He liked her for her spirit. She was never hesitant to tell him when Cala needed to go to bed or if he was doing something that she thought wasn’t appropriate—though he’d been cautious with a being who was so impossibly tiny he couldn’t help but think of her as fragile.
He figured that once she was four or five, he would get to be the best uncle ever.
It was to his advantage to have Pamuna on his side and not trying to bar his access to Cala. It was clear to him that, given her way, Fernila would make sure that he never saw her daughter, and Tor would do anything to avoid that.
That meant that Tor would have stayed away from Pamuna even without Varex’s warning. In fact, it meant he stayed awaydespitethe warning, pushing down the impulse to seduce her precisely because he’d been told not to. Cala was more important than his issues with his brother, and Pamuna was good for the baby.
He felt more settled when he finally gave Cala back to Pamuna, even if he was still annoyed with life in general and his brother and his wife in particular. It was impossible to be annoyed with a baby, especially one who shrieked with laughter when you pretended to eat her fingers.
There was no way that Tor was going to attend dinner with Varex and Fernila in the mood that they were in, so he swung by the kitchen and charmed the cook out of a meal.
She included two pints of ale and a flagon of wine without his even asking, which told him that Varex had been more right than Tor wanted him to be about how visible his entertainments were. Still, though, it wasn’t like Cook was looking upon him with disapproval. In fact, she seemed to be abetting him, and that didn’t suggest that he was doing any harm to the great and mighty image of the Crown, did it?
But it was useless arguing with the High King. What Tor had been able to do with his brother years ago was becoming less and less manageable with the man who now sat on the throne.
Tor headed out to the stables and gave the ale and wine to the stable hands. He wasn’t in the mood.
He was still there—and had possibly groomed his horse and then fed Monster too many carrots and apples—when Rin found him.
“I thought to see you at dinner. There a reason you’re lurking, Tor?”
“Yes,” he grumbled sullenly.
Rin leaned against the side of the stall door, ankles and arms crossed. This showed his arms off to particular advantage, a fact which they were both well aware of, as it had featured in several ploys to lure someone into bed. Despite his high level of magic, Rinil had never shirked on the physical aspects of his training. He had particularly impressive biceps.
Just at the moment, he was the picture of nonchalant unconcern, all golden blond and casual, amusement lurking in his whiskey-colored eyes.
If only seduction were the order of the day, they would be all set.
“And are you going to share your reasons, or am I meant to guess?” he drawled.
“I feel certain it would be far more entertaining for me if you guessed,” Tor said, already feeling some of the tension slip from his body.
Rin grinned at him. “Your brother not delighted with you? A proper scolding?”
Tor groaned. “All right, maybe not as fun as I was hoping. But he was far more unreasonable than normal.”
Rin laughed. “Do tell.”
“First, you’re going to agree to come with me, aren’t you?” Tor wheedled.
Rin’s eyes narrowed. “With an introduction like that, how could I possibly resist?” He gave in and flashed a grin. “Of course I’ll go with you.”
Tor hoped his sigh of relief wasn’t too audible. “This is why you’re my favorite.”
“What have I just signed myself up for?”
“I’ve been given a series of explicit orders. No drinking. No orgies. No more seduction of the Queen’s lovely attendants.”
Rin grimaced. He’d been enjoying it nearly as much as Tor had.
“I suppose it couldn’t last forever,” he bemoaned. “Honestly, we were running out of choices. She may have lots of attendants, but they weren’tinfinite.”
“Oh, it gets better,” Tor assured him in a tone of voice that made it clear it was the exact opposite.
“A vow of chastity?” Rin asked with a smirk.
“Worse,” Tor said, rather wishing at the moment that he hadn’t given away all the ale. It wasn’t like Rin would have tattled.
