Page 103 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

The doctor hummed a considering noise.

“Is everything all right?” Perian asked.

“Oh, yes, certainly,” she said, her lips tipping up into a small smile. “It seems to be healing well.”

Perian grinned at her. “I thought so. That’s why I wanted to thank you so much for the salve. It’s great.”

She smiled at him, and then asked Nisal to fetch another tin.

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

She shot him an unimpressed look, and he stopped talking.

“You seem like you need it,” she said flatly.

Although Perian kind of hoped no one was going to throw any more fireballs at him, he took her point. The doctor carefully bound the wound once more and told him to keep applying the salve and the dressing until the blisters were gone.

“The bandages will help to keep the area clean and prevent the salve from getting on your clothes. If the wound gets redder and angry-looking, then come back to see me. Do not pop the blisters yourself. They’re protecting the skin underneath, and they will break when they’re ready. Try to be careful with movement. The more you bend your arm, the more likely you are to aggravate the blisters near your elbow.”

He nodded. “Yes, of course. Thank you again.”

He took the tin of salve and then smiled at Nisal.

“I was hoping I could pick your brain.”

“Certainly,” they told him, looking curious.

The doctor waved them off. “Come back later. There is nothing urgent at the moment.”

So, they headed off.

“I want to get on Delana’s good side,” Perian announced. “What is my best bribe option?”

Nisal looked at him weirdly. “I… didn’t think that Delana was your type.”

Perian laughed. “Oh, no, I definitely do not want to get into her pants. I mean, she’s very pretty and entirely fierce, but I’ve got my hands full with the Mage Warrior that I’m currently in bed with, and I’m kind of a big fan of body parts she doesn’t have, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

Nisal eyed him cautiously. “You’re sure everything’s all right? I mean, not really about Delana, but”—they hesitated for a moment—“I heard about what happened. And then, seeing that—” They gestured, and Perian assumed they were indicating his burn.

He nodded. “Yes, thank you for checking. It was, uh, really not good in the immediate aftermath, and after some confusion and yelling—and some help from Molun and Arvus—we actually properly talked about it, and we’re good.”

They smiled at him. “I’m glad. That’s a painful-looking burn.”

He nodded again. “Indirectly, that’s actually why I’m bribing Delana, to see if they’re willing to help me get on Onadal’s good side. I mean, Brannal is actually going to talk to him, but I figure, why not try to sweeten him up first, right?”

Their lip curled. “You decided to go there.”

“She’s actually the only person I know who I’ve seen Onadal with, but yes, of course I decided to throw myself wholeheartedly into the middle of that.”

They snorted. “Your life is never boring, is it?”

Perian laughed. “Actually, my lifehereis never boring. There wasn’t very much excitement at home. And it was… very quiet after my father died. I got used to it, sort of, got into a routine, but there were not a lot of people and not a lot of variation.”

Looking back, Perian wasn’t sure how he had managed it, or was it just that he’d never before experienced anything like what he was living now in the castle? Or would he look back onthistime later in his life and feel like it had all been chaos and he could only wish for some calm routine?

“You were lonely,” they said. It wasn’t really a question.

“I didn’t entirely realize it at the time, but yes, I guess I was. But it’s impossible to be lonely here. Well,” he amended, “it’s a huge castle and there’s so many people and so much going on that it probablyispossible to feel disconnected, butIdon’t feel lonely. Meeting Brannal was one of the best things that ever happened to me, never mind that it was actually thanks to an attack I would certainly prefer not to relive. But I’ve met so many interesting people, and I hope I’m making friendships that are going to last a lifetime. I might not actually know what I’m doing, but I would really like to keep seeing where this is going with Brannal.” He sighed happily. “I really like him.”

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