Page 7 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

“Try me.”

So as Nisal led Perian out of the castle—he was so glad he was with them, they just waved cheerfully at the Warriors at the gate and headed straight out—Perian told them all about his week, starting with the pub then moving through to this morning, though he glossed over a few of the details. Nisal was an excellent listener, and Perian felt no hesitation in confiding in them. It was the exact opposite of how he’d felt when he’d been followed out of the pub and this whole mess had started.

They were well on the way to the inn by the time he finished. He was grateful for Nisal’s knowledge of the city.

They made a face. “It sounds like you’ve been having a bit of a rough go of it.”

“It’s been incredibly unexpected.” Perian made a face. “I’m not even actually sure how long I was here. None of it’s gone the way I thought it would.”

They cast a sly glance at him through their lashes, their eyes gleaming. “Noneof it?”

Perian laughed. “Well, that went the way I hoped, at least to start.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “But as lovely as it was at the time—and itreallywas—I can’t honestly say right now that I’d do it again knowing what followed.”

Their brow furrowed, then they nodded. After a long moment of silence, they said, “Molun wasn’t exaggerating about Brannal not bringing people home.”

“But you know why he actually did it.”

This had been about his injury. Anything more had been a… a one-time side benefit or something.

“But Molun wasn’t entirely wrong in his suppositions either,” Nisal argued.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that Brannal wasn’t acting altogether to type. I’d want more information before I decided I was never doing something ever again.”

Perian snorted. That wasn’t actually what he’d said, but—“I don’t think I’m going to be given the choice, but thanks for not acting like I’m the dirt beneath your boots.”

They rolled their eyes. “Cormal can be a bit…”

“Yeah, I got that,” Perian agreed.

They laughed and then said, “This is you, yes?”

Perian blinked. Thiswashis inn. It was a good thing Nisal had been paying attention, or Perian would probably have walked right past it.

“Yes, this is me. Just give me two minutes, and I’ll have this all back to you.”

Perian retrieved his key from the desk and dashed upstairs. He pulled on the first coat and pair of shoes he could find, then shucked them off again as he realized he should really return Brannal’s borrowed clothing as well. He yanked his own clothing on and rushed back downstairs to give Nisal everything.

“Here’s all the clothes, including the ones from Brannal, if you don’t mind returning them.” They took them all with a smile, and Perian couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you so much. I thought I was going to be trapped there. Like one of those nightmares where the corridors go on and on forever. I really appreciate it.”

“Any time,” they said cheerfully, and that did make Perian laugh.

“No offense, but I’m kind of hoping your skills won’t be needed ever again.”

They just grinned at him, waved, and headed back the way they’d come.

Perian let out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and made himself go back inside. This time, he requested a bath.

While part of him wished solely to fall into his bed and pretend the last few days hadn’t happened, he knew he would feel better once he was clean.

The friendly person at the desk assured him that bathing room two would be available for him in ten minutes, so Perian was pretty sure that was their way of telling him that bathing was a great idea. But at least they smiled as they said it.

Perian also confirmed with them what day it was. If they found this question odd, they didn’t let on, which he appreciated. He’d been with Brannal for six days, so he’d completely missed the Water Festival. But clearly, nothing about this visit was going to plan.

In the bath less than a quarter of an hour later, Perian soaped himself up and scrubbed himself clean, not letting himself think about the fact that he was removing any lingering traces of Brannal from his skin. All right, so he was thinking about it a little, but he was still scrubbing, and that was better than his first frozen impulse to climb out of the tub and see if he couldn’t possibly preserve those traces, which wasridiculous. He had never felt this way about someone he’d had sex with before, and it was disconcerting.

It might feel like a major upheaval in his life right now, but Perian would surely gain perspective with time. Moving forward, he would be much more careful when he went to any public houses. In fact, it might be a little while before hedidgo back to a pub. He liked the music, the dancing, and the chance to meet people, but none of that particularly appealed under the current circumstances. Maybe he’d just go home.

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