Page 56 of The Lost Art of Revealing Hidden Truths (The Lost Arts #3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

P erian froze. It was like his whole body stopped working because it didn’t know how to process this. Brannal’s face lit up as soon as he saw Perian, and then he was striding across the room and enfolding Perian in his arms, holding him tight, tight, tight.

Perian just stood there, still frozen, even as part of him melted. Part of him clamored that this was exactly what he wanted more than anything, and it was here , and wasn’t that the most wonderful thing that had ever happened?

But why was he here? What had happened?

Brannal finally pulled back, but he cupped Perian’s face with his hands and peered into Perian’s eyes.

“You’re all right?” he demanded. “They didn’t hurt you?”

And it was that, finally, that snapped Perian back to reality, and he took a step away, pulling out of the other man’s grasp.

“When they told me that everyone thought it would be better if I left and no one was there to say anything to the contrary?”

Brannal’s face twisted. “I’m so sorry, Perian. ”

Perian fought with himself, part of him just wanting to gobble up the words, swallow every bit of them, clutch at the man again. But he’d stood alone in that room facing the Queen and Cormal because no one had chosen to stand by his side, and he couldn’t simply forget that.

“I imagine you were trying to make everything easier,” Perian said stiffly.

“No, Perian I—”

“—And I know it’s your job and this is difficult for you, but I’m not sure I can handle—”

“I didn’t know!” Brannal snapped.

Perian frowned. “What do you mean?”

Brannal scoffed, sounding deeply unhappy. “I was hunting demons.”

Perian swallowed. “I guess just one in the castle could be handled by others, right?”

Brannal’s face twisted, and he reached for Perian, but Perian stepped back again, and Brannal let his hand fall.

The words burned like acid, but Perian made himself say them. “I really needed you.”

Brannal nodded. “I know.” He grimaced and corrected himself.

“I know that now . But it was a report of a huge nest of nightmares and wraiths. They don’t usually nest together, and it was so big and unusual that it was of huge concern.

It was the only thing that could have pulled me away from the castle while you were still unconscious.

I took Arvus and Delana with me. Simiala and Tinnadal, too.

It was out past the tenth district watch station.

It took twelve days to get there. It was practically as far away as you could get from the castle and still be in the country. ”

Oh. Well. Could Perian actually rank himself higher than the safety of everyone in the country?

“Did you get them?” he asked.

To his surprise, Brannal shook his head, face etched into bitter lines that Perian had never seen before.

“Because there was no nest. There never had been. The report was falsified solely to get me out of the castle, the one thing that could make me leave you.”

Oh.

“You mean—”

Brannal’s jaw was clenched, and he nodded.

“A strong enough force that required water and earth to counteract, so I took more of your friends with me. And while I was gone, as soon as you were awake, each person who had agreed to keep an eye on you was told that someone else was doing it. They were given urgent business, and you were swept up and threatened and thrown out of the castle before any of us knew what had happened.”

Perian sucked in a breath. “I shouldn’t really be surprised, I suppose.”

But he hadn’t… Somehow, he still hadn’t been expecting that, no matter what had come before.

Brannal looked truly distressed. “I’m so sorry they made you think that none of us cared what happened to you. We care so much, Perian.”

“Do you?” Perian made himself ask. “Because it wasn’t just that meeting.”

As awful as it had been.

But Brannal was already nodding. “I know. I was an idiot. I can’t apologize enough. The Princess already threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t get my act together.”

Perian made a scoffing sound that almost sounded right. His throat was thick, and tears were prickling his eyes.

Brannal’s lips tipped up fleetingly, but the smile soon faded.

“From the moment that I woke up and couldn’t find you, I panicked. I knew immediately that something had happened. I got people looking for you. We scoured the castle. Cormal kept telling me to calm down and not overreact, that it was bound to be something simple.”

Perian made a noise of disgust.

Brannal’s eyes flickered shut for a moment. He opened them again and nodded. “I know now how self-serving that was. I still can’t totally believe it.”

“How did you find me?” Perian asked.

He’d wondered, and he’d assumed it would remain a mystery he’d never know the answer to.

“Gribon,” Brannal said.

Perian’s head snapped up. “What?”

Gribon had been friends with Fomadin and Venoran. Sure, he’d apologized to Perian after the trial. But… what? What did he have to do with anything?

Brannal nodded.

“I don’t think Cormal carefully planned what he was doing.

He decided you needed to be stopped and that he had to get you out of the castle—but that required actually getting you out of the castle.

He went to someone he knew you’d had problems with, someone who wouldn’t be questioned by the Warriors or Mage Warriors, and told him that you had to be moved, that you were a danger and needed to be gotten out of the castle urgently.

“Gribon went along with it, I’m still not sure how willingly, but the only place he could think to stash you with so little time to consider was with Fomadin’s sister. The problem was that she was already harboring not only Fomadin but also Venoran, whom Fomadin had freed.”

Perian couldn’t let that go.

“You knew he’d escaped? And you didn’t say anything?”

Brannal’s face was tight. “Just one more bad decision, yes. I thought that no danger could come to you in the castle and that you would rest easier not knowing.”

“That wasn’t fair,” Perian protested.

Brannal shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t common knowledge that he’d escaped, but I should have told you the truth.”

“Thank you,” Perian said stiffly. “I know it probably wouldn’t have changed anything—it wasn’t like I wandered out into town on my own—but I could have, and I would still have liked to have been told.”

Brannal nodded.

After a moment, he continued. “Gribon caught a glimpse of Venoran as he was dropping you off. He explained to Fomadin what Cormal had said, that you just needed to be kept out of the way for a few days and then gotten out of the city. But he apparently had enough misgivings that he eventually sought me out. Despite what it meant to reveal his own involvement, he told me what happened and brought me there. By that time, the house was in flames, Fomadin and his sister were falling over themselves to blame you, and I was barely in time to save you.”

Brannal’s face was twisted with pain.

“I got you back to the castle, but the fire had already spread to the adjacent houses. I wanted to stay with you, I swear, but I left the doctor with you, and I went back to help put the fire out with Delana and Simiala. By the time the fire was under control and I returned to the castle, Cormal had told everyone you were a carnalion and had you thrown in the dungeon. We nearly came to blows, and it was obvious that he thought that I was under your influence, as absurd as that was. The Queen was involved by then. ”

Brannal looked incredibly frustrated. “I realized that emotional appeals were not helping your situation; to the contrary, it further convinced them that I was being unduly influenced. So I tried to keep everything rational. I made sure that the doctor continued to see you, because we would never deny anyone medical aid. I ensured that you had blankets and were as comfortable as I could make you, but I took a step back. I tried to act as Summus in everything, with the intention that once everyone had the chance to calm down, they would all see that no matter what labels Cormal used, it didn’t change anything about you or me, and we’d be able to figure it out. ”

Brannal looked thoroughly ashamed, shoulders slumped and expression chagrined.

“Not only did I underestimate the Queen and Cormal, I didn’t think about what that would look like to you , that you could only see the way I was behaving, not the way I was feeling on the inside.

I swear that all I was trying to do was protect you, but I realize that’s not what it looked like. ”

Perian digested this. It was really the best possible construction that could be placed on the events which had occurred.

He could all-too-easily imagine the Queen and Cormal isolating Perian like that.

He’d known, hadn’t he, that Renny wouldn’t have stood for it if she’d been involved.

He’d watched them cut off the possibility of him saying goodbye to anyone, getting any support that way, so why hadn’t it occurred to him that they would do it the other way, too?

But it hadn’t crossed his mind that Brannal wouldn’t know it was happening, because that was ridiculous…

unless you were so underhanded that you actually lured him out of the castle with the only thing that would make him go.

It was very smart, really.

Perian would be impressed, if it wasn’t so nasty.

And it didn’t address everything.

“You knew I was a carnalion,” he said, trying to keep his voice even.

Brannal’s features twitched minutely. “I… suspected.”

“From the moment you tried to strangle me when we had sex for the first time?”

A visible flinch this time. He nodded. “I’ve had a carnalion try to feed from me before. You’re a lot gentler, but I thought it was the same thing. Only you didn’t react like any carnalion I’d ever met.”

“Or burn like them?”

Brannal went poker straight, his eyes boring into Perian’s. “I didn’t plan that. Perian, I wouldn’t ever! I swear!”