Yes, Tor had rather gotten that impression.
Tor was up too early after taking too long to fall asleep, but he was filled with determination to apologize. It was so early, though, that after he swung by the kitchen for breakfast—and relit all the lamps, which he’d taken to doing daily—he then did a circuit of the guards on duty just to see how they were doing. Bavil normally did this, but Tor figured it couldn’t hurt.
Then he made his way out to the stables and threw himself into cleaning more stalls, because at least that kept his body busy.
It was only once he emerged from the most recent stall that he realized his plan had had a fatal flaw. While he’d been busy, Pelun had come, retrieved Extraordinary, and left.
The way the stable hand wouldn’t meet his eye told Tor in no uncertain terms that the slight had been deliberate.
Tor made himself flash a grin and say, “Looks like the Prince prefers to be on his own today. I wouldn’t want Melody to be dressed up all pretty with nowhere to go, though, so I’ll take him out.”
Tor imagined rumors would spread as soon as he left, but Tor had no one to blame but himself. He rubbed at his chest as though that could fix the unsettled feeling inside, and urged Melody into a gallop as soon as they were clear of the stable.
Tor had been under the impression that he was a reasonably charming man. He couldn’t quite decide if everyone had just been humoring him because he was the High Prince or if Pelun was particularly resistant.
Not that messing up as badly as Tor had done had helped.
And the thing was, Tor was going to leave. At the end of the day, he’d go back to Alossa. Pelun was the one who was stuck here, and he didn’t deserve to be gossiped about.
Torhadto fix this. He’d leave if Pelun wanted him to, and if they couldn’t part as friends, Tor would make sure one way or the other that everyone knew thatTorwas the problem. He didn’t know what he’d do about Terila, but he couldn’t make Pelun feel unsafe or unhappy in his home.
But to do that, he needed to talk to Pelun, who’d already demonstrated adeptness at avoiding him. Tor made sure to ride back to the stables in good time, and then he unashamedly lurked. He gave all the horses an extra apple or carrot and pet their velvety noises, and then he mucked out Extraordinary’s stall.
It was already clean, but he felt better for doing something. None of the stable hands were willing to argue with a prince, which Tor appreciated today. When he’d finished that, he felt way too antsy to sit still, and he finally took to pacing, making the horses snort at him and eye him doubtfully.
He sprang to attention when Pelun finally rode into the stables. He checked at the sight of Tor just standing there, because Tor hadn’t been smart enough to try to look like he’d been busy.
Pelun dismounted and led Extraordinary to her stall, where he proceeded to groom her despite the stable hand who said he’d be happy to do it. Tor also popped his head in and offered assistance.
“I amnotinterested in your help.”
Well. That was clear.
Tor leaned up against the outside of the stall, out of the way but still present.
Pelun took his time—but to be fair, he always groomed Extraordinary with care.
Finally, the mare was happily settled, and Pelun emerged from the stall. He didn’t look surprised to see Tor, but he definitely didn’t look delighted, either.
“Could I talk to you for a few minutes?” Tor asked carefully.
“Fine,” Pelun said stiffly. It was the voice that Tor remembered from their early encounters, when he was displeased with everything Tor did.
He hadn’t realized just how much more at ease Pelun had sounded until the old tension was back.
All Tor’s fault, he reminded himself.
Strain clear in every line of his body, Pelun led the way to the garden and then to one of the more secluded paths.
They walked for several minutes in silence until they passed a set of hedges that hid them from the castle.
“Well?” Pelun demanded.
Tor felt remarkably tongue-tied, but this was his chance. He sucked in a breath and made himself talk.
“I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday.”
It seemed to be the safest way to start.
