Page 1 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

Chapter One

Thebodieswrithedaroundhim, and Perian lost himself in the music, in the rhythmic drumming like a fast-beating heart, accompanied by melodic strings and pipes. He loved dancing almost as much as he loved what often came after—if he found the right partner. Tonight, the public house was crowded and the dancing enjoyable, but he hadn’t found someone for anything more. He usually got a good sense of people while dancing, and he never lacked for partners—people tended to find his tall, slender form and hazel eyes appealing. If they were both interested, the next step was easy. But… not tonight.

It was the first time he’d been to this pub, a recommendation from someone he’d met a couple nights ago, and it was in an area of town he didn’t know very well. The place was crowded with the influx of visitors to town for the Water Festival that started tomorrow. It should have meant a gluttony of choice, but Perian couldn’t seem to settle on anyone. He still felt restless instead of eager and energized. Maybe he simply wasn’t in the mood.

Whatever the reason, Perian headed out on his own. It was late, the streets dark, but he was reasonably certain he knew where his inn was. It wasn’t until he’d turned onto a narrow, deserted street that he realized he’d been followed.

A slurring voice asked, “Where are you going, beautiful? Don’t you want company?”

“No, thank you,” Perian said firmly without turning around.

“But you acted like you wanted company while you were dancing.”

That was a different voice, though it sounded as drunk as the first, and it was a lot closer than Perian expected. Heart jumping in his throat, he whirled around to find there were three people, and they’d nearly caught up to him.

“Yeah,” the first person said belligerently. “You were teasing us!”

It was hard to see with the street lit only by the moon, but he thought they were well dressed and probably somewhere in their twenties. The light was glinting off the round beads in their hair that identified them as male.

The elements protect him from entitled asses.

“I was just dancing,” Perian told them.

“Didn’t look like just dancing,” the man in the middle said obstinately.

“I assure you, it was.” Perian tried to keep his voice even.

He might want to tell these men off, but he didn’t want the situation to escalate. Until now, he hadn’t felt unsafe about walking back to the inn alone. The city was large, but it had regular patrols of City Wardens and low crime rates, at least in the nice areas where Perian always stayed.

The idiot on the right was frowning fiercely, and his voice was too loud as he demanded, “You think you’re better than us?”

“Not at all,” Perian assured him. “I’m simply not interested.”

He didn’t think this was a difficult concept, but they seemed to be having a lot of trouble with it.

Without warning, the man on the left, who’d been staring at him fixedly, lurched forward and grabbed Perian’s shoulders.

“We can fix—” the man started to say, leaning alarmingly towards Perian like he was going to try to kiss him.

Panicking, Perian shoved at the man’s chest as hard as he could. The man stumbled back, tripped, and fell on his ass.

Unfortunately for Perian, rather than helping their friend, the other two turned on him. The first blow came out of nowhere, snapping his head back and making pain explode even as fear filled him. Perian wasn’t a fighter; he’d never faced a situation like this before, and he had no idea how to defend himself.

He managed a few desperate, glancing blows thanks to sheer proximity, but then another strike to his head made his senses reel. He collapsed, his head hitting the cool stones of the street as the taste of copper flooded his mouth. Had he bitten his tongue? One booted foot hit his ribs, then another.

Desperately, he tried to wrap his arms around his head and curl up as small as possible. The blood rushed frantically in his ears and drowned out whatever they were yelling at him. Perian couldn’t believe it had escalated like this. Was he going to die here? In this city, like his father?

He should have tried to run, he realized belatedly, but it had all happened so fast, and he wasn’t thinking clearly. Everything was fuzzy and muddled in his head.

Between one heartbeat and the next, a gale force wind whipped around them, shocking in its ferocity. And then, as suddenly as it had arrived, it was gone again.

It took a moment in the absolute stillness that followed for Perian’s senses to catch up. No one was attacking him anymore.

Cautiously, he moved his arms, trying to ignore how much everything hurt as he peered up through bleary eyes that didn’t seem to focus properly, trying to figure out what was going on. Someone new was standing over him—someone dressed in a Warrior’s leather armor and talking to his attackers.

“Whatis going on here?” the Warrior demanded, sharp and imperious.

“He wouldn’t give us what he owes us!” one of the men protested angrily, words slurred but still intelligible.

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