Page 41 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong (Lost Arts #2)

Chapter Seventeen

T hey packed up soon after, and Perian headed off, really looking forward to the chance to ride with her. He loved the picnics, but it did seem a little bit as though Renny only existed for him within that triangle of hidden space. It would be nice to see her on other occasions.

He got snagged by Nisal for more vats of salve with the doctor, then it was dinner, then it was play after dinner, and he and Brannal both fell into an exhausted sleep—so exhausted, apparently, that they woke up late and had to rush through their morning ablutions and didn’t even have time for tea before Brannal had to rush off, and Perian headed out only a few minutes later.

He was a little unfocused when training started, and Delana came over to talk to him.

“Do you ever expect to be attacked?” she asked.

“Not at all, and kind of all the time given what’s happened?” he admitted.

She smirked at him. “Are you always ready for an attack?”

“Absolutely not,” he agreed promptly. “That sounds exhausting.”

There was no way Perian could be ready for an attack at all times.

She nodded. “Exactly. But an attack could come at any time. What do you do? ”

“Panic and hope for the best?” he suggested.

She rolled her eyes. “What do I do?”

He eyed her and proposed finally, “Not that?”

She smirked. “Good answer. The truth is, you’re right.

No one can actually be ready for an attack at every single moment of every day, not even me.

I might have more training and a good skill set to deal with an attack when it comes, I might be more aware than your average person, but I’m still not looking for an attack all the time.

The important thing is that when the attack does come, in that moment, I’m able to push everything else away and focus.

I could be having a terrible day. I could be thinking about what I want to eat for dinner because I’m really hungry.

But the moment I get attacked, all of those thoughts get shoved to the side, and I concentrate only on the attack.

I focus on surviving , because if I survive, then I can go back to thinking about all those things that were occupying my mind before.

They might be the smallest and silliest things or the biggest and most important things, but if I don’t survive the attack, I’m not going to get to think about them again. ”

Slowly, Perian nodded.

“That actually makes a lot of sense. I wasn’t thinking about this right.

I was having trouble with competing priorities.

I really want to learn defense, but I also want to cuddle with Brannal and have picnics with Renny and—oh, tons of things, you don’t need to hear the details.

But I can try to think about it like that, to pause the other thoughts so I can survive and think them as much as I want after. Thanks, Delana!”

She smiled and nodded before heading back over to the full Warriors.

He wasn’t suddenly able to push every thought out of his head. Sometimes, he still got distracted, but it gave him a better way to think about it. When he’d been attacked, most of the thoughts had scattered to the wind; it had been less focus and more panic.

Now, he was learning to find a measure of space and calm to plan or think through his options, and hopefully gain some instincts that would take over in a positive way.

He tried to pretend this was a real fight, that his ability to think and react right now could be the difference between getting to see Brannal again and not getting to see him again.

That was a really good motivator—as long as he stopped the thought there and didn’t start dwelling on what it would be like to never see him again.

At some point, Bennan must have been watching because he came over to clap Perian on the shoulder and tell him he’d made a good effort today .

Perian grinned at him.

“Thanks. I’m definitely a work in progress.”

But Bennan just smiled. “We all are.”

That was true, he supposed. Some had made more progress than him, but that didn’t mean they weren’t all continuing to learn and grow and adapt.

He went up to Brannal’s rooms to scrub down, because he’d definitely worked up a sweat today. Apparently, when he was focused on survival, he did a lot more darting, dodging, spinning—and occasionally falling. It had made Delana laugh. “You fight dirty. I like it.”

Perian had happily accepted the compliment.

Once he was cleaned up so he wouldn’t be a sweaty mess for Renny, he headed out to the quadrangle by way of the kitchen. She was waiting, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Is something happening today?” he asked with mock innocence. “What could it be?”

She was grinning so big it was amazing it fit on her face. “I get to ride with you today!”

She chattered happily as they ate, and Perian mostly just listened, loving the exuberance. He made sure she ate by reminding her she needed energy for her ride.

“If you fall off because you faint with hunger, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

She rolled her eyes at him but did actually get some food down.

“You’re not going to gallop away, are you? Even if Prince Horsey wants to?”

This last was a little anxious, and Perian reassured her seriously, “Absolutely not. You’re right, Prince Horsey does love to gallop, but that’s not something we can do right now, and we are definitely not going to go anywhere without you.”

She nodded, looking relieved.

He leaned closer. “Besides, I’m pretty sure it’s rude to leave other people in the dust. I might have done it accidentally to Brannal and Warrior when we first went riding together.”

She giggled as he reminded her that Prince Horsey had blazed past those two as though they’d been standing still.

“I know not to do that today, I promise. And Prince Horsey was really good when I was injured. He’s clearly very smart.

Even if he wants to go for a gallop, I just won’t let him, or at least not until after.

If he’s really frisky, after we’ve had our ride, I might need to take him out further.

But not until we’re done, how does that sound? ”

She nodded. “That makes sense. Kee always says he has lots of energy.”

“I’m pretty sure that horse has the energy to run to the moon,” Perian agreed.

She laughed again.

They packed up the picnic, and he promised to meet Renny at the stables once he’d returned the basket and blanket.

“See you in an hour, all right?”

Perian was soon out in the stables getting Prince Horsey ready.

“Bit late today,” one of the stable hands said.

“Special ride," he answered with a smile.

Perian patted Prince Horsey on the neck. “You hear that? You need to be on your best behavior, and I promise, I’ll take you on a long ride later if you need it.”

Now that Perian thought about it, the sensible thing to have done would have been to have spent the last hour giving Prince Horsey a good run, and then come to ride with Renny.

Perian rubbed the horse’s neck again.

“We’ll do that next time, all right? I don’t always have the best ideas straight off, but I get there eventually.”

Prince Horsey huffed at him, which Perian was pretty sure was his way of expressing how smart he thought his rider was.

Leading Prince Horsey out into the yard, Perian quickly mounted him, happy about the fact he didn’t need to use the mounting block anymore. Renny had happily relayed that her riding had been so successful she was actually allowed to mount up on her own now—even if people hovered while she did it.

Perian took Prince Horsey on a trot around the yard to help dispel some of the fidgets. And then the stables and yard were suddenly filled with Warriors and Mage Warriors .

Wow. Perian could see where Renny thought it was a bit ridiculous. But he just moved Prince Horsey over to the side and watched as everyone got mounted up. He waved at Renny when she arrived, and she beamed at him.

Her horse was brought out, and Perian could see it really was very docile-looking, though not deserving of all the scorn she’d heaped upon it.

Brannal wasn’t here today. Renny had said he didn’t come most times now, because her mother had calmed down, and he actually had more important things to do than watch Renny ride a horse.

But Nisal and Molun were there today, along with a handful of others, so it seemed they were still hoping air could help if Renny fell.

And, Perian supposed, although he’d foolishly been imagining them blowing her back onto the horse, they probably could cushion her fall, if they reacted fast enough.

Plus, they were going out of the castle today, so the Warriors weren’t just for show.

Renny mounted up just fine on her own, despite the hovering, settling into the saddle comfortably and confirming with Molun and Nisal that she was ready.

Then Renny looked at Perian.

“You’re ready too,” she told him.

Yes, he was, but why was she telling him that?

Oh! He’d actually forgotten about Kee making the attempt to climb on Prince Horsey with him.

Was Kee really sitting on the horse with him right now?

He couldn’t feel anything—which he’d known, logically, but it was still a weird realization.

Given the finite length of a horse’s back, it probably meant Kee was either pressed up right against him, or actually sitting in him, which was an even weirder thought.

Prince Horsey hadn’t reacted as though anything had changed, either, though Renny and Kee had said that was the case. But Perian had apparently still hoped for… something.

But everything seemed just as it always did.

“Where are we riding to?” Perian asked.

She beamed at him. “Oh, we don’t go very far. Just out to the beginning of the hills and back. It’s not very exciting.”

“It sounds wonderful. Let’s go.”

It seemed to be at this point that everyone else realized Perian was coming along for this ride. There were some exchanges of looks between the Warriors, but no one actually said anything.

And then Molun said, “Oh, do we get company today?”