“But not your brother,” Tor pointed out mildly, eyeing him carefully.
Bavil’s lips tightened. “We haven’t all seen eye to eye over the years. The King measures some things in very… traditional ways.”
In other words, he would be as incredulous as Varex that Pelun was the prince Tor had chosen.
Pelun was snippy and abrasive and determined not to give Tor the time of day… but maybe Tor was starting to understand why.
He didn’t really want to think about what was going to happen when the two of them didn’t actually bond, but he pushed the thought away. It wasn’t like he’d come here and announced to King Forex that he wanted to court Pelun. True, Bavil and Larexa now knew, but this wasn’t some big formal agreement that was going to fall apart. They just needed to be interested for a while and then realize they didn’t suit. People figured that out all the time!
Besides, if it convinced others to act like Pelun was an actual person, then he was doing the man a service. Tor would make sure that if there was any blame to be laid at the end, it was at Tor’s door.
“Well, it’s clearly time we updated some ways of thinking,” Tor said firmly, coming back to the conversation. “Including your brother’s. He’s really stubborn.”
Bavil laughed. “You have no idea. It’s been hilarious to watch.”
Tor rolled his eyes. “Yeah, thanks for that.”
More seriously, Bavil said, “He cares a lot about the people, and they connect with him. It’s easier to talk to him than any of the rest of us, I think. I should be reaching out more, but it means a lot to him, and he’s good at it.”
This family was way more complicated than Tor had initially realized. No matter how they acted publicly, Larexa and Bavil had each in their own way checked on Tor’s intentions towards Pelun.
He supposed he knew firsthand that it was possible to love someone but not to understand them or agree with them all the time. He missed his brother and the connection they’d used to have—but hecouldactually acknowledge that some of the simpler times he recalled so fondly were when they were actual children. You didn’t get to act like children when you ruled over the entirety of the United Realms.
But that childhood was still there, that connection that had run into their twenties, until their mother died and Varex took the throne. And maybe with Tor meeting Varex halfway, respecting his unreasonable orders but showing him there were different ways to think about things, he could actually get Varex to listen to him again.
Varex thought he knew best, but it wasn’t like they were on the verge of war or something equally dire. Sacrificing Tor and Terila’s happiness because Varex had an idea of what was best for the realms was completely unreasonable. The memory of that repulsion still made his stomach churn. He never wanted to be put in that situation again.
He wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that Varex wouldn’t listen to him enough for Tor to tell him… or the worry that even if he told him, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Tor shook the thought away. That was why Tor was here, taking matters into his own hands. He had to succeed at this, because the stakes were too high to do anything else.
He just needed a new plan.
Tor spent a couple of mornings with the King and Bavil receiving official audiences. It wasn’t something Tor enjoyed, especially when he was meant only to observe. Varex had always assumed that he was bored, but it wasn’t that. In the early days, Tor had tried to make suggestions, but Yomil had always overridden them, and Varex had listened to his advisor.
And Tor understood, actually, that they were both young, and Yomil had served the High Queen for years. But theyhadbeen raised by their mother. They’d actually trained extensively. And just because they were young, did that mean every new idea should be dismissed out of hand? Apparently, yes. Tor was accused of speaking before thinking and undermining the new king. So he’d eventually stopped making suggestions—and then been accused of not being invested.
It was impossible to win, so Tor had started trying to avoid them as often as possible. Unfortunately, these audiences reminded him of the ones back in Nexa. King Forex was clearly putting on a display, but he didn’t want the possibility of anyone gainsaying him, so Tor basically just had to stand there and look pretty. Forex didn’t even like suggestions from Bavil.
Did everyone stop listening once they became king?
Tor did notice a couple of occasions, though, where Bavil was able to sort of… twist what Forex had been saying and slip a tiny suggestion in there so that the King came out of it seeming to think that it was his idea. Maybe Tor needed to keep that technique in mind with Varex. Usually, Tor just argued uselessly with him.
Their parents had taught them about the value of compromising, but the more stubborn one of them got, the more the other dug in their heels. And he suspected Varex had no idea what it was like to take orders from the brother who’d once played with you for hours and stolen biscuits from the kitchen.
There had been a time when Tor hadn’t drunk so much, when Varex had actually listened sometimes. Things had been… if not perfect, still manageable. Because Varex was more serious and Tor took more risks, but they’d been able to balance one another out. Tor got things done… and Varex protected the entire United Realms.
He sighed. Maybe they really did do better further apart, because when they were close and combative, Tor always forgot his best intentions and let irritation and anger get the better of him. Once everyone lost their tempers, there was never a good outcome.
Perhaps this trip would be useful in more ways than one. Maybe absence really did make the heart grow fonder. Yes, Tor was the High Prince, and hedidhave a duty to the Crown. But he was also a person. He was a citizen whose life was supposed to be enriched by the care of his monarch. He was Varex’s brother. He was more than simply a tool of the realm.
He would show that he could think for himself and that there were more ways to solve a problem than Varex thought.
First, he just had to charm a man who was completely uninterested.
Chapter Nine
Pel
