Page 92 of The Prince's Fealty

Var had to blink back tears. Now wasnotthe time.

“What’s that?” Nostex asked with the supreme indifference of someone who was sure they were about to win.

Var pushed more magic into his sword, filled it until it was nearly bursting with magic.

“We’re twins,” Var gritted out as he thrust with all his might.

Nostex didn’t even have the chance to turn around. There was a moment of stillness, and then he toppled to his knees before collapsing to the ground.

Var just stood there for a moment, not quite able to comprehend what had happened. Nostex was dead. He’d just killed his wife’s father.

And then Tor sucked in a noisy breath, and Var was on his knees, flinging himself at his brother.

“Thank the goddess! You’re alive!”

Var didn’t understand at all. Had Pamuna and Nawila lied about what had happened? Had they misunderstood? They’d sounded so genuinely horrified. It hadn’t occurred to Var to question anything. And he’d felt that hole in his chest, hadn’t he, where his connection to his twin should have been?

But somehow, here Tor was. Despite everything Var had done, Tor had come to save Var and his family. Tor was in his arms now, hugging him back with just as bruising a grip as the one Var was using.

Sir Rinil’s weird warning meant it wasn’t all in Var’s head, right? He surely couldn’t imagine all of this. None of it made sense, but he was totally prepared to listen to an explanation of what had brought everyone here at just the right time.

And finally, his focus widened again, and he realized that there was still the sound of crying in the room. This wasn’t just about Var and Tor; there was the rest of Var’s family to worry about.

He stumbled upright, and everyone was calling everyone’s names. The shields came down, and Var was stumbling into Ferna’s arms. She and the baby were both crying, and Var hugged them both like he was never going to let them go.

Somehow, this had all turned out all right. Somehow, Var had kept his family and got his brother back.

He and Tor would talk, and they’d figure out how to live together, and they were going to be one bighappy—

His gaze snapped up, alarmed, and he saw that Stronex and Tor were propping up Ada. Someone was holding a glass of water for her, and Var was able to breathe again. You didn’t give water to dead people, right?

That meant Ada was going to be all right, too.

Var’swholefamily was safe, and they would figure everything else out from here.

Chapter Twenty

Tor

The few minutes following the shields falling were chaos, as Var soothed Fernila and Cala, and Tor wound up on his knees next to Ada. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to find Stronex across from him as they carefully turned her over.

Tor pressed trembling fingers to her carotid and then nearly fell over as relief swamped him at the thrumming movement.

“She’s still alive,” he gasped.

Stronex let out a ragged breath, his expression almost too raw for Tor to bear.

Pel appeared at his side with a glass of water, and Tor listed sideways slightly. (Even with Mantling, he’d hit that wallhard.) Pel knelt down beside him. There was some blood smeared on him, but when Tor raised alarmed eyes to his, Pel assured him, “It’s not mine. We’re doing clean up.”

A glance at the rest of the room showed that everyone who wasn’t busy having a desperate family reunion was indeed setting the rooms to right.

Even now, bodies were being dragged in from the hallway, and a guard appeared with a door. Tor wondered briefly where it had come from but then decided it honestly didn’t matter. As Tor watched, Beluna, Cavun, and two of Stronex’s guards stepped out of the room and closed the new door behind them.

At a glance, the room would probably look much as it always did, and now they’d have warning if more trouble was coming their way. Tor was very glad he had smart people with him. He still felt a little bit as though his mind was mired a few minutes in the past, not quite able to catch up to what was happening now.

The tears from Fernila and Cala seemed finally to be tapering off. Ada was a still form between him and Stronex.

“Do you think it’s magical exhaustion?” he asked.