Page 111 of The Prince's Sacrifice

Tama came over to him. “Let me get a look at you.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Pel demurred immediately. “You’ve already helped Tor, and that’s more than I could ever ask for.”

It’s more than he could ever repay.

She shot him a look of exasperation. “I’m a healer; it’s what I do. If I didn’t have the strength for it, I wouldn’t offer.”

And really, what could Pel say to that? He had to trust that she knew her own limits.

“Thank you,” he said fervently.

She reached out and cupped his face in her palms. She was almost as tall as he was, perhaps an inch shorter.

She stared at him intently, and he stared back into her dark brown eyes… but it was more like she was seeing through him—or, he supposed, seeinginsidehim.

Which was actually a little alarming, when he thought about it.

And then a weird feeling swept over him, a little like what he’d felt when he Blended with Tor, but… subtly wrong. It had to be Tama’s magic, and unlike Tor’s magic, it didn’t feel like it belonged. It wasn’t terrible, nothing like the repulsion Tor had described with Princess Terila, but it was still an intrusion, not the natural connection and surge of positive feelings with Tor.

Belatedly, he became aware that the aches had already begun to fade out of his body.

“Thank you so much,” he told her.

He hadn’t used a healer in years, because King Forex was of the opinion that Wavilon’s skills should be reserved for moredeservingindividuals.

Thankfully, he hadn’t been particularly prone to accident or illness. It wasn’t like most people didn’t survive without a healer just fine. But having the healing process accelerated to such a degree was rather amazing.

After Pel, Tama went round and healed Beluna, Denil, and Cavun—at her insistence, because Pel wasn’t the only one who tried to demur.

Instead, Pel watched as tense shoulders slowly relaxed, and they were all suddenly pain free. He knew without asking that they’d all do exactly the same again if it meant keeping Tor safe, but it was lovely not having to deal with this particular consequence.

“Thank you,” Pel repeated after Tama had finished, like he’d become responsible for the whole group.

They rearranged themselves around the fire, Cavun having gently scooped Tor up and moved him, because Pel was going to be by his side no matter what.

“I’m happy to help,” she told him. She hesitated for a moment, and then added carefully, “It’s a very small way I can repay Prince Torex for what he did for us on the mountain.”

There was a moment where Pel didn’t understand, and then his eyes flew to his brother’s, who looked guilty and half-defiant.

Shocked, Pel asked, “You’re meeting an exile?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Pel

As if he had a leg to stand on when he was busy making use of her healing skills right now. But he certainly hadn’tplannedthis.

Bavil blew out a breath and admitted, to Pel’s surprise, “We’ve been meeting for years, trying to make sure this didn’t descend into out-and-out war.”

Pel would never in a million years have guessed.

Still thrown, he asked, “Is this where you’ve been coming when I thought you were off having lots and lots of sex?”

Tama’s eyebrows rose sharply, and to Pel’s amusement, red crawled up Bavil’s ears and cheeks. Pel didn’t think he’d ever seen his big brother flush before.

Bavil cleared his throat and almost managed to sound nonchalant as he said, “It was a useful cover.”

Pel nodded, because if he opened his mouth, he was going to laugh. Only Bavil had been beyond forbearing about Pel’s own weird relationship quirks—who didn’t know they were bonded?—so Pel kept his mouth firmly shut.