Pleasure by Jacquelyn Frank Page A

that he could only stare dumbly at Sagan for a very long minute. He had never heard Sagan speak with such passion before. Granted, he showed his fury of emotion during a hunt for a Sinner and especially during the kill, but never outside of that. He was always placid and peaceful, for all his warrior’s ways.
    â€œIf you feel this strongly, Sagan, and if you believe our gods led you to her, then perhaps she is meant to become your handmaiden. If this is the case then there has been no sin. What is her power?”
    â€œMagic,” he said with a fall of such seriousness in his inflection and his intent eyes that understanding hit Magnus in a rush.
    â€œShe’s human. Drenna, Sagan, she’s human? Mortal? ” Then somehow finding the power to sound even more shocked. “A magic-user? A creature of such evil and you see no sin in this? What the hell did she do to you?”
    â€œHow quickly you assume,” Sagan mused carefully. “It makes me wonder, Magnus, how many of your other automatic assumptions are also flawed.” Then Sagan told him everything about the woman he loved. Everything he needed to know, that is. He didn’t need to know how she hummed as she created her fabulous meals, or how she would snore in her sleep only if he wore her out enough to sleep that deeply. He certainly did not need to know how sweetly she screamed in pleasure for Sagan and how, even now, he longed for the embrace of her body, her arms, and her kiss. “If magic can be good, Magnus, then maybe there is room for the belief that breaking religious law is not a sin.”
    â€œYou speak of two separate matters entirely. Religious law and the vows you’ve taken cannot be toyed with so easily.”
    â€œWhy not? Murder breaks religious law and is a sin—except when we do it! There is no sin on us when we priests take the life of a Sinner. Why is that? If every life is a precious thing, Magnus, then why don’t we deserve penance for taking one…no matter how evil it is?”
    â€œReligion is faith, Sagan! You believe in what we stand for or you don’t. If you doubt what you are here to do and the rules you must adhere to, then you should renounce your position! But gods, I beg you not to do that. You are one of the finest priests I know. You were born to do this work and I need you now more than ever. This is a crisis of faith, M’jan Sagan. That’s all that it is. We can guide you through it if you let us. You have to start by—”
    â€œRepenting of my sin? Never. Never , Magnus! Do you hear me? I love this woman down to the core of my soul and I cannot ever call that a sin. You will never hear it pass my lips and I will never drop penitent to my knees for it. If that costs me my place here, then so be it. I sacrifice it gladly.”
    Sagan surged to his feet, stepping away from his confessor.
    â€œThen why did you even bother to return, Sagan?” Magnus asked quietly.
    Sagan laughed, the sound choking through his emotions as he kept his back to the other man. “I came back because this is who I am. This”—he raised his hands to encompass everything that Sanctuary was—“this is what has made me, and continues to make me, into a worthwhile being. Without this…I have nothing of myself to offer her. And because of this, I can offer her nothing of myself. It is an unbearable irony, Magnus, but I had to choose. I could offer her a shell of a man with no culture, heritage, or meaningful work to define him…or I could come back here to try and keep all of that with a hollow heart rattling around inside my chest. At least with this choice, she can move on to have the things she deserves in life if she chooses to. I couldn’t imprison her to the husk of a man who could give her no children, couldnever grow old with her, and could never follow her into the light of day.”
    â€œLove wasn’t enough,” Sagan heard the