Farrendel kissed her forehead. “I will start it running for you, then fetch some bread.”

“Don’t make it too hot.” Essie reluctantly let him go as he eased from the bed. “You’re the best.”

As he left, she curled into the warmth of the blankets where he’d been. A baby. They were having a baby. For the first time, the expected thrill of excitement filled her chest, and she let herself dream of ways to tell her mother, her family, his family.

When Farrendel returned, he left the door to the water closet open, filling the bedroom with the comforting sound of water gushing into the bathtub. The soft smell of lavender wafted from the room as well, telling her he’d added the bath salts she liked so much.

Before Essie had the chance to do more than sit up, he scooped her up in his arms. Essie wrapped her arms around his neck, steadying herself as he carried her toward the water closet. “You’re going to hover obnoxiously while I’m pregnant, aren’t you?”

“Of course.” Farrendel grinned, the somber look finally fading from his eyes. “I might even manage to be more suffocating about it than Weylind.”

Essie laughed, then kept laughing because it felt so good. “You know, I think you might.”

* * *

Essie’s mother was, of course, excited beyond words for the two of them. Essie had a feeling that, as soon as the assassin was caught, she and her mother were going to take a shopping trip into Estyra for baby things.

It felt good to share excitement over the news. And, as Essie had shown no symptoms of anything being wrong, she was starting to believe everything would be fine.

That evening, Essie and Farrendel sat on the porch that ringed their room, the new spindles in the railing blocking some of their view of the treetops.

Essie snuggled against Farrendel, his arm around her shoulders and a blanket warm over their legs. She closed her eyes and heaved a long breath. “This was a good day. Despite the assassin still out to get us.”

Farrendel’s arm tightened around her. “He will not get close enough to you to take a shot again.”

“I am glad Iyrinder is well enough to join the patrols.” Essie shivered, and Farrendel tucked the blanket over her shoulder. She hadn’t found out until later that Iyrinder had been shot as well.

“He told me Miss Merrick took good care of him.” Farrendel’s voice held a note of puzzlement.

“Well of course she did.” Essie cracked her eyes open and peered up at Farrendel. “They are sweet on each other.”

“Ah.” Farrendel’s expression cleared, as if she had answered a mystery for him. “That explains why he turned down Weylind’s promotion.”

If it meant being separated from Farrendel’s guard detail, and thus from Miss Merrick, of course Iyrinder had turned it down. Essie nodded against Farrendel’s chest. “We will have to think of a different way to suitably reward him for saving you. Though if he just spent the last few days being cared for by Miss Merrick, he might count that as a reward in itself.”