Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 2

do."
    The sun beat down on them both, Kent's armor growing stifling. Seth wiped glittering drops of sweat from his forehead. Even as they rode under the cover of the trees, the air lay humid and dead around them.
    "I would remove my armor, but after getting shot, I think I won't," Seth sighed. "I don't want to experience that again."
    Kent flinched at the reminder of how he had ignored his friend's suffering. He did not like to think of Seth in pain. "Was it… was it bad?"
    "A crossbow bolt went through my chest. What do you think?" Seth jibed, and Kent looked away.
    "Sorry. But yes, it was bad. When I woke…" He shuddered in the saddle. "I hate that Lyle. Priest or not…" He shuddered again.
    "What happened?"
    Seth's eyes widened at the anger in Kent's voice, but he obliged. "I'll admit he knows something of caring for wounds, but his attitudes…" Seth's eyes flashed. "And he knows nothing of helping those injured recuperate. He asked me to pray for my soul and for my health, and yet he gives me nothing to help except leeches. Horrid things. You know you can feel them pulling the blood out of you, right? He called it washing out the filth, but it's horrible. I already lost blood, I needn't have lost more. That is the only reason I would be weak."
    Kent nodded. "We should practice. Later on. To build your strength."
    "A good idea. Funny, I had the same one earlier." He smiled, but it quickly faded when Kent didn't smile back.
    Practice, as they always had. Lyle's words echoed in Kent's mind. If he couldn't control himself and allowed Seth to become infected with his desires, leeches would be the least of his worries.
    Seth grew quiet, and the day wore on toward evening. There was no sign of any enemy, nor even any tracks. Seth began striking at the bushes as they passed, swinging the butt of his spear like a child swinging a wooden sword. All that he accomplished was scaring off a few flocks of birds.
    "We'd best stop for dinner, don't you think?" Seth asked with an edge of annoyance as another cawing group of crows flew from the trees they rode under. "I don't think we're going to find anyone even if we travel to the edge of the King's lands."
    Kent looked up, the sky through the trees darkening to purple. The light would fade fast in the forest. "Agreed. Let's set up camp."
    "Excellent!" Seth broke into a wide grin, sliding off the side of his horse and taking up the reins. "I saw a cave not too far back; we can set up a fire at the mouth and have warmth and shelter."
    Kent found it impossible not to smile back. "Lead on, then."
    This shouldn't be awkward. It shouldn't be so difficult to hide his feelings, his frustrations, the swirling fear in his stomach of what would happen if Seth noticed Kent's caring for him. He had always acted close, laughing and joking with Seth, training with him without ever refusing, and sharing food and bedding far more than other knights did. But Lyle's words—his knowledge—hammered home how obvious Kent had been. He couldn't keep doing it.
    So when Seth stretched out by the fire and offered Kent a bit of his rations after they had set up their camp, Kent refused. "Eat it yourself. You need to build up strength."
    Seth sighed, cramming the bread into his mouth. "Suit yourself."
    They ate in silence, the air heavy. "So, uh, Kent, what did you end up doing last night?" Seth asked, a grin stealing over his face. "Let me guess— praying and practicing? No fun for you, eh?"
    Kent's face heated, and he stood up. "I'm going to keep watch. Get some sleep."
    "What?" Seth stood up too, reaching for Kent's shoulder. "What did I say? C'mon, Kent, what's been bothering you all day?"
    Kent stepped out of reach of Seth's questing hand, grabbing his sword. "You need rest. Don't worry about me."
    Seth's face fell, and Kent left the cave, the bland rations not sitting well in his stomach. The dark, cool air washed over him as he stepped outside, the horses perking their ears as he passed. He hung his head in his hands, sitting a few feet away from the horses.
    It was for the best. He was saving Seth from certain death. Even if Seth didn't suspect his feelings, if someone like Lyle saw them being too friendly and assumed Seth did… they'd both hang. And both burn, if what the priests said was true.
    His time with Seth was over. He had to make that clear.
    But damnit, it hurt. The stars winked overhead, shining and cold, the night around him silent. He was alone, and without Seth, that would be