Page 38 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

Perian laid out the larger blanket on the ground so they had a more comfortable place to sit. The blanket filled most of the space, with a narrow strip of grass in front of the bench, and a slightly larger border on the other sides, where the bush sloped up around them.

“I could double it up,” he suggested, “since there’s only two of us.”

It would offer a little more of a cushion as well as more warmth.

But Renny shook her head. “My brother needs a seat.”

Perian was tempted to ask if this brother blew his sister off a lot, but that didn’t seem very polite. Renny wanted a space for her brother to sit, and it really wasn’t difficult for Perian to make that happen. Once they were both settled, Perian arranged the other blanket around Renny’s shoulders. She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t fuss.”

“I’m not fussing, I’m simply preventing the possibility of yesterday’s shivering. In advance.”

“It’s warmer today,” Renny told him.

It was about the same temperature, but it didn’t seem worth quibbling over, especially because Renny hadn’t actually cast off the blanket.

“You haven’t heard about the effort that was made in the retrieval of that blanket to ward off your shivers. That blanket is practically famous.”

She raised an eyebrow and then spent a lot of time giggling as Perian relayed his absurd morning.

“You’re silly,” she told him.

“I am most definitely silly,” he agreed.

Her smile softened, less humor and morefond, Perian was pretty sure. Well, he liked her too.

Perian wondered if she perhaps didn’t have enough silly in her life. In his experience, you couldn’t really tell an adult to make life more silly. But you could try to inject it into the lives of others.

Accordingly, Perian told Renny all about Molun’s borrowing of the most boring book ever, and they spent a few minutes coming up with the most absurd non-titles for pretend books.

Renny looked more alert and less drawn after they had eaten, and Perian wondered if he needed to suggest to someone that they make sure she was better fed. He didn’t really know enough about the situation to start making demands at this point, but he was definitely going to keep an eye on Renny. He would not hesitate to rudely leap in and make recommendations if necessary. But given that he had only known her for a couple of days, he’d reserve judgment for now.

They talked about a variety of books that they’d each read, no doubt put in their head by Molun’s silliness. Then the discussion ranged over a variety of topics: favorite seasons, favorite foods, even why demons attacked people.

“From everything I’ve ever read or been told, I don’t think they’re capable of reason like us,” Perian said. “I suppose they’re hungry.”

“They’re killing people!” Renny said angrily, her whole body tense.

Perian nodded. “And leaving people behind.”

“It isn’t fair!” she protested.

“No, it isn’t,” Perian agreed sadly. “But that’s why Brannal and the other Mage Warriors exist, right? That’s why the Warriors fight. To prevent the demons from attacking us.” He tapped her on the collar bone. “That’s why you’ve got your earth talisman, right?”

She nodded. “To stop the nightmares.”

“And why the castle is surrounded by water.”

She sniffed. “To stop the wraiths.”

And she didn’t need to worry about the carnalions, at least not yet. It took sexual maturity for them to be able to steal energy from you. Fire was one of the best protections against them, but most people couldn’t conjure fireballs, nor was it practical to threaten anyone who wanted to have sex with you with flames. Carnalions could hide amongst humans, completely unrecognizable as a threat—but they also seemed to be the rarest and the least likely to simply attack and kill people. Perian’s father had actually suggested they really weren’t much of a threat at all, but Perian knew that was an extreme view.

They were so lucky that most of the demons had been driven back during the Great Cataclysm centuries ago, but unfortunately, they weren’t all gone. Fortification protected against the lesser demons, as did the regular patrols of the Mage Warriors, Warriors, and District Wardens. Not that they could be everywhere at once. They could only take so many precautions. Sometimes, it just wasn’t enough.

Perian sought for a change of topic.

“In all the excitement of today and the blankets, I didn’t tell you about how my day ended yesterday.”

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