Chapter Two
“Y ou look a little lost.”
Perian clapped a hand to his heart and acknowledged that if he’d been able to throw fireballs, this person would have been toast.
The top of their head was about even with Perian’s nose, the cylindrical beads braided into their dark hair indicating they identified as non-binary. They had a sharply pointed chin, an equally sharp nose, and large brown eyes. Perian thought they looked to be about his age, maybe a couple years older. They were wearing the tunic, leather vest, and arm bracers that marked them as a Warrior. The crest stamped in the vest clarified they were a Mage Warrior: two crossed swords and a representation of one of the elements in each of the resulting quadrants.
“I am totally lost,” he agreed.
“And trying to get away from all the excitement?” they suggested.
“Desperately,” he admitted.
They eyed him up and down. “You won’t fit in my shoes, but I’m sure we can borrow something that will work.”
They seemed both kind and practical, and despite the mixed results Perian had had with strangers lately, he found himself following his new ally to the laundry, where they appropriated a coat that made Perian look halfway presentable. They disappeared and returned a moment later with a pair of shoes.
“I only need them to get to the inn,” he told them. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“How about I walk with you?” they suggested.
Things certainly hadn’t gone well the last time Perian had walked anywhere alone, and he had a good feeling about this Mage Warrior.
“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to impose.
They nodded. “I can bring everything back, though chances are, no one will even have noticed they’re gone.”
Perian made a face. “Coat might need to be laundered again.”
Their lips twitched up into a smile. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
Perian couldn’t help but laugh a bit, feeling a bit of tension ease inside him. “It’s been a weird few days.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
The question was inviting without pressure, and Perian found that he did, actually, so he stuck out his hand.
“I’m Perian, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
They smiled at him and shook with a firm grip. “Nisal, and likewise.”
“You haven’t heard the whole ridiculous story. You might change your mind.”
“Try me.”
So as Nisal led Perian out of the castle—he was so glad he was with them, they just waved cheerfully at the Warriors at the gate and headed straight out—Perian told them all about his week, starting with the pub then moving through to this morning, though he glossed over a few of the details. Nisal was an excellent listener, and Perian felt no hesitation in confiding in them. It was the exact opposite of how he’d felt when he’d been followed out of the pub and this whole mess had started.
They were well on the way to the inn by the time he finished. He was grateful for Nisal’s knowledge of the city.
They made a face. “It sounds like you’ve been having a bit of a rough go of it.”
“It’s been incredibly unexpected.” Perian made a face. “I’m not even actually sure how long I was here. None of it’s gone the way I thought it would.”
They cast a sly glance at him through their lashes, their eyes gleaming. “ None of it?”
Perian laughed. “Well, that went the way I hoped, at least to start.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “But as lovely as it was at the time—and it really was—I can’t honestly say right now that I’d do it again knowing what followed.”
Their brow furrowed, then they nodded. After a long moment of silence, they said, “Molun wasn’t exaggerating about Brannal not bringing people home.”
“But you know why he actually did it.”
This had been about his injury. Anything more had been a… a one-time side benefit or something.
“But Molun wasn’t entirely wrong in his suppositions either,” Nisal argued.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that Brannal wasn’t acting altogether to type. I’d want more information before I decided I was never doing something ever again.”
Perian snorted. That wasn’t actually what he’d said, but—“I don’t think I’m going to be given the choice, but thanks for not acting like I’m the dirt beneath your boots.”
They rolled their eyes. “Cormal can be a bit…”
“Yeah, I got that,” Perian agreed.
They laughed and then said, “This is you, yes?”
Perian blinked. This was his inn. It was a good thing Nisal had been paying attention, or Perian would probably have walked right past it.
“Yes, this is me. Just give me two minutes, and I’ll have this all back to you.”
Perian retrieved his key from the desk and dashed upstairs. He pulled on the first coat and pair of shoes he could find, then shucked them off again as he realized he should really return Brannal’s borrowed clothing as well. He yanked his own clothing on and rushed back downstairs to give Nisal everything.
“Here’s all the clothes, including the ones from Brannal, if you don’t mind returning them.” They took them all with a smile, and Perian couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you so much. I thought I was going to be trapped there. Like one of those nightmares where the corridors go on and on forever. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time,” they said cheerfully, and that did make Perian laugh.
“No offense, but I’m kind of hoping your skills won’t be needed ever again.”
They just grinned at him, waved, and headed back the way they’d come.
Perian let out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and made himself go back inside. This time, he requested a bath.
While part of him wished solely to fall into his bed and pretend the last few days hadn’t happened, he knew he would feel better once he was clean.
The friendly person at the desk assured him that bathing room two would be available for him in ten minutes, so Perian was pretty sure that was their way of telling him that bathing was a great idea. But at least they smiled as they said it.
Perian also confirmed with them what day it was. If they found this question odd, they didn’t let on, which he appreciated. He’d been with Brannal for six days, so he’d completely missed the Water Festival. But clearly, nothing about this visit was going to plan.
In the bath less than a quarter of an hour later, Perian soaped himself up and scrubbed himself clean, not letting himself think about the fact that he was removing any lingering traces of Brannal from his skin. All right, so he was thinking about it a little, but he was still scrubbing, and that was better than his first frozen impulse to climb out of the tub and see if he couldn’t possibly preserve those traces, which was ridiculous . He had never felt this way about someone he’d had sex with before, and it was disconcerting.
It might feel like a major upheaval in his life right now, but Perian would surely gain perspective with time. Moving forward, he would be much more careful when he went to any public houses. In fact, it might be a little while before he did go back to a pub. He liked the music, the dancing, and the chance to meet people, but none of that particularly appealed under the current circumstances. Maybe he’d just go home.
He drained the water and filled the tub one more time to give himself a final wash to make sure that he was really, properly clean. He climbed out and toweled himself dry, then looked in the mirror. He could almost pretend that the last week hadn’t happened, were it not for a slightly wounded look in his eyes, the faint traces of a few bruises, and the knot that was still there in his belly, making him wish for things that he couldn’t possibly have.
Then his stomach gurgled, reminding him altogether more prosaically that he’d scarcely had a couple mouthfuls of tea for breakfast, and it had to be nearly lunchtime now. He asked the attendant in the hall for food to be served to him in his little sitting room because he didn’t think he could manage more people today.
Back in his room, he sat in front of the vanity and selected beads for his hair. Years ago, his father had bought him a small metal container with clever hinges that allowed different sections to move out of the way to reveal still more beads. After considering for a long moment, Perian went with three clay beads painted a deep purple, which stood out but not too much in his dark hair. He’d always identified as male, and he’d amassed quite a collection since his bead ceremony when he was nine. His father had gifted him with a wide variety, and Perian had bought more while in town on his sporadic visits over the years.
He braided the strands of hair to keep the beads in place and then loosely tied everything back once more. His hair had a bit of curl to it, and he preferred not to pull it back too tightly. He wondered what had happened to the green glass beads he’d been wearing when he’d been attacked. Then he wondered if he actually still wanted them. He supposed it was a moot point. They were gone now.
The food arrived, and he was soon consuming a perfectly pleasant repast. It in no way resembled the food he had been eating when he was recovering with Brannal, and he rolled his eyes at himself as he thought of the man yet again. But perhaps he should give himself a little grace. It was only this morning, after all, that he’d woken in Brannal’s bed with particularly unrealistic dreams.
He pushed the last of his food aside, no longer hungry. Then he went through to the bedroom and collapsed back on the bed, limbs spread. He stared up at the ceiling. Like he’d told Nisal, he wasn’t altogether certain that he’d repeat this overall experience if given the chance. But when he closed his eyes and let himself dwell on what had happened last night, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it.
More than anything, he was having trouble reconciling the two parts, last night and this morning. His father had been a canny merchant for most of his life, and he had taught Perian that people could behave in different ways solely to achieve their own goals.
This city had certainly confirmed that lesson to him, but he still found it hard to reconcile Brannal’s behavior—even as he recognized that could simply be because he didn’t want it to mean what it likely did. Brannal might not often take people to bed according to his fellow Mage Warriors, but he might still have simply availed himself of the opportunity that Perian had literally thrown in his lap. He snorted to himself. No, he couldn’t really blame the man for taking what Perian had very clearly been offering.
Still, that didn’t mean Brannal had needed to end everything quite so abruptly this morning. Perian could actually take a hint, and it did not need to be the size of the anvil that Brannal had dropped on the breakfast table.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been lying there when there was a knock at the door. Assuming the staff had come to clear away his dishes, he called, “Come in,” and heard the door open and then shut. There was silence for a long moment, and Perian was just wondering if the staff could possibly be that quiet when a voice called a little uncertainly from his sitting room.
“Perian?”
He bolted upright because he recognized that voice, even if the tone wasn’t one he was used to. He blew out a breath. If he’d had the slightest idea that it could be Brannal at the door, he would have… what? What exactly would he have done? Closed his eyes and pretended that he wasn’t there? Left the man in the hall? Perian drew another breath, let it out slowly, and then rose to his feet and made himself walk out into the sitting room.
Brannal was hovering by the entrance, and his eyes snapped to Perian’s when he appeared in the doorway. Perian gestured.
“I thought you were here for the dishes.”
Brannal blinked. “Ah, no.”
Perian huffed a breath, bleakly amused that the other man appeared to be so wrong-footed, only then he realized how Brannal had to have found out where he was.
“Foolishly,” Perian said tightly, “I actually thought Nisal wanted to help me.”
It stung, more than he thought it would. He reminded himself that it wasn’t like he really knew any of these people.
Brannal’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, Nisal absolutely wanted to help you. I had to promise I was here to apologize, and they threatened to toss me off the top of the tallest tower if I upset you more.”
Perian eyed Brannal up and down and raised an eyebrow. “You’re twelve times bigger than they are.”
Brannal huffed a laugh. “They control air.”
Perian thought of the gust of wind that had blown Perian’s attackers away from him. He was pretty sure Brannal could control air as well as fire. It was rare for a Mage to be able to control multiple elements, or so he’d always understood, so Perian was quite sure Brannal could handle himself.
“Why are you actually here?” he asked.
Frowning, Brannal asked, “What do you mean?”
“You had to promise them that you were here to apologize.”
He continued to look confused for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed, and his tone was stiff. “I meant that in truth. I am not in the habit of lying.”
“Just of bedding someone and throwing them out the next morning?” Perian accused.
Brannal looked genuinely offended. “You’re the one who said you were going to leave!”
“I can tell when I’m not wanted,” Perian said tightly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Didn’t you?” Perian demanded.
Brannal’s nostrils flared, and for a moment, Perian thought that he was going to be witness to the other man losing his temper—just as he remembered that like Cormal, that could be in the form of fireballs. But then Brannal’s eyes flickered closed, he drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly before opening his eyes again.
Carefully, he said, “I believe I made a misjudgment.”
Perian raised an eyebrow. If this was Brannal’s version of an apology, it wasn’t great so far.
“A misjudgment,” Perian repeated flatly.
Brannal nodded. He hesitated for a moment, and it looked like perhaps he was just going to leave it at that, but then he blurted out, “It was the thanking me.”
Perian frowned, confused. “Are you saying you got angry because I didn’t thank you enough ?”
Brannal looked as uncomfortable as Perian felt. “No! Rather the opposite. I thought you were thanking me too much.”
Perian still didn’t get it. “I mean, I know I said thank you a few times, but I was there for days, and you did save my life.”
Only the other man still looked uncomfortable, and he seemed to be having trouble meeting Perian’s eyes.
“No, I thought… I thought last night was your way of… repaying me for what I’d done.”
Perian digested this with rising indignation. “You thought I had sex with you to repay you for saving my life?”
Brannal winced.
Perian made a scoffing noise. “I scarcely know whether to be flattered or offended that my life ranked on par with a blow job!”
Brannal’s ears went red. “I might have thought you hadn’t any money, and so that was your way—”
“—of paying you , I get it,” Perian ground out. “Forgive me for not realizing that your saving my life was a transaction with a bill.”
“It wasn’t!” Brannal snapped, meeting Perian’s eyes so he could glare at him. “Of course it wasn’t! So, this morning when I woke up and realized that you might have thought you needed to pay me back, that you might have thought you couldn’t say no, that I was no better than those men, I couldn’t…”
And abruptly, the knot that had been tying up Perian’s stomach since this morning unraveled.
“Let me get this straight.”
Brannal looked as though he was bracing himself for an angry rant.
Perian crossed his arms over his chest and stared Brannal down. “After really awesome sex that we both wanted, you woke up this morning worried that you’d accidentally pressured me in some way. Instead of remembering my boundless enthusiasm or asking me about it, you let me think you couldn’t care less about me and sent me away.”
Brannal’s eyes narrowed. “I did ask you how you were, and you ’re the one who said you were going to go.”
Perian countered, “I told you I was fine, and you were acting like my presence was the most inconvenient thing that had ever inconvenienced you.”
“I didn’t want to make any demands.”
“You could have asked me to stay.”
“No, I couldn’t,” Brannal said with a definite shake of his head.
Perian had been waiting to hear any sort of indication that Brannal wanted him to stay, and Brannal had been carefully avoiding the same so that Perian didn’t feel pressured.
Perian blew out a breath. “To avoid further misjudgments, allow me to clarify: those men followed me from the pub where I’d been dancing—and not with them. They didn’t like that I wouldn’t take them up on their offer to show me a good time. I can assure you, I didn’t actually owe them anything.”
Wincing, Brannal conceded, “I might have taken more stock of their words than I should have.”
“I would certainly have preferred that you clarified with me. If I did offer sex for favors or money, it certainly wouldn’t be without discussing it with the other person first.”
Brannal made a face of discomfort, but then his lip curled up on one side. “Not even when it comes to reciprocal pleasure?”
Perian grumbled, “He was asking for it.”
The smirk grew. “Him or me?”
And Perian couldn’t help but laugh a little. “ Both of you.”
Brannal sighed, looking more repentant. “I am sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to upset you, and I definitely didn’t mean to expose you to the, er, gauntlet in the corridor.”
Knowing the assumptions Brannal had made, Perian could now see how he really had been trying to give Perian a safe out—and no one could have anticipated that corridor full of way-too-invested people.
Perian eyed Brannal. “I’ll forgive you on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Brannal asked hopefully.
“Come into the bedroom and find out.”
Brannal’s eyes snapped to Perian’s.
Raising an eyebrow, Perian said, “Unless I’m making you uncomfortable, and you’d actually like to just leave?”
Brannal cursed at him, but he was smiling, and he strode across the room, pulled Perian into his arms, and kissed him.
Perian melted into the kiss, twining his arms around Brannal’s neck and pulling him as close as possible. He really liked being pressed against all that muscle.
Eventually, he managed to murmur, “This isn’t the bedroom.”
Brannal let out a rumble of sound that went straight to Perian’s cock.
“Mm. You did say bedroom, didn’t you?”
That was all the warning Perian had before he was hoisted into Brannal’s arms and carried directly to the bed. Perian had not been in the best condition to appreciate this last time. Those biceps. They were glorious.
Brannal laid Perian down carefully and then crawled on top of him, which was precisely what Perian wanted. Well, nearly.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Perian pointed out.
So Brannal sat up enough that he could strip. This was actually a hilariously involved process, because he needed to undo and strip off his arm guards and pauldrons, his sword belt with sword, scabbard, and sheathed dagger, two daggers at his back, then his leather vest, another dagger, his padded tunic, and finally his shirt.
His muscles had been wonderful through all those layers, but they were fabulous fully revealed. Perian hummed in appreciation, and then his gaze caught on Brannal’s trousers.
“You might as well do the bottom half at the same time.”
Brannal shot him a look. “Oh, I might as well, might I?”
“Since you’re working on it,” Perian said with a shrug, as though it didn’t matter to him.
“Maybe I’d like you to work on it,” Brannal suggested.
Perian’s lips quirked. “Oh, would you like me to get on my knees and pull off your boots?”
Brannal’s breath caught. Really, he was too easy. Perian suited action to words and slid to the floor. Perian unlaced and pulled off one boot and then the other (and found another dagger). He’d witnessed Brannal’s ability to fend off a whole group of attackers with simply the threat of wind and a fireball, but the man clearly didn’t depend upon the elements to be able to defend himself. This probably warranted further discussion, but at the moment, Perian was kneeling between his legs, and he had other priorities.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Would you like me to do something else while I’m down here?”
Brannal swallowed thickly. “Only if you’d like to.”
Grinning at him, Perian skimmed his hands up the inside of his legs, still encased in those trousers. “Good answer. And I’d very much like to.”
Perian had been under the impression that he wasn’t going to get to touch the man’s cock ever again, which was a shame given how beautiful it was. Perian very much enjoyed the sounds Brannal made when Perian touched it.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he undid Brannal’s trousers, fished out his cock, and swallowed it down, loving the punched-out sound Brannal made, the curse that fell from his lips, the hands that came to curl in Perian’s hair and tell their own story about how much Brannal was enjoying this. Perian sucked hard and fast until Brannal was coming down Perian’s throat again, the perfect rush.
Brannal helped Perian get up into the bed with him, and then he unfastened Perian’s trousers and pulled out his cock. His other hand teased Perian’s balls, making Perian groan and try to buck. Brannal moved his hand to Perian’s hip to casually hold him down. With a light touch, he traced the vein on the underside of Perian’s cock, circled the head, and stroked the slit.
“Please,” Perian gasped out.
Brannal’s touch grew firmer, his hand stroking up and down Perian’s cock in strong, sure movements, and it was an embarrassingly short amount of time before Perian’s orgasm burst out of him, pleasure flooding through him.
“C’mere,” Brannal murmured, pulling him closer and kissing him like he was trying to lick every trace of himself out of Perian’s mouth. Perian groaned, clutching at him and hoping this was a chance to redo their first encounter.
Eventually, the kissing subsided, and Perian dozed, cuddled in Brannal’s arms. When Perian woke, Brannal was still there, which was a definite improvement over this morning.
“So,” Brannal said, when he realized Perian was awake, “I have a proposition for you.”
“Do you?” Perian asked, rolling against him.
Brannal stopped his hips, but he was smiling. “Not that kind of proposition.” Then he amended, “Not only that kind of proposition.”
Perian couldn’t help but grin. “What are you proposing?”
“First, uh, am I interrupting why you’re here in the city?”
Perian shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It’s a visit of leisure.”
It was hard to have plans when you didn’t really know why you’d come, you’d just felt that you needed to. Perian was fortunate that his father had left him with more than enough money to support himself.
“How long are you here?” Brannal asked.
Perian shrugged. “As long as I feel like it. I didn’t have any set plans.”
He usually stayed until he felt the desperate urge to be home again, even if it had never felt the same since he’d lost his father.
Brannal nodded. “Right. Then I am definitely proposing that you come stay with me. That you be my guest. Properly. Give us a chance to enjoy what’s between us.”
Perian sucked in a breath. It was exactly what he’d been hoping for this morning. It was hardly a request to become a long-term lover, but it was a far cry from a single occasion in or near a pub. In fact, given everything that had been going on, it was better than any offer that Perian could possibly have expected.
“Are you sure it would be all right?” he asked.
“Yes, Mage Warriors are permitted to have guests,” Brannal explained. “There are… overnight guests with some frequency, but it’s also not unusual for family or friends to visit for longer given how tied Mage Warriors are to their duties.”
Well, that made sense, Perian supposed. Training to fight demons, actually fighting demons, and protecting the royal family and the general population probably didn’t come with a lot of time for holidays. Perian’s life could not be more different.
He kind of liked the suggestion that was in the same category as family and friends. But the fact remained that it was probably presumptuous to act like he belonged there.
“What’s the fee to stay?” Perian asked.
Brannal looked immediately offended. “There isn’t a cost!”
“It’s just, I’m being housed and fed, and I would have paid to stay here at the inn,” Perian pointed out.
The expression on Brannal’s face could probably best be described as mulish. “You’re my guest .”
Well, that seemed pretty clear. Still, Perian couldn’t help but question, “It’s not going to get you in trouble? Me visiting in particular, I mean?”
Brannal laughed. “Who do you imagine would question me about it?”
Perian tried to sound casual. “Oh, I don’t know. Cormal, was it, didn’t seem to be particularly happy this morning.”
Brannal shrugged this off. “You let me handle Cormal.”
Perian was pretty sure that Cormal had been yelling that he was Secundus, which made him second in command of the Mage Warriors. Perian kind of thought that was a problem waiting to happen, but Brannal didn’t seem at all concerned.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Brannal rocked them together, sending a shiver of pleasure up Perian’s spine and making a smile grow on Brannal’s face.
“I’m altogether certain. You?”
Perian nodded, allowing optimism and hope to buoy him. “You know, I think I am.”