Page 41 of The Prince's Fealty

Pel added, “And you want to help these people.”

Tor groaned but agreed, “I really do.”

Pel grinned now. “Don’t you see? That’s why this could work. Because people like Nostex and my father don’t understand people like you. They’ve probably been trying to defeat or take over the exiles for twenty-five years. They manipulated the situation up the mountain, no doubt in the hope that you’d die there, conveniently taken care of. And yes, they used the situation to their advantage when you made it out. But that doesn’t change what you did. That doesn’t change that you stood up for people who felt like they hadno one to advocate for them. That doesn’t change the fact that more than five thousand people are willing to put their lives and liberty in your hands. Andthatis something they would never see coming. Youcared, Tor, and that means everything. So I think the real question is, what in the name of the goddess are we waiting for? But I do appreciate that you wanted to actually talk it over with me first and not just make the decision without me.”

But the truth was, they’d both known what the answer was going to be as soon as the question was posed.

Tor’s eyes had gone a little glassy, and he leaned in to press a soft kiss to Pel’s lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Pel told him. “Sometimes, you’re infuriating, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Tor huffed out a laugh. “That’s incredibly generous of you. Thank you. You realize I’m going to remind you of this moment forevermore?”

Pel rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t quite repress his grin. “Yes, I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth. So what are we waiting for?”

“Well, this might not work. Your mother might be wrong.” He made a face. “Uh, how are you doing, by the way?”

Pel snorted. “Planning on sitting down to unpack how I feel when I have some free time—I’m thinking maybe in a month or two.”

Tor scoffed, but he was smiling, and he wrapped an arm around Pel. “I’m here if you want to talk about anything, but I’m also the High Prince of Avoiding Awkward Family Matters.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Pel said with a laugh. “But it could help them, and it will help heal you now, which we both know you sorely need.”

Tor shifted uncomfortably but didn’t deny the allegation. “What if I’m bringing you and the baby to a land that’s going to kill us?”

“First of all,” Pel said sternly, shooting Tor an unimpressed stare, “you won’t be bringing me anywhere unless you’d like to sleep in another room forever.Wewill be choosing where we want to live.”

Tor made a face and gave Pel a big smacking kiss on the lips. “Sorry, that was badly phrased.”

“And if we realize that it’s not helping, then we’ll move somewhere else.”

“We might be in exile.”

“Just off the top of my head, I can think of about a hundred people who would almost definitely let us hide at their house. We also know a nice cave. I think my brother would loan it to us.”

Tor’s eyebrows rose. “You want to live in this cave?”

“I think it has serious potential,” Pel said a bit haughtily. “We could spruce it up for the baby, obviously.”

Tor was grinning now. “Yeah? You think it would work well for a nursery?”

More seriously, Pel said, “I think we could make just about anything work. I think this is worth doing. And I know that you think it is.”

Tor leaned his forehead against Pel’s. “I really do. I feel like I could make a difference here, and that’s been missing from my life for a long time. But I want to make sure I’m doing it for the right reasons.”

Pel could respect that.

“Well, I admit that the situation is pretty complicated right now. I believe you’d advocate first if you could. But I think we’ve run out of time. I think we need to make a choice now, and then I think we need to ride off and save the day. If we can.”

Tor kissed him hard, with a strength and longing that made a fierce ache bloom in Pel’s chest. He couldn’t believe he was not only bonded to this amazing man, but they were also going to have a baby. Pel really wanted to stop and savor that, but there wasn’t time.

“I love you so much,” Tor whispered when he finally drew back.

Pel would never grow tried of hearing it.

“I love you, too. More than I ever thought possible, if I’m being totally honest. I didn’t think any of this would happen.”

Finding someone to bond with. Falling in love. Committing treason. And making ababytogether.