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“It isn’t what you fear,” Toren said softly. “Trust me, this secret has grieved me for months. I would be pleased to have everything out in the open.”
She shifted on her feet, the force of her internal conflict making it impossible to stand still. What should she believe? She couldn’t deny that Toren had shown her nothing but honor, protecting her when Duke Aony and her own husband would have seen her dead. Toren would have no reason to keep a harmful secret when he could have killed her almost a year ago.
Mehl’s earlier comment played through her mind:yet he has been tricked by Ber multiple times.Could that be it? Perhaps her husband had told him just the right kind of lies to garner such an oath. But without knowing the whole of it, that would be difficult to determine.
If Toren revealed the truth, Ber would know that she was coming—but if he already believed she was alive, he would know that, anyway. She might as well do so with all the information. “Fine. Tell him.”
The High King’s eyes widened, but then a slight smile curved his lips. “I should have anticipated such a choice.”
Yes. He absolutely should have.
Ber had just started donninghis practice gear when Toren’s mind nudged his. The padded chest piece dropped from his hand, but Ber bent to grab it before anyone noticed the fumble. And in the process, he connected with his brother.
“If you wish to inform me of your child’s birth, you’re a month too late,”he sent without preamble.“I received the formal announcement at the same time as King Ryenil, so thank you for that.”
Surprise trickled over the link.“I didn’t think you would care.”
Of course his brother hadn’t thought such. Of course. Not a single sacrifice had been treated as anything but villainy.“I hope my niece is healthy. Elnaril, hmm? Interesting to know her name when I haven’t heard my own child’s.”
“It’s Speran, and both babies are healthy,”Toren said.“But I didn’t contact you about our children.”
Ber’s hands trembled so badly that he had to pause before attempting the buckles on his chest piece. Speran. His son’s name was Speran.“What do you want, then?”
“I need to be released from my oath of silence.”
It was a challenge to keep the sardonic smile from spreading across his face.“Do you? Surely you can remain silent for two more months.”
“Keep your attitude,”Toren snapped, frustration leaking through with his words.“Though I’ve never admitted it openly, Tes is here, alive and furious. She needs to know everything.”
He wanted to laugh at the ridiculous confession; instead, he kept his lips pinched firmly closed and continued preparing for his training session.
“Are you kidding me?”Ber asked as he checked his knives and then shoved them back into their scabbards.“You confirmed that the moment you told me Speran was born. Not even you could still believe that babies are left in the temples by the gods.”
“Obviously, I am well aware of how babies are created,”Toren countered.“I said only that a son of yours had been delivered to the palace. It doesn’t necessarily follow that you would remember the mother.”
Ber’s breath hissed out, earning him a curious glance from one of the nearby warriors. He forced himself to don his practice gloves slowly—calmly—when he would rather be wrapping his hands around his brother’s throat. Truly, Toren had a terrible opinion of him to imply that he slept around so recklessly.
“I have always been faithful to Tes,”Ber insisted.“But I suppose you have no reason to believe in my honor.”
“Did you think I truly meant…?”Toren paused—probably pinching his nose in annoyance if his tone was anything to go by.“Forget it. My point is that I can finally confirm that Tes is here. She gave me her permission to tell you.”
Still going through the motions, Ber eyed the field, though his attention wasn’t on finding a potential sparring partner.“What prompted this?”
“The news out of Centoi— Ah, a moment. Speran is stirring. A few pats, and he should return to sleep.”
The blend of concern and care that passed across the mental link with those words punched Ber in the stomach like a blow from one of the nearby warriors. Toren was holding his son while they spoke? Taking care of the babe while Ber could do nothing but long for merely a glimpse? All this work, and yet again, it was his brother who reaped the reward.
Pain nearly debilitated him, locking his muscles and chilling him to the bone—even as it burned. He longed to simply open his mouth and scream. To punch the nearest object until his fist was as raw and broken as his heart. One by one, his plans were crumbling, and now this.
Now this.
But hiding his agony was nothing new. As he had for so many centuries, he shoved it down deep. And it worked. Perhaps his steps crunched the stone with a little extra force, but no one paid him mind as he strode across the training field. Too bad for them, for his eventual partner would feel the force of the hidden pain in Ber’s blows.
“As I was saying, the news from Centoi is concerning,”Toren said, apparently not catching a hint of Ber’s turmoil.“You know Tes will come. I need to tell her all of it before she kills you.”
“Fine. Tell her,”Ber snapped before cutting off the link.
Toren was such a fool. Didn’t he know that Tes was going to kill him, anyway?
