Page 97 of The Prince's Fealty

Was his brothercrying?

But Tor wasn’t going to say no to a hug, and he found himself pulled into an awkward embrace with Var, Ada, Fernila, and the baby. Pel was rubbing his back, and he was pretty sure Stronex was doing the same for Ada.

It really felt like they were going to be able to figure this out. But… maybe Tor was going to wait until they knew if they needed to fight their way out of the entire castle before he told his brother the last big secret.

When they were all sitting under their own power once again, Tor said, “All right. So we have someone unexpected who’s inherited the Fealty.”

“There’s certainly precedent for that,” Var pointed out.

It hadn’t happened since the war, but it was why Stronex and Gornexi were in power.

“I’ll be able to recognize it officially and confirm what Tekilona observed.” They all looked at him, and Var made a face at them. “When she’s conscious, and we can talk about it.”

Tor grimaced and then nodded hurriedly. “Right. Yes. That is the totally decent thing to do, and that is absolutely what I was thinking you were going to do.”

There was a slightly ragged laugh around the room, and Pel squeezed Tor’s shoulder.

“In terms of nearby support,” Tor continued, “we’ve got Stronex’s army by the border with Filon.”

Stronex nodded. “They have orders to wait for my command or to defend the country if there is an attack originating from Filon.”

“Bavil’s army is doing the same from the Tondian border.”

Oh, did he need to explain any of that? Pel squeezed his arm.

“We found Forex’s and Yomil’s bodies where King Varex was being held.”

Tor blew out a breath. “I’m not sure if I should thank Nostex for being so thorough with taking care of his accomplices or if I should be horrified at how many people he’s killed.”

There was shocked silence, and then half the people in the room let out aborted laughs.

Maybe alittleearly for that sort of humor.

Tor cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry about your father, Pel.”

Yeah, that hadn’t been better. Pel patted his arm.

“Let’s just pretend that you have no opinion on the matter. Bav’s army?”

“Yes,” Tor said, seizing on the distraction gratefully. “It’s waiting on the border between Bessar and Tond. Bavil has hopefully successfully explained to Gornexi what’s happening, and if so, his army is probably on the border of Filon and Bessar.”

“And Vayrin’s army is mobilized and awaiting news,” Terila added. “There’s a small force waiting near the border Vayrin has with Filon. The rest are awaiting orders.”

Plus, Tor maybe had the support of the exiles, though he wasn’t sure if they’d be willing to fight. And they were safely on the other side of the mountains at the moment. So there was probably no point in mentioning them right now. But still.

Var looked stunned. “The entirety of the United Realms is mobilized?”

“Pretty much,” Tor said cheerfully. “I assume your own guards are on high alert at home. The attack on me and Cala seemed targeted.”

“Fealty,” half the room chorused.

Tor grinned. “And everyone rallied. So really, when you think about it, this is exactly what Nostex didn’t want. He accidentally united the entirety of the United Realms.”

“We don’t know what Gornexi is doing,” Varex pointed out.

“Please.” Terila scoffed. “If they didn’t figure out how to do the right thing on their own, there is no way my sister would have let them sit in their castle while all of this was going on. They’re probably about to arrive at any moment with yet another army.”

Rin grinned at Terila, his expression ridiculously tender. They’d foiled a plot to destroy the United Realms, but it seemed like several of them had found exactly who they needed to make them happy, too.