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Gray swore He looked to the side, then back at his brother "Fair warning, Joss If you don’t take your hand off hed "After that speech, I’d be darabbed his brother in a rough eed hi, anyway?" Joss asked, pulling aith moist eyes and a sly smile "We’ve cheated death before I reckon we’ve oneOr Bel ork a h and slid down the wall until he sat on the floor, legs outstretched

Joss joined hi or noble sacrifice"

Very well, Gray thought I won’t talk about it

"Allow yourself a moot to live for, you know There’s a beautiful ed"

"There are beautiful woed," Gray said dryly "But the only one I care about is gone"

"You don’t know that"

"Oh, she’s gone all right Do you know, she claimed to love me What a fool I was, to believe it"

"Is it so hard to believe?" Joss nudged Gray’s arh she’s the only one"

"More fool you," Gray gruainst the stone wall and stared up at the cell’s singleSlices of bright sky winked at him from behind the rusted iron bars It hurt his eyes to look at, but the discomfort was preferable to darkness "To fall in love now, of all times… after I’ve successfully avoided it all my life"

"Avoided it? To the contrary, I think you’ve conducted a rather thorough search of the globe for it"

Gray thought on this for a ht It was just as well she’d left He knehat he had to do today; it would only have been harder, had she stayed Still, as always, he regretted what he’d left undone Unsaid

"I never told her I loved her What an ass I am No wonder she left I mean, I told her in a dozen different ways, but I never said the words"

"Are they so hard to say?"

"Yes, but … I don’t know They shouldn’t be" Gray shook his head "Do you know, that fifteen-year-old boy had the courage to say in front of the whole crehat I couldn’t bring myself to whisper in the dark? He’ll er stones than either of us, I’d wager"

Joss snorted "Speak for yourself"

Laughter erupted in Gray’s chest God, he was going to ive hi his trust this last ti in his throat "I love you What ever happens, I want you to know that"

Joss propped an elbow on Gray’s shoulder "It’s nice to hear it But I knew that already--never had a doubt in ine she knows you love her, too You’ll have a chance to say the words"

Gray rubbed his temples What could he say? He had but a few days left in this world, and no hope of seeing her in the next But he had to keep up the illusion of opti I did find her? What if I tell her I love her, and she still walks away?"

"I don’t knohat to tell you there There aren’t any guarantees in love I knoell as anyone how fleeting it can be"

Gray winced, knowing that Joss referred to Mara

Joss fell silent for a moment, then continued in a low voice, "You may not be able to hold on to her forever But I don’t think you’ll regret trying I don’t"

Gray felt tears burning at the corners of his eyes He sniffed and looked away quickly, searching hiswitty and irreverent to say He was saved the effort when Joss spoke again

"That girl loves you, Gray We’re going to get out of this, and e do

--I’d bet a hundred sovereigns to one, Sophia will be there waiting for you"

"Sophia?" Gray blinked "Her naht You didn’t know"

"But--" Gray scratched the back of his neck "But how did you? Since when have you known her naed, his expression cohed at Gray’s befuddled silence "When you dropped your trousers to take a piss It’s painted on your arse"