Page 81 of The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

Brannal raised an eyebrow, and there was something like a pout on his face. “Do I take this to mean you don’t thinkI’m awesome?”

Perian could only laugh. “I actually thought I was rather clear on my appreciation of you, but I can definitely be more explicit if you’d like.”

One of the stable hands who was nearby practically asphyxiated on their own spit laughing and then trying not to look like they were laughing when Brannal eyed them. Perian hadn’t actually meantthat, but he recognized how it had sounded. He gave Brannal a saucy wink, and Brannal smiled at him, though there was a little color in his cheeks. Perian went back to the horse, feeling lighter than air.

He made sure Prince Horsey got oats to eat and was comfortable in his stall.

“You could try being a little nicer to everyone,” Perian told him. “They’re just doing their jobs. I’m sure everyone respects the fact that you’re picky about who you want to ride you, but no one wants to get trampled just because they’re trying to do their job.”

Prince Horsey threw up his head, snorted, and tossed his mane around.

“Oh, just because I rode you once, you don’t think I should dictate how you want to live your life?” There was another laugh behind Perian, but he didn’t mind. “Fine, fine, you’re your own horse, and you can live however you want. I’m going to try to come back as soon as I can, tomorrow or the next day, as long as the Queen doesn’t decide to throw me in the dungeon.”

Prince Horsey nickered and showed his teeth.

“Hey, are you laughing at me?” Perian asked, laughing himself. “I’ll have you know that if I’m in the dungeon I can’t ride you and feed you oats, so I don’t think you should be quite so excited about that. I might even bring treats when I come back if you don’t laugh at me anymore.”

Brannal snorted. “All right, come on, before you promise him the entire kitchen.”

“Just a small portion of the kitchen,” Perian said, giving Prince Horsey a last caress on his velvety nose before letting Brannal tug him out of the stables.

“Thanks everyone,” Perian said in general.

He wasn’t sure which of them had actually helped, he’d been concentrating too much on Prince Horsey. He got a few nods, a few people still staring at him like he didn’t totally make sense, and a few who just went about their job because that was exactly what they were supposed to be doing.

“Thanks again for suggesting this,” Perian said once they were heading back into the castle. “It was great.”

“It didn’t go exactly the way I thought it would,” Brannal said with a smile, “but it really was enjoyable. There aren’t a lot of people who leave me in the dust.”

Perian laughed at him. “Are you saying you’re not used to losing?”

There was still an amused quirk at the corner of Brannal’s lips. “No, I’m saying there are times I’m happy to lose.”

Perian sucked in a breath, and his smile came out a little wobbly. What a nice thing to say to him. It had occurred to Perian more than once that Brannal was Summus and didn’t answer to very many people, and maybe Perian was a little much with his opinions and his irreverence and his insistence on doing this his way.

But he was pretty sure that was a very clear way of saying that Brannal didn’t mind one bit.

“Hungry?” Brannal asked.

Perian nodded, patting his stomach which chose that moment to grumble loudly.

“Very.”

It felt like a lot of hours since the picnic—or the biscuit with the Queen. Perian thought it entirely possible that biscuits with royalty when you were nervous didn’t actually feed you, they just sort of disappeared into nothing.

They swung by the kitchen, and Brannal asked for dinner before they headed back to his rooms.

“I think we should get cleaned up,” he said. “We smell like horse.”

Perian laughed. “Is that not a smell you enjoy?”

“In the stables, yes. In my bedroom, not so much.”

Perian grinned. “That’s perfectly fair.” He hesitated for a moment, as he remembered what had happened the last time they’d had a bath together. “How about you go first, and I’ll bathe afterwards?”

Brannal stared at him for a long moment before he said, “How about we bathe together?”

Perian swallowed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

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