It was truly beautiful to watch, and Perian was “oohing” and “ahhing” along with the rest of the crowd. The grand finale was what looked like dozens of fireballs that circled one another, diving in and out in an intricate dance until they all crashed together and fell back into the bonfire, making it leap up like it was going to take over the sky, until it fell back once more to a manageable level.
The crowd exploded in cheers and yells and claps of appreciation, and Perian was cheering and yelling right along with everyone else.
Perian wasn’t sure if Brannal could actually hear him, or maybe he’d just found Arvus in the crowd. Arvus was one of the tallest people Perian knew (only Chamis beat him, as far as Perian was aware), so he could be seen over most people. Perian was only a few inches shorter than Arvus, but in a crowd like this, those inches mattered. Brannal made his way over to the three of them, with Cormal in tow, the chattering crowd mostly parting for them. The two of them were glistening with sweat and grinning.
Perian threw himself at Brannal as soon as he was within reach.
“Oh, Brannal, that was so wonderful, I’m so glad you did that. It was beautiful!”
He leaned in to kiss him, and it had honestly only been meant to be a congratulatory kiss, but it maybe got a bit hot and bothered. Perian had been completely turned on by that display.
Distantly, Perian heard Cormal mutter, “I’ve got to go.”
Perian made himself pull away.
“That was really amazing, Secundus,” he said, feeling bad because the man had been half of that display, and Perian hadn’t actually meant to focus solely on Brannal.
“It was your best yet,” Arvus added.
“The two of you outdid yourselves,” Molun agreed.
Something that looked almost like a smile graced Cormal’s lips, not an expression that Perian saw very often in his presence, and it faded a little when Cormal looked at him, but he said, “Thank you,” politely enough.
Perian thought he seemed a little sad. Did Cormal think that if Perian hadn’t been here, he and Brannal would have gotten back together? Might it be true? They’d been together briefly when they were teenagers, more than a decade ago. If they hadn’t gone back to one another so far, it didn’t seem likely to Perian. But they’d both been united by fire, and who knew what might have happened.
But no matter how much Perian reluctantly sympathized with Cormal in that moment, he was definitely not going to give up Brannal for him. (If Brannal suddenly decided that Cormal was who he wanted, he supposed he wouldn’t get in the way, but he definitely wasn’t going to simply step aside based on a look.)
As Cormal took a step back, the crowd seemed to take that to mean their discussion was over, and the redhead was suddenly surrounded by other people who wanted to tell him just how amazing he’d been, reaching out to pat his arm or shoulder—or in a few cases, downright caress him. Perian had definitely glimpsed some wandering hands.
Brannal’s arm was firmly around Perian, and the crowd seemed to correctly read him. They stuck to respectful nods.
Perian watched Cormal flush as a pretty, dark-haired man laid his hand on Cormal’s chest.
“Ooh, you’resostrong,” the man purred.
Biting his lip, Perian managed not to laugh. He made sure not to meet Molun’s gaze, certain that the two of them would lose it if he did. There was definitely a lot of admiration and attraction there, and, well… sometimes, that was exactly what someone wanted.
Perian didn’tthinkhe gave a nudge, but Cormal definitely wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Perian happily put the other man out of his mind, hoping that whatever happened was exactly what the ornery second-in-command of the Mage Warriors needed.
He leaned into Brannal’s side.
“So you enjoyed that, did you?” Brannal asked.
Perian grinned at him. “That was extremely impressive, and I’ll show you just how impressed I am whenever you like.”
Brannal and Molun bothgroaned.
“That sounds like a very appealing offer,” Brannal said, eyes hot and dark, “but if you showed me whenever I liked, these good people would get quite a show.”
Perian laughed. “Anticipation makes the act that much more enjoyable, don’t you think?”
Brannal’s expression turned wry. “I’m certainly about to find out.”
“Are the other festivals like this?” Perian wanted to know.
He definitely wanted to make sure he was here in the city for all of them if that was the case.
But Arvus shook his head. “Most of the elements aren’t nearly as showy as fire. Earth is very steady and reliable.”
