Tears began to spill before Malric could stop them. He covered his face with both hands, trembling like a child.
"Yes… I love him… I always loved Erian."
Anna looked at him with reddened eyes, surprised by the rawness of his grief.
"And I hate myself… I hate myself because I couldn't protect him… I should have saved him, I should have taken him away, I should have… I should have done more."
The memories struck him without mercy. The last time he saw him locked in that empty room. The moment when desperation drove him to kiss his lips, stealing something that never belonged to him.
"I kissed him…" he murmured, as if saying it aloud dragged him even deeper. "I kissed him without his permission, because I thought that if I felt it, if I tasted him just once, I might survive losing him."
Anna watched him, her brow furrowed, caught between tears and rage.
