Page 113 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

Despite the fact they’d actually only done this once before, the repetition of the activity made Perian already feel like it was a habit they now had. He loved the time they chatted about nothing and everything while the horses recovered and grazed.

For all that Perian had been talking just this morning to Nisal about being lonely at home, it was also a different pace that he missed sometimes as well. Having a bit of time and space to stretch and just be yourself andnothave all those competing people and desires could be nice, too.

Today, at least, it meant having this ride with Brannal, the two of them watching the sunset together and then riding back to the castle amidst the growing twilight.

When they got back to the stables, after Perian had done all the cleaning up and brushing down, he pulled out the sugar lumps, and he made sure that Warrior got one as well. (Although Prince Horsey got two. Or maybe three. Perian had no self-control.)

“Come on,” Brannal finally said, pulling him away. “If we stay here much longer, you’re going to turn that horse fat.”

“Can’t have too much sugar,” Perian protested.

“He’s going to break down the stables and run wild.”

That would… not be ideal. Renny and Kee wouldprobablyfind it funny, but perhaps he shouldn’t risk it.

“I’ll be back soon,” Perian told Prince Horsey. “Tomorrow, I hope, and you know there’s more where that came from. Thank you for taking me on such a wonderful ride.”

Then he and Brannal were heading back to their room, where Brannal declared that they could not possibly go to dinner when they smelled like horse, and they lost a bit more time than they should have getting clean together.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cleananddryanddressed once more, they headed across the corridor to Molun and Arvus’s room.

“I thought you might like to try somewhere that wasn’t our rooms,” Brannal said as he knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

It had become very clear that these three didn’t stand on much ceremony with one another.

Their rooms weren’t quite as large as Brannal’s, but they were still of a decent size. In addition to having books, a desk, and comfortable chairs in front of the fire like Brannal did, Molun and Arvus also had a lot of plants arranged on stands by the windows and also peppered throughout the room. There was a seascape hanging over the fireplace, there were wind chimes hanging from the ceiling and—Perian peered closer. Yes, that was definitely a fountain in the corner, because there was the sound of trickling water.

“Are you doing that?” Perian asked, gesturing towards the fountain.

Molun grinned. “Yup. It’s nice, right?”

He looked so proud of himself.

“Extremely nice,” Perian assured him. “Thank you for going to so much trouble.”

Dinner had been laid out at the table, candles lit in lieu of lamps—Perian assumed for the ambiance—and everything looked lovely.

“Thank you for having us,” he said.

“I promised to buy you dinner, didn’t I?” Molun said, grinning at him.

Brannal groaned.

“Does this actually count?” Perian questioned. “It looks a lot more like asking the kitchen staff to prepare something. Did you even bring it up here, or did they do all the work?”

Molun pouted, and Arvus suggested that they all actually sit down and eat, or they’d never get past the flirting.

“That’s the most fun part,” Molun said, but he did sit down with the rest of them.

Perian scoffed. “Not at all. The most fun part is you telling me immediately and in full detail about what I hear was a disastrous attempt for the three of you toelevateyour relationship.” Perian even waggled his eyebrows theatrically.

Molun burst into laughter, Brannal groaned, and Arvus just looked amused.

“Why? Why are you like this?” Brannal wanted to know, but he couldn’t quite hide his amusement.

Just as Perian had known he would, Molun launched into a highly colorful detailing of their encounter. Occasionally, Brannal would intercede with an objection—generally in the order of, “It absolutely did not happen like that!”—and Arvus would make a quiet correction that deflected a little bit of Molun’s absurdity and got them back on track. But it was a story full of affection, and Perian nudged Brannal’s leg with his own. Brannal nudged him back, so Perian was pretty sure he wasn’t actually upset. For all they were friends—or maybe because they were—Perian was quite sure Brannal could shut them down if he needed to.

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