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of his voice.
Assem looked at his Imar, lips thin with withheld emotion. You must tell him, my
lord. He deserves to know.
Satarin closed his eyes for a brief moment, as though reaching within himself for
strength.
I have spoken to Anin. He has given me a way to get all of you home, to get the
ship moving again.
Mikon straightened, fingernails digging into his palms. He had not missed the
words all of you , as though Satarin was not a part of that. Janizar had not hesitated to
use the Imar in any fashion he deemed worthy. Was Anin of the same caliber, seeing
Satarin as little more than a means to an end?
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The Chosen
Mikon wanted to rage against what was coming. He could feel the severity of it in
Satarin s manner. Whatever this was, it would hold no happiness for the Imar, of that
he was sure. And if so, then Mikon would find none either, for only Satarin held the key
to Mikon s heart. He and no other.
Tell me, he whispered, stare locked upon his lover s face.
Satarin swallowed hard, then his gaze swung to meet Mikon s, allowing him to see
all the fear that resided in those vivid Masaarian eyes.
Anin has taken Janizar s soul. His body is now dying. Soon the ship will not
operate at all and all within her will die. He needs another to take Janizar s place.
Mikon s heart froze in midbeat. Whatever he had expected, it was not this atrocity.
Had they escaped the insanity of Janizar s wishes only to fall into something much
worse? Why did Anin not leave Janizar in place until they reached somewhere,
anywhere that they could leave this cursed ship? They could survive elsewhere, surely.
This could not possibly be at the cost of Satarin s existence. To link with the ship, he
would have to be made a&
He plans to make you a god. The words sounded harsh to his own ears, the
disbelief he felt tainting them with horror.
Satarin flinched at the word, revealing his own distaste for the matter, but his eyes
were steady upon Mikon. There is no other way. Janizar went completely mad. His
soul could not remain in control of the ship. Without the soul, the body will die. We will
die. This is all there is, the only path available. He paused, expression agonized. It
must be today, he whispered.
Mikon was frozen in place, his mind numb. He wanted to scream in protest, shake
his lover, make him see this was madness. They could not have come this far, gained
this much, only to lose it in a heartbeat. His beautiful Satarin, imprisoned forever, never
to know the warmth of sunlight once more or the wind against his skin. To become a
mere body, encased in glass, only a voice, a presence. To never have the touch of his
lover once the glass closed over him. To become the ship, quite literally. This was a
travesty of life, god or not. No wonder Janizar had gone insane.
A travesty of love, condemned to be forever parted. Mikon would only have a voice
to love. There was no Chosen to take Satarin s soul within. Mikon would gladly offer, to
feel his lover s essence if nothing else, but how would that ever erase the need to hold
each other? It would be eternal torture. And what about when Mikon died? He was not
immortal, not yet. Maybe not ever now.
It was as though Satarin could read his thoughts. Anin is taking a part of your
soul, Mikon, and replacing it with Masaarian essence. You will be immortal now. The
part that seems to be Kei, the part that stays separate for some reason, will be taken. It is
not understood how this is possible, why your soul is not one, but in this case, Anin
says it is a blessing. He will take Janizar s soul and Kei s soul and let them be reborn
within our people, to heal and learn once more, to one day be together.
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J.C. Owens
Mikon shot to his feet, fists clenched mindlessly, pacing away from his brother s
comforting touch. So they that caused all this, Janizar and Kei, will find happiness, will
find each other once more. And us? We are condemned to their agony? Why? For what
reason? They cannot do this& His voice broke at the end, tears started to his eyes. He
never wept, was always strong. But& this? How did one move past something that was
beyond understanding? Death was one thing, but to live as an eternal prisoner?
Satarin rose to his feet, the sheen of tears in his own eyes, and took two huge
strides, gathering Mikon into his embrace. Mikon clung to the large body, fingers
clenching in rich robes, desperately holding on. This could not be happening. He could
not lose Satarin now. They were finally together, there was supposed to be happiness
now, completion. Not grief and desolation.
He wanted to protest, to beg Satarin not to accept, that it would be better to die than
to endure what was to come, but he knew his lover too well. Satarin was Imar and he
could never be less than that. An Imar lived for their people. Mikon had admired that
from the beginning, it was part of the man he loved, perhaps had even been the factor
that had caused that love to bloom.
He raised tear-blurred eyes to stare at his brother. Jakob was weeping
wholeheartedly, wrapped now in Assem s comforting arms. Could he condemn his
brother to death? All those people who waited quietly within the dying ship, trusting
their Imar to save them now that their god was gone?
Was he selfish to wish for happiness himself? To wish that things might be
different, that Satarin be less than he was? His mind darted about like a wild beast,
desperately seeking a way out, a path that would see them through without such
sacrifice, but in the end, it was as his lover had said, the only way.
He sagged to his knees, feeling Satarin follow him down, and wept without
restraint against his lover s powerful shoulder. Strong arms held him close and he tried
to memorize every detail, every breath Satarin made, his scent, his warmth.
Today, he would lose it all.
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The Chosen
Chapter Eleven
They entered the bridge of the ship together, alone. Jakob and Assem waited
outside the doors, ready to come to Mikon after it was all over.
The vast room had been cleaned, the debris gone. The jarring difference was that
the glass case now lay open, empty, Janizar s now-dead body removed. They only had
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