Chapter Fourteen #3
Pel tried not to stare at them, wondering, as he always did, what they were talking about.
From time to time, Torex would flip a page, but everyone but their father knew that Larexa didn’t need the sheet music.
Or maybe Forex knew, too, but he didn’t care because he just wanted her to spend time with the High Prince.
Sourly, Pel had to acknowledge that they made a striking couple.
They were both dark-haired, although that close, he could see that Torex’s hair was closer to black, whereas Larexa’s was dark brown with some red undertones.
Their expressions were both bright and lively.
They were beautiful people, and everyone would say how good they looked together.
He didn’t even realize that Bavil had sat down next to him until the man spoke.
“Wishing that you could read lips?”
Pel hoped that he didn’t startle noticeably. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was listening to the music.”
“Of course you were.”
Pel finally tore his gaze away from his sister and Torex. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re sure about the competition?” Bavil asked.
Pel stiffened. “Of course I’m sure about the competition.”
“He’s a formidable opponent.”
“And I’m not?” Pel said, feeling the bitterness pull his lip up into a snarl.
Bavil huffed out a breath, sounding exasperated as he said, “That’s not what I said.”
Jaw tight, Pel managed to grit out, “It’s clearly what you meant.”
“I meant only that you should be careful.”
Stiffly, Pel managed, “I’ll be fine.”
“Fine,” Bavil said and got up to go sit with their father.
Pel tried to relax his jaw as he reminded himself that he hadn’t expected anyone to have any faith in his abilities.
Larexa stopped playing as Torex left the piano and made straight for Pel.
“You said you were going to show me where we’re going to be fighting, or did you forget?”
It was dark out. It was absolutely terrible timing. But Pel greedily grasped at the excuse Torex was offering.
“Yes, of course,” he said, rising to his feet, making mechanical excuses to his father, not bothering to acknowledge his brother and sister, and then they were out of the room, and Pel breathed a little easier.
They made their way outside, where it was drizzling, thankfully, rather than pouring. Pel led them across the lawn and over towards the trees. He intended to set up some targets as well as to have the match with Torex.
He pointed out the areas he’d been thinking, which were almost impossible to see, only then Torex threw up a bunch of balls of magic, affixing them to enough trees that the area became visible.
This meant Pel could launch into a detailed explanation of why this area was so suitable. He was pretty sure he went on for a good ten minutes before he finally exhausted the topic.
Torex hadn’t interrupted even once, despite the fact that no one had been arguing against the suitability of the area that Pel had just gone on and on about as though it were essential that he sell all of its features. They were both solidly damp now. Rain was trickling below Pel’s collar.
He sucked in a big breath and blew it out. His shoulders felt looser, and the terrible tension in his stomach had relaxed. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Torex responded easily. He hesitated for a moment and then added, “Are you going to bite my head off if I make an observation?”
“Probably,” Pel conceded. If Torex was giving him a warning, it wasn’t a good sign. “But you should make it anyway.”
Torex’s lips tipped up. “I don’t know what your brother said to you while Larexa was playing, but I did hear what she said to you at dinner. And I know that you heard it as an attack, but I don’t think it was intended as such.”
“Of course it didn’t sound like an attack to you,” Pel said, managing not to snap with an effort.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re Extraordinary.”
Torex blinked at him, seeming genuinely confused. “But that doesn’t affect my hearing.”
Pel scoffed. “Extraordinary is always better. It sounds normal to you because you believe it, too. Because it’s your reality.”
Torex’s face was troubled. “But she didn’t even mention Extraordinary. I know that’s what you heard, but it’s not what she said.”
Pel sucked in a breath, held it for a count of five, and then blew it out again.
It didn’t help with the tension that had snapped right back into his shoulders, but it did ensure that his voice came out reasonably calm.
“If you think that you’ve seen enough of the area, I’m going to turn in for the night. ”
He turned around and headed back the way they’d come, hoping that the other man would take a hint.
No such luck.
His shoulders tensed even further at the sound of Torex catching up to him. Pel lengthened his stride, but Torex was still taller than him, and his legs were definitely longer.
“I’m sorry,” Torex said, voice contrite.
“Obviously the only person who knows what you’re feeling is you, and you have the history and experience to interpret your siblings better than I do.
I have a pretty good relationship with them, and I want you to have the same.
I want to make everything better, and I wasn’t thinking about just how obnoxious and condescending that would seem. I apologize.”
And Pel found his irritation melting away. Torex proved daily that he was far from perfect, but he was way more willing than Pel had at first expected to acknowledge that and try to do better.
And it was awkward that Pel and his siblings didn’t get along anymore. But they needed to deal with that—or not—amongst them.
“I… appreciate the concern,” Pel said carefully. “But I’d prefer if you keep out of it.”
“I’ll do my very best,” Torex promised promptly. Then he frowned and added sheepishly, “It’s possible that I’ll need a reminder from time to time, because as you might have noticed, I can be kind of overbearing.”
Pel couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s fair. Just… let me manage my own relationships, please.”
Torex’s expression turned rueful. “My brother has the most annoying habit of deciding that he knows what’s best for me, so I do actually know how obnoxious that is.
Somehow, it doesn’t seem so bad when you’re the one doing the plotting—and if you ever tell my brother that, I will never speak to you again. ”
Pel scoffed. “You’ve just ruined the subject of my next letter to the High King. Didn’t you know that we’re close friends?”
Torex grinned at him. “I must have missed that somehow. I’ll have to be more careful with what secrets I’m telling you.”
Pel wanted all of the secrets, and he was pretty sure that made him greedy and unwise… but he wanted them anyway.
They headed back into the castle in charity with one another, and the frustration Pel felt about family melted into the background in the midst of the tumult of emotions that he felt for this particular man.
He was really annoying sometimes, but he was also unexpectedly sweet.
They agreed to meet in the morning to get out to a few of the farms.
“So that everyone knows I’m alive!” Torex said cheerfully, despite the fact that his hair was plastered to his head and he had to be as chilled as Pel was.
He’d gone out with Pel and stayed there without a word of a complaint.
It was that warm glow of not being alone and feeling very connected that was surely responsible for Pel blurting out, “Please call me Pel.”
Torex blinked at him, clearly stunned, and Pel suddenly cursed himself for a fool.
That was what you did with friends. That was what you did when you were long-time friends, not when the High Prince just happened to be visiting and was spending time with you because you weren’t a danger to him like your siblings. That was—
Only then Torex’s face split into the broadest smile that Pel had ever seen. “Only if you call me Tor.”
Everything in Pel just… stopped. Yes, it was almost always reciprocal, but somehow, he hadn’t thought that part through.
The High Prince of the United Realms had just told Pel to call him Tor.
Pel had never heard another person do that, though surely his friends and family must. But no one he knew just went around calling the High Prince Tor.
And Pel had just been invited to do so. With such a bright grin that Pel couldn’t fool himself into thinking it was simple politeness.
Wow.
With an effort, he rallied.
“If you insist, Tor,” he said, though it didn’t sound completely natural. He was glad it was only one syllable, or he would probably have messed it up. “Have a good night.”
“You too, Pel,” Torex said with another big smile, and then he was striding off down the hallway, and Pel was left staring after him.
Had Pel really just done that?