Page 79 of The Prince's Fealty

“I’ve survived years with Beluna. I’m good at saying what someone else needs to hear.”

Beluna mock-scowled at him, and everyone laughed or smiled, releasing a tiny bit of the mounting tension.

Yes, Denil and the others knew exactly what they were doing. If possible, try to pass themselves off as a group traveling to Lotar. Retreat if they could, and fight if they had to. They knew what they were doing, and they knew what the stakes were.

Well, mostly.

Tor sidled over to Rin. “I assume that you tried to get Terila to stay behind, and she threatened to punch you in the nose?”

“Break my other foot, actually,” Rin said with a grin.

Tor blinked. “Break yourotherfoot?”

The smile deepened, though Tor could still see the worry in his eyes. “It’s a long story.”

Tor smiled back helplessly. It was no wonder they were friends. “We’re definitely going to have to catch up fully.”

Rin nodded. “Absolutely. You here to ask me to keep an eye on your man?”

Tor nodded. “He’s an excellent fighter and truly phenomenal with a bow and arrow, but I will worry until the day we die.” He hesitated for a moment. “And if I ask you to think of the most ridiculous possible thing that I could have done when I accidentally bonded us, could you do it?”

“Youaccidentallybonded?” Rin said incredulously.

Tor rolled his eyes. “We both really wanted it, but Pel was determined to be sensible and wait until we could explain ourselves to my brother. Instead, we managed to bond at a, uh, indelicate moment?”

Rin burst into laughter, which he tried to stifle when everyone turned to look at them.

“Really, Tor? Actually, that’s just like you.”

He was still looking indecently amused, but Tor couldn’t blame him; it truly was the most ridiculous thing that could have happened.

He grinned at his friend but then sobered and lowered his voice. “And if you’re me, and your luck is ridiculous, can you think of anything else that might have happened in that particular situation?”

Rin just kept staring at him, a faintly puzzled look in his eyes, and then they snapped wide.

“Are you saying—?”

Tor nodded. “So I need you to promise me that you’re going to take care of him. He is going to take care of himself, but I want someone else who is going to takeextracare of him.”

Rin was trying not to stare too obviously at Pel now. His eyes came back to Tor, and he pledged solemnly, “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Tor said fervently. “And if I have an eye to spare, I will of course make sure that Terila is all right. I don’t get it, at all, but I can see that she makes you happy.”

Rin got a totally silly grin on his face. “Yes, she really does.”

“I’m glad.”

Tor just prayed that their time with their loved ones wasn’t about to be cut tragically short.

Chapter Seventeen

Pel

As they all gathered to make their way to the secret entrance, Tor spoke up.

“I can’t tell you what you’re going to face in there. A lot of this is still conjecture. Regardless, we might not come out of this alive. I’m going in for my family, but I can’t ask all of you to do the same. If you’d rather stay behind with the horses, no one will think the less of you. We’re still hoping that Gornexi, Bavil, and Larexa will arrive, and we could use people to keep an eye out for them and to catch them up on what we’re trying to do. Anyone?”

There was a great big resounding silence, and then Beluna said, “Stop stalling. Let’s get a move on.”