Page 36 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong (Lost Arts #2)

“Oh, no, you look fine. It’s the look on your face . You get this satisfied look that makes it entirely clear what you’ve been doing.” She squished up her face. “So gross.”

Perian could only laugh. He probably did do that, and he wasn’t sure he could stop it.

Renny was full of the news of her first successful ride.

Her mother had insisted that she be lifted onto the horse.

The horse was barely more than a slightly overgrown pony with the placid soul of a cow .

But Renny had been on top of a horse. And yes, Brannal, Nisal, and Molun had been there, like if she fell off, they were all going to blow her back up again.

“Would that work?” Perian wanted to know.

Renny shrugged. “I think Brannal convinced Mother it would—but I’m pretty sure it was total nonsense. He might have figured out I was plotting how to do it on my own.”

Perian smirked. “More rumors about going out the window?”

It was what she’d claimed to have done to be able to sneak away to hide in the garden, a threat of what she might still try to do if they didn’t let her have her way and keep having picnics with Perian.

Her smile was mischievous. “Something like that. But it wasn’t necessary. I didn’t fall off.”

“Congratulations, Renny!”

She was beaming at him even as she explained that a groom had held a leading rope the whole time, and she hadn’t done much more than go in circles around the stable yard.

“But it was on a horse!” he pointed out.

She couldn’t hide how pleased she was. “It was on a horse.” She sighed. “And actually, it was useful to go back over the basics again.”

“Heels down,” Perian said.

She laughed. “Yes! Why is it that we want to point our toes?”

Perian grinned, so glad this had worked, and Renny wasn’t chafing too much at the slow pace.

“I’m so proud of you,” Perian told her.

Her smile got even brighter. “It was all your idea.”

“But you’re the one who had to sit on the horse—and convince your mother.”

Renny rolled her eyes. “She actually came to watch, like the Queen observing would make everyone calmer and less likely to mess up.”

“But she saw it go well,” Perian pointed out.

Renny nodded. “She said there still has to be at least four Mage Warriors, and at least two of them have to control air, but I can have a short ride in the stable yard twice a week.”

“That’s wonderful!” he said.

Renny gave a satisfied smile. “I started with demanding riding out in the hills every day.”

“Smart girl. Do you start training for negotiations with other countries this early?”

She just smiled blandly at him.

Yeah, Perian was sure she was going to be fine.

“Did it tire you out?” he asked.

She shook her head. Stopped, while Kee clearly said something.

She rolled her eyes. “All right, maybe a little. But honestly, I think it was less riding on the horse than all of the build-up around it, you know? I was worried that it wasn’t going to work, I was hopeful that it would work, I was imagining what would happen if I fell off the horse after all.

It was a lot of… of mental energy. So I did have a nap when I got back.

But really, I just plodded around on the slowest horse we own, and then someone lifted me off again. How much work is that, actually?”

“Plenty for the person doing the lifting?” he proposed.

She threw a piece of apple at him, and they both laughed.

“It’s a place to start,” he reminded her, and she nodded, looking content.

Renny didn’t look one hundred percent well yet, but she looked much healthier than when Perian had first seen her.

None of them knew if this was going to be a permanent change, but oh, how they all hoped it would be.

He hugged her after they’d wrapped up the picnic.

“I’m so happy for you,” he told her. “You deserve every good thing.”

She held onto him for a long time.

Perian returned the basket to the kitchen and the blankets to Brannal’s rooms and was surprised to find an object messily wrapped in old paper and tied with string sitting on top of the sitting room table with a note clumsily shoved in one of the seams of the paper.

Perian really wanted to know what it was, but since it was no doubt for Brannal, he made himself go off for a ride.

Prince Horsey seemed delighted by the fact they could gallop again properly.

He still preferred that Perian was the one to saddle and unsaddle him—he expressed his displeasure very clearly when Perian tried to step aside.

Apologizing and coming right back, Perian had claimed he was just getting him something sweet to eat, and would he please calm down.

Yeah, so he was definitely still Prince Horsey, but he’d maybe mellowed a tiny bit. Perian headed back to Brannal’s rooms to get cleaned up, and by great good fortune, was joined by Brannal at the point at which he’d stripped in the water closet.

Brannal grinned. “This is excellent timing.”

Perian smiled back. “I smell like horse, I’m afraid.”

“I can get over it.”

Perian laughed. “Oh, yes?”

Brannal hummed an agreement and pulled the entirely naked Perian against his very clothed body. Perian was a big fan of naked skin on naked skin, but there was something about rubbing his body over all that leather armor that definitely worked for him.

Maybe it was just anything to do with Brannal.

Perian made a happy noise and leaned into Brannal’s kiss, chasing after his tongue and rocking against him.

Spinning Perian and pinning him to the wall, Brannal freed his cock and buried himself inside Perian.

He loved the urgency, the fact that Brannal hadn’t even taken all his clothes off, just fucked him until they both came, Perian painting the wall and Brannal buried deep inside of him .

Perian rested his forehead against the wall, breathing heavily.

“Is that your way of saying the day was long?” he asked as he caught his breath.

Brannal was still pressed against him.

“So long,” Brannal agreed.

Perian was content to just stand here, but eventually, Brannal pulled out, and Perian sighed at the loss. Brannal pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

“Let’s get cleaned up.”

Brannal stripped, and they climbed into the bath together. They lingered long enough for Brannal to bring Perian off again, and then Perian returned the favor, grinding back against Brannal until he came as well.

Brannal leaned back against the back of the tub with a groan. “I haven’t come this much since I was a teen.”

Perian sputtered a laugh. “Complaining?”

“Not even a little,” Brannal said in a very satisfied voice that made Perian grin and feel more than a little proud.

Brannal cleared the water with his clever “lift only the water out of the tub” trick, and then they cleaned themselves properly. By the time they finally emerged, they had unquestionably missed dinner.

“Oops,” Brannal said, not sounding the slightest bit repentant.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone will be that surprised,” Perian said. “But we should probably eat something.” He leered at the other man. “I have more plans for you.”

Brannal nodded, looking content.

Perian eyed him and then said, “How about I go and ask for dinner? I assume you’d want to pull on all those clothes, while I’d be happy to wander around in only my sleep trousers, but I can pull a top on too.”

Looking amused, Brannal didn’t deny the allegation. No matter what he liked to do behind closed doors, he did like to project a proper image otherwise.

So Perian pulled on trousers and a shirt—it wouldn’t take very long to get them off, it was only two layers. He was reminded of the mysterious package when they emerged into the sitting room.

“I hope you appreciate that I didn’t open that while you weren’t here. If you’ve peeked before I get back, I’m going to be very cross.”

“I’ll try to resist,” Brannal promised wryly .

Perian popped down to the kitchen and asked for food. Alona’s eyes twinkled.

“Night in?”

Perian nodded, grinning. “We were otherwise occupied during dinner but figured we wouldn’t last if we didn’t get some sort of nourishment.”

“Shall I just send you with a basket now so we don’t interrupt?”

Perian beamed at her. “Oh, that would be perfect! Because you know I don’t mind, but I do try not to accidentally scar people for life with seeing things they can’t unsee.”

Snorting with laughter, she went off, and Perian jiggled from foot to foot, impatient to get back to Brannal but knowing this was absolutely the fastest and least disruptive option.

She was back in a couple of minutes with a basket heaped full of food. He thanked her profusely and then hurried back upstairs, kicking at the door so Brannal would come let him in. He looked bemused by the basket.

“I wish I had the trick of blowing a door open, that would be really useful,” Perian said.

“You’ll have to settle for me waiting on you,” Brannal told him, plucking the basket from his hands.

Perian rolled his eyes, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“No problem, dear heart.”

The package was still sitting on the table, and it didn’t look like Brannal had figured out how to take it apart and put it all back together again.

Brannal set the basket down and then asked, “Would you like to do the honors? You seem way more excited about this than I am.”

Perian bounced on his heels.

“Yes, please!” he agreed before the other man could take it back. He snatched the folded note and pulled it open and then stopped, surprised. “Oh,” he said blankly. “It’s for me.”

“Really?” Brannal said.

Perian held it out. It certainly wasn’t a secret.

It read:

Perian, Thank you so much! Chamis

“Aww,” Perian said, heart melting a little.

Brannal looked amused.

Perian theorized, “I guess he’s not up to hugs in front of everyone, which is fair, especially after you went all, ‘get off my lover.’”

“I did not say that,” Brannal huffed.

Perian eyed him, because they all knew that was what he’d meant .