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tangled hair.
    Arick was still naked, huddled at the other side of the small space, seemingly asleep. Sai had built a small fire at the mouth of the cave, hoping that the foliage would block its light. There was plenty of light inside now, and he didn't like what he was seeing.
    Arick's body had always carried his share of honorable scars, fresh scrapes, and bruises. It was part of the profession. Now though… if he hadn't known every inch of the man, he wouldn't recognize him. He was thin and lean; his body was peppered with scars. Even his buttocks carried ugly marks. And his back was covered with fresh, oozing stripes. Those were layered over old scars: burns, lash marks, wide slashes…
    Arick had been tortured. Yet he'd walked freely amongst the Delphine.
    "I know you're awake, Arick. Talk to me."
    Arick stirred, but didn't turn to face him, and Sai's conscience stirred. Arick had submitted to the harsh fuck. Hell, he'd even shot his own load, without a touch from either of them. He'd never objected, but Sai's guilt flared anyway. He hadn't seen the whip marks in the darkness.
    No excuse, as he'd suspected that the Delphine had punished him earlier.
    Arick stirred, moving stiffly till he sat, his face and body in profile. He didn't look directly at Sai; his gaze was distant.
    "Back then, we were fighting, but it wasn't the Delphine. I don't remember…"
    "We were fighting the Urichs." How could he not remember that battle? It was etched on Sai's mind; he replayed it every day, every night.
    Arick nodded. "That's right. Anyhow, I was thrown. My horse went down hard, and by the time I made it back to my feet, I was surrounded. I fought, but it was all strange. They didn't try to kill me. They didn't even try to wound me. I took a blow to the head and woke up later, part of a procession of captives. They were from all over, some from the Archipelago, others from places I've never been. I was delivered to the Delphines."
    Sai watched him as he paused. Arick's hair was now long and unruly; the golden hue glowed dully in the firelight. He'd lost none of his beauty, though. Sai's body stirred once again, and he hated himself.
    "How'd you keep the sword?"
    "I didn't know at the time, but that's why they took me. Someone saw the blades— as it turns out, they are quite famous. As is that one." He nodded at Sai's massive sabre. "They took me because they thought I was the famous Sword Master."
    A sick feeling rose in the pit of Sai's belly. "They thought… they sought to capture me?"
    "Yes."
    Arick turned, looking at him in the face for the first time since… they'd made love? Fucked?
    Since I raped him.
    Sai breathed through sudden nausea. The horror must have shown on his face, and Arick read it as easily as if they'd parted only yesterday.
    "Sai, don't. I submitted. I… wanted you. I wanted you like that."
    "No, not like that, Arick." He picked up a pebble and tossed it deeper into the cave.
    "No, maybe not just like that. A bed would have been nice. And some lubrication. I won't be riding a horse soon." He gave a cockeyed smile then, a shadow of the smile Sai had loved so well. "Harsh as it was, we needed that."
    Sai shook his head in denial. He'd never raped a captive. Never. He'd never before hurt a lover.
    "I was interrogated," Arick continued. "For hours, they tried to beat the truth from me. I told them the truth, that the blades had been a gift from my king, and that the twin had been lost on the battlefield. Finally, they brought in Maris." His voice had dropped to a near whisper. "He's the sorcerer, the king's main advisor. And he is a… terrible man. Evil."
    Sai recalled the lonely screams of the captive who'd been tortured back in the camp. He shuddered.
    "Maris also interrogated me and quickly ascertained the truth: I held no magic. But he still… he continued with the questioning. I suppose it wasn't as horrible for me as it is for his other victims, as I have no magic in my veins. But it was quite awful." He