Page 105 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

It was obviously a bakery because it was filled with baked goods. Perian wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but this was definitely not it. It was a popular one, with all the little tables filled with people eating, and a lineup of patrons waiting to place their orders.

“Are there hidden weapons?” Perian asked, voice low.

Nisal smirked. “Delana likes more than weapons.”

“Oh, of course,” he said because that seemed the only appropriate response.

“She is one of the toughest people I know,” Nisal said, “but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have secret weaknesses.”

“Oooh, secret weaknesses,” he repeated, bouncing on his toes.

They laughed.

It made perfect sense, actually. Perian still hadn’t spent much time with Delana, and assuming just because she was fierce and oh-so-fit looking that all she liked were Warrior-related things was pretty insulting. He was very glad he’d asked Nisal for help, and he would try to be better about making assumptions in the future.

(Did Cormal likepuppies? Or…cakes? Perian couldn’t even imagine it. He shivered.)

They finally made it to the front of the line, and Nisal pointed at the treats they wanted for Delana, some sort of sugar-covered, stuffed sweetbread that he would not in a million years have guessed.

The young woman at the counter gave Perian a smile, and he grinned at her.

“I need to get a gift for someone,” he confessed to her. “I’ve got to convince them it’s worth helping me. And I’ve been told this is their absolute favorite dessert, so what better way to sweeten them up than to offer them the best sweets, right?”

She nodded earnestly, blue eyes wide.

“And of course,” Perian continued, “if they’re the very best sweets, I should probably try one for myself and get the full experience, shouldn’t I?”

“Oh, definitely,” she told him, smiling. “You have to try one.”

Nisal tugged his arm. “We need to get back to the castle.”

The young woman’s face fell, and Perian promised, “If they’re as good as everyone’s told me—or if I need more bribes—I will definitely be back.”

She perked up and very carefully packed the desserts for him.

“Thank you so much,” he told her.

“You aresowelcome,” she told him with a bright grin. “Come back soon.”

Perian paid and carefully took the package and headed back into the street with Nisal.

“Wow,” they said.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Give me that.”

Perian handed over the bag, watched Nisal open it and peer inside. They snorted.

“You got, I don’t know,doublethe amount you should have got for that price.”

“Oh,” he said, grinding to a halt. “Did she make a mistake? I can go back, and—”

Nisal pulled him back into motion. “That was definitely not a mistake. That was falling altogether to your charms.”

“Oh,” he said, making a face. “That’s not what I was trying to do.”

“I could see that,” Nisal said bemusedly. “I just hadn’t had the chance to watch it in action before. You’re very… potent.”

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