Page 42 of The Lost Art of Revealing Hidden Truths (The Lost Arts #3)

Brannal seemed to understand, though, because he nodded, although he said, “And I want to make sure that you’re all right.”

Perian said automatically, “I’m fine.”

“That means you need to eat and be well rested and actually think about yourself,” Brannal told him.

Right. Right. Those were all good things. Perian was eating right now, and he’d slept in two different beds last night, and he was… pretty sure he was thinking about himself, wasn’t he?

Brannal said, “Would you like to ride me in one of the chairs by the fire?”

Perian leaped at the opportunity. It was close quarters and a bit of awkward maneuvering, but this was definitely Perian riding him to messy completion in the armchair and then slumping against him, basking in the afterglow.

“You feel so good,” Perian told him .

“You feel so good, too,” Brannal said, pressing a kiss to his lips. “If I go to work, are you going to go see Molun and Arvus?”

Perian nodded. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else, although he supposed at some point he would need to participate in training again.

He wanted to have picnics again, too, and see his other friends.

But his focus still seemed to be very much on Molun right now, which made sense, since Molun was the one who’d almost died.

“Please remember to eat something later,” Brannal told him.

Perian nodded again, then went to crawl back into bed with Molun and Arvus, who once again accepted his arrival.

He wasn’t sure that he was going to feel totally normal until Molun was out of bed and could walk around on two feet again.

There was something in Perian that said he needed to be here, needed to be close.

And Molun was sleeping a lot, too, so at least that way, Perian had company, and Arvus could read to them.

Maybe Perian had kind of picked up… sympathetic fatigue?

Maybe he hadn’t been injured physically, but the attack had taken a toll?

He should ask Nisal if they were sleeping a lot.

Brannal collected him at dinner time, and thankfully fed him again in the sitting room.

He would have to get back out to see everyone again, of course he would, but right at the moment, he couldn’t imagine it.

Too many people? Too far away from Molun?

He wasn’t sure what it was, but it definitely felt wrong.

Brannal took him to bed again, which really was the best. Perian didn’t think he would ever feel anything better than that.

He woke again in the middle of the night and needed to go see Molun.

He really was messing up his sleep schedule, wasn’t he?

He lay there for another couple of minutes to see if he could just fall back asleep, but he quickly determined that wasn’t going to happen.

He pulled on sleep trousers and slipped out of the sitting room, closing the door and turning and… almost walking right into Cormal.

Perian leaped back, hand clapped to his chest.

“Fire and water, you scared me.”

“Where are you going?”

The words were short and sharp, and it was maybe a little much to be demanding like that, but it was the middle of the night. And it wasn’t like it was a secret.

“Just going to see Molun,” Perian told him.

Cormal’s bright green eyes were hard, and there was something that Perian had never seen in them before, or maybe it was just a layer unmasked, Cormal’s dislike of him laid bare, but there was a fierce edge to it. Hatred?

Cormal asked, “Is it easier when they’re injured?”

“What are you talking about?” Perian wanted to know. “Is what easier?”

“Feeding.”

Perian squinted at him, utterly confused. “We’re not… eating?”

Cormal’s lips curled up in a sneer. “What was last night, then?”

“Whoa,” Perian said, “were you watching me? This is starting to get a little creepy, Cormal.”

Like, unacceptable levels of creepy, no matter that he was Brannal’s friend.

“I’ve been watching you,” Cormal said, confirming that this had definitely gone way beyond what was all right. “I know you’ve seduced everyone with your unnaturally alluring self, but you haven’t seduced me!”

“I’m not trying to seduce anyone,” Perian said cautiously, feeling like he’d been dropped in a conversation he didn’t understand.

The sneer deepened. “No? You just happened to throw yourself at Brannal and worm your way into his bed? As if he’d ever actually like someone like you!”

Perian tried to brush this off. “He does like me.”

“Oh, yes?” Cormal said, eyes narrowed and sharp. “What about when you turn that seduction off? How does he feel when you’re not trapping him and sucking him dry?”

Perian gaped at him, and couldn’t quite decide whether he was offended or found that hilarious. His sense of humor came to the rescue.

“He, uh, actually really likes it when I suck him dry?”

Cormal lunged forward, and Perian scuttled back, feeling the first jolt of actual fear twine through him.

“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Cormal snarled.

Perian raised his hands, placating. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Cormal, but I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I would never hurt Brannal.”

“You’re hurting him right now,” Cormal said through gritted teeth. “I know he’s figured it out. I heard him telling Arvus about feeding you. I don’t know if he’s just too blinded by lust to stop it, or if he thinks that he can control you, but I won’t let this happen again. I won’t! ”

Perian stared at Cormal in genuine shock, not having any idea what he was talking about and starting to genuinely worry for his safety.

“All right, look,” Perian said slowly. “I’m going to go back to Brannal’s room. We can… we can talk in the morning, all right?”

“Going to suck him dry again?” Cormal asked, face hard.

“I can see it wasn’t the time for jokes,” Perian admitted.

“But that’s what this is for you, isn’t it?” Cormal demanded, voice biting. “A great big joke? Why else would a carnalion come to prey on Mage Warriors sworn to slay them?”

The world screeched to a halt.

“What?” Perian said, stunned.

Cormal scoffed. “Don’t even bother. You think I haven’t figured it out?

You think I haven’t seen the way you pull them to you?

The way Brannal feeds you? The way you know who wants who and stopped someone who was trying to take something that wasn’t desired?

How did you know something was going on in that room, Perian?

The door was shut. No one was making any noise.

I asked.” His eyes narrowed. “You got sloppy, and you might think that you’re dragging the whole lot of us around by our cocks, but you haven’t fooled me. ”

Perian swallowed, mouth gone suddenly dry.

“I’m not—I’m not a carnalion.”

Cormal’s lip curled. “You just happen to be attractive to everyone and feed off sex, is that it?”

Perian felt like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff.

He shook his head, a little bit frantically. “I’m not!”

“Oh, Perian,” Cormal said, shaking his head, that ugly sneer on his lips, “you should have tried seduction before you tried to fool me .”

He moved so fast, Perian didn’t have time to react, the blow making the world go suddenly and abruptly dark.