Page 119 of The Prince's Fealty

“And if I said that it was an…intimatemoment?”

Varex just kept staring, and then amusement washed over his face. “Tor, honestly, what were you thinking? That’s a good way to wind up—” He cut off abruptly, eyes widening. “Seriously?”

“Apparently.” Tor made a face. “That was the other thing the healer told us after she confirmed that we were bonded. Surprise! You’re going to be an uncle.”

Ada abruptly straightened. “An uncle? Tor? But that would mean—?” She turned wide eyes to Pel. “Pel?”

He nodded, and Ada practically launched herself over Tor to envelope Pel in a hug. “I’m so happy for you! That’s so wonderful.”

Her voice was full of emotion. She hadn’t had any children of her own with Thurnil, and Pel wondered suddenly just how much she might regret that.

“Thank you,” he told her.

She moved to hug Tor next, and Varex leaned in to awkwardly give Pel a hug. He just sat there, shocked, and then he hugged the man back. It was weird, because it was a bit like hugging Tor except… not.

“Congratulations.” Varex sounded stiff but also genuine.

“Thank you,” Pel said again. “It’s obviously not exactly how we thought that this was going to unfold, but it’s very much what we wanted.”

Fernila was ready for a hug next as Var switched to his brother.

“We’ve still got a few things to work out,” Tor admitted, but he sounded happy and satisfied now.

It wasn’t conventional, and it wasn’t at all what they’d originally planned, but it waspossible.

“We’ll figure it out together,” Varex confirmed.

Pel couldn’t wait.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tor

The next day, Var asked to speak with Tor privately. Pel was way more relaxed since they’d finally cleared the air about the exiles and treason, so he didn’t look more than mildly concerned when Tor squeezed his arm and agreed to talk with his brother.

He’d spent so many years wanting his brother to actually listen to him. (And yes, a small, petty part of himself had considered refusing, but he was done letting his petty impulses sabotage everything. He had a chance to rebuild his relationship with his brother, and that was the best feeling ever.)

He and Var found an unoccupied sitting room where they (probably) wouldn’t be interrupted. Var sat down on one of the couches and patted the cushion next to him. Tor joined him, and they both turned a little so that they could look at one another.

“I need to apologize,” Var said.

“It’s all right,” Tor immediately demurred.

Honestly, after everything that had happened, after all the secrets…

But Tor’sbrother shook his head, a stubborn expression on his face that Tor recognized.

“No, it really isn’t. You told me that you needed to talk to me and waited for me to be ready. You explained what both of us did wrong. You took responsibility for your actions—something I’ve been harping on about for years. But I never took responsibility for mine.”

“The treason and the not-treason cancel one another out, remember?” Tor half-joked.

Var smiled faintly, but his eyes were grave.

“You did the right thing both times, and I went about everything all wrong. I was a fool to trust Yomil as much as I did, and looking back, I can see now how he played into my insecurities and worked to drive a wedge between us—but the fact remains that I let it happen.”

Voice smaller than he intended, Tor swallowed and asked, “Why did you?”

Var sighed, his expression pained, making him look suddenly a lot older.