Page 111 of The Prince's Fealty

That hand was trembling, though, so Tor kept his own hand steady and let her decide when she was ready. He remembered how much Pel had wanted to Tendril but had been afraid to do so at the same time.

Did Ada fear something might go wrong, too?

She sucked in another breath and then smacked her hand against Tor’s. There was a moment where nothing happened, maybe because he was so surprised, and then their magic twined together, just as it had done when they were young.

Ada let out a shaky breath, and tears began to wend their way down her cheeks. When he tried to pull back, she clutched at his hand.

“No, no, it’s all right,” she told him, sniffing. “It’s good. It’s nice.”

Ah. Happy tears, or at least tears of relief. He hugged her, and then he offered his other hand as well.

“Can we sit on the floor?” she asked uncertainly.

Just like when they were kids. Tor grinned at her.

“Of course we can.”

They slid down onto the ground, facing one another with their legs crossed, and Ada was more confident this time when she reached out, twining their fingers together and smiling tremulously through her tears.

Pel found them like that some time later. He smiled softly and came over to lean down and press a kiss to Tor’s forehead.

“Anything you need?” he asked.

Tor considered this. “I don’t think so. Ada?”

She shook her head. Her eyes were closed, and she hadn’t even opened them when Pel came into the room. Her face was utterly at peace, and Tor felt a lump in his throat at the knowledge that he hadn’t seen her look like this inyears.

Pel settled on the couch so that Tor could lean against his leg, another point of connection.

Var found them next. (They still checked in on one another frequently, and Tor wasn’t totally sure how they were going to cope with not all living in the same place.) He looked a little puzzled at first, and then he saw Ada’s face, and his expression went soft and fond.

He joined them on the floor without hesitation, and set both his hands over Ada’s and Tor’s joined ones that were closest to him.

Ada’s eyes opened, but there was no concern in them. She just smiled at her brother. They unclasped those hands so that Var could twine his fingers with them instead.

They were now Tendrilling between the three of them, something they hadn’t done in… goddess, nearly a decade? It had been before Var assumed the throne, anyway. Neither Var nor Ada had Tendrilled with Tor after their marriages, and now Tor couldn’t figure out why. He was bonded to Pel, after all, but it was still nice to have this connection with his siblings. The almost-forgotten but familiar warmth of his siblings’ magic dancing through him was soothing in a way he couldn’t quite articulate.

Tor wasn’t sure how long they sat like that before Ada finally squeezed their hands and opened her eyes.

“Thank you. Everything is starting to feel like… normal again, like my magic is back to how it used to be, how it’ssupposedto be. That was really nice.”

They both hugged her and kissed her on either cheek. For a moment, they clung to one another, and then Ada pulled back with a laugh.

It was Tor who asked, “Do you think we could do this again sometime?” His siblings looked at him, and Tor tried not to feel embarrassed—or deflect and say he just wanted to support Ada. Pel squeezed his shoulder. “We kind of stopped doing it when you two were bonded, and, uh, I miss it.”

Var looked surprised, and Ada looked sad.

She reached out to squeeze his arm. “I’m sorry, Tor. I didn’t think how it would seem to you.” She cleared her throat and admitted, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to tell that something was wrong with my bond with Thurnil, and I wouldn’t risk it.”

Tor covered her hand with his own. He still didn’t agree with all the decisions she’d made, but she’d done what she thought was best—and she’d suffered for it.

Var hugged them both. Tor was strongly in favor of all these hugs.

“I’m sorry, too,” his twin confessed. “I got wrapped up in all my duties and having a partner, and like Ada, I didn’t think about what it would be like for you. We can definitely do this again. Whenever we’re together.”

That would be highly impractical, but Tor wasn’t going to complain. He had Pel now, and he loved Tendrilling with him, but he still wanted this connection with his family. Assuming he could explain everything to Var and a future connection was possible.

But moments like this really made it feel like he had his brother back, and that made him believe that they could sort this out. Instead of rushing in, though, and possibly messing things up, Tor really was going to wait until Var said he was ready. He wanted every variable possible in his favor.