Page 30 of The Prince's Sacrifice

“Just that he was caught with someone he shouldn’t have been with.”

Grimacing, Pel explained, “He was supposed to be courting Princess Marwila. He got caught in an extremely compromising position by herandSovereign Gornexi. Princess Marwila managed to convince her sibling not to actually kill Bavil. They said that they didn’t want to have anything to do with us ever again and stormed off. And then I came home, someoneelsewho’d failed to court the person Father had requested.”

“And your father blamed you because he is an ass,” Tor prompted again.

Pel let out a humorless laugh. “He seemed to think it was understandable but poorly timed that Bavil wasn’t ready to restrict himself to one person. But the fact that Princess Terila didn’t want anything to do with me was all my fault—even though my father didn’t blame her in the slightest for having high standards.”

Tor’s jaw ticked. “What if I just punched him in the face?”

Pel’s startled laugh was more genuine this time. “Definitely not. He would take it personally, and you don’t want to start a war.”

“What if I tripped?” Tor asked hopefully. “I could make it look like an accident.”

“As your earnestly flailing fists happened to fall into hisface?” Pel was laughing in earnest now. “No, definitely not.”

“I’m sure I could manage it,” Tor told him with a ridiculous waggle of his eyebrows.

“No,” Pel said firmly. “I’ve been dealing with my father for years, and I will continue to do so. No punching him in the face.”

“Fine,” Tor grumbled. “You’re no fun.”

Pel tilted up his face. “Thank you for wanting to defend my honor, even if you’re ridiculous.”

Tor pressed a kiss to his lips. “There’s no limit to how ridiculous I will be for you.”

Pel snorted. Somehow, it felt like truer words had never been spoken, and the thought made him feel warm and cozy.

“So that’s what made everything so weird?” Tor said, frowning a little. “I mean, it’s unfortunate, but it seems like there’s a lot more tension than that.”

“Bavil maintains that it wasn’t his fault, and that it was Princess Marwila and Sovereign Gornexi who overreacted.”

Tor made a face. “That seems extreme. And your brother acts a bit like that with Forex sometimes, but honestly, not the rest of the time, at least as far as I’ve been able to see. Maybe he really didn’t want to court her?”

Pel considered this. “And he thought Father was going to force him? Maybe. I guess. But Bavil still sleeps around, and that particular incident chilled relations so badly between our two realms that we haven’t spoken to one another since then. Sovereign Gornexi barely acknowledged us at your brother’swedding, and they ignored Bavil completely at Cala’s naming ceremony. If Queen Somila hadn’t been there, it might have caused an incident. Again. Thankfully, she smoothed things over.”

“I’m glad.”

Pel sighed. “It’s just weird. I thought Bavil actually liked Princess Marwila. And if we’re talking about smart political alliances, one between Tond and Bessar would not go amiss.”

Bessar had started the war by invading Tond and killing Pel’s grandparents. But Sovereign Gornexi and Princess Marwila’s parents had acquired the Fealty of Bessar only after the previous rulers had been killed in the war.Theyweren’t responsible for the invasion; they’d just defended their realm from King Forex’s violent response.

Pel continued, “It was a smart alliance, and instead, Bavil was a total ass.”

“He clearly gets it from your father,” Tor said promptly.

Pel smiled. “I know that people make mistakes, but they need to acknowledge them.”

Tor swallowed and then said after a moment, “Sometimes, that’s harder to do than you’d think. Especially if you’re feeling guilty or you think other people are judging you.”

“So this is my fault?” Pel said, struggling to keep the hurt out of his voice.

“What?” Tor refocused on him. “How could this be your fault?”

“For judging my brother for being an ass.”

Tor shook his head. “No. You’re allowed to feel the way you feel.” He smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “After the guards died, it felt like everyone was attacking, so I went on the defensive. Maybe it would all have been different if I reacted differently, but it didn’t feel at the time like I had any choice.”

Pel wrapped his arms around Tor, who hugged him back. Apparently, they both had things they were defensive about.