Page 53 of The Prince's Fealty

When Var had suggested the match, Ada had readily agreed. She’d seen the advantages, and while she hadn’t known Thurnil well, he’d always been personable in their interactions. Lotar was close to Alossa, meaning frequent visits would be possible, and it had seemed like a wise choice in so many ways. It gave her brother a strong connection between realms. Strong connections meant the peace was maintained, and that benefited every single person in the United Realms. Plus, it meant she was settled so that Var didn’t have to worry about her. (No matter how many times she insisted she was an adult able to take care of herself, she was aware she’d always be his baby sister. Just watching how he’d tried to manage Tor had convinced her that there was a lot of value in this connection.)

And Ada had looked at Var and Fernila, andshe’d wanted that. Yes, Var was still stressed by being king. But that hadn’t obscured the happiness in his bonding. Ada had thought a similar process could have similar results.

Neither marriage had started out as a love match, but even if she wasn’t as lucky as Var and Fernila, she’d been sure there would at least be mutual respect and friendship.

If only she’d known. If only they’d thought to Tendril before their bonding ceremony. But it hadn’t occurred to her there might be a problem, and it didn’t seem to have occurred to Thurnil, either, nor anyone else. So it was only in the moment of their actual bonding that they’d realized they repelled one another.

They’d both chosen to keep silent, stunned and on display and in the middle of an important political union… and they’d spent the last four years living with the consequences of that fleeting decision. (But even if they’d said anything, the bond had formed. Could Var have picked it apart right then, or would their bonding have been their funeral? None of the choices had been good ones.)

On the surface, she and Thurnil mostly made it work. As far as she knew, he’d never confessed to anyone about the repulsion, just like she hadn’t. She was pretty sure Tor wasthe only one who’d guessed, and she’d refused to confirm it. Guesses could be wrong. Silence let her maintain her charade and remember all the good things about her life rather than dwelling on the bad.

Because she and Thurnil hadn’t slept in the same bed in years, and meaningful conversations were just as infrequent. She didn’t have a great understanding of how his mind worked.

But shedidneed him now, and she would be forever grateful that he’d risen to the occasion. She could forgive a lot for that, even if it had been years since she’d abandoned the idea that she might ever love her husband.

King Stronex still looked concerned, but he finally agreed—on the condition that they take a dozen guards on top of the ones sent by her brother and travel by carriage so that Ada wouldn’t be recognized.

“I wasn’t asking for permission,” she told him.

A ghost of a smile softened his features for a moment, though it didn’t erase the look of worry.

“I’m well aware. I want you to be safe. Indulge me, please.”

Ada’s stomach flipped. “Very well.”

He offered her a slight smile and a curt nod, then left her to the children while he went off with Thurnil to plan.

Saying goodbye to Hena and Par was the worst.

“But you said the next time you went, you would take us!” Hena exclaimed.

She was only five, and already tears were welling in her big brown eyes and trailing down her soft brown skin, which just made Ada want to cry, too. She sniffed and pulled out a handkerchief instead, blotting at the little girl’s face.

Par, at eleven, was slightly more stoic, but he’d perfected the puppy-dog eyes that were so incredibly beseeching.

“I know, my darlings,” she told them. “But it’s not safe. I’m not even going to Alossa. Varex is in Filon right now with King Nostex.”

Par made a face and then leaned in to confide in a whisper, “Tor says King Nostex talks a lot.”

Ada barely managed to suppress a laugh.Oh, Tor!He wasn’twrong, but that wasn’t the sort of thing you actually said out loud.

After a short struggle, Ada managed to come up with, “Some people are naturally very chatty and have lots they want to share with other people.”

Hena sniffed and looked hopefully at Ada. “I like to talk to people!”

Smiling gently, Ada agreed, “I know you do, sweetheart.” Actually, now she wanted to see which one of them could out-talk the other. She mentally shook herself. This was definitely not the time. “Right now, though, you’re going to have to talk to people here in Scala. And when I get back, I promise we’ll talk more about going to visit Alossa, all right?”

“Uncle Tor’s going to take us,” Par reminded her. “You don’t think he’s forgotten, do you?”

It had been months, and Ada suspected that Tor had, indeed, forgotten his promise. Oh, not maliciously, but because of his ability to get swept up into every new thing. She hadn’t heard from him yet, and she could only imagine what he was getting into in Tond—if he hadn’t been through all the other realms in the meantime and just forgotten to update her.

“I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten,” Ada told the children, because she woulddefinitelyremind him. “And once I find out how everything is in Filon, we’ll all sit down and talk about it, all right?”

Even if Ada needed to find Tor and drag him back here herself.

They eventually acquiesced, but they weren’t happy, and Ada hated it when they were unhappy.

But she couldn’t possibly jeopardize their safety.