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But Essie strode straight to Weylind, that smirk on her face telling Farrendel exactly what she was going to spring on his brother.

She grinned at Weylind. “Welcome to Escarland, Weylind. This is an unexpected pleasure. Farrendel and I had planned to bring gifts from Escarland to your whole family when we returned to Estyra, but it seems we can give your present to you now. Farrendel picked this outespeciallyfor you. We are so fortunate that it was delivered last night.”

Weylind raised his eyebrows and glanced at Farrendel.

Farrendel pressed his mouth into a line, trying to suppress his own smirk. He had not imagined doing this with most of Essie’s brothers watching, but it seemed Essie had other ideas.

With her too-innocent smile, Essie brought her hand from behind her back and presented Weylind with the green-streaked mug with its jutting elf ears. “This is for you.”

Weylind blinked, eyebrows shooting up even farther. One corner of his mouth twitched down, but he seemed to be valiantly trying to hide his grimace. “It is...” He trailed off, as if searching for the right word.

Farrendel did his best to keep his expression blank. Weylind appeared to be under the impression that this gift was in earnest. It was almost comical, watching Weylind open and close his mouth like a landed fish, trying to find something genuine and tactful to say about that awful mug.

He might as well take pity on his brother. “That mug is a monstrosity, is it not?”

The set of Weylind’s shoulders relaxed, and he gave a tiny shake of his head. With a huffed laugh, he glanced at Essie. “I see you have reawakened Farrendel’s sense of humor. I hope you are prepared to deal with the consequences. I spent hundreds of years hoping for a brother when all I had were two younger sisters. But then I gained a little brother, only to discover he was the most annoying one of the lot.”

Farrendel finally let himself give in to the smirk. Whatever Weylind’s reason for being here, it was good to hear that teasing tone in his voice again. Weylind had been treating him like fragile glass for so long, Farrendel had almost forgotten what it was like before.

“I had nearly the same problem. I was convinced that a sister would be better than the two annoying little brothers I had, but then Essie came along, and, well, you know Essie.” Averett waved in Essie’s direction, smirking.

“Very funny.” Essie set the ugly elf ears mug on the end table next to Weylind, then retrieved a different mug from the tray Miss Merrick held out. She turned back to Weylind. “This is your real gift. Hot chocolate in a mug that is yours to keep.”

This mug was a rich, earth brown with a large, spreading oak tree embossed onto the side underneath a shiny glaze. The tree was not an exact match for Ellonahshinel, but it was the closest they could find here in Escarland.

Weylind took the mug, giving a nod, mouth twitching into a genuine smile. “Thank you. This is far better than that...that...” He glanced at the mug on the table next to him, mouth curling. “That thing.”

Farrendel could not agree more. He claimed his own mug from the tray, this one the dark blue one he had picked out the first time he was in the Aldon Market.

Essie sank onto the settee beside him, cradling her own dark green mug in both of her hands. “You were right. That horrified look on Weylind’s face as he tried to think of something nice to say about that mug was worth the purchase.”

“Yes.” Farrendel sipped his hot chocolate. It was thick and rich, just the way he and Essie liked it. As he took another sip, he eyed Weylind and drew in a deep breath. While the teasing was all well and good, it was about time Weylind explained his presence. “Shashon, what brings you to Escarland?”

Weylind’s fingers tightened on his mug, his mouth pressing into a thin line once again. He glanced at Averett before his gaze focused on Farrendel. “Our scouts have reported that there has been a coup in Kostaria.”

“What?” Farrendel’s grip tightened on his own mug as he forced himself to remain sitting. “Is Melantha all right?”

“We do not know.” Weylind’s shoulders hunched a fraction as his gaze swung down to the mug he held in his hands. “All we know is that King Rharreth’s cousin has claimed the throne, and King Rharreth and Melantha have disappeared.”

This time, Farrendel surged to his feet, the hot chocolate sloshing over the rim of his mug onto his hand before he set the mug down onto the glass-topped end table. “Then we have to go.”

“Farrendel, there is nothing any of us can do.” When he lifted his head, Weylind’s dark brown eyes held pain, as if he blamed himself for sending Melantha into this situation. “We cannot forcibly depose the usurper and place King Rharreth back on the throne, even if we knew where he was. His people would never accept him if we meddled in Kostaria that way.”

Farrendel paced across the parlor, his magic crackling inside his chest, begging to be released. “We still need to find Melantha. We need to help her. Why did we waste so much time this morning? We should have boarded the train first thing.”

“We do not even know if she is still alive.” Weylind’s voice roughed, his gaze falling to the floor.

Farrendel felt something inside him shaking at the thought of Melantha, killed at the hands of the trolls. How had they done it? Shot her through the heart? Stabbed her so many times she could not heal herself fast enough? Pinned her to the wall with stone and taunted her before she was eventually killed? If she had been killed, then it would have been a cruel death.

Surely it was not true. He had already lost his father. Weylind, Melantha, and Jalissa had lost their mother. The trolls could not steal yet another member from this family. Not after he had fought so hard to prevent that very thing from happening ever again.

The war was supposed to be over. Melantha was supposed to secure peace and find happiness.

He clenched his fists, his blood heating with the burn of his magic. He never should have left Melantha there in Kostaria. He should have fought harder to see her pardoned and returned home to Estyra where she belonged.

If she was alive, he would find her, even if he had to scour all of Kostaria to do it. If she was dead, he would avenge her death as he had once avenged their father.

Essie stood and placed a hand on Farrendel’s arm, as if hoping she could soothe his hurt with just that touch. Through the heart bond, she yanked on his magic, calming the frenzy that had been on the verge of lashing out. “Calm down. We don’t have enough information, and it will do no one any good, least of all Melantha, if you go tearing off into Kostaria without all the facts.”