Page 43 of Torin and His Oath (Torin and the Princess #2)

LEXI

I t was like coming out of a trance to realize that the air was cool, the porch was poorly lit, and the dampness of my shoes and pants was giving me a chill.

A warm house would be good, we needed to sit down and talk.

They picked up their swords and dirks and sheathed them, and then I led Max into the house.

Torin bowed quietly as we passed, and followed silently behind us.

I directed them to the kitchen, and stepped into the laundry room to grab some towels so we could all dry off. “I’ll be back in a moment, I’m going to change into dry clothes, want a dry shirt or something?”

Torin shook his head, rubbing the towel on his hair. “I will dry in this warm room soon enough.”

Max winced. “Nae, I am nearly dry. But would ye turn off this light? Tis glarin’ in m’eyes.”

I clicked on a countertop lamp and turned off the overhead kitchen light and then raced up the stairs and dug through my drawers for dry jeans.

I quickly changed and checked my face. I had a pink nose from crying and rivulets of mascara down my cheeks — just great.

As if this hadn’t been one of the most important conversations of my life.

I finger-combed my damp hair, put on some fresh mascara and a pale lip smear, and raced back down, kinda breathless when I made it to the kitchen, trying to look casual. Both men were standing in the kitchen, not talking.

I said, “Go ahead and sit down.” I looked in the refrigerator. “Want a beer?”

They both nodded, but didn’t sit, so I pulled out three, popped the caps off, and passed out the bottles. We all stood around, leaning on the counters, and I took a moment in the light of my kitchen to take stock of Max, who was looking around curiously, then he focused on the label of the bottle.

I asked, “Have you ever been to the modern world before?”

“I hae some memories of life in the palace, but I left when I was seven, since then I haena left the sixteenth century.”

I leaned against the counter and sipped from the beer.

My eyes traveled to Torin and rested there. He kept his eyes averted.

Max watched us again, then said, “Tis verra fine tae see ye, Alexandria. It does m’heart good tae ken ye are well.” He looked around the room. “Tis yer home?”

“Yes.”

“How did it come tae be yer home, ye live alone?”

“I do, I live alone.” My eyes met Torin’s. I looked away. “And I don’t really know how I came to be here. I suppose I was adopted, though I didn’t know. My parents, my um… adopted parents, passed away, February 11, 2001.”

“I am verra sorry for it, Alexandria, what of the rest of yer family?”

“The only family I have is my uncle, he lives in Texas.”

His expression turned curious.

I said, “It’s another state, it’s about a two-day drive. But I do have friends. Lots of friends. I was just with my friend, Jen. We were celebrating my birthday.” Torin glanced up.

He had returned, but he had barely said anything yet, nothing at all. I couldn’t figure it out.

Wasn’t he glad to see me?

I finished by repeating. “It’s my birthday today.”

Max asked, “What is the date?”

I said, “July 7th.”

He scowled, shaking his head.

I asked, “What?”

“Tis nae yer birthday, yer birthday is August 11, we celebrated it on the anniversary of our father’s coronation.”

I blinked.

I blinked some more. Then I said, “So maybe, you’ve got the wrong girl.”

Max leveled his eyes. “I daena hae the wrong girl. Ye are Alexandria, ye are just mistaken on yer birthday.”

“But... that...”

Torin said, “Perhaps when ye were fostered, Princess, yer family gave ye a new birthday because they dinna ken when it was.”

“How would they do that... change documents or make new ones?”

Max said, “We are royals, powerful people hae wanted tae protect ye, they could change documents, aye — and where is yer staff?”

“I don’t have a staff.”

Torin said, looking down at his beer, “I was verra glad tae see yer guards, Princess. Even as they rough-handled me, my thought was ‘I am grateful that the Princess has guardsmen.’”

I furrowed my brow. “Torin, why are you being so weird?”

Torin asked, “What dost ye mean by weird?”

“Standoffish, cold, distant — I thought… I thought you would be glad to see me. It’s been months. Then you waltz in here and barely talk?”

Max was looking between our faces as we spoke. Torin kept his eyes cast down. He said, “I needed tae recover and?—”

I interrupted, “What happened to you?”

“A great deal, tis nae important?—”

“It is important, tell me.”

“I had tae fight some men, I almost drowned crossin’ a river, I was assaulted by a boar...”

He faltered when I leveled my eyes.

“You didn’t come back because of a boar? This all sounds terrible but none of it is a good enough excuse.”

Max was looking back and forth.

Torin said, “Nae, truly I wanted tae give ye time tae heal?—”

My eyes went wide. “Torin, are you trying to say you stayed away for me ? That makes me furious. That is not okay.”

He said, “But ye hae been reunited with yer brother, as promised.”

I said, “You did promise, you promised you would get me home, and you promised you would bring Max, you did do that.”

He raised his eyes. “And ye recovered.”

“Yes, you prayed over me and got me home and I recovered, I told you I would, and thank you. I know it was dangerous and you had things happen to you that you needed to recover from, but it still doesn’t explain why you’re being so weird.

” I turned to Max. “I just met you, but did you say something to him?”

Max raised his brow. “What dost ye think I said?”

“I don’t know, did you tell him he wasn’t allowed to talk to me?”

Max said, “I simply told him he inna allowed tae hae ye. Ye are a Princess and well above him in station, besides he has informed me that ye hae already given yer troth tae another man.”

I raised my chin, “Not that it’s any business of yours, I literally just met you. What, are you going to tell me I can’t be with anyone that you don’t choose for me? You just come in here, a total stranger, and start to boss me around? Somehow you get to decide who gets me and who doesn’t?”

He was beginning to smile. I finished with, “That’s not the way we do things here, Buck-o, you don’t boss me around, ever. Brother or not.”

I finished my beer.

Max had a full smile, he drank from his beer and said to Torin, “Och, she is everything ye said, beautiful and full of fire.”

Torin nodded. “She is spittin’ mad, and she likes tae spar.”

“This is absolutely unacceptable, you are acting like I’m an object. Talking about me right in front of me.”

Max leaned forward. “My apologies, Alexandria, ye are misunderstandin’ m’purpose. I hae been friends with Torin for most of m’life. He sometimes daena think things through, I am used tae sometimes bein’ his voice of reason.”

He leaned back in his seat. “Aren’t I often more reasonable than ye, Torin, my friend?”

“Aye, almost every time ye are more reasonable.”

“Dost ye think I am bein’ unreasonable with ye now, when I tell ye that ye canna hae Alexandria?”

Torin nodded. “Because she has sworn her troth tae Master Cooper.”

I said, “Cooper doesn’t live here anymore.”

Torin raised his eyes to mine. “Why nae? Ye need tae hae protection! He left ye alone?”

I explained, “Not really, I have security guards. We’re not together anymore, that’s the important part.”

Max was looking back and forth between us.

Then he leaned forward again. “Can ye explain tae me, Alexandria, what ye mean? Ye are truly alone? I came tae meet ye before I go tae the kingdom, and thought ye would be surrounded by guards with a fine castle and a full staff, as befits yer station, but now I find ye alone. Och nae, I canna leave ye here.” He leaned back again. “Ought I tae take ye with me?”

“You want me to go with you to some kingdom?”

“ Our kingdom.”

“First, I would have to be crazy to climb on a vessel to go to some far off kingdom, it’s a ridiculous idea. First time I was kidnapped. Last time I was chased, now you want me to volunteer to go with you, a stranger, to a kingdom that has been, what did you call it?”

“Usurped.”

“That doesn’t sound like we would be welcomed.”

“We wouldna, likely twould be dangerous. I would greatly prefer tae leave ye here, protected.”

I huffed, shaking my head. “I can’t even deal with that right now, I am talking to Torin about something, Max, you need to wheesht —” My eyes went wide. “I’m sorry I said it, but this is a lot to deal with at once. I need to focus.”

Max chuckled. “Och, ye are forgiven. To be told tae wheesht by a princess — that alone feels like I’ve won back m’throne.”

I focused on Torin, he looked deep in thought, chewing his lip.

I said, “So here’s my point, Torin, Cooper and I aren’t together anymore.”

He nodded.

I pulled out another three beers from the fridge, opened them, and passed them around. “Which makes me wonder — what are you going to say about it?”

He looked down on his beer. “I daena ken.”

I said, “Great,” and took a long drink of beer.

Max shook his head, a look on his face of disbelief. “Torin, before I drink, can ye make a toast? Ye are usually first tae do it.”

Torin looked glum, he raised his bottle.

Max and I raised our bottles.

He said, “Tae the Princess, Alexandria, who has survived the stomach flux, and has been reunited with her brother, may she see her kingdom returned tae her, and may she live long. Tae Max who has found his sister. Slàinte mhath!”

Max drank, then shook his head. “Ye arna goin’ tae say, ‘and all of it thanks tae Torin’? Ye arna goin’ tae say ‘Torin is the true hero of the day’? Ye hae been downright dour this whole visit. Can I speak freely tae ye?”

“Of course,” Torin shifted, “but if ye are an arse, I reserve the right tae beat ye.”

“This is much more like yer usual self. But I tell ye, Torin, I canna believe what I am seein’ in ye… ye are in love.”

Torin grunted. “Nae, tis not… tis not what I am…”

“Ye are! Ye hae deep tender emotions taeward Alexandria!”