Chapter Twenty-Two
Tor
Tor and Pel dismounted and hurried over to hug both Bavil and Larexa.
Tor shook hands with Gornexi, who was looking well, their dark skin glowing with health.
Tor hadn’t seen them since Somila’s pregnancy had been announced, and it was clear impending parenthood was working for them.
Var stuck his head out of the carriage and then climbed down to come and shake all of their hands as well.
“Thank you so much for coming.”
“Unnecessarily, I assume?” Gornexi said, looking him over critically, their brown eyes intent.
Var sighed, looking unbearably tired for a moment. “Nostex is dead. He was torturing me, Fernila, Adexa, and Cala, trying to get past my shields so he could kill all of us and take my Fealty.”
Gornexi’s eyes grew wide, and they shook their head. “That’s what Bavil said you thought was happening. I… sort of hoped that it was an exaggeration.”
“I’m afraid not,” Var said with a sympathetic smile.
“I, too, wish it had never come to this. Fortunately, my brother, King Stronex, Prince Rinil, Princess Terila, and a number of able guards came to our aid. Without them, we would surely have perished. We will be retiring to Lotar to rest and recover for a short period, but then I will invite all the rulers to visit Alossa. If at all possible, I intend to ensure there are more measures in place to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.”
Gornexi inclined their head. “I would be happy to attend. But if there is no need for me or my guards—who are amassing in force at the border, by the way—I’d actually like to head back to Bessar. Somila is with child, and while she tells me that there’s nothing to worry about, I hate to be away.”
Var nodded. “Yes, of course. I completely understand. There were a couple of weeks near the end where I followed Fernila around everywhere, and she finally told me that she would brain me with the nearest blunt object if I didn’t stop hovering.”
They all laughed, and Tor realized there was a side to his sister-in-law that he’d never seen before. He was looking forward to getting to know her better.
Tor looked at Bavil and Larexa hopefully. “What about you? Did you need to head back right away? You’re welcome to come to Lotar with us. I need to talk to my brother about a few things, and then we’ll hopefully be able to head back with you.”
Pel’s siblings exchanged glances and correctly interpreted Tor’s pleading.
“You’re certain you wouldn’t mind more company?” Bavil asked King Stronex.
“Not at all,” the King of Lotar assured them.
Tor felt immediately better. If things went disastrously wrong, Pel would have his family with him. He knew that both of them would do everything they could to protect Pel and their baby.
“You’re not nearly as sneaky as you think you are,” Pel grumbled.
“It won’t hurt, will it?”
Pel shrugged, which Tor took to mean that he wasn’t wrong, and that was good enough for him.
Bavil penned a quick letter to Gremuna, the current captain of Tond’s guard, updating her on the situation, and Gornexi agreed to dispatch the letter as soon as they were back in Bessar and had a messenger to spare.
One of Stronex’s guards had already been dispatched to Vayrin with a similar message to Terila’s parents, and another to Alossa, to update Darmila.
They set off on their separate ways once again, Tor relieved by the reasonable pace, no longer rushing to what might be utter disaster.
He also found himself incredibly glad that he wasn’t the captain of Alossa’s guard right now.
That would needlessly complicate things, and they had enough complications as it was.
Darmila was highly competent, and she’d no doubt do a better job than he ever would have getting to the bottom of the corruption in Alossa.
He didn’t envy any of the royals trying to do that.
It was probably mostly contained to Tond, Filon, and Alossa, but they didn’t even know that for sure.
Thurnil’s involvement meant there could be others in Lotar, which probably meant it was naive to assume there was no one in Vayrin or Bessar.
But spies or informants weren’t quite the same as co-conspirators, and it was difficult to say at this point just what each person might have known or been complicit in.
Tor was ready to leave that to everyone else.
(He was pretty sure the exiles were scapegoats like him. Maybe that was a piece of good news in the midst of the extremely awkward truth he still had to tell his brother.)
Within a few days, all the royal families would know that the situation had returned at least partially back to normal.
They could decide if they were trying to hunt down malefactors or if they were trusting that everyone had learned the unwisdom of treason.
(Except possibly Tor, but that was a discussion for another day.)
Without Yomil and anyone else like him spreading rumors, they could hopefully settle down into a more honest, more fruitful peace.
Now that Tor thought about it, bringing Bavil along gave his brother the chance to assess him just like he had Pamu—Pamexa—which could only be a good thing.
They needed stable realms where everyone felt safe.
And hopefully where no one had the opportunity to plan bloody revenge for twenty-five years while everyone else was none the wiser.
Tor agreed with Var about trying to put better measures in place for the future, not that he could think what those would be just yet.
The important thing to focus on right now was that they’d made it.
“You’re very quiet,” Pel said.
Tor startled. He hadn’t realized how lost he’d got in his own head.
“Sorry,” he said with a wry smile. “Trying to process everything. Still sort of shocked that Nostex got away with his plotting for so long.”
“He fooled a lot of people,” Pel pointed out.
Well, that was true enough.
Pel continued. “He refused to concede defeat. He plotted and twisted and hurt people all for his own gain. I’m not sure it’s a bad thing that so many of us struggle to understand that. He betrayed the trust of a lot of people, and that is his failing, not yours.”
Tor sighed. Yes, that was part of what he was feeling. Guilt.
Reluctantly, he admitted, “I sort of feel like I helped him. Like my behavior and the way that I let things sour between me and my brother contributed to his plot.”
It left a sour taste in Tor’s mouth.
“Maybe,” Pel conceded. “But if you’d been super close this entire time, Nostex might have decided that you had to be eliminated quickly. And I might not have been there to save you. And then where would we be?”
Tor stared at the man, arrested. He’d… definitely not thought about it like that.
He blew out a breath. “You’re right. The important thing is that we’re all here now. I wish fewer people had been hurt. But we made it here.”
There was nowhere Tor would rather be than by Pel’s side, with peace hopefully restored to the United Realms—and Tor’s family safe.
He couldn’t express the relief he felt to have them all unharmed at his side.
(Truth be told, he felt a little like he could float right off the back of his horse, he felt so light, but that was ridiculous.) There was more that he had to discuss with Var, of course, but just at the moment, he savored their current victory.
That in mind, he tried to push all the other thoughts out of his head. Instead, he turned to Bavil and Larexa.
“Things went well in Bessar, I take it?”
“Gornexi actually apologized for everything,” Bavil said, looking a bit stunned.
“Which was remarkably decent of them given that they thought they had proof I’d cheated on Marwila while we were courting.
In retrospect, we should have come up with any other plan to prevent a political marriage between us, but it seemed like our best option at the time.
I certainly can’t blame Gornexi for protecting their sister.
Queen Somila is extremely canny; honestly, I think she’s already planning a bonding ceremony. ”
Larexa flushed heavily, but she was smiling, and Pel and Tor congratulated her.
“It’s a little soon for that,” she said, but she couldn’t hide her happiness. “Marwila and I had the chance to talk a little before Bav and I left Zanay, and it feels like there are possibilities now, which is such an amazing feeling.”
“Not to speak ill of the dead,” Tor started.
Pel, Bavil, and Larexa scoffed.
Tor tried to look offended, but then he gave up and grinned at them. “Yeah, all right. I do actually realize grief is complicated and all that, and I want you to have whatever feelings you have, and they’re all valid.”
“But?” Pel prompted with amusement.
“But,” Tor continued pointedly, “your father was kind of an ass.”
Pel rolled his eyes. None of them seemed particularly offended by this observation.
“Nostex was, too, obviously. But now, I think we actually have rulers who genuinely care about their people and their families and what makes them happy. I know it’s not always going to be perfect, but I think it’s going to be so much better.”
“Honestly,” Bavil admitted, “I’m not sure why everyone was trying so hard to force things before. Clearly, we should just let people do what they want. I’m getting an alliance with Bessar and one with Alossa out of it.”
Tor snorted. “True! And Var’s getting one with Vayrin as well. And someone he knows and trusts in Filon. We are obviously the best at this.”
They all grinned at one another, knowing full well that most of what had happened had been entirely accidental—or perhaps goddess-blessed. At this point, Tor felt as though they must have had her favor to have survived everything that had just happened.