Page 25 of The Lost Art of Revealing Hidden Truths (The Lost Arts #3)
Chapter Eleven
A few days later, Bennan pulled Perian aside during training and let him know that he and Chamis would be taking a rotation at the seventh district watch station, and they would be gone for about two and a half months.
“Oh,” Perian said, a little bit blankly. “I’m going to miss you so much. But I’m glad you get to go together!”
Bennan laughed and explained how he’d asked Onadal to start assigning them together, and as long as they behaved during their shifts, that was what he was going to do.
“Oh, that’s so wonderful!” Perian gushed. “I’m so happy for you.”
It was clear that Bennan was happy, too. Perian had never seen him as content as when he was with Chamis. He kept flirting with people, much the way Perian did, but it was entirely obvious where his heart lay.
“We all need to do our stint out there, you know?” Bennan explained. “But Chamis doesn’t much like change, and I’m hoping that he’ll be more comfortable out there with me.”
“I’m sure you’ll help,” Perian agreed. “And I hope you have a lot of fun out there.”
Bennan grinned at him. “I’m going with Chamis, so how can I not? ”
Perian could only grin back. Bennan winked at him and then sauntered back over to his man (and ostensibly his training duties).
That was exactly how Perian felt about Brannal; the situation wasn’t always ideal, but it was so much better with the person you loved.
And Perian wanted everyone else to feel as happy as he did.
He was going to miss Bennan and Chamis, but for the first time in a long time, he felt confident that it was all right that they were going away.
Perian was going to be here when they got back.
As the weeks passed, while it wouldn’t be accurate to say that people had forgotten about Venoran, the unhappy events were less top of mind.
Even Cormal seemed to turn a corner, so Perian didn’t even have that to worry about anymore.
Oh, he was still quiet, and he could still come out with snappy comments from time to time.
Perian would catch Cormal staring at him at dinner sometimes, but it felt like the level of antagonism had died way down to a sort of…
low simmer, and that was so much better than open hostility.
It made everything feel possible, and Perian loved being able to look forward with hope while feeling that everyone around him was doing the same.
It didn’t totally make sense; of course, people were still sad, and bad things still happened.
But it felt good overall , a buzz that Perian could feel in his bones.
Crops had been growing extremely well, and several times, Perian had been able to help the doctor and Nisal with more harvesting and more salve and tonic preparation.
People were happy, already looking forward to the Earth Festival that was a couple months away.
“And after that, it’s my birthday!” Renny said excitedly. “We’re going to have a party!”
Renny would be turning thirteen. It still caught Perian off guard somehow, though of course she was getting older.
Thankfully, she was doing very well. The bout of dizziness had not recurred, and as summer neared its end, she was doing so well that the Queen—admittedly due to a lot of pressure from Renny, but still—had even allowed her to resume her riding lessons, though they had started right back at the beginning with her in the stable yard to start and Brannal and several air Mage Warriors present just in case.
Renny rolled her eyes but obeyed, because it hadn’t taken six years.
It hadn’t even taken a month. Truly, Perian was impressed.
It seemed like a spirit of hope had descended on the castle.
They’d weeded out some bad people who shouldn’t have been there, and they’d helped some people who were hurting.
Renny had suffered a setback but had come out of it kicking.
Perian and Brannal were doing great, Molun and Arvus always had fun, Bennan and Chamis were happy, and it seemed like the rest of the castle was following their example.
Fall was around the corner as the early days of September arrived.
Bennan and Chamis were off on their adventure, and Perian couldn’t wait to hear from them when they got back.
He wanted a first-hand account of just what it was like to be out there at a watch station for months, and Bennan had promised to provide one.
“You do realize I do these inspections with some regularity?” Brannal asked, bemused.
Perian had waved this aside. “I want to hear from them. From their current adventure, you know?”
Brannal gave him a funny look, but he seemed to realize that this was how Perian dealt with their absence. There was still that little bit of fear that something would happen to them, but if he focused on how they were going to tell him all about it when they got back, he felt a bit better.
Brannal did a fabulous job of distracting Perian with awesome sex, including several extremely enjoyable sessions in other locations around the castle. (He’d really thought the occasion in the library was a one-time occurrence, but he was very happy to be mistaken.)
It all felt just the way that it should, exactly what Perian could have hoped for short of actually figuring out how they were going to make this work for the long-term.
Well, it was working, but there were still some outstanding questions.
Perian wasn’t sure he was ready to give up his father’s estate, and Brannal was Summus, so it wasn’t like he could move there.
Perian could keep the estate but stay here (that’s what he was doing now, after all), but he would want to stay there sometimes.
But as long as he kept thinking of what he was doing now as a vacation, he could put off making a final decision.
He believed Brannal loved him, just as he frequently told Perian he did, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t still be a challenge to figure out how to make the future work.
But they’d committed to one another, and Perian believed that would last.
Everyone else seemed to think the same thing.
Molun told him that he couldn’t wait until Perian saw the Water Festival in the spring—and that would be a year from when he’d met Brannal and everyone here.
He’d been injured and in Brannal’s bed when the Water Festival had taken place last year.
That was still months away, of course, but it was spoken about like it didn’t occur to anyone that he wouldn’t be there .
Could you accidentally start something permanent with someone? Perian was technically still living out of his trunks. He hadn’t ruined any more shirts, but he and Brannal went out into the city for shopping occasionally, and it certainly felt very domestic.
Perian surprised Brannal with flowers from time to time. They might not be as fabulous as the gifts that Brannal had given Perian, but he hoped they encompassed his feelings at least a little.
Brannal’s face lit up when he saw the first bouquet.
“No one has ever got me flowers before. Thank you, Perian.”
He’d taken Perian over the table with the flowers in a vase in front of them—which had proved to be a mistake, actually, because they’d knocked them over in the exuberance of their movements.
But Brannal was able to easily get the water back into the vase, and the flowers, although they were slightly the worse for wear, were still very beautiful.
It made them laugh a lot, and Perian would now forever associate their scent with sex with Brannal, because they’d practically been shoved right in his face, and he’d been inhaling their heady scent while Brannal pounded into him from behind, and well…
There might be some inappropriate erections in the future, but it would be worth it for the happy memories.
He also remembered to speak to Arvus and then commission a satin robe for Brannal, which he presented to him one evening in early September.
This one was an emerald green, so much broader in the shoulders than Perian’s.
Brannal shivered as he pulled it on. “I see what you mean about the fabric. I feel naked. I can’t imagine wearing this in public.”
“It would definitely be a different look,” Perian said with a smile. He ran a hand down the flimsy cloth covering most of Brannal’s torso. “But it’s so fetching.”
Brannal eyed him. “Yeah? You don’t think it looks a little silly?”
“Do you think it looks silly on Molun?” Perian asked curiously.
“No, I suppose not,” Brannal conceded. “It just…”
But he didn’t seem to know how to finish that sentence.
Perian considered him, and then said carefully, “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it.”
He’d bought it as a gift for Brannal, ostensibly, but they both knew it had really been a gift for Perian .
Brannal’s eyes caught his. “What? No. It isn’t that.”
Perian continued to eye him, unsure. It had become clear to him that Brannal would do things for him that he wouldn’t do for anyone else.
“You really don’t have to wear it,” Perian assured him. “I won’t be offended, honest. Of course, I like to look at it, but it’s not meant to make you uncomfortable.”
“And you do like to look at it?” Brannal asked.
Perian wasn’t sure what he was really asking, but there was only one answer.
“Of course. But I don’t want to look at it if you’re not comfortable in it.
I mean, I like to look at you no matter what.
I like to look at you when you’re in full Mage Warrior uniform, when you’re naked, when you’re wearing sleep trousers—and everything in between.
When you’re in the bath, when you’re half-undressed.
When you’ve got your arms crossed and look like you’re going to fry the entire world with a giant fireball. I always, always like to look at you.”
Something had happened to Brannal’s expression as Perian was giving his impassioned speech. His face looked more relaxed, and so did his body, stretched out more naturally on the bed.