Molun said excitedly, “Summus! Summus! I have thebestidea.”
They could all see it coming a mile away, and it meant that although Periandidget his night away in the woods with Brannal, he didnotget it alone.
He would really have enjoyed the alone time, of course, but he couldn’t fault Molun or the others for their enthusiasm about seeing this secret place. Perian had wanted a private holiday, but he’d also never had the chance to travel with any of the others, andhe was actually looking forward to it. He hoped he could honor Kee a little and represent him at this place he loved. Maybe one day, Renny would be able to come with them.
Brannal went off to plan the schedule to make this work, and by the time it occurred to Perian thatCormalmight like to revisit the place he’d once gone with Brannal and the Prince, it was too late. The night away had been arranged for Perian and Brannal, along with Molun, Arvus, Delana, and Nisal—and Cormal would be maintaining order in the castle.
Perian couldn’t even blame the man for the snide comments that he threw their way. Perian really hadn’t meant to exclude him, and he didn’t suppose it would help to tell him that he’d actually been hoping to sneak away with Brannal and then it had turned into this big thing with everyone… but not Cormal, because Perian didn’t consider Cormal a friend and it hadn’t occurred to him to invite the other man.
Yes, perhaps he would just… not say that. Maybe he could make sure Cormal got the chance to go in the future? Not that it was Perian’s job to arrange any of that, but perhaps he could suggest toBrannalthat Cormal might like to get away? Or was that too weird? It wasn’t like Perian particularly wanted to send the two of them off into the woods to spend the night alone together. He absolutely trusted Brannal, but it felt awkward.
All right. He’d see how this visit went, and if it was a success, then others could come, andeventually, that would include Cormal.
Because BrannalwasSummus and took his job seriously even if he was trying to be different than Tramad, the whole “training in the woods” ruse had been taken up in earnest.
Molun nudged Perian. “We’re counting on you to keep him distracted.”
Perian laughed. “My powers of distraction are pretty good, but I’m not sure they’rethatgood. You’ve seen what he’s like when he gets stubborn about something, haven’t you?”
Molun sighed and nodded.
This had sort of become a work event that Perian got to attend; there was no way that Brannal was going to tell the Queen and Cormal that they’d be training and then not train. That wasn’t how Brannal worked, not when he wasn’t young and indulging a prince, anyway. Perian might be able to distract him so that there was a littlelesstraining, but that was about it.
Maybe Perian could suggest that Nisal and Delana go find a lot of firewood? Or forage for food or something? He’d figure it out.
And really, while it wasn’t at all what he’d been envisioning at first, this might actually be good practice for what he hoped would eventually be him joining Brannal on some of his inspections to the watch stations. He’d prove that he could keep himself entertained and Brannal could work. It would be excellent.
Chapter Twelve
Renny seemed gleeful about the proposed visit, and during one of their picnics, Perian finally pressed her a little bit about it.
“Why does this mean so much to you?”
She shrugged, but she was still practically vibrating with excitement. “I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but it’s like getting a little bit of Kee back, you know? Like this is his secret place that has been empty all these years, but now you’re all going to go fill it up again and bring it back to life. It just seems… important. That might be a bit silly.”
But Perian shook his head and pulled her into a hug. “No, that doesn’t sound silly at all.”
“Can I see you off?” she asked.
“As long as you promise not to try to climb into any of the baggage,” he told her with a grin.
She laughed. “I promise.”
So in less time than Perian had expected but with way more people than he’d originally hoped for, with a madly waving Renny seeingthem off, they set out early one morning for the secret area by the lake. Mid-September was approaching, and the leaves had begun to change in earnest.
Perian basically gave Prince Horsey his head once he pointed him in the right direction.
“You know where you’re going,” Perian told him. “We’re going to visit the Prince’s secret spot. Just don’t leave all the others behind. They’re allowed to come to. We’re sharing it with all of them.”
Prince Horsey snorted and flicked his mane, like he wasn’t so sure that was a good idea, but he headed off anyway.
The others trailed behind him, and Perian periodically reined Prince Horsey back a bit so they could all stay together. They had enough baggage to allow them to eat and camp. It had been years since Perian had camped, and he’d always done it practically within sight of his home, so this would be new for him.
The Mage Warriors, of course, camped in the course of their patrols whenever they needed to.
His father had been good at making things feel like a grand adventure even if they’d never been that far from home. He wondered now if his father really had wanted to stay home all the time. Had he tired of travel after his years as a merchant? He always insisted to Perian that he was where he wanted to be, that he’d bought this estate and retired to be with his family, and that was exactly what he was doing.
Perian really hoped that hehadbeen as happy as he’d said, that he hadn’t been too disappointed by the fact that home had soon been filled with only him and Perian when Perian’s mother died when he was a baby.
