Page 33 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

“You’re very smart,” he told them.

“I know,” they said with a grin.

They helped Perian put on his shirt since movement tugged at the stitches on his arm. It wasn’tterrible, but Nisal batted his hands out of the way.

“Seriously, do you want to tear the stitches the doctor literally just put in?”

Well, that did seem rude.

The doctor gave Perian more salve and tonic and bandages, which he couldn’t even protest taking now that he actively needed them.

Nisal insisted on carrying all of them since Perian was injured. After losing the shirt argument, Perian just acquiesced.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“You’re very welcome, Perian,” the woman said with a smile. “I hope the next time I see you, it’s because you want to assist with making another vat of salve—while completely injury free.”

Perian grinned at her. “Me, too.”

He waved goodbye, and then he and Nisal headed back to Brannal’s rooms, where Nisal set down all the tonic, salves, and bandages on the table.

“Brannal is going to be so upset when he gets back,” they said.

Perian made a face and looked down at his arm. “Do you think it will be completely healed before then?”

The doctor had already told him it would take weeks to fully heal.

Nisal patted him on the shoulder. “Nice try.”

“But I’m sure it’s getting some of our extremely excellent salve, and that salve is better than all the other salves.”

Nisal grinned. “Oh, do you think that will make the difference?”

“I’m sure it will,” Perian said staunchly, because he could only hope.

He saw that the writing supplies were on the table, too.

“Oh, I had better write that letter before I have no clothing left.”

“You could just buy more,” Nisal pointed out.

“I know. But I don’t actuallyneedmore. If I have perfectly good shirts at home, then why not send for those? Plus, it will reassure my staff I’m not dead, and I’ll make sure that everything is fine at the estate. Now that I think about it, I have no idea if I gave the hotel my direction. They could be sending daily letters to the hotel to tell me the entire place has been destroyed in a storm.”

Nisal snorted. “Yeah, maybe you should check on that.”

So Perian dashed off a letter to his housekeeper asking for another trunk with shirts, more clothes, and a few other of his belongings that he thought he might want here.

He soon had the letter signed, addressed, and sealed, and then Nisal held out their hand.

“Oh, do you dispatch mail, too?” he asked, though he honestly wasn’t surprised.

“I know everyone,” Nisal told him matter-of-factly.

Yeah, it wasn’t like Perian would have known who to give it to, so he happily handed it over.

“Thank you.”

“You’d better get going,” Nisal told him. “If the Princess has heard about this, you’ll need to show up promptly.”

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