Pretense (Elven Alliance, #5)

by Tara Grayce

With his anxiety, surprises were difficult for Farrendel. And children were the ultimate, uncontrollable surprises.

“Farrendel, my love, why do I only have two pieces of bacon? I know Miss Merrick always gives us three.” Farrendel gave her that mischievous smile again. “It was getting cold and needed to be eaten.”

He was offering to be her shield, even knowing that it would mean she would walk away with someone else in the end. She should not let him do this. He was risking too much, giving her too much.

“She is not dying.” Rheva’s gentle smile lifted into something brighter. “She is expecting.” Farrendel blinked, his head still muddy. “Expecting what?”

Essie’s macha perched at the edge of the bed facing Farrendel. “But I survived because I focused on what I had to live for instead of what I

had lost. I had my children who still needed me to be there for them.

Weylind turned back to his paperwork, flourishing his signature on the paper before adding it to a stack near Farrendel’s bowl. “I am enjoying the quiet to accomplish paperwork in peace. The courtiers have discovered my usual hiding places. Perhaps I should have

thought to come here before. It will take them a while to find me.” Farrendel had a mental image of his dignified brother crammed into some corner underneath a stairwell or a nook underneath a table. Despite his weariness, his mouth twitched in an attempt at a smile.