Page 68 of The Prince's Fealty

“That’s so terrible! I’m so sorry! Oh, I wish you could stay here and be safe.”

Tor offered her the best smile he could muster. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure that anywhere is safe, at least not for long. We have to go.”

“Of course you do,” she agreed, smiling at him and Pel. “You both protect what you care about, and I’d expect nothing less of you.”

“We certainly try to do so,” Tor agreed.

Pel gave her another hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask more questions about Marwila.”

Larexa sagged against him, looking shame-faced and sad. “I’m sorry I didn’t just tell you the truth! Once I’d started behaving like that in front of Father, it seemed like I had to continue it. I was worried that if I told him I liked women, he’d try to insist thatImarry Terila.”

Pel blinked. That hadn’t even occurred to him. Terila wasn’t Extraordinary yet, but she would become so when she inherited Vayrin from her parents. He had no idea if she was interested in women, but Larexa certainly had her Extraordinary magic to commend her.

Larexa made a face. “I always felt like Father actually encouraged our behavior when you were there.”

Pel sighed. “I don’t doubt it.”

“But I should have insisted on explaining to you. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Pel’s shoulders relaxed a little. “No, I understand. I was hardly receptive, and you were worried about your future and trying to manage Father. We both got lost in a certain way of behaving. But I’d like to do better in the future.”

A smile lit up Larexa’s features, making her look almost breathtaking. Tor noticed, but sort of incidentally. He vastly preferred Pel to either of his siblings.

“Oh, me, too! So much,” Larexa assured Pel. “I promise to just tell you things in the future and not get all caught up in the what-ifs and habits and bad choices. When I made up that story about wanting someone Extraordinary, it was solely to try to keep Father from marrying me to someone else. I didn’t think what it would be like for you to constantly hear how I thought only someone with lots of magic would do for me. I’m so sorry.”

Pel hugged her again. “It’s all right. Thank you for explaining. We all know how stubborn Father is.”

It seemed like a ridiculous misunderstanding… except that Tor was on the run from a treason charge thanks to how his relationship with his own brother had fallen apart, so he probably shouldn’t judge them.

Bavil slipped back into the room to report that the supplies were ready, and they could leave.

Tor sucked in a breath and then blurted out, “I think we need to go to Filon first and see if we can tell what Nostex is up to. If it turns out this is Fernila without her father, we don’t lose too much time because Filon is on the way south. And I admit that in terms of sheer planning and laying things in place, it seems more likely it’s Nostex, as we discussed, whether or not Fernila is involved.”

She was only twenty-five, and she’d been married to Varex since she was twenty. Masterminding this whole plot as a twenty-year-old did seem a bit much, especially given that Tor could point to seeds of dissension that had been sown from his mother’s death onwards.

Yomil had never seemed to like Tor, and if someone had forged that letter and had it switched out to condemn the guards in Tor’s name, then he was the most likely culprit.

How they’d get to Ada now had been preying on his mind.

“An attack of another castle is starting to get suspicious. But what if Nostex or Fernila ask Ada to visit? It’s not outside of the realm of possibility.”

The others were nodding.

“That makes sense,” Pel agreed.

“Do you want my army?” Bavil asked.

Tor paused, a bit stunned. They’d talked about Bavil being effectively the king now, but he hadn’t thought through all of what that meant.

“What do you mean?” Larexa’s brow was furrowed in confusion.

If Tor weren’t desperately worried about his own sister, he’d be ready to have them fully explain everything now.

Instead, he rudely ignored the question. Bavil was going to have to deal with it later.

“I’m worried that we’ll give too much away if they come with us… But I think it might not be a bad idea to bring the army closer to the border.” Tor made a face. “I guess that might cause suspicion, too—but it might also get Nostex looking at something that isn’t us.”

“I agree,” Pel said. “And honestly, we don’t know what Nostex is going to do next. We’re a bordering realm. I think we really need to be concerned.”