There was really only one solution to the problem. “Release me from my oath, Guy. If I’m no longer bound by my word . . .” I can remain here, and deny you. Maybe I’ll save us both that way.
“I prayed so hard for deliverance.” Guy kissed his neck and embraced him. “I cannot release you. And I won’t. Those weren’t just words, William. I believed in them. I cannot shake that faith.”
Those ties held, the oath was still valid, and Guy, of course, gave him no quarter, didn’t allow him the coward’s way out. Their love had always been a battle, an endless string of competition—who was the better fighter, the better drinker, the better gambler, the better rider. For his soul’s sake, for the memory of his master, he had to honour his oaths, and they seemed careless to him now, even though, no doubt, he’d meant them when he’d spoken them.
But there were the other memories, too; he remembered them both drunk with victory, drunk on each other’s strength. How after mourning Robert for so long, Guy had made his heart beat again, had ended the darkness in William’s soul and filled it with again with passion and joy. He remembered how young and radiant Guy’s face had been, how he’d lain at his side, spilling spiced wine down his front. William had licked it off him only too gladly, combining the spices and the dark red wine with the salt from his skin.
He wanted to taste Guy’s skin again, wanted to hear him laugh. He wanted to feel him struggle, and guard his side in battle.
He loved him. Always would. And he didn’t want to be released.
Author Note
This is a new edition of a story with the same title published by a small (now defunct) press in 2009. I’ve cleaned up the style, added about a thousand words and smoothed the story overall with the help of my editor Nerine Dorman (thank you!). Deliverance was the first appearance of William Raven, whose background Kate Cotoner and I explored in the novella The Lion of Kent. I’m currently (late 2014) researching the overall period for a follow-up story with the tentative title Lions of Damascus.
About Aleksandr Voinov
EPIC Award winner and Lambda Award finalist Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he runs a global financial magazine. His genres range from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, historical, contemporary, thriller, and erotica. His books were/are published by Heyne/Random House Germany, Samhain Publishing, Riptide Publishing and others.
Contact
Website: aleksandrvoinov.com
Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/aleksandrvoinov
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