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“Tes…” His tongue grew thick before he could force the words out. How could he share the news with Toren? Tes didn’t want him to find out. Even though she hadn’t asked Ber to keep the secret, he found he couldn’t share it. “I’m worried for her health.”
Toren lifted a brow. “Is there a reason?”
“There is,” he replied.
But he didn’t elaborate.
His brother studied him for far too long. “I can only assume she doesn’t wish for me to know.”
“She doesn’t wantmeto know, but I overheard,” Ber blurted out. Heat crept up the back of his neck, and he turned to pace in front of the desk before his brother could analyze his expression further. “I shouldn’t have come here. I have no idea why I did.”
“Because you needed family,” Toren said softly. “Not the High King. Family.”
A more pleasant warmth eased a few of the knots in his gut. “Perhaps so.”
Toren dropped the paper in his hand and stood. “I can make a few guesses about what you aren’t saying. If I’m right, these plans…”
“I can’t stop her from going.” Ber halted to frown at his brother. “As much as I want to, I cannot. I will not. But I don’t know how we’ll adjust the plans if she won’t be honest. It’snot like I can ask her. She’ll never believe that I overheard by accident.”
“There’s more risk of a failed mission if we don’t know everything,” Toren said, nodding. “But I imagine her reticence bothers you more than the battle itself.”
Unfortunately, his brother was right. Ber ground his teeth together. “Why won’t she tell me? If I hadn’t overheard…”
Toren grimaced. “You have to admit you can be rather…high-handed.”
“Not this time,” Ber insisted. “I deserve a chance. But I don’t know if I should demand one or wait for her to offer.”
“Wait,” Toren said, cupping his chin thoughtfully. “Yes, I think you should wait, at least for a day or two. If she just learned of this…illness, then she may only need time to ponder it. Shock often steals reason, but she’ll be able to give the issue more thought as the surprise fades. Something you should consider for your own mental state.”
It was perfectly rational—and perfectly intolerable. “I can’t pretend to be logical during battle planning. Not when my wife is sitting beside me bearing such a secret.”
Toren’s smile was barely different from his grimace. “I’ll do my best to help smooth any conflicts. But right now, perhaps you should go to the training field to work off your frustration. She’ll know you’re upset immediately if she sees you like this.”
That was an understatement. Ber would never be able to sit in a room with Tes in his current state without exploding. “Yes.”
Training might not even be enough. But at this point, it was the only chance he had.
Arms lifted,Tes watched as Ria tied the laces on the padded vest that would separate the fabric of her dress from the armor that would go atop. Tes did her best not to let her trembling show, and more than once, she had to bite the tip of her tongue to keep from asking about the protections built into the fabric. Questions about the padding over her lower abdomen would be telling, wouldn’t they?
Gods, this secret would be difficult to keep.
Ria lifted the breastplate over Tes’s head and got to work on tightening the buckles. Instantly, the pressure made Tes’s breasts ache, though not unbearably. It would be just enough to remind her of all she stood to lose if a single blow went wrong. She sucked in a trembling breath at the thought, but it didn’t help. Nothing would help.
“Relax,” Ria murmured.
Tes winced. “I can’t help but be nervous. This is only the first piece, and it already feels too real.”
“It’s likely to be the only piece that isn’t leather.” Ria pinned her with a surprisingly stern look. “I wouldn’t have spent so much time on the other bits if I’d realized sooner. You should have told me.”
“What do you mean?” Tes asked, swallowing hard.
Ria’s frown deepened. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you? It’s a rather important thing for me to account for.”
Once again that day, Tes couldn’t mutter a single word.
Her secret was already discovered.
Chapter 49
