Page 64 of The Prince's Sacrifice

Melody’s ears pricked forward, and he kicked out his legs in excitement.

Yeah, he was going to be fine.

In short order, the stable hands were off with the horses, and Tor and Pel both spent a little too long watching them fade into the distance. Beluna cleared her throat, and they finally turned back to the river.

“They’ll be fine,” Pel said, and Tor wasn’t sure which one of them he was trying to reassure.

He’d clearly coached the stable hands to go to his brother if they got into trouble, and he’d picked young people his father was more likely to dismiss as ignorant. They couldn’t control everything, but they could try to reduce the chance that King Forex was going to take out his ire on anyone else.

There were two boats, one for Pel and a guard, with Tor lounging, and the second for the other two guards and the luggage. They hadn’t brought a lot, but they had necessities and supplies for the journey.

Pel breathed a sigh of relief once they were actually away, and Tor realized he’d been more nervous than he’d let on. They weren’t even out of Tond yet, but it was definitely a good sign that they were on their way and no one had tried to stop them. They each had broad-brimmed straw hats that would help with the sun as it rose higher in the sky—as well as doing an excellent job of making it harder to see their faces.

“I’m not used to not being in charge of the ridiculous escape plans,” Tor admitted to Pel. “Good job.”

Pel laughed, and Beluna smirked, her white teeth a contrast to her dark skin, shadowed beneath the brim of her hat. She rowed effortlessly, like her solid build was packed with pure muscle. Tor already felt guilty for not taking part.

“Don’t even think about it,” Pel said, like he could read Tor’s mind. “You put your hand on an oar, and I will knock you out with one. Then you can spend the rest of the journey unconscious. Again. Because that was so awesome last time.”

Tor could only laugh. He knew Pel was right, because he didn’t want to admit how tiring that short ride had been. But it still made his stomach squirm a bit to be doing nothing while everyone else was making their journey happen.

“I can’t remember if we were properly introduced before,” Tor admitted to Beluna. “What with trying to avert a war and then me being unconscious for most of the rest of the time. I’m Torex.”

She looked at him like he was ridiculous.

And then Pel nudged him. “No, you’re not.”

Tor blinked at him. “Aren’t I?”

Honestly, after the events of the past few days, it wouldn’t entirely surprise him to be wrong about this.

“You’re your friend, your knight, the one who helped you get down here.”

Oh. That actually made a lot of sense. Tor blamed the last few days for the fact that he hadn’t already thought of it.

“Right. Sorry. Clearly, the magical coma has muddled my brain. I’m Sir Rinil.”

“Nice to meet you, Sir Rinil,” she managed, looking like she had trouble squashing the urge to call him by his title. “I’m Beluna.”

Tor looked at Pel. “And who are you? Just to be sure.”

Pel rolled his eyes. “I’m Pelun, of course, because no one will look twice at me or my name.”

Tor opened his mouth to object hotly, but Pel just stared him down.

So Tor went with, “More of you for me, then, so that’s all right.”

Beluna snorted. Pel made a scoffing noise and the tips of his ears went red, but he looked like he was trying not to smile.

Tor would be forever grateful that while it had taken him a while, he’d come to see Pel’s value. And despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, they were now headed back to Alossa. Once they reached the capital, Tor would be able to explain everything to his brother and fight to keep the most amazing man he’d ever met.

He didn’t know exactly what he was going to say yet, but he’d figure it out.

In the meantime, he watched the banks as Beluna and Pel rowed them up the river towards the Great River. Tor could technically be recognized anywhere, of course, but King Forex was likely to be the only person specifically looking right now, so they were eager to put as much distance between him and them as possible. Especially if Tor wore his helmet when necessary on land, there was no reason they should be stopped or questioned—and if he needed to, Tor could reveal who he was. He’d save that as a last resort, though, because two princes traveling withthree guards wasn’t exactly a full complement, and unlike usual, Tor didn’t know if he could defend them with his magic.

Also, they didn’t want to be slowed down. From what Pel and Beluna discussed while Tordidn’t row, it would likely take them seven or eight days to get to Nexa in Alossa. Once they made it to the Great River, they’d be going with the current, which would speed them along and help take some of the burden off the rowers. Regardless, they didn’t want to do anything that might slow them down.

Tor still had that jittery feeling in his belly that told him it was urgent to get to his brother and explain—both about the magicandabout Pel. If it had felt this weird for Tor to borrow that magic, he could only imagine what it must have felt like to Varex. Tor didn’tthinkhe’d put his brother in a magical coma, but if he had, he could only imagine the uproar. He definitely needed to explain. He really wanted to start with Pel—who was obviously the most important of all—but he knew it would be more strategic to address the issue of the magic first, deal with whatever King Forex had claimed, andthenintroduce the idea of bonding. Tor just needed to figure out how to talk to his brother alone. If they could have an actual conversation—notin the throne room—Tor was sure they could figure this out.