Chapter Fourteen
Tor
Tor wrapped his arms around Pel and held him close, suppressing his own shudder.
What if the other man, bonded and pregnant unbeknownst to both of them, had been back in Tond when Tor had died?
Would Tor’s death have killed Pel, too? Tor hoped desperately that he would have protected Pel’s magic just like he’d apparently done before he went out the window, but he knew there was no guarantee.
An Unremarkable bonded to another Unremarkable could still die when their bonded died, so it wasn’t necessarily about magical strength or taking the magic from the other person.
He kissed the top of Pel’s head. “I’m so glad you were there to rescue me, but I’m sorry for everything else.”
“It seems like this has been in motion for a long time. Most of it’s not your fault—just the worst courting plan to have ever existed.”
Tor snorted out a laugh in spite of himself. “Yes, that one is fully on me.”
And the rest… the rest seemed to be a deep plot that even now, Tor could barely believe. A plan to kill their entire family so that Nostex or Fernila could gain the Fealty of the United Realms? Really?
And yet what other explanation fit the facts?
Tor categorically refused to believe Ada was behind this, and he knew he wasn’t, so there just weren’t many other possible beneficiaries.
Add in that someone seemed to have been trying to discredit him for years, and there was a ready-made scapegoat for an outrageous plot.
Tor felt like he’d barely scratched the surface of what might be going on, and he was planning to set himself up against the person who had masterminded the whole thing. But it was his family, so he was doing it anyway.
He stroked a hand down Pel’s back again and didn’t let himself renew his suggestion that Pel stay behind.
His urge to protect Pel and their baby was strong—but Tor’s death could still hurt them from a distance.
Not to mention the fact that Pel had been exactly what he needed the last time his life had been in danger.
If they were talking about who’d been more in danger recently, then Pel probably had more reason to be worried about Tor—and nothing in this world would keep Tor from going to help his family.
There was still an unsettled feeling in Tor’s gut, but maybe that was normal under the circumstances.
“Thank you for doing this with me,” Tor whispered.
He felt Pel smile against his skin. “Good choice.”
Ah, apparently Tor was more transparent than he’d realized.
“I have no plans to spend the rest of our nights not in this tent with you,” Tor said smartly.
Pel laughed. “That’s good. I rather like you in my bed. I mean, at some point, we’ll have beds again.”
Tor hadn’t thought to ask what the living conditions were like for the exiles. He assumed they’d built structures of some kind, but he was woefully uninformed for someone who’d accepted the Fealty of all those people.
His breath caught in his throat.
“What if I can’t help them?” he asked, voice raw.
Pel sucked in a breath. “We’ll figure it out together. They know it might not work.”
And if Tor had agreed to trap him and Pel and their baby in a land that was falling apart, with an enemy they couldn’t fight? With possibly no resources and just the clothes on their backs? (The baby wouldn’t even have clothes!)
Pel patted Tor’s chest. “Darling, you’re borrowing trouble.”
Tor drew a deep breath, and then another. Was Tor thinking about this just so he wouldn’t have to think about what might be happening to his family? And then he was brought up short.
“‘Darling’?” Tor questioned.
Pel was silent for a moment, and his voice was a little too small as he asked, “No?”
Tor tugged Pel up so that he could kiss him soundly, which was hard to do with how much he was grinning.
“Emphatically, yes,” Tor said enthusiastically. “I love it. I love you.”
Pel scoffed, and his cheeks had gone red, but he looked pleased. “I love you, too.”
Tor wasn’t sure he could even express why this delighted him so much. It wasn’t like lovers hadn’t used endearments before. But coming from Pel, it felt like a lot more than that.
“Ooh,” Tor said, brightening as the idea occurred to him. “Does that mean I can pick an endearment for you?”
Pel’s eyes widened. “Nope! Absolutely not.”
Tor grinned. “How about precious? Or lovebug?”
Pel looked horrified. “Don’t you dare!”
“Sugar plum?” Tor suggested innocently.
“Do you ever want to touch me again?” Pel demanded.
Tor wrapped his arms around the other man and hugged him close.
“Sunshine?”
Pel let out an exaggerated noise of annoyance. “You are the worst. That’s what I’m going to call you from now on. The worst.”
Tor tightened his hold. “From you, I take that as a compliment.”
Pel scoffed, but he ruined it by pressing a kiss to Tor’s chest, where he was resting. “You’re ridiculous. Go to sleep, foolish man.”
Tor settled further into the blankets, relishing in the warm weight of Pel half on top of him, as he wondered when they were going to get to sleep in a bed again.
He pulled back the magic from the last light, and it winked out of existence, the magic returning to him, and the tent now shrouded in darkness.
They’d be on the road again soon, and it would be safer to stay out of inns where there was a chance Tor might be recognized. Tents and sleeping out under the stars was likely to be their lot in life for the next little while.
But when this was all over, Tor wanted a bed. (And please, not a cell in his brother’s dungeon.) He wanted a comfy bed with lots of space, where he and Pel could spend too much time together.
He just had to figure out how to keep everyone safe first.
Tor fell asleep thinking about having enough magic to be able to put perpetual shields around everyone that he cared about. They might get awkward, but they would definitely protect everyone…
They rose and set off early, Tor lamenting the fact that there wasn’t time for any more fun—but the sense of urgency was growing in him, and he couldn’t tell if it was just anxiety or something else.
He’d proved, after all, that he was tied to his twin in a way that wasn’t usual.
No one else could borrow magic from someone else, certainly not at the distance Tor had reached when he’d needed to protect everyone from the landslide in the Tondian mountain.
He’d heard that bonds could occasionally confer a sense of danger or well-being about your partner, but not everyone seemed to be convinced that was even true, feeling that people merely convinced themselves it had happened when looking back.
Given how Pel had wound up under the nursery window just in time to catch Tor, he was inclined to give the idea credence—but he also hoped that right now, his alarm was just his active imagination and not an actual sense of impending doom.
Pel ran a hand down his arm during their brief break for food at noon. “We’re going to get there as quickly as we can.”
Tor nodded. “I know we are. I just can’t shake the feeling we need to be even faster—and I know that doesn’t make sense.”
Pel smiled gently at him. “You’re worried about your family. Of course it makes sense.”
There wasn’t really anything to say to that.
They were galloping when they could but trying not to exhaust the horses.
The sun was shining down on them, which didn’t help with speedy travel, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that.
They made sure to let the horses drink whenever they could.
And still, Tor wanted to urge them faster. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t making enough progress—but he could literally see them getting closer to Baless. He was just impatient and worried.
They arrived at the castle in the early afternoon with horses that would surely be glad to be done with them.
Tor made sure to pat the flank of his horse and thank him very much for everything.
“And now you’re going to rest and get fed all the oats you could possibly eat, and you’ll probably be glad never to see me again.”
The horse nudged at him, so Tor patted him on his velvety nose and hoped he was going to be forgiven for the work that he had put him through in the last two days.
They’d dismounted a bit away from the stables so that Cavun and Denil could lead the horses in. Tor was back to wearing Rin’s helmet, and grateful for the fact that they’d brought it with them. It was warm and uncomfortable in the heat, but it reduced the chance of him being recognized.
They had no idea who might be spies, but it was likely someone had reported on Tor’s activities, and they couldn’t be sure it was just Forex, who’d presumably been in on the plot. Were there others who reported directly to Nostex (or Fernila or Yomil)?
They’d decided not to hide Pel’s return to his own castle, and hopefully it would look like Bavil was reacting to his brother’s return from Alossa. Even with only the part of the story Pel would know if he hadn’t found Tor, a lot had happened that he’d need to share with his brother.
Bavil led them inside and barked out orders to get people scrambling out of their way and hopefully not looking too closely at the helmeted Tor.
Tor and Pel were soon tucked away in a little side room on the second floor, and Bavil summoned their sister and then assured them that he would go and make sure that supplies were arranged.
When she arrived, she flew right into Pel’s arms.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re all right.”
Pel wrapped his arms around her. “I’m fine. As it turns out, I’m also accidentally bonded and, uh, maybe a bit pregnant, but other than that, totally fine?”
She pulled back to stare at him incredulously, and then she hugged him again, even tighter from the looks of it. As soon as she was done hugging Pel, she turned to Tor and pulled him into a hug, too.
Tor appreciated the affection, because he should probably have been getting a scolding.