Page 114 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

Perian had hoped that just this sort of silly story would set them all at ease and would reassure them that there was nothing they needed to hide. Oh, Perian didn’t think he was suddenly going to be caught up in a matter of days to years of friendship, but he hoped they could get past anything that was big and gaping so they all felt comfortable. The three of them made sure to ask him questions that were designed to keep him included in the conversation.

Molun’s flirting was over the top, but he didn’t try to take it further. Arvus was watching him and Brannal a little more quietly, and Perian suspected he was still making sure that everything from yesterday had been resolved.

That was one thing about living here in the castle—or maybe just being Perian here in the castle. When he stopped and thought about how long he’d been here, it really wasn’t that many days. It felt as thoughso muchhad happened and his life had changedcompletely. But it had been barely two weeks.

Wow.

Brannal nudged him, and Perian looked up to see they were all looking at him, a bit concerned, probably, given that he’d just gotten lost in his head.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I just realized I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks. A lot has happened in that time.”

They all stared at him for a moment, like everyone was doing math in their head.

“Huh,” Arvus said simply.

“Feels like you’ve been here forever,” Molun said cheerfully.

From him, it sounded like a compliment.

“I’m glad you agreed to stay,” Brannal told him.

The sweetness of the sentiment almost overrode the fact they still hadn’t really talked about what thatmeant.

Perianhadagreed to stay, and they’d originally said “to explore what was between them.” But that definitely didn’t give any sort of certainty. Not that there was any certainty in life. But… would Perian be here in another week? All right, he was pretty sure the answer to that was yes—they’d talked about Brannal being gone in a few weeks. But what about in a month? Six months? A year?

He wanted everything figured out, but of course, they’d actually only known one another for a couple of weeks, and Perian had been pretty out of it for almost half that time. It probablywastoo early to make any sort of decisions about the future, and Perian feared it was too early to evenaskabout the future. But he… he really didwant. He wanted this more than he thought he probably should given that aforementioned “only a couple of weeks” detail.

How long did it take until you knew? Perian’s father had always said he fell in love with Perian’s mother immediately, that he’d known right away. That had made perfect sense to Perian as a child, but as he’d grown up, he’d come to think it was a bit of romantic smoothing over of details and reality.

Now, he wasn’t so sure. Maybe it had been outside of his experience before. He wouldn’t go quite so far as to say love at first sight, but as Perian got to know Brannal, a strong attraction and a desire for so much more had sprung up very quickly.

He’d asked his father once if it was worth loving his mother, knowing now that he was going to lose her so soon. His father had assured him all the loss was well worth it for the moments they had together, that the memories sustained him.

That was not exactly the future Perian wanted, but… perhaps it was a future he could live with if he enjoyed his time here with Brannal to its maximum. Maybe it wasn’t a lifetime kind of feeling; it was hard to judge that. But it was fueling what the two of them were experiencing right here and right now. It was fueling heated encounters, soft moments, long chats, and even misunderstandings, fights and anger—but also the willingness to work them out, to keep trying, to strive for more.

Maybe it wouldn’t be years and years. But even years and years had to start somewhere, and Perian really liked this beginning.

Brannal squeezed Perian’s shoulder.

“You’re quiet,” he murmured.

Perian had lapsed again, and Molun and Arvus were politely discussing something as Brannal got his attention.

“Sorry,” Perian apologized. “Still trying to wrap my brain around only having been here for a couple of weeks. And I’m not sure the time I spent in your bed should count.”

“I think that time should definitely count,” Molun put in, proving he was listening after all.

“The injured time,” Perian qualified. “I’m counting all the sex twice.”

Molun snorted, and Brannal and Arvus rolled their eyes.

“Speaking of the sex—” Molun started.

“Here we go,” Brannal said, sounding resigned but amused.

“Very subtle, baby,” Arvus told him.

“—what’s the most unusual sex you’ve ever had?”

---