Chapter Twenty-Three
Perian woke up. This seemed to happen a lot these days, where he woke and then wasn’t sure where he was or why he felt the way he did.
After considering for a long moment, he decided that he felt… pretty good, all things considered. A bit achy, but not as… asemptyas he would have expected. He was pretty sure that it could have been much, much worse. There was a faint taste in his mouth that told him he’d probably been on the receiving end of one of the doctor’s tonics.
There was water beside him, which was great, because his throat was dry. He managed to reach for it and not spill it as he tried to gulp it down. Only once he’d drunk some of it did he realize he wasn’t in a cell anymore.
It wasn’t a room he recognized—it was much smaller than Brannal’s room—but it was a proper room with a bed. The room was made of stone, and it felt like the castle.
That… could have been much worse.
He drankmore of the water.
He lay back in the bed.
He lay there and contemplated the shape of the world and how everything that you thought you knew could change in the blink of an eye when you least expected it.
He was still lying there when there was a brisk knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Cormal, who stepped inside. It wasn’t quite like waiting for someone to answer and actually tell you to come in, but it was a step up from prison.
“You’re awake,” Cormal said.
“I am,” Perian agreed.
“The Queen would like to see you.”
“Of course.”
Perian was dressed in sleep trousers.
Cormal pointed out where clothes had been set out for him and then half turned so that he wouldn’t be looking directly at Perian as he changed.
He levered himself up from the bed, sat there for a moment to make sure that everything still seemed to be working, and then carefully rose to his feet. But he felt… pretty well, truly. Still… slightly off, but maybe that was to be expected.
“Are Renny and Kee all right?” he demanded as he pulled on his shirt.
“The Queen wishes to speak to you,” Cormal repeated.
“Cormal,” Perian said, then amended, pleading, “Secundus.Please.”
The redhead let out a sigh like Perian was the biggest pain that had ever pained him, but allowed, “They are… as well as can be expected.”
That was… not exactly the answer Perian was looking for, but one glance at Cormal’s stubborn face, even mostly turned away, told him he wasn’t going to get more information. Still, he didn’t think Cormal would lie to him—not about this. If Perian had hurt Renny or Kee, then Cormal would be shoving it in his face right now. (Or, more likely, Perian wouldn’t have woken up at all.)
He pulled on his trousers.
“How long has it been?” he asked.
“A few days,” Cormal said, like he couldn’t be bothered to keep track.
Perian suppressed a sigh and sat down on the side of the bed and pulled on his boots. Then he rose to his feet, smoothing out his clothes and running a hand through his hair.
“I’m ready,” he said.
Cormal led Perian out into the hall, where two Mage Warriors were at the door along with two Warriors. Again. Perian didn’t say anything, just let them escort him to theQueen, a silent phalanx of confusion and fear—and that hum of desire that didn’t seem to go away completely, even when you knew that the person you were guarding was a carnalion.
Perian had to assume that carnalions were built this way, meant to attract even if you knew it wasn’t a great idea to be attracted.
He was brought to an area of the royal wing he’d never seen before. Perian stood waiting with his escorts while Cormal entered the room, presumably to let the Queen know they were here. They waited for what felt like a very long time, and Perian had to resist the urge to fidget. He didn’t want anyone to overreact. Besides, it probably wasn’t more than a few minutes before he was led inside. And then, to Perian’s surprise, his escort was dismissed, until it was just the Queen, Cormal, and Perian in the room.
