Page 124 of The Prince's Fealty

Pel looked over at him. “Yeah?”

Tor nodded. “I mean, Alossa is home, but… more like it’s where my childhood was, you know? And then I drifted, and even when I lived there, I didn’t feel totally connected to it. The time here with you, actually visiting the people—it really connected me to this place, I guess. I hope it’s the same on the other side of the mountain.”

Pel had been three when the land over the mountain had been removed from Tond to make room for the exiles as the peace accords were drawn up. He didn’t remember ever having been there.

“From what Bav’s said, there was steady trade over the mountain back in the day. I guess we’ll see what it’s like now, and hopefully, that’s something we can get back to.”

Tor nodded. “It’s always good to have goals. And to work together to achieve them.”

“Definitely nicer than going it alone,” Pel said with a nod.

“No more doing that ever,” Tor told him.

Pel agreed. It was a good feeling.

In Baless, they met up with Bav and Lara again. Already, it didn’t quite feel like home to Pel—or maybe like his childhood home, just like Tor had observed about Alossa. He was pretty sure that was because home had become a person rather than a place.

True to his word, Bav had amassed large amounts of food, clothes, blankets, and other basic supplies that he thought the exiles might need.

“Are we still calling them exiles?” Pel’s brother asked.

“Hopefully not,” Tor agreed. “Var has said that he’s willing to work with them to be part of the United Realms again. If they prefer, we might be able to go with a sort of independent realm with a trade agreement or something like that. We’re going to talk about it and see what they want.”

Bav clapped him on the arm. “Always a good place to start.”

All Pel had ever wanted to do was help his people flourish. It might not be quite the people he’d originally imagined, but it felt like this was really his chance to achieve that.

And he trusted that Bav and Lara would take care of the Tondians.

Tor was still riding his borrowed horse; Varex had already promised to send Monster to Tond, and then they’d get him over the border. (There weren’t exactly established trade routes yet, but that was going to change.)

They set out with all the supplies—and a whole group of guards who’d agreed that they would pack their swords away when they passed over the mountain so that it would be obvious that they weren’t there to fight. Bav had asked only for guards who would be willing to make such a concession. There’d been more than Pel had expected, and he wondered now how much of the hatred of the exiles had been fueled by his father’s dislike.

Many of them had been Tondians twenty-five years ago, after all. Yes, the situation was complicated now by years of raiding. Those grievances needed to be addressed. Some Tondians probably did view the exiles as cowards or traitors, the same way Pel’s father had.

But hopefully many would see them simply as people, as good and flawed as any other. Maybe there would be those like Cavun who clearly knew some exiles and didn’t really care what side of the mountain they lived on.

Fighting was expensive and destructive. There were so many better options.

It took three days to get across the realm and through the mountains with the laden wagons.

And there was still a lot of rain.

“We’re going to need a whole set of clothes just for the wet weather,” Pel pointed out.

“We’ll keep the weavers of the Realms happy,” Tor suggested.

Pel laughed.

“And I should have asked how to send the exiles messages,” Tor reflected ruefully. “They just kept appearing before. I’ve still got a lot to figure out.”

“We’ve got a lot to figure out,” Pel corrected with a smile. “And it will all come with time. Which we now have.”

Tor grinned at him. “There is that. All right, bring on the challenges.”

They both laughed when Beluna appeared shortly before Tama, Pel’s mother, and several more of the exiles.

Clearly, they had excellent scouts.