Page 69 of The Prince's Fealty

Bavil nodded decisively. “Agreed. And Father is missing. I can always imply I found correspondence or something that makes me think Nostex is involved.”

Tor smiled. “Ooh, I like that.”

With his own smile, Bavil continued, “The pass between Filon and Tond is still blocked, and it’s going to take considerable effort to dig through that landslide. That makes Bessar and the water the best angle of approach for Nostex. So I think I need to go talk to Gornexi before I go with you to Filon.”

Blankly, Tor repeated, “Go with me to Filon.”

Bavil looked at him like he was a fool. “At a minimum, you’re up against a king with the Fealty of his people. If Father was working with him, and your brother’s advisor probably was, who’s to say that some of the other rulers aren’t? You need me.”

Tor… couldn’t really argue with that. The staunch support made him blink back tears.

“I’d very much appreciate your help,” he admitted a little thickly.

It was dangerous, but Bavil clearly knew that.

“I’m coming, too,” Larexa declared.

They all stared at her in shock, well aware of her stance on violence of any kind.

“We’re going to fight,” Bavil pointed out.

“You’re going to protect people,” Larexa corrected sharply. She looked belligerent. “I know how to protect people. You want to amass guards near the border with Bessar andthen explain that it doesn’t actually have anything to do with them? I don’t think you should try to talk to Gornexi on your own.”

Tor made a face, and Bavil grimaced.

“She has a point,” Pel admitted. “I think she’ll explain everything better than you could.”

Bavil still looked distressed. “I thought you could stay here, and—”

“You can leave clear instructions, can’t you? Most things can wait until we get this resolved. It’s serious, and you need all the help you can get.” She looked at him closely. “Father isn’t coming back, is he?”

Bavil’s face tightened, and then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He swallowed visibly and then admitted, “I inherited the Fealty.”

She looked a little stunned, much the way Pel had when he’d first heard the news, but she didn’t appearhurt.

Tor swore then and there that he would be a much better father to his and Pel’s child. Whatever they wanted to do, whatever life they wanted to lead. He was going to love them and support them—and get Pel’s help whenever he was in danger of messing anything up.

“We need to get going,” Tor told them. It was like an itch under his skin. “If you want to head out later…”

Bavil shook his head. “No, we’ll head to Bessar together and then split up, all right? Where can we meet, assuming I can actually explain myself to Gornexi?”

“We’re a small enough group that I think it makes sense to take the Great Road in Bessar and likely even to cross the bridge into Filon rather than trying to ford the river. We’ll hopefully blend in with all the usual travelers. South of the castle in Fila, there’s some forested land. We’ll base ourselves there to try to figure out what’s going on.”

Bavil nodded. “All right. That’s where I’ll make for once I’ve spoken to Gornexi.”

The castle in Filon was set apart from the town to the north, and they could only get so close using the cover of the forest. It was a fortress, and if the guards were watching for it, they’d see anyone approaching.

Should this have been a clue of some sort? Tor was probably going to spend the rest of his life wondering if every interaction he’d had with the other man should have been an indicator that there was something terribly wrong.

Besides, the castle in Nexa was normally well protected when no one was betraying it from inside, andVarexcertainly wasn’t behind this.

Tor suspected he would be second-guessing himself for a while, though.

Larexa changed into garb more appropriate for travel and had a bag packed. Bavil informed those who needed to know that he and his sister were going to visit Gornexi and their family, and he implied that they were once again trying to thaw relations with them.

Pel informed Tor that this had been attempted several times over the years, so this was actually quite plausible, if perhaps a little unusual to try it while Forex was also away.

The fact that guards were also instructed to patrol the river and the bridge from Bessar with increased frequency might be suggestive, but Bavil had apparently said it was a “precaution.”