Perian managed to bring up his other arm and break the man’s hold, but it didn’t take more than two moves before the man had caught him, grabbing his arm and bending his wrist back so far that Perian cried out and then cringed at the spike of arousal that tainted the room.
The man took a step forward, driving Perian back towards the wall, towards where the woman was trapped.
“Whatis going on here?”
Fire and water. Of all the possible people who could come by in this moment.
It was Cormal.
The Warrior’s expression turned irritated and ingratiating, the cruelty that had been there suddenly subsumed, and he was no longer holding Perian.
Smoothly, the man said, “The little toy wandered in making a fuss just because I was having a pleasant time. Probably jealous.”
“That’s not—!” Perian started, outraged.
Cormal scoffed, his lip curling up. “He’s known for doing this. Let me take care of it, will you?”
The Warrior’s lips tipped up into a big smile, and he strolled out of the room as though he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Cormal!” Perian started.
Cormal held up his hand, and Perian ground his teeth together.
“No, really,” he insisted. “You need to listen to me!”
“Shut up,” Cormal snapped. “For once, recognize this is not about you.”
Perian shut up, confused, and watched in surprise as Cormal walked over to the woman who was still frozen against the wall a short distance away from Perian. He dropped to his knees far enough away that he couldn’t touch her.
“He’s gone now,” Cormal said gently. “Is there someone you’d like us to get for you? So you’ll feel more supported.”
What… was even happening now?
Like she was a string puppet and her strings had been cut, she slid to the floor in front of Cormal, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob big heart-wrenching sobs.
“We need Delana,” Cormal instructed Perian. “Or someone who isn’t a Warrior and male. And we’ll need the doctor and Brannal and Onadal.”
And Perian, who two minutes before would have said nothing could convince him to do this, left Cormal with the woman and darted out into the hall until he found a runner and sent them pelting off to find the people they needed, blankets, and water.
When he returned, Cormal and the woman were still where they’d been before, but the woman had a handkerchief clutched in her hand, and Cormal was just sitting there patiently beside her, telling her that everything was going to be all right and they were going to fix this.
Perian was still stunned.
Nisal arrived first—the best soothing, non-threatening person Perian could think of, who could also flatten someone with air if they misbehaved—and Perian caught them at the entrance to the room.
“I don’t know exactly what happened,” he told them, but explained what he’d seen when he came into the room.
They made a horrified face and entered. And because they were Nisal—Perian was pretty sure they knew everything—they actually knew the woman’s name, and it wasn’t long before she was sobbing in Nisal’s arms, and Nisal was patting her soothingly but just letting her cry.
Cormal and Perian slipped away from them, since Nisal clearly had it under control at the moment, and kept everyone else out in the hall so as not to overwhelm the woman inside. Once the doctor had heard what Perian had witnessed, she went into the room. Soon after, the blanket and drinks arrived, and Perian sent Delana in with those, hoping that the woman would feel more comfortable without any men present. The last thing Perian wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.
“How did you know something was happening?” Cormal asked.
Perian frowned. “I’m not sure,” he admitted, trying to think over what had happened. Howhadhe known, when he wasn’t even in the room to see them? “I just—”
Delana came to the door. “Misalla would like to see you, Perian.”
He hurried in and was soon hugging the sobbing woman as she clung to him and thanked him over and over for coming in and for refusing to leave.
