Page 20 of The Prince's Sacrifice

Maybe he should have been paying more attention sooner, but he’d been very pleasantly preoccupied. Still, though, he meant to prove to his brother that his decision to come to Tond and court Pel was a wise one, and perhaps this could help.

“I’m sure you’d enjoy the change of pace.”

Lost in his own thoughts, it took Tor a moment to realize the unusually neutral tone with which that had been said.

Cautiously, Tor ventured, “I thought an outside perspective could be useful.”

“True.” A little too clipped.

“What do you say?” Tor said, as though he hadn’t noticed the tone. “Would you like to show me the western mountains next time there’s a patrol?”

Pel looked over at him sharply, and Tor met his gaze evenly. He wasn’t quite sure if Pel assuming Tor wanted to get away from him and Tor assuming that they’d do everything togetherboded ill or if it just meant they were still figuring a lot of things out.

Pel swallowed and looked away again. “I’d like that.”

Pel had been rejected too often, Tor reminded himself, so he assumed it was going to happen again. The fact he thought that about Tor wasn’t an attack on him or their relationship. No, it just meant Tor had work to do to prove how very much he wanted to be with the man… kind of all the time.

And as much as Tor was enjoying himself here at the castle—and he really was, since Pel was here—he thought it might not be a bad thing to demonstrate that they could travel together, even if it was just a trip within Tond. He could start laying the groundwork for the idea of them staying together no matter what.

He’d continue to prove that they were compatible, show that they could manage in any situation, never tell Pel the original ending to the foolish plan that Tor had come here with, and instead, convince Varex that the prince Tor had originally picked because he was the most unsuitable option ever was, in fact, the best possible choice.

It would be fine. Tor had this all under control.

Accordingly, he broached the topic with King Forex at dinner, since he shouldn’t really invite himself along without permission. If he managed toimplyhe wanted to spend time with Bavil, it meant that the King gave his blessing and mostly convinced himself that it had been his idea.

After dinner, as he turned the pages for Larexa at the pianoforte, she shot him an amused look. Objectively, she was much prettier than Pel, with luminous brown eyes, glossy dark hair, and all the curves he could ever want in a woman. But Tor would pick Pel every time.

“I take it you and my grumpy brother over there will soon be going on a journey?”

Yeah, so, apparently he and Pel hadn’t been as subtle as Tor had been hoping. Pelwaskind of sitting and glowering at them. Tor couldn’t tell if he really was jealous or if it was just his default expression when it came to his siblings.

“I want to get a better idea of what’s going on,” Tor said, not answering her question. “I figure I could relay a firsthand account to my brother.”

Tor still wasn’t sure if Varex already knew all about the situation and had declined to discuss it with Tor or if King Forex was hiding it. Pel had told him that his father wanted to deal with the matter internally, but did that mean he was actually keeping all of it from the High King?

“And I assume two pairs of eyes are better than one?” Larexa asked pointedly. “Even if they’re grumpy eyes?”

Tor couldn’t help but laugh. “Can eyes be grumpy?”

Larexa snorted and inclined her head towards Pel. “Uh, yes!”

Tor tried not to laugh again. He knew it couldn’t be easy for Pel to be constantly discounted.

Quietly, Tor confessed, “I want to do everything with him.”

Larexa’s eyes softened, her expression going fond. “Good. He deserves every good thing.”

He really, really did. And the fact that Larexa thought so but didn’t say so to Pel continued to confuse him. He knew the catty comments about deserving someone Extraordinary only drove a wedge between her and her brother, but Tor just couldn’t believe she meant what she was saying. It only came up when she was with King Forex, like she was performing for her father—only Tor didn’t know why.

It was incredibly frustrating.

He reminded himself that he’d agreed not to interfere. He had to believe they could work it out. It wasn’t like Tor was the prime example of functioning families.

“Yes, he does,” Tor agreed.

“So is there a reason you’re not saying anything?”

Tor knew that Larexa was against violence. He’d convinced her to learn how to defend herself only on the understanding that she wouldn’t be harming anyone and would be solely protecting herself in the unlikely event she ever needed to exercise those skills.