“But we’re going to be very careful,” Arvus interjected, tone brooking no objection. “We’re not having you or Perian overrun by requests or blamed for not saving everyone.”
Brannal and Molun both nodded seriously, and Perian and Trill exchanged glances. There were only two of them, and they definitely couldn’t be everywhere at once. Nor, he assumed, could they save everyone from every type or severity of injury or disease.
They hadn’t fixed the Prince, after all. His type of… injury might be unique, but surely he wasn’t the last they wouldn’t be able to help.
“Do you think there are more of us?” Perian asked, almost like he’d been reading Trill’s mind.
Trill shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess if there’s two of us, there are probably more. But if I’m being honest, if I were them, I wouldn’t even consider revealing myself until it was absolutely clear that no harm would come to me.”
Everyone around the table nodded, thankfully not seeming offended.
“But,” Perian said hopefully, “looking at it the other way, if wecanconvince people that we’re not just out to kill them, consider what we bring to the table: healing, as well as loads of really good sex, from us and the carnalions. What’s not to like?”
They laughed, and Brannal slung an arm around Perian. “Itissuperior sex.”
“Agreed,” Molun and Arvus said promptly, grinning at Trill.
He couldn’t help but preen. Looking around the table, he could see that everyone seemed amused and happy. No, it wasn’t a solution for the Prince, unfortunately, but it was still the beginnings of a monumental shift in something that Trill had thought was carved in stone.
It was entirely likely the Prince wouldn’t succeed, but just the fact that he was genuinely proposing it was more than Trill had ever expected.
“Would anyone like to join us in the sitting room?” Perian asked. “We like to drink tea and read terrible novels while we pick them apart and propose how they should be done better. It’s the doctor’s fault.”
This was exactly the sort of thing to appeal to Molun, and soon they were all trooping into the sitting room as Perianexplained about the first terrible novel the doctor had sent to them.
“We usually do this in the study, but we won’t all fit there.”
By the end of the evening, everyone had taken turns reading, and the consensus was that Molun was best at the ridiculous voices, but Cormal and the Prince had shown a surprising ability to come up with absurd and wonderful-sounding plot ideas together. There were parts where they had all been laughing too hard to hear anything, and it had been an unexpectedly enjoyable way to spend an evening.
Trill was reminded that Perian wasn’t even permitted to leave the estate. He and Brannal had no doubt had to come up with countless things they could do here. Trill really hoped that the Prince would succeed in changing that, but in the meantime, they had each other—and their friends, at least right now.
Trill woke early and sneaked out of bed because hehadto talk to Yannoma. He planted himself outside of her door. When she opened it perhaps three quarters of an hour later, she wasn’t dressed to depart, thankfully, but given her expression when she saw him, it was clear his effort had been necessary.
It was still weird to see her fully well like this. Wonderful! But weird.
“Better to get it over with and just talk to me,” he suggested.
She sighed and came all the way out of the room. “Very well.”
“You need to tell him,” Trill told her immediately.
“It’s complicated,” she protested.
“No, it’s not.”
“I can’t make up for what he’s lost.”
“No one is saying you need to. But you of all people can’t claim that you don’t think he deserves the truth.”
She huffed a breath, but she nodded with a wry expression in acknowledgment of his hit. Her eyes narrowed.
“I suppose you’ll tell him if I didn’t?”
“He deserves the truth,” Trill repeated. “I think it would come better from you.”
She drew in a deep breath, blew it out through her nose, and then nodded. He pulled her into a hug, which seemed to surprise her, but then she hugged him back.
“I’m so glad you’re well,” he told her.
