“Meerna had been killed for her association with me, the unclean, unlucky son of fire. And Doru had been treated much the same way as me. He was tied and on his knees in front of me. They’d cut out his eyes. And while I was made to watch…”
“Oh God, Blaze…”
“While I watched, they stripped him, raped him, cut off his penis, and finally slit his throat.”
Arik dropped his empty glass and tried to reach for Blaze, but Blaze pulled away. He’d never finish if Arik touched him. “The lie I told you was when you asked if I’d ever felt the punct luminos, the spark…the connection with anyone else other than you. I told you no, but…with Doru, I had it. With us, it’s gentler, actually, at least for now. It is only when we touch skin, but with Doru, it was all the time. When he was closer, it sang louder. When we touched, it screamed for joy…and when he died, I watched him fade and…I feltit, too.”