And Forex probably did want to keep his people safe… inasmuch as he couldn’t rule over no one. Their Fealty brought him magical strength, and they worked the land. In return, the King strengthened the land and protected the people. If Tor were being generous, he could only imagine how frustrating it would be to have your people threatened by regular raids.
“What are they taking?” he wanted to know.
“Food, mostly,” Pelun answered, more easily now. “Grain, root vegetables. Mostly items that can be stored. But they’re opportunistic, and they’ll take whatever they can get their hands on. Sometimes metal and other goods.”
“Are they not able to support themselves?” Tor asked.
Pelun frowned. “It doesn’t seem so.”
But they hadn’t raided in the early years. Did they think everyone in the realms had become complacent now? Had something changed?
“Are they caught?”
“Sometimes. Rarely.” Pelun grimaced. “They’re sometimes killed in the fight. They do not… tolerate captivity.”
Tor grimaced. It had definitely not been that bad the last time he’d been here—but the last time he’d dealt directly with the exiles had been two years ago in Filon… when twelve people had died thanks to Tor.
He wondered now if Varex knew more about this than Tor did, if he’d deliberately obscured the facts from Tor, or if Forex had obscured them for Varex—or perhaps a combination of both.
If people were willing to die rather than be taken prisoner, it wasn’t usually a good sign.
“They aren’t mistreated?” Tor asked.
“Of course not!” Pelun bristled. “We’re not monsters!”
“No one is saying that you are,” Tor answered calmly. “I’m trying to ascertain why they would think that death was preferable to captivity, that’s all. It’s a sensible question.”
“Not if you think we’re decent human beings,” Pelun muttered.
“Have you seen the dungeons in your castle?” Tor demanded.
Pelun glared. “Of course.”
“As I have seen the ones in my brother’s castle,” he responded. “I think they’ve been pretty responsibly used over the last twenty-five years. But can I swear to the same during the war? To how they were used by my parents or grandparents? Extreme situations tend to engender extreme reactions.”
Pelun stayed silent for another very long moment, and they continued to amble along the road.
And finally, he said quietly, “I heard a whisper that they disappear sometimes. From the dungeons.” And then, a little defiantly: “I’ve never seen any bodies. Nor any firm evidence of anything of the sort.”
And if anyone was likely to be confided in by the servants, Tor thought it was Pelun. So what did that leave? He didn’t think Forex was hoisting bodies and carrying them away somewhere. But that didn’t mean he might not have highly loyal—or highly paid off—servants or guards who did the work for him.
That was all speculation, though. The risk-taking part of Tor wanted to demand to see the dungeons and be told what was going on. The part that had been schooled by his mother—and maybe even his brother—acknowledged that the evidence was flimsy at best, and the stories could easily be exaggerated. If he wasn’t careful, he’d only make the situation worse.
But perhaps there was more than one reason why it was good he was here.
Chapter Eleven
Pel
To Pel’s immense surprise, spending time with Prince Torex wasn’t the torture he’d expected. He’d anticipated the benefits of knowing where the man was and of being sure he wasn’t doing any harm, but… it seemed as though the man was actually interested in the people. He didn’t approach it the same way Pel did, nor did he have the same deep connection—but why would he? He lived in Alossa, not Tond.
Torex could have ignored them completely, and instead, he seemed to be endlessly fascinated by little details and the stories of their lives. Pel had seen people who tried to fake that interest—like his father, who didn’t care but also expected them to bring their grievances to him as though that proved his importance.
Pel had been sure it would be the same with Prince Torex, but instead, the man used humor and charm to relate to them, and it worked. He urged them to speak the truth even if he wouldn’t like it, and at least some of them had. Pel resented it a little, he supposed, but his people were more important than his ego, and if Torex really could effect wide-sweeping change…?
Well, that was worth some discomfort on Pel’s part.
Prince Torex had been honest that he might not be able to make anything happen, too, in a way that hadn’t felt like he was just brushing them off. He was probably nevergoing to see them again, so he could have promised the moon and just walked away with no consequences.
