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Wind whipped through Essie’s hair as they picked up speed, far faster than she would have dared with her own skills. But, with Farrendel’s steadying grip on her waist and his sense of balance, she didn’t worry about falling. Instead, she tossed back her head and laughed, giving in to the exhilaration of flying across the ice.

Farrendel twirled the two of them. He spun her, and she found herself facing him, her hands on his chest.

He scraped them to a halt, his skates shaving slivers of ice from the pond. Across the pond, Averett and Julien were shouting as they raced each other.

Essie shook her head, patting Farrendel’s chest. “Yep. Exceptional, as always. And a bit of a showoff.”

If anything, his grin widened.

But after a moment, his grin faded, a furrow forming on his forehead.

Essie glanced over her shoulder, then turned fully around.

Her mother was strolling from the direction of Winstead Palace, bundled in her winter coat, hat, scarf, and mittens.

Farrendel’s brother Weylind strode at her side, his thick cloak waving with the breeze of his passing. Essie had to hand it to him. Even here in Escarland, Weylind could still make a dramatic entrance.

Weylind halted on the edge of the pond, and his mouth was curving into a dignified smile.

“Weylind! Shashon!” Farrendel skated across the pond and, without a moment’s hesitation, hugged Weylind.

Essie skated close enough to hear Weylind’soofas he stood there, arms at his sides as if he was not sure how to respond. Over Farrendel’s shoulder, he gave Essie a glare that clearly saidYou broke my brother.

Smirking, Essie just shrugged.

As if realizing what he was doing, Farrendel stiffened, then pulled back, giving Weylind the elven shoulder-clasp hug instead. “Shashon, what are you—”

Averett and Julien flashed past Essie, both of them skating backwards, heading straight for Farrendel and Weylind.

“Look out!” Essie wasn’t sure if she was trying to warn Farrendel or warn Averett and Julien. Or possibly Mother who was standing off to the side.

Averett glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening. His arms flailed as he tried to stop, but he only succeeded in falling into Julien. While Julien kept his feet, the two of them were still careening too fast to stop.

Farrendel had just enough time to turn around before Averett and Julien crashed into him, sending him plowing into Weylind. Together, the four of them disappeared into the snow bank in a puff of snow and a tangle of flailing limbs.

“Are you all right?” Essie skated over to them as quickly as she could, but even before she reached their side, she could hear laughter coming from the snowbank. Even Farrendel seemed to be laughing, smushed under Averett and Julien as he was.

Essie wasn’t sure about Weylind. All she could see of him was black hair trailing in the snow and one hand and arm sticking out of one side of the brother pile as if grasping desperately for help.

Still chuckling, Averett rolled off the top of the pile to sit in the snow at the edge of the pond. “Sorry. We were racing backwards and didn’t see you.”

Julien extricated himself next, crawling to sit on the other side of Averett. “Well, I say they shouldn’t have been just standing and talking where we were racing.”

Essie shook her head as she halted next to them. “Really? Racing backwards?”

Mother crossed her arms and huffed, though she didn’t comment on Julien’s and Averett’s reckless behavior.

Farrendel shoved off Weylind and brushed snow from his hair. “You did not invite me to race.”

“Of course not. You would win too easily.” Julien fished around in the snow until he pulled out his snow-covered hat. He shook it, flinging snow in all directions.

Next to Farrendel, Weylind eased upright and brushed the snow from his clothes, face, and hair with dignified flicks of his hand, his expression almost too carefully blank. Only the faintest twitch at one corner of his mouth gave away his suppressed amusement. “Of course. We elves are far superior.”

Averett shook his head, chuckling. “Keep telling yourself that.”

Essie held out a hand to help Farrendel to his feet, but Farrendel didn’t seem to notice.

Instead, he was focused on Weylind, the laughter fading from his voice and eyes again. “Shashon, what are you doing here? Is something amiss in Tarenhiel?”