Page 116 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

They popped into most of the shops, just to take a look. Perian found a beautiful blanket done in different shades of blues and greens that he bought for Renny, and the owner assured him it could be delivered to the inn. He couldn’t regret any moment he was spending with Brannal, but he still missed Renny. They had picnicked every lunch for weeks now, and it wasn’t something he wanted to give up.

But he didn’t have to borrow trouble. Hopefully, there would be picnics for weeks to come. Missing a few days didn’t put that in jeopardy.

He and Brannal walked arm in arm, laughed and chatted, and sometimes strode along in companionable silence. They grabbed a snack at the bakery, not that they really needed it after that meal, but everything looked so tempting.

They walked the whole of the main street, finally emerging a little bit out of town and then striking off the road to enjoy the nature around them. Everything sounded alive in a way that wasn’t quite the same in the city. The quadrangle could be an amazing approximation, but it wasn’t actually nature untamed.

Here, it was quite easy to slip into the forest and actually wind up completely out of sight of the town and any people. And much to Perian’s surprise, Brannal hadn’t been at all reticent about taking Perian up against the side of a tree. He made a bit of a mess of Brannal’s leather armor when he came, but they managed to mostly clean up with the help of a wet handkerchief. Perian wondered how soon they could do it again.

The walk back through town was equally pleasant, nodding at people as they passed, who gave very respectful nods in return. Even if they didn’t know who Brannal was specifically, the garb and the attitude made it clear he was a Mage Warrior, and people generally respected those who protected them from demons.

Back in the inn, Brannal promptly tumbled them back into bed.

“I seem to remember something about needing to getverydirty before we could havea bath.”

It wasn’t until they were both thoroughly debauched that Perian went to ask for the bath since he was fine to wander about half clothed to do it. The innkeeper also handed him a letter that she said had just been delivered by a rider who had not stayed. It was addressed toSummus.

Perian brought it back to Brannal and handed it over.

“Is something wrong?” Perian wanted to know.

Breaking the seal and pulling the letter out of its envelope, Brannal scanned it quickly and then relaxed, shaking his head.

“No, everything’s fine. Cormal is just reporting on everything that’s happened at the castle while we’ve been gone.”

Perian eyed him. “You’re sure nothing’s wrong?”

Brannal held out the letter. “No, see for yourself.”

It turned out Brannal was right. Cormal had summarized the daily activities and reports he’d received. Honestly, the most interesting occurrence was Cormal’s off-hand remark that Renny was not going riding today, since he managed to passively aggressively imply that it was somehow Perian’s fault—though Perian wasn’t quite sure if he was to blame for not being there when she wanted to go out, or somehow goading her when he was there, so now she was doing what she really wanted?

Perian squinted at the letter. “Why wouldn’t she go riding? It’s not like I always go with her. And I’m not making her do it!”

Brannal plucked the letter out of Perian’s fingers. “No one is suggesting such a thing.”

Perian was pretty sure Cormal had been at least hinting at it. He frowned harder at the letter.

“So you think she’s all right?”

“Of course,” Brannal said, looking at Perian with concern. “Cormal would have said if anything serious had happened. I’m sure there’s nothing the matter, Perian.”

He nodded, torn between worrying that something was the matter… and suspecting that Cormal had written the letter simply to interrupt their time together.

“But what was the point of telling us that everything is fine?” he demanded. “Did he really just want to remind you of your duties?”

Brannal wasalwaysSummus, so didn’t he deserve a holiday now and again?

“Or,” Brannal suggested, “he knows you like to hear about the Princess, and he wanted to make sure I didn’t worry about anything.”

A bit petulantly, Perian said, “I thought I was doing an excellent job of making you forget everything else.”

Brannal laughed and pulled him into his arms. “You are definitelyexcellentat that.”

Perian leaned into him and sighed. He was usually better at looking at the positive side of things. Attributing suspicious motives to everything Cormal was doing certainly wasn’t going to help their relationship going forward.

And really, if Perian wanted Cormal to write nicer things in his letters, he should probably actively work on their relationship, shouldn’t he? He’d thought the method of them just ignoring one another was the way to go, but he could see now that it had flaws. But he wouldn’t worry about that right this minute. He and Brannal were on holiday.

“I’m glad everything’s all right,” he said, trying to rally. He pulled back to meet Brannal’s eyes and winked. “Good to know the castle didn’t fall down just because you aren’t there.”

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