Perian’s smile faltered. “I should hope not.”
Brannal made a face, tugging Perian closer again to press a soft kiss to his lips. “No, I didn’t mean that. More like… I’ve had so much sex, it should tide me over until later, but instead, I just seem to want to havemore.”
This made Perian laugh, especially at the mixture of longing and incredulity in Brannal’s voice.
Perian slung his arms around the other man’s neck and gave him another kiss.
“I always want to have more sex with you, too. But I can wait until tonight after dinner, whoever we spend it with, when we’re able to curl up in bed together. Have to see if this bed is better than the one at the inn, right?”
Brannal nodded, lips tipping up in a smirk. “Yes, absolutely. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”
They went their separate ways. It was tougher than Perian expected. They’d not even been gone for three days. Surely, he could handle Brannal doing exactly what he usually did here in the castle. Instead, it felt like they’d trained themselves to spend all their time together, and now it felt weirdly like something that was between the two of them was being stretched to the breaking point and was going to snap. Which was ridiculous, and Perian wasn’t going to be ridiculous about this.
It was early afternoon, so Perian had missed his chance for a picnic with Renny. He decided to stop by the doctor’s office to see if she needed help with anything. Surely, there would besomethingthat Periancould do.
He was clutching the necklace Brannal had given him that morning, he realized, his thumb and forefinger pinching the metal, joining all four elements together. He made himself let go before he entered the doctor’s workroom.
The doctor looked up, and though she smiled, Perian thought she looked a bit strained, the lines around her mouth and at the corners of her eyes more pronounced than usual, though her hair was still neatly pulled back, the square beads marking her gender a metallic gleam against the graying strands.
“Welcome back,” she said.
“Thank you,” he returned, frowning at her. “What’s the matter?”
She was silent for a moment, and then she said, “The Princess had one of her dizzy spells yesterday.”
“Oh, no!” Perian exclaimed, heart thumping in his chest. “What happened? Is she all right? Is she hurt?”
The doctor reassured him, “She isn’t seriously injured. Thankfully, she collapsed as she was rising from her lessons. She did not have far to fall, and she was speedily attended.”
“Maybe she stood up too fast?” Perian asked hopefully.
The doctor shot him a withering look.
“It’s just, it’s beenweeks,” Perian said, a bit desperately. “Months.”
The doctor nodded and reminded him, “And we always knew this could happen. Her illness is not uniform in its severity.”
Perian had never witnessed a bad patch, though, and he’d been hoping so desperately that she was properly on the mend. Almost every time he’d had a picnic with her, she’d looked better than she had the day before.
“Can I see her?” he asked.
“She’s resting and is not permitted visitors.”
Perian drooped.
The doctor considered him for a long moment and then scooped up a bottle of tonic. “The Princess’s riding lessons have been canceled, and I believe she is… chafing at her restrictions. It’s nearly time for her next dose of medicine, and I’m so very busy. Do you think you could do me the greatest favor and take it to her?”
The workroom was completely empty.
Perian flung himself at the doctor and gave her a hug that seemed to surprise her, but she gave him a pat on the back and then pushed him away and held out the tonic. She cleared her throat, and Perian was surprised to see that her cheeks were a little flushed.
“That’s quite enough of that. Get on with you before I change my mind.”
Perian snatched up the tonic and practically ran out of the room, hearing her laughter behind him.
He slowed down as he left the public wing. He didn’t make it more than two steps into the quadrangle before he retreated. It was now pouring rain, which rather reflected Perian’s mood. And while he’d willingly dash through the rain to get to Renny—it was the fastest way—he had the feeling that showing up a bedraggled mess would reduce the chance of his being let in to see an ailing princess.
He reluctantly retraced his steps and took the longer route indoors around the quadrangle to get to the royal wing. It wasn’t like anyone was expecting him, and it wasn’t that much longer, but Perian was suddenly bursting with impatience. How much had he been enjoying himself yesterday and today while Renny had been languishing in bed? Logically, he knew he couldn’t have known, but that didn’t help how he felt about it now. He loved every single thing that he and Brannal had done, and there was nothing he could have done if hewashere, but he wished he’d been here just the same. He was sure Brannal would have understood.
