Page 12 of The Prince's Fealty

“Sitting here and doing nothing feels like the wrong choice,” Tor couldn’t help but admit.

Pel looked exasperated. “You’re not doing nothing. You’re recovering fromnearly dying. We’ll travel faster once you’re more recovered.”

Tor opened his mouth to protest.

“Besides,” Pel reminded him, before he could speak. “Tama said that she had an idea.”

“To get us to stay here,” Tor grumbled.

He already knew that he’d lost, but that didn’t mean he had to be graceful about it.

Pel’s lips quirked up. “That’s possible. But you’re the one who believes in her, remember? You saved the exiles just because you could, and I believe she’s going to return the favor.”

“She’s a good person,” Bavil assured him earnestly. “You can trust her.”

Tor eyed him contemplatively. “Soooo.” He dragged the word out into multiple suggestive syllables. “You and Tama…”

Bavil groaned, and Pel laughed.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Bavil insisted.

Not even bothering to lower his voice, Pel announced, “They’ve been meeting foryears.”

Bavil’s color was high, but he said, “We’ve been trying to keep the exiles safe.”

“In your bed?” Tor suggested.

Pel and Cavun both tried to muffle their laughter.

Cheeks red, Bavil cleared his throat, but he was grinning now. “Hey, do I ask you about your love life?”

Tor brightened. “Ooh, do you want to hear—”

Pel slapped a hand over his mouth and hissed, “Don’t even think about it.”

Muffled, Tor managed, “But—”

Glaring at him, Pel said, “Would you like to ever be in my bed again?”

Obediently, Tor closed his mouth. Pel waited an extra moment to ensure that he was done and then cautiously removed his hand. Tor offered his best innocent look, which Pel didn’t seem the slightest bit impressed by.

“Look on the bright side,” Tor pointed out to Bavil. They all looked at him suspiciously. “You’re about to become a king. But maybe Tond is small enough that Terila won’t be interested.”

Bavil looked horrified, though he tried to school it, and Pel turned a laugh into a not-at-all-convincing cough. Maybe she was a nice person somewhere deep down. But Tor was still furious about the way she’d treated Pel, and he was certain that the repulsion between Tor’s and Terila’s magic was the creepiest thing he’d ever felt. Bonding to her would have been unbearable.

He was so glad he’d decided to come up with his own plan. It had been an entirely terrible plan, but it had led him to Pel, and that made everything worthwhile.

Bavil sucked in a breath and blew it out. “I still can’t really believe it. I feel like I’m lost in the middle of a strange world with no idea what I’m doing.”

Tor laughed and managed to lean over without falling over only because Pel propped him up. He offered Bavil a weak clap on the back. His coordination still wasn’t great.

“Welcome to my life. I don’t think I’ve had the slightest idea what I’m doing for months now.”

Pel turned to look at him. His tone was tart. “Excuse me?”

“Except for the inadvertently very wise choices I’ve been making when it comes to Pel,” Tor corrected hurriedly, and Bavil grinned. “That’s been the most amazing thing ever. But otherwise, I’ve been hiding from my brother and trying to deny reality, then there were exiles, then there was treason, and then there was saving my niece and nearly dying and ending up in a magical coma for the second time… and now I’m in a cave meeting with exiles and possibly actually committing treason, and I can’t decide if it’s a bad sign that this just feels like another day.”

The others laughed, but Pel slipped an arm through his. “We just need to explain it better to your brother. You’re not a traitor, and you know it.”