Chapter Four
B rannal checked at the door, apparently not expecting Perian to leap out of his seat. “Is everything all right?”
That was Perian’s question. He scanned Brannal carefully, but he looked fine. Of course, it wasn’t likely the man had been about to tackle the nest in person.
“Fine,” Perian said. “Is everything under control with the nest of wraiths?”
Nodding, Brannal assured him, “Yes, it was actually a report that arrived last week. It was investigated, and fortunately, there were only a handful of wraiths, which were promptly dispatched. The report was sorted wrong, that’s all.”
Perian breathed out a long sigh of relief. “I’m glad.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Brannal pressed.
“Just looking forward to the tour,” Perian said, not wanting to get into his overblown dread. “I mean, if that’s still on?”
Brannal smiled at him. “Of course. I’ve done a terrible job showing you around so far, haven’t I?”
Perian laughed, relaxing more. “Well, I confess that I probably couldn’t get around the castle on my own.”
“Come on,” Brannal said. “We definitely have to fix that.”
They headed out once more, and this time as they walked, Brannal explained that they were currently in one of four wings that was set around a huge inner quadrangle that was filled with gardens, training yards, and more. This wing was for the Mage Warriors. This was where they lived, trained, worked, and learned. They also trained with the Warriors, as it was essential they learn to work together.
There were nine novices right now, and the Mage Warriors all spent some time training them, although three Mage Warriors—Rollanor, Simiala, and Tinnadal—were the ones who taught them most often. They had an aptitude for teaching, and they controlled earth, water, and air, respectively. There were no novices who could control fire right now.
“Is it just you and Cormal?” Perian asked.
Brannal nodded. “It is the rarest form of magic.” His eyes narrowed as he studied Perian. “Does it concern you?”
“Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief. I was wondering how many people can lob fireballs at me.”
Brannal laughed and held out his hand, and a moment later, a fireball was floating in it, just like that. Brannal gave no indication that it was even warm, much less burning hot. It just hovered there, vibrant and glowing.
Brannal’s lip curled. “Does this alarm you?”
Perian shook his head and admitted, “To be honest, when you’re doing it, alarm is not what I’m feeling.”
Brannal grinned as he tossed the ball of fire from one hand to the other.
“If you’re not alarmed, what are you?”
Perian shot him a quelling look. “Really? You think it’s impressive when you show off?”
Brannal added a second fireball and then tossed them back and forth almost like he was juggling.
Mildly, he asked, “Is it not?”
“You’d look more impressive doused in water,” Perian grumbled.
Brannal laughed, and the fire disappeared as though it had never been. Perian shivered, arousal licking up his spine.
“It’s very impressive,” he admitted quietly.
Leaning closer, Brannal told him, “You can show me how impressive you think it is later.”
Perian huffed a breath, although he wasn’t opposed to doing exactly that. He didn’t truly mind the showing off. Apparently, he found everything Brannal did attractive.
“Thank you for showing me,” Perian added, realizing he probably sounded ungracious. “It’s definitely not something you see every day, and I was too out of it to really appreciate it last time.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t do more,” Brannal said, a furrow in his brow.
Confused, Perian asked, “More than rescue me and nurse me back to health?”
“I could have arrested them. I would have, if I’d realized how badly you were injured.”
Perian blinked. This hadn’t even occurred to him. “My thoughts were all centered on not dying.” As much as he’d been able to think coherently at all, anyway. “And I think we both know that I couldn’t have gotten away, even after you drove them off. I much prefer you taking care of me.”
“But they’re still out there.”
“I suppose they are,” Perian agreed. “Hopefully, given that you swooped in as suddenly for them as you did for me, they’ve decided to think twice before they attack someone like that. And I know Warriors and City Wardens patrol.”
There could never be a big enough force to patrol everywhere all at once, though.
“I want you to feel safe,” Brannal said earnestly.
“I do, generally,” Perian assured him. “I mean, when I went back to the inn, I determined that I’d shift my habits a little. Maybe stay away from the pub for a bit, change when I went and how I left, that sort of thing.”
Brannal protested, “But that’s you changing everything rather than them ceasing their behavior.”
“But I can only control what I do, not what anyone else does.”
“Isn’t that immensely frustrating?” Brannal demanded.
Perian let out a helpless laugh. “Yes, sometimes. Are you saying that you change what everyone else does?”
Brannal shrugged. “If it needs changing.”
Oh, wow. Yeah, that was definitely coming at the world in a different way than Perian was used to.
“I don’t think the world works like that for most of us,” Perian observed.
“Maybe you only think it doesn’t,” Brannal suggested.
Perian laughed. “I’m going to remember that the next time there’s something you don’t want to do.”
Brannal eyed him. “I didn’t tell you that to change me.”
“Too late.”
Brannal tried to look stern, but one corner of his mouth kept quirking up.
“Come on,” he said. “We can see if anyone’s practicing.”
They were, and Perian quite enjoyed watching a bunch of very fit people summon air, water, and earth.
“It takes training to be able to summon elements without the raw materials being present, so our novices have help.”
He gestured to what looked weirdly like a well in one corner of the room, but dirt rose from it and came twisting through the air to curl around them. Perian turned round a few times to watch it circling.
With another wave of his hand, the earth flowed back to where it had been stored.
“That was awesome,” Perian told him.
“It’s less awesome when it’s dropped on your head.” This came from the man Nisal had called Molun. He was working with some Mage Warriors Perian didn’t recognize.
Perian laughed. “Is that so?”
Molun headed over to them, nodding his head emphatically. He had a cluster of over-sized bright blue and green beads braided into his hair. Perian didn’t know him that well yet, but they definitely seemed to fit his personality.
“You’re smiling now, but just wait until he tells you that you need to feel what it’s like to be buried alive so that you can deal with it.”
Perian slewed around to look at Brannal. “Seriously?”
He looked entirely serious. “Would you rather experience it for the first time being used against you, or would you like to learn how to counter it in a safe environment?”
Perian eyed him. “Have you ever actually fought someone who buried you alive?”
“No.”
“So, in fact, you’re making them suffer on the off chance?”
Molun was laughing now.
“What do you think training is for?” Brannal pointed out sternly. “To prepare for any eventuality.”
Perian was still skeptical. “Uh huh. Do you throw fireballs at people just to see how they deal with it, too?”
Brannal’s face answered the question without him actually having to say anything, and Molun laughed again.
“I mean, I do see the value of practical examples,” Perian admitted, “but I’m warning you right now that if you throw a fireball at me or bury me in dirt to see how I’m going to react to it, you’re going to be sleeping in that pile of dirt. Understood?”
Brannal’s eyebrow raised.
“I’m just saying,” Perian said with a shrug. “Wasn’t it you who mentioned changing other people’s behavior if you didn’t like it?”
Molun came closer to sling an arm over Perian’s shoulder. They were nearly the same height, Molun a little shorter but far broader.
“I like him. We’re keeping him.”
Brannal tugged Perian out of Molun’s arms and didn’t bother to dignify that with a response.
“And the tour continues.”
Molun was still laughing as Perian grinned and waved goodbye.
There were all sorts of facilities in the Mage Warrior section of the castle—rooms where they could read theory, where they could fight, where they could practice with the elements, living quarters, bathing rooms, a library, kitchen, and rooms to prepare tonics and bandages and other healing supplies.
“But they’re not magical, are they?”
Brannal shook his head. “No, our magic is the elements in the moment. It can’t be transferred to other objects. The medicine is all natural remedies. The doctor supervises us. If you know how to hurt people, then you should know how to heal them as well.”
Perian smiled. “I like that.”
“Entirely practical,” Brannal told him with a shrug. “We do tend to injure ourselves during practice, and it helps to have remedies on hand.”
Perian could only laugh.
“We could be nearly self-sufficient if we wished to be, but we work with the rest of the castle. We aren’t filled to capacity, so the main kitchen produces most of our meals, and we usually eat them with the Warriors in their wing. There is a large dining hall there that we tend to share.”
The Warrior wing was similar to that of the Mage Warrior’s, just minus the Mage part. And there were dungeons as well, though they were apparently rarely used these days, with most criminals staying in the city jail or being transported to the larger district jails for hard labor. There were a variety of public rooms in the third wing of the castle: ballrooms, music rooms, galleries, guest accommodations, receiving rooms, and more. This area also housed the live-in staff themselves and many services including the kitchens, laundry, and supply rooms. The fourth section of the castle belonged to the royal family and came with its own library, gallery, ballroom, guest rooms, and more.
Brannal actually asked if Perian wanted to visit, and Perian hurriedly shook his head and just made a note of where not to go, because he definitely didn’t need to run into any royalty anytime soon. He was sure he was going to have his hands full with the Mage Warriors—possibly with only one Mage Warrior.
They’d run into enough people through the course of the day for something to have been made clear to Perian—never mind that little trick with the earth earlier.
“If I said that I wanted a drink of water, could you produce one?” Perian asked.
Being able to control all four elements was extraordinarily rare, but Perian had heard of one person who could do it.
Brannal looked chagrined. “Oh, I should have asked earlier if you were hungry!”
It had been a while since lunch, and they’d spent quite some time walking and talking and exploring the castle.
Perian laid a hand on Brannal’s arm.
“You’re missing the point.”
“Am I?”
“Air, fire, earth, and—?” he prompted.
“Ah.” Brannal rocked back on his heels.
“Well?” Perian demanded. “Am I wrong?”
Brannal stared at him for a moment, and then he held out his cupped hands, and Perian watched as they filled with water.
Perian stepped closer, then leaned in to cup Brannal’s hands with his own and sip.
It was hard to figure out what to concentrate on: the warmth of the other man’s skin, the intimacy of the moment, or the fact that Brannal was Summus. Perian was sleeping with the leader of the Mage Warriors!
Or perhaps, more pertinently, Summus of the Mage Warriors was currently summoning water out of nowhere just so that Perian could take a drink out of his hands. Perian used perhaps a little more tongue than was strictly necessary, and he caught Brannal’s shiver.
This was, naturally, when they were interrupted.
“My, my, drinking out of your hand like an animal. I see the training is going well.”
Even if Perian hadn’t recognized the voice, the message would have been enough to tell him who it was.
Brannal dropped his hands, the remaining water disappearing before it hit the floor.
“Did you need something, Cormal?” Brannal demanded.
Hadn’t Cormal been the one to summon Brannal due to the nest of wraiths? Brannal hadn’t been showing Perian around for that long. For that matter… Perian squinted at Cormal suspiciously. Had that wraith report really been sorted wrong? Or had it been a convenient excuse to demand Brannal’s presence?
Cormal raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression we weren’t all chained to our offices.”
Well, Cormal had Brannal there. Thankfully, Brannal didn’t seem bothered.
“Perian will be staying for a while. I’m showing him around.”
One of Cormal’s eyebrows rose. “He’s going to see more than the inside of your bedroom?”
Brannal’s jaw clenched. Perian tacked the biggest smile on his face and made sure to beam at the other man.
“Oh, yes, I don’t like to restrict myself to only the bedroom. I’m happy to have sex in multiple locations.”
Cormal shot him a scathing look and flounced off. Brannal looked bemused.
“Really?” he asked.
Perian shrugged. “It’s pretty clear he’s jealous.”
Brannal shook his head, beginning to walk once more, and Perian fell into step with him. “Perhaps, but not the way you mean.” He hesitated for a moment and then said, “His father was the Summus before me. He died in the attack six years ago that killed the Prince. And then I became Summus.”
“Was that unusual?”
Brannal hesitated for a moment as though gathering his thoughts. “Not as such. The Summus is appointed by the reigning monarch. They are often but not always the most powerful, and they need to be good leaders. But they can follow family lines.”
“He expected to be Summus, and instead, he’s Secundus,” Perian finished the thought.
He didn’t think that anyone who screamed their title down the corridor just because someone had been a bit pert was happy with their lot in life.
“He’s never said as much directly,” Brannal said carefully.
Perian wouldn’t have expected him to, not to Brannal, anyway.
“You two must have lots of fun at meetings.”
Brannal’s lips tipped up slightly. “Molun is Tertius.”
Perian couldn’t help but laugh. “Really?”
Brannal smiled. “Really.”
Molun seemed like he’d be such a good distraction, he’d prevent a meeting from taking place at all. But if Perian were stuck between Brannal and Cormal—not like that!—he would no doubt appreciate some levity.
“We actually make a good team,” Brannal said. “We all bring different strengths to the table. Molun controls water and air.”
“Was it hard learning to control all the elements?”
A complicated expression crossed Brannal’s face, and after a moment, he shrugged. “Yes and no. Fire manifested first, as I told you. Water actually came next, and being able to put out the flames that I set while I was still figuring everything out was rather useful, even if it wound up with me wet more often than not.”
Perian’s lips tipped up.
“It was a lot to learn,” Brannal admitted. “It took a lot of focus and concentration, figuring out what worked best for me, making sure I didn’t overreact to things and cause an… explosive reaction. But they’re all a part of me. I did what I needed to do.”
Perian supposed that did make sense, at least insofar as he could understand any of it given that he controlled precisely zero elements.
“And do you like being Summus?” Perian asked.
Brannal gave something that was mostly a nod and a little bit of a shrug.
“I chose to be a Mage Warrior.”
“With your infinite childhood wisdom,” Perian agreed, nudging him in the side with his elbow.
“With my infinite wisdom,” Brannal repeated with a small smile, but that soon faded. His eyes were a little distant, like he was looking at something Perian couldn’t see. “I wanted to protect people. I wanted to put the gift that I’d been given to good use. I am the Queen’s to command, of course, but my position grants me the ability to make many decisions and protect people to the best of my ability. I enjoy that.”
Perian nodded. To be honest, he couldn’t entirely envision Brannal taking orders, though he supposed everyone took orders from the Queen.
“Are you hungry?” Brannal asked.
“Always,” Perian said with a wink.
“For food,” Brannal qualified, his eye twinkling with amusement.
“I wouldn’t mind that either,” Perian agreed.
He was hungry. It had been ages since lunch. But he was also horny, a state that wasn’t unfamiliar but which seemed far more frequent and intense since he’d met Brannal and recovered from his injuries.
“I’ll have food sent to my rooms,” Brannal told him.
Perian had been envisioning one of those communal meals with the Warriors that Brannal had mentioned earlier, but this sounded a great deal more pleasant, especially as there was a decent chance that they would get to kill two birds with one stone.
“Think you can make your way back to my rooms if I stop by the kitchen?” Brannal asked.
Perian narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you quizzing me?”
“Are you saying you’re not capable of learning directions?”
Perian narrowed his eyes further. “And when I’m waiting for you in your rooms when you get there, what do I get?”
Brannal’s eyes grew darker. “Whatever you want.”
Perian bolted, laughing uproariously as Brannal called him a cheater and rushed in the other direction.
“Should have set more parameters!” Perian yelled over his shoulder before concentrating on getting out of the public wing and back into the Mage Warrior wing and finding the right floor. Perian was actually pretty good with directions when he was paying attention, but his concentration today had strayed somewhat, most of his focus on the man who was giving the directions. But he’d been fascinated by the set-up of the whole castle, and he had wanted to be able to find his way around, and he was pretty sure that was the—
Yes! He darted down the corridor and dashed into what did indeed prove to be Brannal’s rooms. His chest was heaving from the run, so after a moment’s consideration, Perian tugged off his coat, unbuttoned his vest, and then yanked off his shirt. He arranged himself artfully on one of the comfy chairs by the fireplace, where a small fire was lit.
It couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes later that Brannal arrived, his eyes raking over Perian’s exposed torso with every evidence of enjoyment.
“Told you I’d be here,” Perian said triumphantly.
Brannal raised an eyebrow. “Whatever made you think I was trying to beat you? I have no objection to your prize.”
Perian couldn’t decide if this annoyed him or not—he didn’t want the man to let him win, generally, but he was pretty sure they were both winning here.
“Let’s have an appetizer,” Perian said, pushing himself away from the chair and strolling to the bedroom, trusting that Brannal would follow.
He did, both of them shedding clothing as they went, though of course, Perian was sprawled on the bed, completely naked and stroking his hardening cock while Brannal was still in the midst of divesting himself of all his clothes and weaponry.
“I guess getting undressed in a hurry just isn’t an option for you?” Perian said.
Brannal’s eyes were trained rather lower than Perian’s face.
“Impatient?” he asked.
But he licked his lips as he watched Perian pump his cock, so Perian didn’t really think he had a leg to stand on. He sped up his motion.
“So impatient,” he agreed sweetly, adding in a little twist at the end, and Brannal sucked in a sharp breath.
Rather quickly after that, Brannal was finally naked, cock standing very much at attention as he took several long strides to join Perian on the bed, crawling on top of him and kissing him hungrily.
Perian loved all the skin-on-skin contact. That tended to be missing in a quick encounter at the pub. Occasionally, Perian had gone home with someone or brought someone back to where he was staying, but it was for a maximum of one night only, and it wasn’t the same. He liked all sorts of sex, really, but he couldn’t remember an experience as fulfilling as these ones with Brannal. The connection just seemed so much more .
Perian didn’t remember there being quite so many pleasant tingles in his other liaisons, either, but perhaps it was true that the one you were having was the one that seemed the most memorable. Or maybe Brannal was just that much better than anyone else Perian had ever had sex with. Perian didn’t think it was because he was a Mage Warrior exactly, but that wasn’t to say that his confidence and position in the world didn’t give him an assurance and authority that Perian was very much enjoying right now.
Plus, the man was a first-rate kisser, that was for certain. He also had an absolutely gorgeous cock, and Perian liked looking at it, liked it pressing against him, liked wrapping his fingers and mouth around it—and he couldn’t wait to have it inside him. But he had said that this would just be an appetizer, so he probably shouldn’t get ahead of himself.
Brannal had said that he could have anything he wanted, and he was curious to know how far that extended.
“I’d love to feel your mouth on me,” Perian managed to get out in between kisses.
Brannal pulled back a little, looking at Perian with those dark, lust-filled eyes. For a moment, Perian thought that Brannal’s definition of “anything” was going to have some very finite limitations. And then the man slid down Perian’s body and took his cock in his mouth, sucking on the head.
Perian let out a groan of sound and came really close to just shoving his cock down the other man’s throat. He barely managed to keep his hips from bucking, but he liked to think he had more manners than that. He wanted to gently test Brannal’s limits, not piss him off so that he decided he didn’t want to play with Perian anymore.
The suction of Brannal’s mouth was fantastic, warm and wet and connected to a man that Perian had thought might not be interested in doing this. If Perian were being completely honest, it was not the most talented blow job he’d ever received, but it was entirely enthusiastic, and that meant a lot.
Perian got his hands into Brannal’s hair, tugging out the tie, loving the way the silken strands rubbed against his fingers, the different texture of the three braids and beads. He was careful not to tug too hard, gently guiding and carefully rocking into the other man’s mouth, prolonging the sensations, the heat that curled through his whole body.
He remembered to utter a warning when he was going to come, pulling back enough that while Brannal chose not to pull off completely, he didn’t choke as Perian thrust forward, come spurting, hips flexing as his muscles contracted and then relaxed.
“Mm,” Perian murmured as he lay back on the bed. “That was lovely.”
Brannal crawled back up the bed and kissed Perian. Perian licked into Brannal’s mouth, tasting himself. Brannal let out a happy grumble of sound and rocked against Perian’s thigh. Perian wrapped his arms around the other man as he continued to kiss him, fingers digging into his ass as he encouraged him to keep rocking, speeding up the rhythm. It wasn’t long at all before Brannal was stiffening and coming over Perian’s skin. Perian’s cock twitched with interest, and he basked in the glow of arousal, happily sated.
Brannal tilted to the side so that he was lying next to Perian instead of on top of him, though Perian wouldn’t have objected to that, either.
After a moment of getting their breath back, Brannal said with a trace of uncertainty, “I realize I don’t possess your skills…”
“I don’t have any complaints,” Perian answered hurriedly. Then with a grin, he added, “And I have no objection to being your test subject should you decide that you want to acquire more expertise.”
Brannal laughed. “Purely for my benefit, is it?”
“Naturally.”
Brannal’s stomach grumbled audibly. Perian reached out and patted it.
“Sounds like you worked up an appetite.”
Brannal grinned. “Indeed, I did. Let’s clean up and see what’s for dinner.”
They wiped themselves clean in the water closet, pulled on loose sleep trousers, and found that the table had been set, oil lamps lit, fire stoked, and food left in the sitting room. Perian briefly wondered if whoever had done so had heard them. Well, he didn’t mind, and he just hoped they hadn’t been bothered.
He and Brannal settled at the table and were soon making good headway into their meal. It was his first meal at the castle as a non-invalid.
“This is delicious,” Perian said. “Much nicer than anything the inn prepares.”
Brannal smiled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“The company doesn’t hurt,” Perian admitted.
Brannal’s smile deepened. “Agreed. Especially when he’s conscious.”
Perian rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, was my company inferior while I was convalescing?”
“Pretty mediocre, really,” Brannal teased.
“Ass.”
This just made Brannal smile more, and Perian couldn’t even pretend to be truly upset.
And despite the mess, he definitely wasn’t upset when dessert ended up being eaten off one another as they lay on the rug in front of the fire.
Perian could definitely get used to this.