Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“Is this a family discussion?” she wanted to know.
Tor looked at him and then back at Ada, finally saying, “It’s something that I need to tell Var. Uh, it sort of involves you, or rather me, and whether I’ll get to keep seeing you, so—”
“I’m coming,” Ada said firmly.
“Why wouldn’t you be able to—?” Varex asked, confused.
Now Fernila had joined them. “What are you talking about?”
Varex made a face. “I have no idea. Tor seems to think that he might not get to see Ada any more, which is ridiculous.”
They all looked at Tor, who now looked really awkward.
“We’re definitely not doing this in the corridor.
I, um, was sort of imagining it would just be me talking to Var, but it kind of impacts all of us, so if you want to come, you can.
” Under his breath, he muttered, “Probably better if I just say it once, anyway.” He raised his voice again. “Come on, we’ll find a sitting room.”
There were a number of cozy rooms on the family floor, and none of them in any way resembled the sitting room Fernila, Cala, and Ada had been trapped in at Nostex’s castle.
(Pel had seen Stronex watch what made Ada and Fernila flinch, and the next time they went into that room, the item was simply gone. Pel was quite sure the man would tear down the entire castle and rebuild it from scratch if that was what Ada wanted, but that was another issue.)
They sat on the floor in front of the seating arrangement at Ada’s insistence.
They’d started doing that after Tor had begun Tendrilling with his sister.
They formed a circle that let them all look at one another and had the added benefit of letting them keep an eye on Cala, who enjoyed crawling over all of them, which lightened some of the tension a bit.
Tor was still visibly nervous, clutching at Pel’s hand.
Given everything they’d been through, this seemed a little silly.
On the other hand, this was going to determine… probably their entire future.
“What’s going on?” Var asked. “What haven’t you told me?”
Tor didn’t seem to know where to start, and Pel was a little worried he was just going to blurt out that he’d taken the exiles’ Fealty without any explanation.
Pel thought they really needed to hear the whole story, and so he started at the beginning—or at least their beginning, since apparently Nostex had been planning this for decades.
“There was a raid in Tond. Unlike the usual raids from the exiles, which took some supplies and caused little damage, this was a violent attack that killed people, injured my brother, and burned down homes. My father was furious, and he ordered the exiles destroyed no matter where they were—in direct contradiction to the peace accords.”
Yes, so that was a little heavy-handed, but Pel wasn’t above trying to lay things out in their favor. Tor was silent at his side, so he seemed to be all right with Pel starting things off.
“Tor tried to convince my father to be reasonable, to write to you, Varex, and to assess the situation, which had clearly altered in a major way. He wouldn’t do that, but he allowed Tor and me to go with the guards. Our intention was to try to resolve the situation peaceably if we could.”
Pel sighed. “We didn’t get the chance. While we were sleeping, the guards went up the mountain without us, determined to follow their order to eradicate the exiles.”
“Who were on the Tondian side of the mountain, were they not?” Varex asked.
“True,” Pel admitted. His father hadn’t lied about that, at least. “But they weren’t coming to attack Tond. They were making for the pass to Filon, where King Nostex had offered them amnesty.”
Varex stiffened but didn’t say anything.
Cala was now trying to balance on Tor’s legs and climb up his front.
Tor’s shoulders weren’t quite so tense as he focused on being ready to catch her.
(Because they’d all learned she didn’t like people holding onto her if she was trying to get upright herself.)
“We didn’t know that at the time, of course,” Pel continued.
“By the time we got up the mountain, the battle was already engaged. Between the pouring rain and the lightning, it was almost impossible to see. I think it would have been a disaster no matter what, but then lightning struck the mountain, and the first boulder crashed among us.”
Fernila sucked in a shocked breath.
“It was a landslide,” Pel told them. “Heading straight for us, hurling huge rocks in amidst us like it was nothing. Tor put up a shield to protect us.”
Pel shivered at the memories. Varex, Fernila, and Ada were staring intently at them, and Pel made himself continue.
“Then a child screamed, and Tor realized there were more people out there. And they weren’t a fighting force, they were an evacuation.
They were trying to flee, only now they were trapped in the landslide surrounded by guards who were going to kill them.
Tor didn’t hesitate. He put up a shield over the civilians, too.
And the landslide just kept coming, crashing down on the shield from overhead, flying over us, crushing everything in its path as it continued down the mountain. ”
Ada and Varex both flinched. Fernila was looking at him with huge eyes. Cala was now crawling across the distance between Tor and Var, looking like she was going to make a break for freedom until her father scooped her up, much to her displeasure.
“The two shields got to be too much, and Tor managed to link them together so that we could get everyone packed as closely together as possible. But it was over two thousand people with rocks smashing down on the shield, hitting it over and over again. And slowly, as we watched, the shield went pinker and pinker. Tor was protecting all of us, and it was killing him to do it. We all knew it, and we were powerless to stop it. Tor was the only Extraordinary person on the mountain that night.”
They were hanging on his every word. A disgruntled Cala was passed from Varex to Fernila and allowed her mother to cradle her in her arms.
“Tor refused to let go. And then he closed his eyes, said he was trying something he hadn’t done in years.
” Pel blew out a breath. “I don’t think I can ever explain to you what it was like in that moment when the shield suddenly blazed white.
When it wasn’t pressing against our heads anymore.
When Tor was suddenly strong enough again that he could move the shield and we could march out of the landslide’s path. ”
Fernila let out a squeak of sound.
“The landslide was still falling behind us, but we were safe—or were we? Because now everyone was free once more, and the guards were supposed to be killing the exiles.”
Ada and Fernila looked horrified. Varex’s expression was grave.
“Tor ordered them to separate, and then he just…” Pel scoffed.
“He refused to let them hurt one another. He was one person against thousands, and he made them listen. He saved more than fifteen hundred children and injured and elderly, plus the exiles who were escorting the evacuation and the Tondian guards.”
Ada leaned her head against Tor’s shoulder on the other side from Pel.
Fernila breathed, “That’s not what Forex said happened at all.”
Yeah, Pel hadn’t really thought so.
“Tor collapsed as soon as they were gone, from what proved to be magical exhaustion. He was unconscious for five days. Once we got back to the castle in Baless, our healer shared some of his magic and assured us he should wake up again.”
Pel hated the memory of that time, how helpless he’d felt.
“It was a really weird feeling,” Tor offered, speaking for the first time.
He still seemed more relaxed, and Pel hoped his introduction had helped.
“Yes, it was,” Varex agreed. “I knew it was you immediately, but I didn’t know it was possible.”
“Me, either,” Tor told him, expression painfully earnest. “I was just… I was so desperate. I couldn’t stand by and let more people die on the mountain.”
Varex sucked in a breath and nodded. “I can see that now. We didn’t know why you’d done it, and it caused me some pain and discomfort. We were worried.”
Fernila frowned. “I was terrified that Var was going to be hurt. I didn’t think about why you might be doing it. I was scared, and I’m ashamed to admit it didn’t occur to me that you might have truly needed the magic. I’m sorry.”
Tor shook his head. “It’s all right. I mean, I did really need the magic, but it’s true that I didn’t think about what it might do to Var. I took what I needed, and I didn’t think about the consequences.”
Firmly, Varex said, “You took a risk in order to help people. I should have listened to your side of the story, not just Forex’s and Yomil’s. I apologize.”
Tor smiled at him. “It’s all right. I would have asked if I’d known how to do so, but I can’t honestly say that I wouldn’t do it again under the same circumstances.”
Pel wanted to elbow Tor in the ribs, but fortunately, his brother smiled faintly.
“I would expect no less.”
Pel was pretty sure that was a compliment.
Tor added, “As soon as I woke up, I knew I had to come explain to you what happened.” He waved his hands. “We all know that didn’t go as I might have hoped.”
Everyone looked guilty except for Ada, who’d been safely in Lotar not seeing her brothers behave badly. Pel was pretty sure if she’d been present, it would have ended differently.
But there was no point in dwelling on that now.
“This was the point at which I found out about Tor’s original terrible plan to come to Tond and use me to get out of bonding with Terila.”
They all looked at Tor, who made a face and tried, “Worst plan with best results ever?”
Pel snorted a laugh. “I was pretty upset at the time and stormed out of the castle to brood until I worked out that Tor was a fool but maybe his plans had changed.”
“They changed so much!” Tor interjected, as if that was the point right now.
Pel pressed a quick kiss to Tor’s cheek.