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Machasheni raised her eyebrows. “I agree with Elspetha. It is on your plate. It is yours to finish.”

Great. They were already ganging up on him. This was going to be a long day at this rate.

Still, as he forced himself to eat the last few bites and hoped his stomach expanded enough to fit it all, he felt more alive than he had in far too long. It was a small spark of life, buried beneath all his weariness and the fog still swirling through his head, but it was there.

Essie could not havebeen more thankful Leyleira had come that morning. Somehow, she’d convinced Farrendel to eat an entire plateful of breakfast with no more cajoling than a stern look. Then she had herded him out the door and through the winding branches of Ellonahshinel so skillfully that Farrendel hadn’t even had a chance to balk.

All Essie had to do was trot to keep up. After a sleepless night of Farrendel’s nightmares and her own worries about having to drag Farrendel to Taranath’s rooms somewhere in a part of Ellonahshinel that Essie had yet to explore, it was a relief to have the matter taken out of her hands.

It took nearly half an hour to navigate the branches to one of the lower sections on the far side of the tree palace from Farrendel’s rooms. Like Farrendel’s rooms, this area of the treetop palace was quiet with only a few other treetop rooms grown into the branches in the far distance from the sprawling set of five rooms that Leyleira led them toward.

Stepping onto a porch that had two padded benches on either side of the door, Leyleira knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting. She swept inside. “Taranath, your morning patient is here, if you can pull yourself away from your research long enough.”

Essie glanced at Farrendel and nudged him to go in first. She wouldn’t put it past him to make a run for it the moment her and Leyleira’s backs were turned.

The hexagon shaped room was larger even than her and Farrendel’s main room. Essie glanced around, unable to place the faint herbal smell that filled the room. Cupboards and a wooden countertop filled half the room while the other half was ringed with shelves filled with jars holding what looked like a variety of pastes, creams, herbal mixtures, and mysterious liquids ranging in color from green to a bright watermelon pink. The only break in the cupboards was a few padded benches grown into the wall. A wooden exam table stood in the center with a leather pillow at one end.

An old male elf stood near the countertop fussing with a few of the jars, his long hair completely white, though when he looked at them, his deep brown eyes were sharp and clear. “Ah, yes. Farrendel. My favorite patient.”

“Since you are retired, he is your only patient.” Leyleira’s smile was softer than anything Essie had seen on her before when she glanced at Taranath. “I will take a seat outside to wait, if that is all right.”

“Of course, Leyleira. You are always welcome here. You know that.” The smile on Taranath’s face was also filled with meaning.

Essie shifted, almost feeling like she and Farrendel were the ones who should leave these two alone. She glanced at Farrendel, but he only shook his head and shrugged, as if just as confused as she was.

Sweeping gracefully across the room, Leyleira disappeared back outside. The back of her head was visible through the window as she took a seat on a bench and pulled out a book.

Taranath turned to face Essie and gave a small bob of his head. “I am Taranath, Queen Rheva’s dacha. I have heard much about our Farrendel’s human princess.”

If he’d been hearing about her from Weylind and Rheva, then she wasn’t sure what he’d been told. From Weylind, it probably hadn’t been good. From Rheva? Essie wasn’t sure. Probably something along the lines of reserving judgment until they’d had a chance to chat, which they hadn’t done until yesterday.

But Essie found herself smiling anyway. Taranath’s smile was too sincere, his eyes twinkling, for Essie to stay tense and formal. “If you’ve been talking to Weylind, then I’m sure you got an earful.”

“Yes. Quite hypocritical of him, considering his own scandal when he married my daughter.” Taranath shook his head and turned away from them to start assembling jars and liquids on the countertop. “Most have forgotten the scandal now, but it was quite the to-do when the future king chose to marry the lowly daughter of a healer instead of one of the nobility.”

Essie felt the tension leaving her shoulders at Taranath’s rambling. She hadn’t known that bit of history about Farrendel’s family. It seemed none of his siblings, except Jalissa so far, was immune to causing scandal.

Though, admittedly, it was all too easy to cause a scandal in the elven court.

“But you are not here to hear such long-forgotten family history.” Taranath turned and patted the exam table. “Farrendel, young elfling, let us take a look at that brain of yours.”

Farrendel was still lingering by the door, shifting as if he was thinking about making a run for it. Not that Essie could entirely blame him. She would be a tad nervous about someone rooting around her brain with magic, even an elf who, presumably, knew what he was doing.

After a moment, Farrendel perched on the table, eyeing Taranath warily. With a deep breath, he lay down. But only a heartbeat later, he stiffened, his breathing going first ragged, then escalating into hyperventilating.

Essie stepped closer, reaching out to take his hand. Before she could, he bolted upright again, hunching and gasping.

“If you are going to vomit, please do so out the window. The maid just cleaned the floor.” Taranath turned from the countertop and shuffled to the head of the exam table.

Farrendel hung his head, gripping the edge of the table, but his breathing steadied after a moment.

Essie took his hand, and he squeezed her fingers tight enough to be nearly painful. Lying on his back probably felt too much like being pinned on the floor of that dungeon cell, helpless and in pain. She glanced at Taranath. “Can he sit up instead of lying down?”

“He may feel dizzy, and I am not about to catch him if he faints.” Taranath patted the table again, his fingers glowing faintly green. “I can sedate you, if you wish.”

Farrendel shook his head and straightened his shoulders. With yet another deep breath, he lay back down, still gripping Essie’s hand. This time, he squeezed his eyes shut, and his breathing remained almost too carefully steady.

The silence felt too strained, but even Essie couldn’t think of something to talk about. She rested a hand on Farrendel’s shoulder as Taranath set a hand glowing with green magic on Farrendel’s forehead.