“You… might not be wrong,” Tor admitted, because it had occurred to him that what he really needed right now was an ally. “Can we talk about a hypothetical situation?”
She quirked a brow at him. “Sure.”
“Let’s say that your brother decided that you’d reached an age where you needed to be bonded, you needed to better represent your realm, and you needed to strengthen the ties with your allies. Does that sound like a plausible hypothetical scenario?”
Larexa laughed. “Yes.”
Tor warmed to his subject. “Further, let’s imagine that not only did your brother think that you needed to get bonded, but also that you needed to bond to someone in particular. Now suppose for the sake of argument that you’re certain that person isn’t someone with whom you’re compatible, but no one’s listening to you. So while you can’t go against the brother in question directly, you’re trying to demonstrate that really different options have their strengths, too.”
Larexa was staring at him consideringly, her brown eyes narrowed. “If I’m imagining the correct hypothetical person, I can definitely agree that your choice is… extremely different from the one you were at first offered. But are you altogether certain that the choice you’ve made is what you want?”
“I’m one hundred percent committed to this plan,” Tor assured her, though he knew that wasn’t quite what she meant.
Perhaps she sensed that, because she pursued intently, “And it’s not going to wind up with anyone being hurt?”
Tor assured her, “I don’t think anyone will be. My goal is that everyone comes out of this with what they want in the end.” If first impressions were anything to go by, Pelun would be quite relieved for it to come to nothing between them. “I simply don’t think that anyone should be chosen based solely on their magical strength or their position, do you?”
Larexa’s face softened. “No, I definitelydon’t think that.”
It sounded unguarded and truthful—and the direct opposite of what he’d heard her say in her family’s company. What was going on with these people?
She sighed. “It’s just… a lot of people don’t notice him, you know?”
Tor definitely knew, and now was not going to be the moment that he admitted thathehadn’t remembered Pelun.
Instead, Tor said, “I’ve been trying to get to know him, but he’s been extremely resistant.”
Larexa sighed again. “If we’re back to those hypothetical situations, let’s say that a few years ago there was a… situation, and that it caused some… friction and some injured feelings. And maybe there are some walls.”
Tor scoffed. “More like walls and moats and an iron portcullis surrounded by arrows and spikes and boiling oil.”
Larexa let out a sharp bark of laughter and then clapped her hand to her mouth.
Tor grinned at her, and after a moment, she grinned back. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is,” he agreed.
His mistake had definitely been in assuming this was going to be simple. He’d been the one to tell his brother and Fernila that bonding and taking someone to bed weren’t the same thing, but he’d come here thinking Pelun would just fall into bed with him and that would somehow accomplish Tor’s goals.
“You need to show him that you’re interested in the things he’s interested in,” Larexa advised him. “I mean, for real. He needs to know that it’s genuine.”
As far as Tor could tell, Pelun seemed to be under the impression that Tor wasn’t genuinely interested in anything.
“I keep offering to do what he’s doing, and it’s not working at all. I respected his wishes about visiting the farms, and training with the guards was an epic failure.”
She offered him a commiserating look. “I heard it was quite an impressive display of magic.”
Put like that, Tor could see why it hadn’t been the way to charm someone who was Unremarkable.Fool.
He didn’t usuallythinkabout the magical strength of the people he took to bed. Those people were usually looking for a different sort of prowess from him. But as someone who was Extraordinary, he had more magic than almost anyone he encountered. The rulers of the realms outstripped him thanks to the Fealty they received from their people, but other than that?
It had just never mattered to him… but he could see how it might feel different if you were constantly surrounded by family who was more magical than you were.
Meaning Tor had picked the worst possible way to show off. How could he be getting it that wrong all the time?
It was embarrassing, but now he was getting advice from someone who actually knew Pelun, and that had to count for something.
Larexa told him, “If you’re doing things he likes, you have to prove it’s not just because he likes them. Are you offering to ride with him because he likes to ride, or because you do?”
