Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 2 by Various Authors Read Free Book Online

fell silent then.
    Sai rubbed his temples. The torture Arick had endured had been Sai's destiny. Through the most horrific events, he'd been spared.
    "Sai?"
    He looked up at Arick.
    "You would not have survived. I had nothing to give him; you however… he'd have ripped you apart to take your magic. It would have been your death."
    Yes, but at least he'd have been spared the years of hell, the ripping, crippling blend of anger, betrayal, and joy he now felt. Oh, and guilt. That too.
    Arick, though, he'd have survived. He'd have grieved for Sai, but he had his son and his career and a strong, noble heart.
    When he wasn't turning on his own people.
    "Why, Arick?" The other man looked at him; his bright eyes glittering in the dim light. "You have a degree of freedom. You could have slipped away today. Instead, you captured me only to release me. Why did you stay with them?"
    "You do not know? Of course, how could you?" Arick sat to the side, protecting his ass. "They have him, Sai. They have Aron."
    "Your son?" Sai's mind scrambled to make sense of the reason that Arick had given for betraying everyone he held dear. "Arick, that cannot be."
    "I saw him, Sai! They keep him in the palace jail. I do not know if they abuse him or starve him; they only give me glimpses of him. He cries, Sai. How can I leave my son to die at the hands of those monsters?" Tears glittered in his eyes, carving bright tracks down his cheeks.
    Sai rose and crossed the slight distance between them. He gazed into Arick's agonized face. "Arick, your son is fine. I saw him just days ago, for a sword lesson. He lives with Juliana in the officers' barracks."
    Bewildered, Arick shook his head. "I saw her fall in battle. I don't know how they did it, Sai, but they took my son— he's little more than a babe!"
    Sai had never before seen magic of this sort, but he tasted it on the back of his tongue. It was bitter and metallic. The magic he practiced was born in his very blood, part of his soul. This was sorcery, a spell of some sort. How could he fight that? He squatted 'til he was eye-level with Arick.
    "Arick, tell me, how much time has passed since you were taken?"
    He frowned in concentration. Clearly, a bit of simple reality was taking a toll on Arick's delusion. "Years, I suppose…" He looked at Sai in question. "How many years have I been gone, Sai?"
    "Six years, Arick. You son is no babe." Sai did the only thing he could think of: he picked up the massive sabre and rested it flat in his hands. Holding it out to Arick, he looked down at it, then at the broken soldier again. With trembling hands, Arick reached out, laying a hand flat on the blade.
    "Six years, Arick," He repeated. "Aron is now a young man of eight. He attends school and sword practice. I've barely been able to look at him because he favors you so completely."
    "Eight years old?" Arick shook his head in denial. "No, there must be a mistake. My son, he's only… a baby… a toddler. He has so few words; he cries still, and he's not yet three years old."
    A touch of fear wafted through Sai, the spell that had deceived his lover was deeply entrenched. But like all illusion, it would blow away like cobwebs when the truth was revealed. So he waited, watching Arick's face as his mind sorted through conflicting information.
    "Eight years old? Truly?" His eyes beseeched Sai— for what, he did not know. He could only sit quietly as Arick finally cleared his mind of the falsehood. He dropped forward, his face in his hands, ragged hair covering his face. His shoulders heaved, but his grief was silent.
    Six years ago, Arick would never have hidden his emotions.
    Tentatively, Sai reached out, his fingers brushing scars and wounds, learning the new map of his lover's body. Arick's hand moved, gripping his, squeezing hard. Sai's breathing increased 'til he was panting, his heart pounding in his chest.
    It seemed impossible to imagine that Arick had been bespelled, but the magic that channeled out through