Page 13

By the time they walked that far, Farrendel was panting and leaning on Julien and Essie. Weylind kept glancing at him, as if he was about to sling Farrendel over a shoulder if he looked about ready to collapse.

As the train came into view, they joined a bustle of humans and elves carrying cots with the wounded and helping the more mobile of the wounded onto the train. The train was one belonging to the trolls, since trying to get an elven train across the Gulmorth River and retrofit it to work on the Kostarian tracks was a lot more work than simply commandeering the trolls’ train.

Jalissa touched Edmund’s arm and pulled him to the side. Perhaps for a goodbye of her own. The two of them had seemed to be growing close, though Jalissa’s expression just then seemed too hard and tense for a romantic farewell.

Essie squeezed Farrendel’s hand and nudged him. “We’re almost there. We’ll be sleeping on the Tarenhieli royal train tonight.”

Farrendel glanced up, and, as his gaze focused on the train, his eyes widened. He halted so abruptly that Essie was yanked backwards by her grip on his hand. A tremble coursed down his back and into the hand Essie gripped. “No. No. I cannot...no.”

“What’s wrong?” Essie glanced from Farrendel to the train and the bustle. She couldn’t see anything wrong. Maybe it was all the people and the bustle? “I know there are a lot of people around right now, but once we’re on the train, things will calm down. I’m sure we can find a quiet corner in one of the cars.”

Farrendel’s gaze focused on the train, and he shook harder. He yanked free of her grip on his hand and backed up a few steps. Blue bolts of his magic crackled at his fingertips. “No. No. I cannot...not that train...”

What had the trolls done to him? Essie eased closer to Farrendel. “It’s all right. I’ll be there the whole way.”

Farrendel was still shaking his head, holding out his magic-laced hands as if prepared to fight off anyone who came too close.

Julien grasped Essie’s arm, holding her back when she would have stepped closer still. “Give him space.”

“But...” Essie would have pulled away from Julien, but Averett stepped in front of her, as if to protect her.

Instead, it was Weylind who eased closer to Farrendel. “Shashon. You need to remain calm.”

Farrendel didn’t resist as Weylind gripped his arms.

Weylind gave a nod to someone over Farrendel’s shoulder, and one of the elven healers crept behind Farrendel.

A weight sank into Essie’s stomach. Weylind wasn’t just trying to keep Farrendel calm. He was restraining him.

The healer pressed a glowing, green hand to Farrendel’s temple. Farrendel stiffened, but then he sagged in Weylind’s grip.

“Farrendel?” Essie lurched forward, but both Julien and Averett held her back.

Averett turned her away as two human soldiers hurried to Weylind with a cot. “Essie, will you be all right? I can send Julien with you.”

“We’ll be fine.” Maybe. Essie had seen Farrendel caught in nightmares for a week straight. She’d seen him listless and struggling before. But never like this.

She’d thought him broken when she’d married him, but she hadn’t taken into consideration how much coping and healing he’d done in the fifteen years since the first time the trolls had tortured him.

The orderlies loaded Farrendel on the cot and were using leather straps to hold him to the cot. Essie pulled away from her brothers. “Not his hands.”

The orderly who had been about to tighten a leather strap across Farrendel’s chest and over his upper arms paused, glancing at Essie. “He will fall off if he isn’t strapped down.”

“I know. Just leave his hands and arms free, all right?” Essie couldn’t find the words to explain past the pressure in her chest. But it seemed important to make sure Farrendel wasn’t fully trapped the way he had been in that dungeon. Even if the elf healer had sent him into a deep sleep and he would never know if he was pinned or not.

Averett studied Essie for a long moment before he sighed. “All right. I won’t send Julien to hover. But Julien and I will return through Tarenhiel in a few days. We’ll see you then.” Averett pulled her in for a hug.

Julien drew her into a bear hug, then patted her back. As he released her, Edmund strode up, his face strangely tight. Jalissa brushed past all of them and strode straight onto the train without a glance over her shoulder.

Essie hugged Edmund, feeling something like a shudder in him. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Edmund gave her a smile, but it was so strained it hardly held any warmth.

Essie would have questioned him more, but the soldiers were carrying Farrendel’s stretcher onto the train. As much as she wanted to figure out what was going on with Edmund, Farrendel needed her more.

Only when Essie was halfway up the ramp to the train did she realize that Averett had said that only he and Julien would be returning. He hadn’t mentioned Edmund.

Essie glanced over her shoulder, but her brothers and Weylind were already strolling away while bent together in some conversation. Shaking her head, she hurried the rest of the way into the train car.