Death Wind (Elven Alliance #3) - Tara Grayce Page 0,120

stuffed another bite of meat in his mouth.

“So you’re not teasing me because that’s the more unexpected option?”

“Exactly,” he said around the bite of meat he was chewing.

“We like to keep you on your toes.” Julien waved his fork at her. “Even if all that lovey-dovey stuff is making us nauseous.”

And, there it was. Essie resisted the urge to dignify that comment with an eyeroll.

Averett glanced at Essie, shook his head, and turned to Weylind. He struck up a conversation on ideas for withdrawing the armies from Kostaria, and soon Julien and Edmund were drawn into the discussion.

With the others busy talking, Essie turned to Jalissa, not sure how to ask this question. “Are you going to help Melantha get ready for the wedding tomorrow?”

Jalissa’s expression stiffened, her gaze dropping to Farrendel. “I have no wish to speak with her. Not after what she did.”

Essie understood that. She was finding it hard to be charitable toward Melantha. But Farrendel seemed inclined to be forgiving, and Essie would respect that choice and support him.

Farrendel shifted, as if he was trying to glance at Jalissa. He wouldn’t be able to see much with the table in the way. “Jalissa, isciena, do not shun her on my account. Please.”

“She tried to have you killed.” Jalissa stabbed her roast beef.

“Yes.” Farrendel curled tighter, hugging his swords to his chest, his gaze swiveling back to the bread he still held. He’d only taken two bites from it. “But, in the end, she saved me with her magic several times when she could have let me die, if that had truly been her desire. I know what it is like to be shunned by elven society, something I have endured because I know my family will stand with me. Now she will be shunned, and I would not wish for her to have to face that alone.”

“But...” Jalissa shook her head, her fingers clenching on her fork. Across the table, Weylind was staring at his plate, obviously listening to the conversation, but not offering his opinion.

“She’s sacrificing herself for the good of Tarenhiel by marrying a troll.” Essie knew firsthand how bewildering that could be, though she could not imagine being in Melantha’s shoes.

Because Essie had known almost nothing about Farrendel, she had been able to go into the marriage innocently confident things would work.

Melantha, on the other hand, was marrying a troll who’d had a hand in keeping her captive for the past two weeks. Not a good basis for a marriage, even without the depth of enmity that existed between elves and trolls. From what Essie had heard, Prince Rharreth had tried to ease her captivity where he could, but that still wouldn’t erase the fact that the first two weeks he and Melantha had known each other had been while she was locked in his dungeon.

“Because she has no choice.” Jalissa jabbed her roast beef over and over until Essie was tempted to take the fork from her to spare the food the mangling.

“Just because she doesn’t have many good choices, doesn’t mean she has no choice. She could have chosen banishment. Or pushed harder for a pardon. Instead, she’s picking the option that is best for Tarenhiel.” Essie broke off a bite-sized piece of roast beef and held it out to Farrendel.

He stared at the roast beef, sighed, then juggled his swords so that he could hold them and what was left of his bread in one hand and take the bite of roast beef. A bite he turned into two bites. But at least he wasn’t protesting that eating with his fingers was unsanitary.

“I suppose.” Jalissa’s posture didn’t change, but the set of her shoulders relaxed a fraction.

Essie slipped Farrendel another piece of roast beef. She felt a little bit like she was feeding a dog scraps beneath the table, but it seemed the only way she could convince Farrendel to eat something. “She is still your sister.”

“And this is her wedding.” Jalissa sighed, her stiff posture crumbling. “This is not how we imagined it would be.”

Probably not. Essie’s wedding hadn’t been like she had imagined while growing up either. But, she wouldn’t go back and change anything. She’d ended up married to exactly the right elf, and she hadn’t spent months fretting over the planning.

Essie glanced around the table again. How long would it be before their families would be together like this again? Tomorrow after the wedding, Jalissa, Essie, and Farrendel would leave for Tarenhiel. Edmund, Julien, Averett, and