LOREN
There was a lot to talk about, but none of it was pleasant. That became incredibly clear to both of them when Remi spoke about Aoife; Loren’s heart went out to the child, especially because he knew a little bit about people he loved not being reliable. Granted, this was a completely different situation, and granted he’d done some abandoning of his own, but anyone with a soul would feel for the girl. ”I’m...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” The tears in the alchemist’s eyes are too much to bear: even the summoner, with his aversion to touch, couldn’t stand by and do nothing. So he reached out and clasped the other man’s shoulder for a brief, excruciating moment.Loren held up his hand and made it shake. ”Do we? I’m as weak as the kitten I don’t know if I can summon.” It was better to respond to that comment than the innuendo about the librarian’s skills in bed; seeing as the Launceleyn hadn’t touched another person that way in almost a year, and seeing as he’d hardly been the most experienced before then, he seriously doubted he was any good at sex these days. ”I thought this was supposed to be a fair contest? Where I come from, cheating is not fair.” They were from the same place—although worlds apart within Northaven, given their histories and upbringings—so the concept of honor couldn’t be too foreign to the other man. But Remi didn’t know about the Launceleyn’s past anymore, and it was better to keep it that way. It would just upset the already distraught alchemist. Of course, then the other man went and feinted at the summoner. Instead of moving, however, the librarian just gave the Remi an unamused look.
It faded when Loren grinned at the exclusive comment. Finally he finally climbed to his feet; though he swayed for a moment, after the stars and dots cleared from his vision he was fine. If the alchemist was going to start pouncing again, the Launceleyn wanted to be able to move away more easily. ”So you absolutely cannot blame me for that, at least.” However, the conversation swung once again to more serious topics. At least Loren was getting used to all these changes. ”The Prince?” That was a new one for the Launceleyn. Then again, most of this was new to him.
Well, that was exactly what Loren had wanted to hear, and it was brutal. He spread his hands helplessly. ”I live here, Remi, along with two children and a man named Peter who flinches at his own shadow. Do you think we are the stuff of nightmares?” The Launceleyn gave the alchemist a legitimately hurt look.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
