Page 5 of The Prince's Sacrifice

He’d just have to take advantage of every moment he could for as long as he had.

Tor interrupted his spiraling thoughts. “You’re thinking too hard over there.”

Pel had lost track of everything. “Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It sounds more like I should be working on my technique.”

Pel laughed and twisted so that he could press a soft kiss to Tor’s mouth.

“You know full well that I don’t have the slightest complaint about your technique. And since we both know I’m far less skilled, your modesty comes across as annoying instead of charming, in case you’re wondering.”

Tor laughed. “Ah. Sorry. Comment rescinded. Though I will point out that I’ve not had any complaints about your technique.”

Tor could be much kinder than Pel would ever have thought from their initial meeting here in Tond.

“This is just… very new,” Pel told him. “It’s a lot to think about. But I’m definitely enjoying myself, and I’m confident that we’re going to figure it out.”

Tor smiled at him. “Good.”

They rose to start their day, Pel moving to gather his clothes even as he eyed the window. The quality of the light shining in told him that the servants would be in soon.

He still wasn’t sure how much he should try to hide this. He didn’twantto hide it. Part of him wanted to tell everyone. But… his stomach sank as he thought about what his father would likely say, especially when Tor ended up leaving again. It had been bad enough when Pel had Manifested as Unremarkable at sixteen. That small amount of magic might be the most common by far, but the royal families usually produced Illustrious at least, as well as most Extraordinary. It had been dreadful to be the only Unremarkable prince in the United Realms, and the idea of being the cause of so much gossip again…

Pel tugged on his undergarments and hose. At least back then, Bavil had supported him and tried to shield him. Larexa had been only nine, and she’d assured him that she’d love him forever and ever no matter how much magic he had. Only then everything had changed. And he didn’t know what they’d say about this. Their father had been throwing the two of them atTor since he got here, but it had been months, and honestly, even Pel could see that they hadn’t been trying that hard.

He pulled his tunic over his head and smoothed it out. Pel had assumed that Tor didn’t want to get trapped in a marriage not of his choosing, which had only been confirmed when Tor had confessed that he was fleeing a marriage desired by the High King. But that didn’t mean Bavil and Larexa weren’t both very beautiful and a lot more magical than Pel was. And Pel knew full well that Tor slept with lots of people he didn’t intend to bond with.

His stomach gave another wobble, and before he could lose his nerve, he asked, “Uh, can I ask you an extremely awkward question?”

Tor grinned. “You absolutely can. What would you like to know?”

“You haven’t had sex with Bavil or Larexa, have you?”

For a moment, Tor’s face went completely expressionless, and Pel braced himself.

Tor grimaced and exclaimed, “No! Of course not. I have no interest in being bonded to either of them, and I think everyone in the castle is aware of what your father is trying. Larexa is way too young for me, Bavil isn’t interested in men, and I’m not interested in either of them.”

Pel wasn’t sure he could entirely believe that. Oh, he trusted the no bonding part, but they really were where all the beauty had gone in the family, and they were both good at flirting and being charming. They were all very friendly, although maybe it was true that Tor spent the most time with Pel.

Tor reached out, and when Pel didn’t rebuff him, he tugged him closer by way of a grip on his hips. Tor was still naked.

“I don’t get involved with siblings,” he assured Pel. Then his expression clouded and he amended, “As a general rule. I think there might have been a pair of siblings or cousins here orthere, but only ones that were clearly interested and consenting. Together. At the same time. I mean, I wasn’t hiding anything from anyone, and they weren’t hiding anything, either.”

Pel couldn’t help but laugh and relax into the man’s touch. That had been too awkward to be anything but the truth.

“I would never be so crass as to sleep with your siblings,” Tor added, gazing at him intently, like he was willing Pel to believe him.

But how would he have known that it was important not to? Back before they’d gotten together, when they’d been nothing but adversarial, wouldn’t it have been natural? Perhaps Pel had something to be grateful to his father about after all. Realistically, if Tor had been less worried about winding up bonded, he would surely have wound up in bed with one of Pel’s siblings.

Tor smiled at him, though he still looked a little worried. “I’m interested in you.”

Pel leaned in to kiss him, losing himself in Tor’s mouth, the undeniable heat and want of that connection. Although it would have been awkward if Tor had slept with either of Pel’s siblings, anything that happened before they got together wasn’t really Pel’s concern—not as long as it was between consenting adults, anyway, and it had become extremely clear that was a key tenet of how Tor operated.

He’d said he wouldn’t have sex with anyone else while they were together, and that was what Pel should be concentrating on. Yes, it still seemed more than a little unbelievable that theExtraordinary High Princewas interested in Pel… but that wasn’t fair, was it? That was reducing Tor to his position and magic just like Pel hated when people did it to him. Sure, Pel’s descriptions were a lot less flattering, but the principle was the same. So if Pel wasn’t involved with Tor for his position or hismagic—or just because he was hot, although that sure didn’thurt—then why ascribe such motives to Tor?

Pel had thought he was pretty settled in who he was, that he’d acknowledged he’d never please his father, could probably never regain a close relationship with his siblings, and would always be Unremarkable. The more time he spent with Tor, though, the less certain he was that he was behaving altogether reasonably. He’d made an ass of himself in those early days, and he’d made a lot of assumptions.

When he’d gotten to know Tor as a person, he’d discovered so much more. Tor had told him things that he’d never confessed to anyone else. Yes, he’d fled Alossa and his family, but maybe the distance was exactly what he needed. MaybePelwas what he’d needed to help him begin to sort things out.