“I’m notthatbored,” Rin said.
“Oh, ouch.” Tor tried to sound wounded.
Rin just grinned at him, completely unrepentant, which was another reason why Tor liked him so much.
Eventually, they crossed the bridge linking Lotar and Vayrin. There weren’t any guards currently, but there were still outposts where the guards could be posted should it become necessary. The twenty-five years of peace meant they were all supposed to be able to move freely between each of the realms, but Tor was well aware it wasn’t always that simple.
The important thing, though, was that he’d made it into Vayrin, and Tor could tick one more requirement off his mental list. No drinking. No orgies. Vayrin. Done, done, and done.
Seriously considering his marriage prospects could probably be checked off, too. It was that consideration that made him certain Terila was a poor choice. But he supposed since he’d chosen someone to court, he really needed to meet them in person. Well, they’d met, but it had been a few years. Varex’s wedding, probably. Or maybe the coronation. He frowned. Maybe both? He still couldn’t bring Prince Pelun to mind specifically, although he seemed to recall that his brother Bavil was blond and handsome and personable. Was Pelun like his brother? Tor supposed there was always the chance that the two of themwould be completely incompatible, and then Tor would have to decide just how much he could fake.
But he was getting ahead of himself. He couldn’t remember Pelun—but that at least meant he wasn’t like Terila, and that was a great place to start.
Tor made sure to get a little bit quieter and seem more depressed as they progressed through Vayrin, like his attempts to put himself in better spirits hadn’t been altogether successful, and no one seemed to be surprised that he was spending almost all of his time inside the carriage. They’d fully established at this point that Tor truly wasn’t drinking. As annoying as it was, it meant that no one expected to see him socializing at any of the inns they stopped at. Tor promptly headed off to the best room and spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling and wondering how long it would take him to pull this off and actually get Varex to change his mind.
They waited until they had an extremely rainy night that looked as though it would not let up, and then the long-suffering Rin allowed Tor to dye his hair.
“The things I do for you,” Rin bemoaned as he stared at himself in the mirror afterwards.
“You still look lovely,” Tor assured him, staring at the reflected image.
They definitely didn’t look like twins, but theydidlook more superficially similar thanks to the dark hair.
Rin met his eyes in the mirror, face skeptical. “I’m not sure it’s my best look.”
“Are you saying there’s something wrong with brunets?”
“When they’re you?” Rin flashed him a grin. “Definitely not.”
Tor tried not to look as smug as he felt.
Rin’s gaze returned to his own face, and he shook his head, but he gamely said, “Anything for you, of course. It’s not every day that I’m asked to masquerade as the High Prince.”
It was technically illegal, since Rin was neither a prince nor Extraordinary. He was knighted, at least, and Tor had given him a letter of authorization just in case.
“You’ll give it up if anything goes wrong,” Tor instructed him.
“What could possibly go wrong?” Rin asked with a rakish grin.
On consideration, Tor was pretty sure Rin was right, and he looked a lot better as a blond.Oh, well.
“I mean it,” Torsaid more seriously.
“I won’t actually endanger my life for your ridiculous escapade,” Rin promised, but he rolled his eyes.
“Listen,” Tor said, reaching out to squeeze Rin’s arm, wanting him to understand that Tor was fully earnest now. “I might have cooked up this absurd plan to protect myself, but I would definitely prefer exile to anything happening to you because of me. Got it?”
For a moment, Rin’s eyes flashed with an emotion that Tor couldn’t name, something altogether more serious than usual in his expression, but then he grinned wide once more.
“It’s clearly in my best interest to make sure this goes off without a hitch, because I know you’d drag me off into exile with you.”
Tor wouldnevermake Rin go with him, but goddess, he’d be grateful if the man came anyway.
Rin clasped his arm. “It’ll be fine. We’re both too charming for our own good.”
“There is that,” Tor agreed. “You want to come to bed?”
“That does seem like the sort of thing that the Prince would do, doesn’t it?”
