The more thought he gave it, the more he had a sneaking suspicion that the answer had much to do with who said it.Emrys Wrenwhistle had always been able to command a room without even trying.He was charming and just ridiculous enough to put people at ease, all while being incredibly powerful.Sage was none of those things.
He decided it was further proof that this arrangement between Conrad and himself was a smart idea.Both had their concerns about blending with the present company, but Conrad was fortunate in ways that Sage could never be.He was new and peculiar.Nobody knew his story, beyond what he was willing to tell.His name had never shown up in theTribunelinked to questionable, salacious behaviors.
It was likely why everyone had been teasing them so.Sharing a bed with Sage Ravenwing meant something, and everyone wanted the gossip on how their new friend felt about that.To Sage’s bewilderment, Conrad seemed…pleased by it.Unbothered, of course, but also willing to luxuriate in their shared moments like none had ever done before.
He thought of the way Conrad had offered for him to fall asleep in the position he’d found himself in every morning since they’d arrived, the weight of the man’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, the?—
“Careful!”
Another strong forearm was pressed against his chest, and Sage was brought back into the moment only to realize that he was being saved from his greatest fear.Keelan had shouted for him to stop just as Silas prevented him from stepping into a puddle that spanned the entire width of their path.
Sage swallowed and searched both of their faces briefly as Silas moved to place his hand on Sage’s shoulder instead, giving it a squeeze.
“Thank you,” Sage said tightly.
Keelan gave him a soft laugh and nodded.“Not to worry, I’ve done far worse while I was busy daydreaming.”
Sage’s lip curled.“I was notdaydreaming.”He managed to successfully step over the mud without getting any of it on himself.The path was only wide enough for two; he gave Keelan a wary look as the man took up walking beside him.A strong urge to riot welled in his chest when Keelan linked his arm with Sage’s like they were old friends, but he managed to contain it.
“Nobody could blame you,” Keelan said with a shrug.“Conrad is very handsome.I’ve lost entire days thinking about Silas’ forearms.”
Suddenly, the speed at which they were walking became far less upsetting.The sooner this little outing ended, the better.
