Perian came over to hug him. “I don’t care. I can get more vases. It’s so good toseeyou!”
Brannal soon had lamps lit, and he ushered them all into the sitting room, giving Arvus and Molun both big hugs.
Perian smiled at Trill.
“You must be Trill. Cormal and Kee have been telling us all about you.” His expression went stern as he turned to Molun and Arvus, putting his hands on his hips. “Andwhy, might I ask, did I have to hear about this super exciting news fromCormaland Kee?”
Molun looked very shame-faced all of a sudden, and even Arvus looked a bit abashed, which washilarious, because Perian was about half their size. He wasn’ttiny, but he certainly wasn’t built like they were, and yet it was obvious that they were, ifnot actually intimidated by him, well aware that they were in trouble.
“We were busy?” Molun tried.
Perian scoffed. “You had to have recovery periods. You could have been writing.”
“I was so glorious fucked out that my fingers couldn’t pick up a pen?” Molun tried.
Perian tried to keep a serious expression, but Trill could actually see him lose the battle with his glee.
“That good, is it?”
Molun practically melted with relief. “So good! And now that you and Brannal are gone, there’s no one for me totellin absolutely glorious detail!”
Cormal chose that moment to walk into the room, the Prince trailing slightly behind him.
“More sex talk, really?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who was wandering around the house naked!” Molun said hotly.
Cormal’s cheeks had gone red, but he said, “We were woken in bed to crashes coming from downstairs. I thought we were under attack! Of course I didn’t stop to put clothes on.”
“But why were you naked in—”
Molun seemed finally to notice the way the Prince was hovering next to Cormal.
“Wait. What? When did this happen?”
Trill laughed. “You didn’t know about that?” A look at Arvus showed he hadn’t known either. Trill gestured at them. “But it’s so obvious.”
“How would it even work?” Molun demanded curiously.
The Prince’s face went eerily blank, and Cormal stepped protectively in front of him.
Trill said, “Verywell from the look of them,” at the same time that Perian said, “Let me tell you how the glee isnotsubtle.”
They looked at each other and then laughed.
Molun now looked seriously intrigued. “I have so many questions.”
Arvus intervened. “But you remember that while you like to share all the details of your sex life, not everyone else feels the same way.”
Molun pouted. He looked hopefully at Cormal and the Prince. “I’ll tell you all aboutmysex life.”
Cormal’s lip curled up in a sneer. “We already know more than we’d like to about your sex life, thank you. Now, what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”
“Seriously?” Molun demanded. “Areweall right? You pretend that you’re going off to inspect the watch stations, and you sneak out here instead? And you want to know ifwe’re all right? We were coming to try and stop a blood bath!”
Cormal looked genuinely surprised to learn that they’d shown up because they were worried about him.
The Prince said, “I guess Delana and I figured it out sooner. She helped me sneak out after him so he wouldn’t come alone.”
