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Awaiting
Tes formed a quick mental link with Ber.“Just how many decisions did you make while I was getting cleaned up?”
“What?”His brows furrowed as he stared up at her.“I haven’t made any. This war is all Toren’s, Mehl’s, and Ria’s decision. Not that I protested after the events of this day.”
Although she was still concerned about how it might affect her own return, she couldn’t bring herself to object to the war declaration, either. This vile attempt hadn’t been Ilduin’s plan, and thanks to the strong truth spell cast on him, everyone knew it. Her father’s actions couldn’t simply be shrugged aside or forgiven.
But that wasn’t what had prompted the question.“The accord between you and your brother feels…different.”
“Because it is.”He smiled.“I can’t entirely explain it, although I understand it perfectly. Maybe there’s a peace in realizing that the way we’ve lived is not how it was supposed to be. Earlier? That is how we were designed.”
Warmth filled her heart at his words. It was so different from the anguish he’d expressed before about being the so-called inferior brother. There was pride and hope here. Deservedly. Hisability to use Toren’s magic had been a revelation in the best of ways.
“Would you be reasonable?” Toren demanded suddenly, leaping to his feet. “We can’t both go. What if another assassin strikes here?”
Tes flinched, her heart pounding at the sudden noise, and Speran squirmed against her.Not my argument,she reminded herself. But she was tense enough that she had to resist the urge to step back when Mehl stood, as well. What was wrong with her? She’d just killed a man, yet here she was, nervous about a simple disagreement.
Ber curled his arm around her waist and pulled her gently closer to his chair.“Your senses are still heightened from the conflict,”he sent.“And Toren’s increase in energy no doubt reminds you of danger.”
That was certainly true. She would remember wading through the harsh sea of his energy in her soul, and there were tendrils of that power whipping around them now. Not enough to awaken Elna, but the vigilance that Tes had tried to ease away as she’d bathed had returned with full force.
“What if an assassin goes afteryouin the field?” Mehl asked. “It’s not worth the risk. We don’t even know how close you have to be to send energy to your brother.”
“Our telepathy spans the distance, so surely—”
“I may be king, but you’re Llyalia’s soul. Stay here with Ria and Elna,” Mehl said sharply. “Though I’m not a bodyguard anymore, I’m expendable. You aren’t.”
Over the sound of Ria’s pained gasp, Ber’s voice rose. “No one in this room is expendable. Stop acting like some kind of noble sacrifice and plan rationally.”
Mehl’s surprised gaze jerked to Ber. “Fine words, coming from you. I would expect a celebration if your brother’s unworthy husband were to die in battle.”
Tes grimaced. The king had a point—in the last couple of centuries, Ber had barely gone from scorn to grudging acceptance of his brother’s choice of husband. But something had clearly shifted recently, for Ber shook his head.
“No, I wouldn’t celebrate. I was wrong about you. Or so I thought, unless you continue this foolish talk about being expendable.”
Mehl didn’t seem to know what to say about that.
“If anyone cares whatIthink,” Ria began, her voice quiet but her tone sharp, “Perhaps you might consider that I don’t want either of you to go unless absolutely necessary. And if it’s Ryenil you seek, Toren, then you needn’t be there until the others break through to the castle.”
Both men had the grace to flush. “Sorry, love,” Toren replied. “Of course, I care what you think. I got carried away with the possibilities.”
Ria’s lips twisted. “You don’t even know what those are. What spells can Ber do?”
That was the true mystery. Her husband’s magic was so low that she’d never seen him manage more than the basics. But they could find out.
“We’ll experiment,” Tes interjected. “As much as we are able. The Llyalian army is far larger than the force Duchess Aony can muster and will take much longer to move. There will be a little time to test distances and spell capabilities.”
A new debate started, then—where, when, and how to experiment with the energy transfer. As Toren’s agitated magic lessened with the shift in topic, Tes’s muscles relaxed with relief. Nausea still rolled in her stomach, and her muscles trembled a little from the trial she’d faced in the throne room.
But she would recover. They all would.
In the weekfollowing his brother’s near loss of control, Ber and Toren did so many experiments that the royal mages had surely grown to hate them. Not at first, of course. They’d started by transferring energy in the same room, with Ber attempting the few spells he knew afterward. Once that had proved successful, they’d split up, putting more and more distance between them until the palace grounds hadn’t been test enough.
They’d gotten the palace mages involved after that. It had cost Ber a fortune, but he’d had the mages send him to increasingly distant locations across Llyalia. When he hadn’t been doing that, he’d requested help determining which spells he was capable of casting. He hadn’t seen the head mage this often since his days as a failing student.
This time, he stepped through the portal and out into a sunlit garden at the back of the estate his father had left him. He hadn’t told the others where he was going, but there was nothing unusual about that. He and Toren had already decided to test their range without any foreknowledge. That would prove whether they could perform the trick without preparation.
But he also hadn’t wanted them to know the risk he took.
