Instead, Tor pretended to have missed the subtext entirely and launched into a recitation of the many things that he liked about Tond that had absolutely nothing to do with Bavil or Larexa.
This had the added benefit of meaning he could mostly push his food around on his plate.
The King kept Bavil and Torex extra-long for drinks—although given that Pelun rarely spoke unless he had to, it wasn’t actually that much different of an experience. Torexdidn’t know about Bavil, but if hewascourting someone, he’d be doing it in front of their parents as seldom as possible, so this was just awkward.
Bavil and Tor exchanged a wry look and then set up a polite conversation while Forex drank a steadily increasing amount of liquor.
(Why,whyhad Tor decided that drinking was the way to handle his confession to Pelun?Of coursedrinking wouldn’t have good associations for the man, and it had led to Tor making foolish, harmful choices—and winding up with a hangover he could really do without.)
There was plenty that Bavil and Tor didn’t know about one another, but Tor could tell he wasn’t the only one who didn’t particularly want to share much with King Forex observing—though it was debatable how much he was noticing as he disappeared into his drinks.
They did their best to chatter about the various realms and people they had in common and then started a debate about which of them had experienced the worst weather and how that should be rated.
They’d passed verifying the dampness of their horse’s tail, the length of time they could see their breath in the air, the amount of time it took someone to clean muddy garments, and the number of lumps of sugar that needed to be fed to your horse before they would carry you again before King Forex finally demanded, “Whatareyou talking about? Stop being ridiculous!”
Fortunately, he seemed to decide it was time to go join Larexa. Tor took up what had become his customary position attending her at the pianoforte. The music had the happy effect of reducing the chance that Forex would overhear them.
He seemed always to be pleased when he saw them together, speaking softly.
Larexa demanded immediately, “Have you been drinking?”
Tor had thought he’d tidied up rather well, but maybe Larexa was an expert on recognizing the signs.
“Not since last night and this morning,” he confessed.
Frowning, she asked, “Is that why Pel’s not here?”
“It… might not be entirely unrelated?”
It seemed too much to hope it wasn’t related to him—but then it seemed terribly self-aggrandizing to assume it was.
“And should we be expecting you to join our father in his habits?” she demanded.
“Goddess, no,” he breathed. “It was a lapse, and I’m not proud of it, but it’s done with.”
She plunked a little harder at the keys, a discordant twang that made Tor wince.
“Just checking,” she said, going back to the more melodic playing that he was used to.
“Yes, I regret my life decisions up to this point,” he told her sourly.
“Good,” Larexa told him firmly. “Because if you hurt him, I’ll make you regret it.”
“It’s not my intention to hurt him,” Tor reiterated.
That was definitely true, but… was it likely? He’d hurt him just this morning, as an example, even if that hadn’t been his intention. If he pursued this with Pelun,wouldit end up hurting him?
The thing was, up until this morning, he’d thought that Pelun had been enjoying himself, too. Tor genuinely wanted this to be good for both of them.
“You’d better not,” Larexa said with a sweet smile that was utterly at odds with the seriousness of her voice.
He was sure he could take her in a fight, but he knew that wasn’t really the point. Although, now he thought about it…
“I’ve never asked you what your defense is like.”
“My defense?” She sounded puzzled.
“Your magic. What’s it like at defense,” he clarified.
