“I was actually hoping todrinkthe glass of water,” Cormal said mildly.
Perian grinned wider. “No, no, it’s a tradition here, didn’t you know? Every guest gets a glass of water thrown at them.”
“Oh, well, if it’s atradition.” Cormal agreed, amused.
Perian’s expression went puzzled, and his head tilted slightly to one side.
“You really would let me throw a glass of water at you, wouldn’t you?”
“If you wanted to,” Cormal admitted. “Way less painful than a knee to the groin.”
Perian was staring at him. “You’d let me dothat, too?”
“Cormal,” Kinan said warningly.
Perian shook his head, but he looked amused. “I think I actually understand a bit better now how shocked you were at Brannal’s behavior, and how you felt like he had to be under the influence of something unnatural. Because it’s only been a couple of months, and you’re a lot like a whole different person.”
“That’s thanks to Kinan,” Cormal acknowledged.
“It’s not!” Kinan protested.
Cormal turned to him. “It really is.”
Kinan’s expression was stubborn. “No. Because that takes away from all the work you’ve done. All the realizations you’ve made. All the effort you’ve put in to confront your old behavior. That’s not me, Cormal. That’sall you.”
Cormal cupped his face.
“Thank you, Kinan. But I assure you, as much as I’ve made an effort, it’s unlikely I’d be here without you. You make me so happy, and you make mewantto be better. You make a tremendous difference.”
Perian made a sniffling noise, and when Cormal looked over at him, he was wiping at his eyes.
“You two are so cute. I didn’t see that coming.”
“None of us did. Well”—he gazed sardonically at Kinan—“except for Kinan, who’s had a crush on me foryears.”
“Hey!” Kinan protested, though he was half-laughing.
Perian was laughing outright. “What’s this? A crush on Cormal? Oh, no, wait, I seem to remember you describing him as, what was it, ‘not totally awful if you like fiery redheads who lose their temper’?”
Cormal raised an eyebrow, and Kinan scoffed. “Renny is a lying liar.”
Perian laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t really think that’s what you said. But if I’d thought about it more, I might have realized you were being awfully complimentary. I was too busy trying to set Cormal up.”
Cormal stiffened. “You were what?”
Perian sighed. “It sounds stupid now, but I figured if you had some, uh, company, maybe you’d be happier overall, and we’d get along better.”
Cormal snorted, shaking his head in bemusement. “Is that why you kept staring at me? Because I was attributing way more suspect motives.”
Perian laughed. “Of course you were. I apologize for not paying more attention and working out that the exact right person was right in front of us.”
Turning back to Kinan, Cormal said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t see you.”
“You see me now,” Kinan said, eyes soft and fond.
Cormal didn’t realize how long he’d been gazing at Kinan until Perian jumped to his feet.
“Wow. All right, I’m going to go get you that water because my goodness, that isstrong.”
