Page 75 of The Prince's Fealty

Terila interjected. “And my parents are marshaling the forces in Vayrin as well.”

Tor huffed a breath. If only they had the time to wait, it seemed like they had almost the entirety of the United Realms… united?

Chapter Sixteen

Tor

Stronex’s gaze narrowed. “But you didn’t know about Vayrin. Bavil, Gornexi, and me is still only three. Tell me, Prince. Why five thousand?”

Tor made a face. It had been a bit too obvious of a question, but of everyone here, Stronex was the one with the most experience with the Fealty—and with war. Pel patted Tor’s back, and he blew out a breath and tried to let some of the tension out of his body.

“After saving Cala, I was magically exhausted and on the cusp of death.” It still didn’t seem quite real to talk about. “Pel sneaked me out and took me back to Tond to keep me safe. The mercenaries were calling my name in the castle like I was leading them. And if I considered that someone had tried to take out me and Cala, the goal became more explicable.”

Nawila added, “Yomil declared the same thing when Pama and I brought Cala to your brother. That’s how we realized he was involved and began to suspect the same motivation.”

Rin agreed, “That’s why we’re here and why Terila’s parents are mobilizing.”

Tor wished desperately thatVarhad considered this. But how likely was he to suspect his wife or his father-in-law? The connection was too close. Not, he thought a little bitterly, that that had prevented him from suspectingTor.

Trying to push those thoughts away, Tor continued, “A healer helped me rouse from the magical coma, but I was injured from the fight in the nursery and far from my best. Time was of the essence, and I was offered an option that would not only restore my strength but would help a group of people who it seems have also been used like pawns in this game, and I took it.”

Stronex blinked. “The exiles offered their Fealty to you?”

It was a calculated risk, revealing this now. If Stronex took this badly, Tor might lose his most powerful ally. Except he had the feeling that Stronex was going in after Ada no matter what, so he hoped they were united in this cause.

And he knew it was important to understand the strength of your team.

Tor inclined his head.

“When Forex sent his guards after them, there was a huge fight up the mountain, near the pass to Filon. There was a landslide, and I managed to shield everyone.”

Pel interjected, “At great personal risk to himself. It put him in his first magical coma.”

Tor shrugged a bit sheepishly. That honestly seemed so long ago it was almost not worth mentioning given everything that followed. “Afterwards, I sent everyone home, guards and exiles alike.” Tor grimaced. “Forex was inclined to see that as an act of treason. I’m inclined to see it as basic human decency. The exiles are desperate. In the last twenty-five years, the land has grown wild and inhospitable. They’ve developed a theory that the land needs Fealty as much as people do. They won’t survive much longer, and I appeared to be a better choice than dying. So yes, most of them offered me their fealty.”

Stronex considered him. “It seems that you’ve been set up for a long time and have narrowly avoided having this entire disaster blamed on you. I suspect that if you simply sat back and waited, there’s better than even odds that the Fealty will fall to you.”

Tor stiffened and glared. “Nostex is killing my family over my dead body!”

Stronex met his eyes for a long moment, and then his lips tipped up. “I think the exiles made a good choice.”

Tor blinked, surprised, and blew out a long breath. Oh, good. He didn’t actually need to fight the king that was right in front of him. The man was just getting Tor’s measure. And while a lot of Tor wanted to punch the man in the face for suggesting Tor justsit back and watch his family die, he supposed that he hadn’t exactly covered himself in glory the last few years. Stronex had fought in the war and ruled for more than twenty-five years. It was perfectly reasonable for him to want to understand Tor, especially when they were about to break into an enemy stronghold together.

Tor made a conscious effort to relax.

“Thank you,” Tor managed after a moment, deciding to take the comments in the spirit in which he thought they’d been meant.

Now that the hot rush of anger had passed, he felt curiously buoyed, as though someone else’s approval had reinforced that he’d done the right thing. It didn’t mean Var would also accept it, but the fact that another king wasn’t immediately reacting with horror was… hopefully a good sign.

Also, Tor couldn’t imagine anything worse than being High King. Look at all the drama they were in the midst of now! No, Tor was much happier with a smaller set of responsibilities—and in this case, with making sure that nothing happened to his family so that they could keep doing what they were supposed to be doing.

Tor and Stronex sent Beluna, Nawila, Pamuna, and one of Stronex’s guards to confirm there was no sign of anyone near the secret entrance. Tor wanted to go himself, but Stronex pointed out that the priority was keeping Tor out of Nostex’s hands.

Stronex’s look was almost amused. “There’s a strong argument for keeping you out of the castle at all, but I already know how that’s going to go.”

Yeah, Tor would fight all comers to get to his family, and he didn’t care about the sensible option one bit.

While their scouts were gone, Rin heated up some stew and pulled out their supplies so they could eat. It wasn’t dark enough to set out yet. Itchy, creeping anxiety was filling Tor again, but he knew this was their best option. Even with Gornexi and Bavil, they’d be at a disadvantage because they were attacking a fortress. There was no chance they could get in quietly with a full-scale assault, and they didn’t know what the situation was like inside. Tor felt certain that time was of the essence—but if they did something half-cocked and got caught, that could ruin everything.