Page 23 of The Prince's Fealty

Tor had been trying to explain to him, and Var hadn’t listened. His brother had been desperate, and Var had let the rumors take precedence. He’d beenannoyed, and now his brother was dead, and he wouldn’t ever be able to undo that.

They were so lucky to have Harili and Sustuna. They bought supplies for all of them, including the baby, because he and Ferna had left practically with only the clothes on their backs to avoid anyone realizing what they were doing.

The second and third days, Cala cried most of the time, having evidently decided that she didnotaccept the necessity of being cooped up in a carriage, bumping along the road. Honestly, he and Ferna weren’t doing much better, but his wife finally let him hold Cala for a little while.

Looking down into his daughter’s small face, scrunched up and pink from yelling… honestly, he sympathized. If he had the option, he wouldn’t mind throwing back his head and screaming.

As they packed up on their fourth morning, Var told Ferna, “I’m sorry this is so awful.”

None of them were sleeping terribly well, although Cala seemed to exhaust herself enough to mostly get through the night, which was something. Var felt like he was sleeping with one eye open, keeping his shield at the ready.

Ferna’s eyes were heavy, but she summoned a smile for him anyway. “It’s not your fault.”

Only it was, really. Var had placed his trust in the wrong people, and they were all paying for that mistake.

Following the Great Road, it took almost six days to get out of Alossa, but this was the only sensible path when traveling by carriage. The last thing they wanted to do was attract attention by behaving in an unusual manner. Once out of Alossa, they traveled through Vayrin, then southern Lotar, and finally crossed into Filon. It was a relief to reach King Nostex’s land, and Fila was thankfully located not far from the Great Road and the river.

Var wouldn’t feel safe again until they were somewhere absolutely secure. He’d failed his brother, but he wasn’t going to fail Ferna or the baby. They would be safe if it was the last thing that Var did.

On their ninth day of travel, they arrived late in the day, clattering into the stable yard of the castle outside of Fila. Nostex looked stunned to see them when a guard summoned him, his pale green eyes, so like his daughter’s, wide with shock. But he shook off his surprise and greeted Var with a hearty shake of the hand.

“My, my, this is a surprise! I wasn’t expecting you.” He looked around and frowned. “But where is everyone else? Surely, it’s not just you and two guards with the carriage?”

Ferna cast herself into her father’s arms with a sob, and Nostex patted her back.

“There, there. Now, what’s all this?”

“Oh, Father, it’s awful.”

Var could just pick up the muffled words that were directed at Nostex’s chest. Ferna’s father was a stocky, solid man who got a little bit rounder every time Var saw him. His heart pinched. He rather wished there was someone he could throw himself at just now.

His and Tor’s father had died months before the end of the war. Var missed him to this day, but they’d still had their mother, and in the midst of that terrible war, so manypeople had been killed. It had seemed like every day, they were hearing about someone else who’d died. Losing their mother seven years ago had been such a shock. Var had assumed he’d have years before he’d need to take the throne. He’d thought there’d be time, so much more time, for so many things.

His mother would surely be horrified by the mess Var had made of everything.

Nostex was beginning to look alarmed now. “What’s going on? No, no, come inside. Let’s get you settled, and then we’ll sort out how to fix whatever this is. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

Var wished Nostex’s optimism had merit. Unfortunately, too many mistakes had been made that could never be undone.

He wasn’t ever going to get his brother back.

But he would do everything in his power to ensure that no harm came to the rest of his family.

Being safely ensconced in Nostex’s castle made Var breathe a little easier. As always, it was well protected, with a highly visible complement of guards, and Var didn’t have to worry that any oftheseguards were under Yomil’s influence.

Surely, with a day or two of proper sleep in a safe environment, Var would be able to think properly again. He could actually figure out what to do next, get to the bottom of who was after them, and keep his family safe.

As much of his family as was still alive, anyway.

Telling Nostex what had happened was harder than Var had expected. The act of speaking those words, of admitting what had happened, made them seem more real.

Nostex looked grave, not an expression Var was used to seeing on the cheerful man’s face.

“Goddess preserve us, this has been such a terrible ordeal! Rest assured, we can keep you safe here.”

He immediately agreed to double the security around the castle and promised to help them get to the bottom of whatever was going on. He was shocked to learn that Yomil had been conspiring against them.

“I know that he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Prince Torex, but I can scarcely believe he’d actively conspire against the Prince or Princess.” He looked truly baffled. “How could anyone target a baby?”