Page 2 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong (Lost Arts #2)

Perian slung his arms around Brannal’s neck, so glad that his burn had healed and he didn’t have to worry about anything hurting anymore. Brannal opened his eyes.

“Just like that,” Perian murmured. “Isn’t this nice?”

They were pressed together practically from head to toe, so it was impossible to miss that they were both hard. Perian loved the buzz of arousal that lit him up inside.

Brannal hummed an agreement. “I like my hands on you more than strangers’ hands.”

“Me too,” Perian agreed. “If a whole bunch of people who work for you weren’t here, I’d show you just how much.”

Brannal’s eyes were dark and hungry, just the way Perian liked, but after a moment, he let out a huff of breath, then took a slight step back so they weren’t plastered quite so close together.

“That’s a very good point. I would prefer not to put on… quite so public a show.”

Perian just nodded, because although he felt that pulse throbbing through him telling him to rub against Brannal—or maybe get on his knees—until they both came to completion, he could actually think with his brain, too.

His smarter organ told him Brannal was already outside of his comfort zone, and not everyone was as open as Molun was to actual shows.

“You can take me back to your room and do all those things you’re thinking about,” Perian offered with a smile.

Brannal smiled back, gaze hot. “I’d like that.”

They headed back to the table, where Cormal was now absent—yay!—and Brannal let the remaining Mage Warriors know they were leaving. The looks were very knowing, but of course it was only Molun—sweaty and happy-looking and gulping down a pint—who said anything directly.

“Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” His bright blue eyes positively twinkled.

Perian winked at him, and Brannal sighed, but he looked amused.

The walk back to the castle was nice, the weather mild, still getting just a little cool at night.

Perian felt totally safe with Brannal at his side.

It wasn’t quite as late as the night he’d been attacked, and he knew people could be ambushed, but he still felt a bone-deep certainty that with Brannal here, everything would be fine.

Brannal nudged him. “You all right?”

Perian contemplated not saying anything, but he wanted to be honest with Brannal.

“Thinking about the last time I left a pub at night, actually.”

This brought Brannal to a complete halt, and there was concern written large across his face.

“Oh, Perian, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think…”

Perian shook his head, looped his arm through Brannal’s, and tugged him back into motion.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t you who suggested this outing, I freely agreed to come, and I feel perfectly safe with you by my side.”

Brannal glanced at him, and his expression softened, the worry smoothing largely away, though a little of it still seemed to linger in his eyes.

Perian was pretty sure it was always there, because Brannal worried about anything he cared about.

He wanted to be the best Summus, he wanted everyone at the castle to be safe, and he wanted Perian to be safe, too.

“I’m glad,” Brannal said softly.

They completed the rest of the walk to the castle in silence, but it was an easy one now .

Once they were behind closed doors, they got their hands all over one another, in even more intimate places than they’d been able to manage while dancing.

Perian moaned as Brannal pushed inside him, and managed to say, “Might be a little awkward if you did this on the dance floor.”

Perian’s legs were locked around Brannal’s hips as his beautifully strong lover drove into him.

Brannal snorted a laugh. “Yes, I would prefer to keep this to the bedroom.”

Perian raised an eyebrow even as he whimpered at the forceful thrust. Brannal was so good at hitting that perfect spot. “Only the bedroom?”

He seemed to recall a rather awesome incident in the library. And over the sitting room table. Just as examples.

Brannal rolled his eyes, but they were bright with affection.

“In less public settings than the pub, at any rate,” he amended.

Perian hummed an agreement. He was happy to be watched, but he had to admit even he preferred it in a more controlled setting where he knew everyone was interested. A crowd that might contain some hecklers, or people who weren’t turned on by what they were doing? No, he wouldn’t like that.

“Besides,” Brannal added, even as he continued to thrust, eyes glittering with lust, “I like you in my bed.”

“And I like being here.”

Brannal leaned in to kiss him, changing the angle between them, making them both moan even as they melted into one another’s mouths.

Perian loved having all of Brannal’s focus on him, loved that intent look in his eyes, the determination to make Perian come before Brannal did, to fill him with so much pleasure it couldn’t be contained.

Perian’s orgasm took him by surprise, bursting through him without Brannal even needing to touch his cock.

He cried out, clamping down on Brannal, who lost his rhythm, managing a few more uneven thrusts before he buried himself inside Perian and came.

Perian just floated in the perfect sensations for a few minutes, while Brannal did the more practical cleaning up. Then he climbed back into bed and pulled a willing Perian into his arms, stroking a hand up and down his arm.

Perian was not a cat, but he wanted to purr.

Growing a little more alert, he ventured after a moment, “That was all right, wasn’t it?”

The movement of Brannal’s hand stilled. After a moment of silence, he said, a trace of uncertainty in his voice, “I like to think it was a bit better than all right.”

Fire and water . Perian was doing this all wrong. He twisted around so he could look at Brannal properly, where he could see in the dim light from the fire that he now looked as uncertain as he’d sounded.

Perian made a face and said firmly, “I’m saying this wrong, sorry. It was fabulous. Best sex ever, would like to repeat as often as possible.”

The look of worry lightened but didn’t completely disappear from Brannal’s eyes. “But?”

Perian cleared his throat, wondering why he’d picked this moment to ask this question. He swallowed. “But I just wanted to make sure it was good for you, too? That you, uh, felt good about it?”

It hadn’t been very long since they’d resumed their sexual relationship after a hiatus, because their first attempt to have penetrative sex had ended with Brannal reacting badly, triggered by Perian still didn’t know what.

Brannal had been very convincing when he’d assured Perian he wanted to continue with this aspect of their relationship, and it hadn’t occurred to Perian to be worried in the moment—but then the doubts had crept in.

He’d thought it only made sense to check, but now it just seemed awkward.

Only Brannal’s expression softened, a small smile appearing. He leaned in to gently kiss Perian, who melted into the contact and immediately felt better.

“It was wonderful,” Brannal assured him. He hesitated for a moment. “I would… prefer not to talk about… before.”

“You don’t have to!” Perian hastened to assure him. He’d said something like that before, and Perian didn’t ever want to pressure him.

Brannal swallowed, his eyes slipping away. “I know that’s not entirely fair to you. We’re supposed to be communicating…”

“Hey,” Perian said, cupping his face so Brannal would meet his eyes again. “I can’t deny that I’d like to know. Uh, a little bit because I’m nosy.”

Brannal snorted a half laugh, and some of the tension in Perian eased .

He continued, “But mostly because I feel like it would help me understand you and help us navigate this relationship. But if you feel the best way for us to do that is for me to be aware of only the, uh, broad strokes, then I can work with that.”

Brannal was nodding. “It’s in the past, and I’d like to put that past behind me.

I trust you, and I’m enjoying everything we do together.

” Perian opened his mouth, but Brannal kept going.

“And if ever anything triggers me again, I know I only have to tell you, and you’ll respect my boundaries and give me whatever I need.

I’ll tell you, Perian, I promise. All right? ”

Perian could only nod, because that seemed very reasonable.

He couldn’t deny there was a part of him that wanted to find out exactly who had hurt Brannal and…

raze them to the ground or something. Not only was Perian not capable of doing that—although he was at least learning the basics, right?

—but he also recognized it wouldn’t be helpful.

Brannal was moving past it, and Perian’s job was to support him.

“Thank you,” Perian told him.

Brannal tugged him even closer, wrapping his arms around him, and Perian tucked his head against Brannal’s shoulder.

“No, thank you ,” Brannal said softly. “I didn’t think I’d ever find this.”

Yeah, Perian hadn’t expected to find it either. He was so glad he had.

The next day, Renny was in a good mood as she settled onto the picnic blanket with him. Her dark eyes were bright, and she didn’t look nearly as drawn as when he had first met her, stumbling into this location when it had been her secret spot.

He laid out the food as she proudly relayed to him how her tutor had told her that her Old Tongue was improving a great deal, and she could soon move to more complex books.

“That’s wonderful!” Perian told her. “Great dedication.”

She beamed at him. “It’s a lot easier to learn when you don’t feel like you’re going to fall asleep all the time. ”

“You’re not as tired?” Perian asked hopefully.

She shook her head. “I’m so much better!

” She pouted. “I mean, I do still get tired, and I still have to take a nap sometimes if I want to do something in the evening, but I feel much more alert when I’m doing my morning and afternoon lessons.

Afternoon lessons used to be the worst even with the nap. ”

Perian eyed her and asked with exaggerated suspicion, “But did you ever actually sleep during that supposed ‘nap’?”

She giggled, eyes bright and mischievous. “Sometimes.”

Yeah, all the time that Perian had known her, she’d been sneaking out to the garden, first to sit alone, but then, once she met Perian, to have picnics with him. Now, at least, everyone knew that the princess of the realm was doing so, and she had an escort to ensure she stayed safe.

Perian was glad when she was happy, and he was so glad she was feeling better. She was still a bit too slim, but she looked distinctly healthier. The circles under her eyes weren’t nearly as pronounced, and there didn’t seem to be as much fatigue or sadness clinging to her.

Of course, that might have something to do with the fact Perian had entered wholeheartedly into her assertion that the brother everyone else thought had died six years ago was by her side, unable to be seen or heard by anyone but her.

He still didn’t have any proof beyond a belief in Renny and what he’d witnessed. It wasn’t like Perian could hazard a guess as to how Prince Kinan had wound up invisible and not able to touch anything or be touched—nor why his sister could hear and see him, but still not touch him either.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying your learning,” Perian told her.

“It’s more interesting when it’s less boring,” Renny said with a shrug.

Perian could only laugh. “What are you most looking forward to reading?”

“There’s so much! Some of the old histories are in the Old Tongue.” She made a face. “But they’re a bit boring sometimes. All the best books about magic are in the Old Tongue, though.”

“Really?”

He had to confess his reading time had diminished with all his other activities here at the castle.

If he eventually wound up back on his estate by himself, he was going to have plenty of solitary reading time then.

If he had the opportunity to fill his days at the castle with so much more, that’s what he’d do, and happily.

Renny nodded. “The people who wrote them are kind of full of themselves.”

Perian snorted a laugh.

Renny shrugged, not looking at all apologetic for her global slandering of the good name of all Mages and Mage Warriors who had ever penned a book on magic.

“Magic does sound more interesting than history,” Perian confessed.

“Right?” she agreed.

She tilted her head like she was listening, then made a disgruntled face, and relayed, “Kee says history can be really interesting too, and also that some of the most interesting magic is from history.”

Perian nodded consideringly. “The doctor said Life Magic was lost during the Great Cataclysm.”

“What’s Life Magic?” Renny asked, perking up curiously.

“Apparently, it let Mages heal people,” Perian told her.

Renny was quiet for a moment. “People like me?”

Fire and water . Perian should have thought of that.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted quietly. “The doctor didn’t go into detail, and I’d never heard of Life Magic before then, either.”

Renny squared her shoulders. “I’m going to get so much better at the Old Tongue.”

The last thing Perian wanted to do was curb that enthusiasm, but he also didn’t want her to be disappointed.

“I think you should study and learn absolutely anything you want to learn, but it’s been over three centuries since the Great Cataclysm. We’ve only got elemental magic now, and I don’t think that’s going to change.”

She swallowed. “It can’t hurt to look, can it?”

Perian shook his head, smiled at her. “No, of course not.”

Hope was very powerful.