Chapter Sixteen
Tor
Stronex’s gaze narrowed. “But you didn’t know about Vayrin. Bavil, Gornexi, and me is still only three. Tell me, Prince. Why five thousand?”
Tor made a face. It had been a bit too obvious of a question, but of everyone here, Stronex was the one with the most experience with the Fealty—and with war. Pel patted Tor’s back, and he blew out a breath and tried to let some of the tension out of his body.
“After saving Cala, I was magically exhausted and on the cusp of death.” It still didn’t seem quite real to talk about.
“Pel sneaked me out and took me back to Tond to keep me safe. The mercenaries were calling my name in the castle like I was leading them. And if I considered that someone had tried to take out me and Cala, the goal became more explicable.”
Nawila added, “Yomil declared the same thing when Pama and I brought Cala to your brother. That’s how we realized he was involved and began to suspect the same motivation.”
Rin agreed, “That’s why we’re here and why Terila’s parents are mobilizing.”
Tor wished desperately that Var had considered this. But how likely was he to suspect his wife or his father-in-law? The connection was too close. Not, he thought a little bitterly, that that had prevented him from suspecting Tor.
Trying to push those thoughts away, Tor continued, “A healer helped me rouse from the magical coma, but I was injured from the fight in the nursery and far from my best. Time was of the essence, and I was offered an option that would not only restore my strength but would help a group of people who it seems have also been used like pawns in this game, and I took it.”
Stronex blinked. “The exiles offered their Fealty to you?”
It was a calculated risk, revealing this now. If Stronex took this badly, Tor might lose his most powerful ally. Except he had the feeling that Stronex was going in after Ada no matter what, so he hoped they were united in this cause.
And he knew it was important to understand the strength of your team.
Tor inclined his head.
“When Forex sent his guards after them, there was a huge fight up the mountain, near the pass to Filon. There was a landslide, and I managed to shield everyone.”
Pel interjected, “At great personal risk to himself. It put him in his first magical coma.”
Tor shrugged a bit sheepishly. That honestly seemed so long ago it was almost not worth mentioning given everything that followed.
“Afterwards, I sent everyone home, guards and exiles alike.” Tor grimaced.
“Forex was inclined to see that as an act of treason. I’m inclined to see it as basic human decency.
The exiles are desperate. In the last twenty-five years, the land has grown wild and inhospitable.
They’ve developed a theory that the land needs Fealty as much as people do.
They won’t survive much longer, and I appeared to be a better choice than dying.
So yes, most of them offered me their fealty. ”
Stronex considered him. “It seems that you’ve been set up for a long time and have narrowly avoided having this entire disaster blamed on you. I suspect that if you simply sat back and waited, there’s better than even odds that the Fealty will fall to you.”
Tor stiffened and glared. “Nostex is killing my family over my dead body!”
Stronex met his eyes for a long moment, and then his lips tipped up. “I think the exiles made a good choice.”
Tor blinked, surprised, and blew out a long breath.
Oh, good. He didn’t actually need to fight the king that was right in front of him.
The man was just getting Tor’s measure. And while a lot of Tor wanted to punch the man in the face for suggesting Tor just sit back and watch his family die, he supposed that he hadn’t exactly covered himself in glory the last few years.
Stronex had fought in the war and ruled for more than twenty-five years.
It was perfectly reasonable for him to want to understand Tor, especially when they were about to break into an enemy stronghold together.
Tor made a conscious effort to relax.
“Thank you,” Tor managed after a moment, deciding to take the comments in the spirit in which he thought they’d been meant.
Now that the hot rush of anger had passed, he felt curiously buoyed, as though someone else’s approval had reinforced that he’d done the right thing. It didn’t mean Var would also accept it, but the fact that another king wasn’t immediately reacting with horror was… hopefully a good sign.
Also, Tor couldn’t imagine anything worse than being High King.
Look at all the drama they were in the midst of now!
No, Tor was much happier with a smaller set of responsibilities—and in this case, with making sure that nothing happened to his family so that they could keep doing what they were supposed to be doing.
Tor and Stronex sent Beluna, Nawila, Pamuna, and one of Stronex’s guards to confirm there was no sign of anyone near the secret entrance. Tor wanted to go himself, but Stronex pointed out that the priority was keeping Tor out of Nostex’s hands.
Stronex’s look was almost amused. “There’s a strong argument for keeping you out of the castle at all, but I already know how that’s going to go.”
Yeah, Tor would fight all comers to get to his family, and he didn’t care about the sensible option one bit.
While their scouts were gone, Rin heated up some stew and pulled out their supplies so they could eat.
It wasn’t dark enough to set out yet. Itchy, creeping anxiety was filling Tor again, but he knew this was their best option.
Even with Gornexi and Bavil, they’d be at a disadvantage because they were attacking a fortress.
There was no chance they could get in quietly with a full-scale assault, and they didn’t know what the situation was like inside.
Tor felt certain that time was of the essence—but if they did something half-cocked and got caught, that could ruin everything.
The secret entrance was their best chance, and he knew it. It just… meant sitting around not able to do anything right now.
The food was plain but filling, and Tor goggled at the fact that Terila was eating it without complaint.
He didn’t understand any of this, not really, but that was quite possibly the least explicable thing about this entire adventure.
Especially because she’d scarcely looked at him and definitely wasn’t eyeing him like he was a piece of meat and she was starving.
It was a nice change, but it didn’t make sense.
Finally, Tor couldn’t stand it any longer. “What’s Terila doing here?”
In retrospect, he probably should have asked her directly. Rin shot him a look, but Terila looked… oddly not insulted. Did Terila maybe have a twin that he didn’t know about, and this was actually the nice, reasonable one?
Rin rolled his eyes. “It turns out that while you were having the best results from the most foolish plan ever, so was I.”
It actually took Tor an embarrassingly long moment to understand what the other man was saying. He gaped.
“Are you saying that you and Terila are together?”
He was waiting for the punchline.
Terila glared at him. “Prince Rinil is saying that we’re bonded.”
If Tor hadn’t been so shocked, he would have laughed in their faces. Rin and Princess Terila? Seriously?
But while Terila was still glaring at him, Rin was looking at him with a carefully watchful look, more like the one that Tor had shot him when he’d been incredulous about him and Pel.
Oh. Oh.
Tor cleared his throat. “I assume this wasn’t just a way to prevent me from having to bond with her?”
Terila made an angry noise, and Pel made a choked sound that was either laughter or incredulity.
Maybe that hadn’t been the most diplomatic thing he could have said. Only then Rin let out something that was definitely a snicker. Terila turned to glare at him.
“Doesn’t that seem like the sort of thing I would do, Princess?” he asked. “To save my best friend from a fate worse than death? I was ordered to Vayrin to preserve the peace of the entirety of the United Realms. Maybe I made the ultimate sacrifice.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Terila’s eyes narrowed to an expression that Tor recognized. Beside him, Pel stiffened, and Tor was belatedly reminded that Tor’s issues with Terila weren’t the only ones they needed to deal with.
“Maybe you’d like to sleep in the dressing room for the rest of your life,” Terila said with mock sweetness. “I’m sure I can find someone else to appreciate all of my assets.”
The words were pure poison, but to Tor’s surprise, Rin just pouted.
“But the hair. You wouldn’t really make me live without the hair, would you?
” He leaned closer and totally leered at her.
Really, it was the most ridiculous expression that Tor had ever seen, and he’d actually been in bed with Rin on more than one occasion. “What would I do without your breasts?”
Terila lifted her nose. “That would be entirely your problem.”
“Are you sure there isn’t anything you’d miss if I slept in the dressing room?” Rin asked.
“I would make do,” she said loftily.
Rin’s eyes darkened. “Would you?”
Like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud, Terila was all smiles again. “So you’d better make sure that you don’t wind up in the dressing room, hadn’t you?”
Rin grinned back and said amiably, “Yes, Princess. Whatever you say.”
Tor was still more than a little stunned, but he realized that Rin apparently knew exactly how to handle Terila—and Terila was totally amenable to being… handled.
Tor didn’t understand at all, but if Rin was happy, that was the important part.
Then he frowned at them. “Hold on. Didn’t my brother say that the peace of the entirety of the United Realms was threatened because Terila was so upset that I didn’t go to Vayrin?”
Rin and Terila both made a face. Tor had never seen Terila look such a weird mixture of annoyed and embarrassed.