Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

all day, and he'd need his rest, especially if he was going to get the spell casting done for the following evening.
    Standing, Corin pulled off his boots one at a time and tucked them next to the foot of the bed so neither he nor Rafferty would trip over them in the morning. Rafferty was pulling off his boots as well; they were tall, knee-high affairs that were in much better condition than Corin's ankle boots. Corin climbed into the bed, ignoring the part of his mind that insisted on focusing on the way Rafferty's touch affected him and wondering if Rafferty's gold-blonde hair was as soft as it looked and whether his mouth was as malleable—
    Corin cut that thought short, tucking himself against the wall and leaving plenty of room for Rafferty to lie down without touching him. Rafferty joined him a second later, sliding under the blankets and carefully arranging them so they covered both Corin and himself. It was a little uncomfortable, tucked against the wall on a third of the bed, but it was leaps and bounds above the thin pallet in his room or the hard stone of the castle roof.
    There would also be no wandering demons, Corin realized. He was sharing a comfortable bed, safe from demons and away from Mavir's snores… and he was too awake to take advantage of it. Rafferty sat up to snuff the candle and then lay back down, settling down quickly. He didn't say anything, and Corin debated briefly whether he should wish Rafferty a good night's sleep before deciding to keep quiet.
    Rafferty seemed to fall asleep quickly, his breathing evening out into a slow, steady pattern. He didn't snore, which was nice, but it didn't help Corin fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling, slowly relaxing as Rafferty continued to stay still and quiet and asleep. What would happen after they bound the demons again? Somehow, Corin didn't think it was going to go the way Rafferty obviously assumed it would. The priests wouldn't take kindly to his interfering in their established ceremony again.
    Would they kill him anyway? Possibly, though if Rafferty used up Corin's spirit energy in the ceremony, it wasn't as though it would do them any good. Perhaps they'd kill someone else? No, probably not. The demons would be bound; there would be no reason for them to kill anyone else to bind them. At minimum, they'd probably send Rafferty away again and make Corin's remaining months at the monastery miserable.
    It would be worth it. Not only because Corin wouldn't die, though that was a decided plus. He could warn Moori and convince her to move away to somewhere they used Rafferty's method to seal the demons. He'd also be able to help Rafferty, and Corin couldn't help but think that a plus, even though it was stupid to think of it that way.
    Shifting slowly, so as to not wake Rafferty, Corin rolled onto his side. The room was pitch black, like his room often was, but it was a comfortable darkness. It didn't chill him, didn't make him worry if he'd wake in the morning. It was also warmer, which probably helped with that perception.
    Pillowing his head on his arm, Corin ignored the way his head was buzzing. He wasn't going to worry about the ceremony or the priests or the demons or Rafferty. It wouldn't do any good—he was still going to help Rafferty no matter the drawbacks. It was probably stupid to put all of his faith into a single person, but all the worrying in the world wasn't going to make Corin change his mind.
    ****
    Corin was woken up by light. It wasn't a lot of light, barely enough to paint the room in a faint glow. He was in Rafferty's room, Corin remembered, flushing when he realized that he and Rafferty were much, much closer than they had been the previous evening. Corin tended to sleep curled up, not sprawled across the bed; Rafferty seemed to do much the same. At some point during the night, however, they'd shifted together, and Corin pressed against Rafferty in a number of places.
    Flushing, Corin froze, not sure what to do. Any sudden moves would wake Rafferty, for sure, and Corin didn't want to do that. He wasn't feeling that strange surge of heat that he had the last two times he'd touched Rafferty, Corin realized. That, more than anything, was odd. Shifting slowly back, Corin rolled over on his back, putting a bare inch between himself and Rafferty despite wanting to shut his eyes and pretend he was curled up with Rafferty.
    Rafferty groaned, reaching up and pulling the blankets higher over his shoulder. He managed to hit