Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Cormal felt himself flush as he realized what Perian had obviously been sensing. Perian laughed at his expression.
“I hate to break this to you, but it’s pretty obvious even if you can’t feel desire.”
Cormal had to laugh at that. “That’s fair. It’s, um, still pretty new and entirely amazing.”
Kinan beamed at him, and Perian laughed.
“Oh, it’s so cute. It’s not quite the same when I feel Brannal’s and my desire because it’s already mine. I’ve not felt other people’s desire since”—he faltered slightly but went on—“the castle.”
“It must be very quiet here,” Kinan said, stepping into the breach with aplomb.
“It is,” Perian agreed, looking relieved for the subject change. “Very peaceful in a positive way but… sometimes in a bit of a boring way, too. Although it’s so much better with Brannal than when I was on my own. But I do miss our friends.”
“And they miss you,” Kinan hurried to assure him. He perked up. “Oh, and you’ll never guess what.”
“What?” Perian asked.
“Molun and Arvus seem to have found their third.”
Perian froze. “What? How can I not know this? Why didn’t they—?”
He cut off abruptly.
Cormal made a face. “Why didn’t they write you at that ridiculous fake name that I know nothing about?”
Perian stuck out his tongue, surprising a laugh out of Cormal. “Yes, that. Why don’t I know this already? What’s their name? How long has this been going on? When did they meet? Tell me everything!”
Kinan started to fill Perian in, and he sank back onto the sofa and listened avidly. Cormal resigned himself to not getting that glass of water anytime soon.
Kinan asked him questions periodically to force him into the conversation.
Kinan made no mention of Trill being related to Cormal, and he thought that was for the best at the moment.
They’d already thrown a lot of things at Perian and Brannal—and if nothing else, Cormal would prefer to tell the two of them together.
With a swoop in his stomach, Cormal wondered what Brannal was thinking—could he ever forgive Cormal?—but before he could dwell on it, he got pulled back into the conversation as Perian asked Cormal what he thought of Trill.
“He seems quite nice. From what I observed, the three of them seem happy, but we aren’t exactly spending a lot of time together. He reminds me a little bit of you, actually.”
“So you don’t actually like him?” Perian asked, but he sounded like he was joking, thankfully.
“Really?” Kinan said. “I didn’t notice that. In what way?”
Cormal paused and tried to figure it out.
“I’m… not totally sure. You’re outgoing in different ways.
I’ve seen more of Trill’s uncertainty, which might just mean that you wisely kept your guard up more around me.
Trill is eager to please and wants to make people happy. You always liked to make people happy.”
Perian’s expression softened. “Yes, I do.”
“Trill didn’t have a great home life,” Cormal continued, “so some of it comes from not wanting to make people unhappy, which isn’t much like you.
Honestly, it sounds weirder now that I’m trying to explain it.
I mean, you clearly made Molun and Arvus happy, too.
Superficially, you’re not that similar. He has green eyes, blond hair, and is shorter than you.
But neither of you are made of muscles.”
“Hey,” Perian protested, “not everyone has a ridiculous training program and a very active job. It’s not our fault!”
“He also seems to be very fond of sex,” Cormal added.
This made Perian laugh. “Well, I certainly won’t object to that comparison. They’re really happy, then, Molun and Arvus?”
Cormal nodded. “Well, they’re not telling me that. But they seem happy.”
“They do,” Kinan agreed. “They miss you and Brannal a lot.”
Perian made a sad face. “I miss them, too.”
“I’m assuming they’ve not visited so that I won’t freak out and try to kill you?” Cormal said wryly.
Perian huffed a laugh. “Yeah. I promised they could all come and live with me forever, but we wanted Molun to get well and didn’t want to back anyone into any corners.”
“Very smart.” Cormal had had more than enough of being backed into corners, even if he’d done it himself. “As soon as I get back, if you want, I’ll suggest they come visit.”
“Is Molun well enough to ride?” Perian asked anxiously. “He always says he’s fine when I ask, but I don’t believe him.”
Kinan and Cormal exchanged glances, which of course, made Perian worry more.
“Oh, no, is he—”
“He’s fine,” Kinan and Cormal said at the same time and then laughed.
“He’s so much better,” Cormal continued. Blowing out a breath, he admitted, “I imagine he’d be better still if you’d been able to keep helping him, but he’s been steadily recovering. He needs to use a cane sometimes.”
A spasm of pain crossed Perian’s face. “I still don’t totally know what I’m doing. But I’d—I could still try to make it better.”
“The injury is still improving,” Kinan offered hurriedly, like he didn’t want Perian to feel bad. “I haven’t seen him with the cane nearly as often recently.”
“That’s true,” Cormal agreed. “Maybe Arvus really has started to tie him to the bed to keep him from overexerting himself.”
Perian exploded with laughter and managed to say between giggles, “I’m not so sure that would keep him from overexerting himself.”
“What’s Molun doing now?”
They all turned to Brannal, who had reentered the room. He rolled his eyes. “You said overexerted. I assume that was who you were talking about.”
Perian was smiling, but it looked a little forced.
“His leg’s still bothering him. Told you he was lying to me.
And Arvus was carefully not saying anything, either, that lying liar who lies.
” Brannal opened his mouth, like he was going to say something to comfort him, but then Perian suddenly jumped up.
“Oh, and you will not believe what those lying liars have kept from us!”
Brannal blinked, clearly trying to keep up with the mood swings. “What?”
“They found their third! And they didn’t tell us! It’s like we’re banished to the edge of the country or something! How could they not say anything?”
Brannal looked truly surprised, but after a slightly too-long pause, he said, “I assume they were too busy?”
And this, of course, made Perian burst into laughter again.
“Yes, all right, that’s entirely likely. But seriously, they’re going to get such a scolding when we see them. Oh, and Cormal promises he’s not going to fire them or kill me, so they can come visit!”
Brannal shot a look at Cormal, who tried to look like they’d not been making death jokes which were maybe only funny for everyone else in the room.
Perian swatted at Brannal. “Brannal. Visits. Be happy!”
Brannal pulled Perian close and enfolded him in his arms. “I’m very happy.”
Perian made a contented sound and leaned into him.
They just stood that way for a long moment, wrapped in one another’s arms. Cormal finally had to look away.
It was so intimate that it felt like something he wasn’t supposed to see, like they were so used to being able to do whatever they wanted that they’d forgotten they had guests.
Or maybe they really didn’t care. Maybe they were happy to share with absolutely everyone just how happy they were. It was rather beautiful.
Kinan smiled hopefully at him, and Cormal smiled back. Perian seemed willing to move past Cormal’s egregious behavior, and even if Brannal never forgave him, if Perian wanted civility, Cormal was sure Brannal would provide it.
But Perian also wasn’t going to foist Cormal on Brannal if Brannal wanted him gone.
“Oh,” Perian said, springing back. “Water! I never got you your water.”
“I was pretty resigned to dying of thirst,” Cormal told him.
He really should not have given Brannal that opening, and he couldn’t even blame him when, a moment later, he was drenched from head to toe.
Perian was snickering, and even Kinan looked like he was trying not to laugh. Of course, he hadn’t gotten wet.
“Yeah,” Cormal said, wiping the water out of his eyes. “I definitely walked right into that one. I have no defense.”
“Would you like something to eat?” Perian asked.
“Is it going to wind up smashed into my face?” Cormal inquired somewhat acidly.
Perian was giggling again. “I don’t think so?”
“Then if you really don’t mind, I would be happy to have something to eat.”
“I’ll get it ready. Kinan, can I show you the kitchen?”
Because it was clearly necessary to show the one person in the room who couldn’t so much as touch the food where the kitchen was.
Kinan looked to Cormal, who nodded, so Kinan rose and walked over to Brannal. Whatever he leaned in to say was too quiet for Cormal to hear. And then he and Brannal were alone.