Chapter Twenty-Four
Pel
Pel couldn’t blame anyone for wanting some time to rest and recover. They’d been through so much, and they’d been betrayed by some of the people closest to them. That couldn’t be easy.
Pel loved watching Tor play with the baby—and Hena and Para.
Or spending time with his sister. Pel had been completely in love with Tor for ages now, but the whole impending fatherhood revelation was new, and if he was being perfectly honest, while he’d been excited (and scared), he hadn’t been totally certain they were ready.
He wasn’t worried about that now. Tor was clearly going to make the best father, and Pel would be there to love their child to pieces and ensure that at least occasionally, lessons were actually done, vegetables were eaten, and no one decided it was a good idea to leap off the roof and see if they could fly.
(You couldn’t make wings of magic that let you fly. Three guesses as to who’d tested that, and the first two didn’t count.)
Pel was just barely pregnant with their first child, but he had the feeling they wouldn’t be the last. The future Pel was imagining definitely had multiple children in it—a future that they were hopefully going to get to see.
Because they still hadn’t talked to Varex—Var.
(Pel was working on it, but this was the High King of the United Realms. Maybe he could just leave off the title.
That seemed like a fair compromise.) They’d been through truly traumatic events, and Pel didn’t want to rush anyone, except it really seemed to be just his and Tor’s futures that were up in the air.
On the one hand, Pel couldn’t imagine this version of the High King condemning Tor to death.
(Just think how Ada would react!) But Tor’s brother was the High King, and he needed to ensure the safety of the United Realms after it had nearly been destroyed.
What if what Tor and Pel had done was a step too far?
Ugh. Pel didn’t like thinking about it, but he couldn’t help thinking about it and just wishing the man would relax and recover enough to want to have that serious talk with Tor.
The wait wasn’t terrible, of course. There was Cala and Hena and Par. Bav and Lara were here, and for the first time in three years, there were no secrets between them. Bav was a bit anxious about ruling, wanting to be sure he was nothing like their father.
Pel wasn’t worried about that at all anymore, but he could see that Bav still was.
“Why don’t you talk to Stronex? I’m sure he’d offer advice.”
It wouldn’t have occurred to Pel to make that suggestion before all of this, but he wasn’t in any doubt now.
Sure enough, Stronex invited Bav to attend his audiences and even took him and Pel on several tours of the city and outlying land.
They returned filled with enthusiasm for some of the improvements they could make with the Tondian farmers, changes that would never have been allowed while their father was still alive.
That apparently reminded Tor to talk to Varex about the concerns the Tondian farmers had brought to him.
He invited Pel to come with him. Some of it could probably be sorted now that they had Bav on the throne instead of Forex, but some of it really would be better addressed by the United Realms as a whole.
Varex seemed surprised that Tor was bringing him these issues, but he listened intently to everything they laid out.
Although these were Pel’s people, he made sure that Tor got to share plenty of his own observations.
He’d been the one to promise the Tondians that he’d try to share their concerns, after all.
(It wouldn’t have occurred to Pel that the High King would care.) And Pel wanted to be sure Varex realized how much his brother had invested in the Tondians.
He was so much more than someone who sometimes made mistakes and behaved irresponsibly.
Once they’d shared everything, Varex called Bav and Stronex in, and they discussed some of the changes they could make together. Some would best be ratified by all the rulers.
“But we’re going to need to meet to discuss Pamexa and Bavex anyway, so it’s a good time to review this as well.” He smiled at them. “Thank you for bringing these matters to my attention.”
It was almost disconcerting to have so much support, to know that there were so many people who were there for you to talk to and spend time with.
Pel liked it, but it was definitely not what he was used to.
It was a little overwhelming at times, and so he would occasionally creep off on his own for a little bit of quiet.
Tor always found him, checking in and offering to leave if Pel wanted to be alone. Pel always held out his hand, and they curled up together, wherever Pel was, sometimes not even talking.
“How can you tell?” Pel asked one day.
Tor shook his head. “I have no idea. You just pop into my head, and I feel like I should find you, and so I do.”
“Huh.”
“It might be the bond,” Tor offered after a moment. “Or my imagination.”
Pel smiled.
It was almost definitely the bond. Pel thought of how he’d felt after Tor had been thrown in the dungeon, the certainty that he needed to be by the nursery window, even when he hadn’t understood why. Maybe it didn’t have to make complete sense.
Pel twined their hands together, and their magic Blended as easy as breathing.
“I like knowing if you’re in distress,” Pel said quietly.
Tor nodded. “Me, too.”
Sometimes, they really would need time apart, but Pel never wanted one of them to suffer in silence.
Thurnil’s body was returned from Fila. Pel knew that Tor was inclined to light it on fire and spit on the ashes, but Pel thought his family needed the closure. Lotarans needed to know what had happened to their Crown Prince.
It sounded like he wasn’t the best prince—or brother or husband or son—but there had probably still been moments that weren’t terrible.
Stronex talked with Ada and then buried his eldest son in the family plot.
Ada’s hands stayed clenched into fists the whole time, her eyes dry but her expression sad.
Pel imagined what she might have hoped for in her marriage before it all went wrong.
Varex and Tor stood protectively on either side of her and didn’t let anyone else get close.
Stronex and Solil held onto Hena and Par. Hena cried, and Par glared at the grave the whole time. (When he’d heard that Thurnil had been mean to Ada, he’d taken very clear sides.) Stronex commended Thurnil to the goddess, and half the group stared stonily at the grave.
Afterwards, Tor and Varex escorted Ada away, and Solil took Hena and Par. When Stronex lingered, Pel went to stand beside him.
They were going to have to do this in Tond for Pel’s father, and Pel wasn’t looking forward to it. But this was still Stronex’s son, and Ada’s family understandably couldn’t do this right now. Pel could try.
“My father was kind of awful,” Pel offered after several long minutes of silence. “It turns out he was conspiring against the United Realms. He believed that more magic meant more power and more power was the most important thing. He stopped caring for me after I Manifested as Unremarkable.”
Stronex shifted at his side. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Pel sighed. “He used to protect me from nightmares when I was little. He promised that nothing could get me because he’d shield me.
I remember as a child seeing him and my mom dancing and laughing in the ballroom one night, when no one else was there.
There was no music, and I didn’t understand why they were dancing.
But I get it now. They used to read stories to us.
And I remember him displaying a shield for the guards, so they could practice their attacks.
I was so proud to have a father who was so strong. ”
Echoes of childhood laughter still lurked in the corners of Pel’s mind. They couldn’t erase what came after, but they hadn’t been completely obliterated by it, either.
Stronex was quiet for a long moment, and then he exhaled slowly.
“He was a very curious child. He was patient with his little brother when they were growing up together. I don’t know when it went wrong, but there were days where I could barely see that little boy.
I knew he was unhappy, but I didn’t know how to fix it. ”
“He made his own choices,” Pel said, though he suspected that didn’t help.
You always wanted the people you cared about to make the right choices, and it hurt when they didn’t. Maybe you could have intervened and helped change everything… or maybe this had been inevitable. They would never know.
Stronex looked at Pel. “That’s all each of us can do. I’m glad you and Torex found one another.”
Pel couldn’t help but smile. “Me, too.”
“I’d like a few minutes alone, if you don’t mind.”
Pel nodded, then reached out and squeezed the man’s arm. “Take care of yourself.”
There were so many different repercussions from everything that had happened. Families had lost loved ones they were never going to get back. All they could try to do now was stay on a new path that reduced the chance of this ever happening again. Pel was sure they were all in agreement about that.
Solil set out for Filon at last, and Bav began to mention that he should probably head back to Tond soon. He kept glancing at Pel, who’d really like to declare what they were doing, only he had no idea.
He didn’t want to rush anyone, but he really did want to get this resolved. He wondered if he was going to have to nudge Tor to nudge Varex, but then finally, one morning at the end of breakfast, Varex appeared at their elbow.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Thank you, goddess.
Tor stiffened visibly and then tried to relax. Pel squeezed his hand. Tor stood up too fast, making his chair scrape along the stone floor and drawing all eyes.
He cleared his throat. “This would definitely be better discussed in private.”
Varex was frowning faintly, but he nodded.
They headed for the door, and then Ada was suddenly at their side.