Page 55 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

“Of your mother?” he questioned carefully.

She shook her head once more.

“Of what, then?”

“Everything’s going to change. Brannal is going to tell you everything, and then you won’t treat me the same way.”

“Hey,” he protested, lifting her chin gently so she would meet his eyes instead of staring at his chin.

“Nothing’s going to change, not with you and me. We can have another picnic tomorrow. Assuming the kitchen staff will give me more food. I, uh,” he looked around, “don’t seem to have today’s basket. I must have dropped it.”

Brannal interjected, “I think you will find you threw the basket at Cormal.”

Perian had almost forgotten he was there, and he didn’t remember tossing the basket at all.

Dryly, Brannal added, “He was not impressed.”

And it was this, finally, that got Renny to move. She whirled around so that she was facing Brannal, and her words were fierce and imperious. “Perian isnotto get in trouble. I don’t care what Cormal says.”

“I’m not sure—” Brannal started.

With an angry grumble, Renny climbed off of Perian and rose to her feet, brushing at her dress and hair and face.

“Fine. I will speak to Mother myself.”

Perian eyed Brannal. Had he just used her friendship with Perian to get her to do what he wanted? He couldn’t decide if that was objectionable or clever. It was true they couldn’t just stay out here forever, and if Renny’s mother was worried, they really should reassure her.

Then Renny spun back to Perian, her eyes big and pleading, still red-rimmed from her tears.

“Do you promise you’ll come for a picnic tomorrow? No matter what?”

“I promise,” Perian told her solemnly, even as he realized that might not be in his power.

What if Cormaldidlodge a complaint and have Perian kicked out? What if he went all the way to the Queen?

But given everything Renny had just been through, Perian couldn’t imagine telling her anything else. She clearly needed someone on her side, and Perian was perfectly willing to be that person.

Renny threw her arms around him and hugged him, and Perian hugged her back. She was definitely too skinny, but there was a tenacious strength in her just the same.

With a sigh, she pulled away and went over to Brannal. She took the hand he held out.

“Go back to our rooms, please,” Brannal told Perian. “If you could go straight there, that would be for the best.”

Perian could only nod. Brannal maintained eye contact for another moment, but if he was trying to tell Perian something, he couldn’t make it out. He didn’tthinkit was eye contact for “Make a run for it, Cormal’s going to have you thrown in prison.”

With a last lingering look, Brannal ducked back out through the bushes, and Renny went with him.

Chapter Eleven

Perianstoodtherefora moment, feeling a bit as though he’d been blasted with one of those huge gusts of wind that Air Mages could summon, and he didn’t know which way was up and which way was down. Then he picked up the two blankets, shook them out, carefully folded them up, and did what Brannal had instructed.

He slipped back out of the bushes, distantly amused when he realized he could make it through with scarcely a rustle, but Brannal’s bigger build had meant more shoving and more noise. He returned to the path and then headed directly to Brannal’s rooms. As Perian passed people, he saw he was already getting some significant looks and double takes.

Great. He assumed that meant word of what he’d done had spread throughout the castle. Well, there was nothing to be done about it now.

Brannal’s rooms were very quiet. Perian sank into one of the chairs by the fire, pulled his knees up to his chin, and stared into the flames. He wondered if there was always a fire here because of Brannal’s affinity or if it was just the stone of the castle that held in the chill. Would there be a fire in the summer? Would Perian be here to see it?

He’d always known his stay here would be limited, but he hadn’t previously expected it was likely to be ended because of Cormal. Although, now he thought about it, that had probably been short-sighted. It had been clear from the moment they met that Cormal didn’t like him, and whether it was jealousy or something else, it didn’t really matter. Well, hopefully, Perian would be allowed to leave. He remembered Brannal telling him that the Warrior wing had actual dungeons, though hadn’t he also said they weren’t much used?

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