Chapter Sixteen #3
Pel cleared his throat and managed to recover from his surprise.
He still looked a little cautious, but no longer as wary as he had before.
“Thank you, Princess Terila. That means a lot to me. It, uh, hasn’t always been easy being an Unremarkable prince.
It’s hard not to take it personally when someone acts as though you’re worthless. ”
She winced, but nodded. “Or when people think you’re nothing but a pretty shell.”
“It’s like you’re not actually a person at all.”
They nodded at one another, and Rin and Tor exchanged glances and then smiled at one another like absolute fools. Somehow, Pel and Terila seemed to be connecting over a shared experience brought on by opposite circumstances.
Tor grimaced as he realized he was as guilty as anyone else. He’d thought of Terila as beautiful and toxic and never tried to get to know her better, much like he’d dismissed Pel as Unremarkable and thus perfect for his original plan.
He felt a sudden surge of gratitude that his terrible idea had led to such positive results. He was quite sure that he didn’t deserve that much goodness, but Pel and Rin definitely did. Maybe Terila, too, or perhaps she’d benefited by good luck like he had.
Plus, if he were being perfectly selfish, the fact that Terila was bonded to someone else made it doubly unlikely Var would try to match Tor to her. With so much potentially stacked against them, Tor would definitely take any positive news he could get.
It was almost comforting to think about making it all the way through this to have Var be angry at Tor for something as trivial as who he was bonded to.
Plus, look what had happened when they’d been allowed to find their own matches.
They’d united half the realm and were here to fight for peace and Tor’s family!
He blew out a breath. As long as they weren’t too late. As long as Nostex hadn’t somehow anticipated this, too. Tor had never liked Nostex, but he’d never imagined the man capable of something like this.
He thought Stronex was right, and even if it started with just the High Family, Nostex would be coming for all of them.
They had to end this here.
To his relief, Beluna and the others reported back that the secret entrance appeared to be unguarded, and there was no suspicious activity in that area. They tried to rest for a couple of hours, but that mostly meant tossing and turning until it was finally time to go.
Stronex had brought extra weapons, so they could all have some spares, just in case.
The third time that Tor told Denil to be careful, he clapped Tor on the shoulder and grinned.
“I’ve survived years with Beluna. I’m good at saying what someone else needs to hear.”
Beluna mock-scowled at him, and everyone laughed or smiled, releasing a tiny bit of the mounting tension.
Yes, Denil and the others knew exactly what they were doing. If possible, try to pass themselves off as a group traveling to Lotar. Retreat if they could, and fight if they had to. They knew what they were doing, and they knew what the stakes were.
Well, mostly.
Tor sidled over to Rin. “I assume that you tried to get Terila to stay behind, and she threatened to punch you in the nose?”
“Break my other foot, actually,” Rin said with a grin.
Tor blinked. “Break your other foot?”
The smile deepened, though Tor could still see the worry in his eyes. “It’s a long story.”
Tor smiled back helplessly. It was no wonder they were friends. “We’re definitely going to have to catch up fully.”
Rin nodded. “Absolutely. You here to ask me to keep an eye on your man?”
Tor nodded. “He’s an excellent fighter and truly phenomenal with a bow and arrow, but I will worry until the day we die.” He hesitated for a moment. “And if I ask you to think of the most ridiculous possible thing that I could have done when I accidentally bonded us, could you do it?”
“You accidentally bonded?” Rin said incredulously.
Tor rolled his eyes. “We both really wanted it, but Pel was determined to be sensible and wait until we could explain ourselves to my brother. Instead, we managed to bond at a, uh, indelicate moment?”
Rin burst into laughter, which he tried to stifle when everyone turned to look at them.
“Really, Tor? Actually, that’s just like you.”
He was still looking indecently amused, but Tor couldn’t blame him; it truly was the most ridiculous thing that could have happened.
He grinned at his friend but then sobered and lowered his voice. “And if you’re me, and your luck is ridiculous, can you think of anything else that might have happened in that particular situation?”
Rin just kept staring at him, a faintly puzzled look in his eyes, and then they snapped wide.
“Are you saying—?”
Tor nodded. “So I need you to promise me that you’re going to take care of him. He is going to take care of himself, but I want someone else who is going to take extra care of him.”
Rin was trying not to stare too obviously at Pel now. His eyes came back to Tor, and he pledged solemnly, “I promise.”
“Thank you,” Tor said fervently. “And if I have an eye to spare, I will of course make sure that Terila is all right. I don’t get it, at all, but I can see that she makes you happy.”
Rin got a totally silly grin on his face. “Yes, she really does.”
“I’m glad.”
Tor just prayed that their time with their loved ones wasn’t about to be cut tragically short.