“Where’s he doing the hard labor?”
That didn’t seem like something that could be done here in the castle, right?
“He will be transferred to the prison in the tenth district in a few days,” Brannal said. “The Mage Warriors are guarding him in the meantime to ensure there is no… conflict of interest.”
Mage Warriors and Warriors worked together frequently, but there was still a divide between them, and they didn’t report to the same person. Perian trusted that Brannal had hand-picked them to ensure they were people who would make sure Venoran was well-guarded.
“Thank you,” Perian said.
Brannal nodded. “Now, I hate to bring this up, but it’s dinner time.”
Perian sighed. “Yes, we’d better get down there.”
“We don’t have to,” Brannal started.
But Perian smiled a little bit wryly at him. “But we really do, don’t we?”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Brannal told him firmly.
Perian’s smile became more genuine. “I know you won’t.”
He might actually be best protected at the dining hall, never mind that he was surrounded by Warriors who might be upset with him, because Brannal, Molun, Arvus, Nisal, Delana, Onadal, Bennan, Chamis, and others were all there, too, and they tended to be the ones sitting right next to him.
There was a moment when they walked into the room that everything went completely and utterly silent, like the entire room had been talking about him right before he arrived, and then they suddenly had to stop. Brannal just kept walking, and that meant, fortunately, that Perian kept walking at his side, and as they arrived at their usual table, the talking started up again, though it was quieter than it had been.
Perian saw that spaces had been saved for them this time, enough room for everyone, and Perian was definitely tucked into the middle where no one was going to be able to hurt him, with Bennan, Chamis, Nisal, and Delana on the other side of the table so that he was truly surrounded by people who would keep him safe.
He drew in a deep breath and then let it out again.
“Can we talk about anything but the obvious?” Perian asked plaintively.
He knew it was an important topic that was on everyone’s minds, but it was the last thing he wantedto discuss.
There was silence for a long moment, as though they all tried and failed to come up with another topic, and then, to Perian’s immense surprise, it was Chamis who spoke.
“I’m working on a new carving.” They all turned to look at him, and he went bright red, but he soldiered on. “It’s commemorating a new birth. It’s not turning out quite the way I expected, and I’ve already had to consign three to the fire, but I’m still working on it.”
Bennan took over. “He’s a perfectionist. He tosses them in there so that I can’t save them.”
“They’re terrible.”
“They’rebeautiful.”
And just like that, they were off, talking about art and critics and perception of self, and if Chamis had not been across the table, Perian would definitely have hugged him. As it was, Perian pressed himself up as close to Brannal as he could get without climbing into his lap in the middle of the dining hall, and he mostly just played with his food.
Cormal was there, too, and he was quiet. He didn’t say a single rude thing to Perian, but he didn’t offer much in the way of conversation. At one point, their gazes crossed, and Perian realized he needed to say something.
“I’m not sure I remembered to say thank you before, Secundus. Thank you very much for your timely intervention. I couldn’t have done it on my own. I really appreciate it.”
Cormal opened his mouth, seemed to consider for a moment, and finally said, “You’re welcome.”
It was a little short and not entirely graceful, but it hadn’t been an insult. Perian offered him a smile, Brannal squeezed his hand, and Molun started a story about fisherfolk—nets, hooks, and a ribald punchline was involved—that was a good distraction from the serious moment.
Periodically, Molun or Brannal would put something else on Perian’s plate, like they thought they could tempt him to eat, but Perian’s stomach was still in knots, and he wasn’t sure if he was waiting for something else to happen or if this was just leftover worry from the day. Maybe his stomach had simply decided it didn’t want to eat food anymore.
Cormal left quietly and early, and Perian didn’t blame him.
And then Brannal said, “Look, berry pie.”
