32

"Are you so upset after learning the truth, my dear?" Rohen's voice rang out in his head. "I did not offend you in any way, did I? I thought you liked me... Is that not true? You yourself agreed to be mine... even without much persuasion. How can I console you?"

"I am... just shocked," Eriolan answered after a pause. "I was raised as a thing..."

"Oh, no... do not think like that, please. I told you earlier that it is not easy to love someone, but when you meet such a person with whom marriage is impossible, then... you begin to look for ways to be happy. I am not imposing myself as a spouse yet, so that you get used to me as a friend..."

"You have Ray, do not you?"

"An unplanned meeting with him... Someone else's Radiance, which I appropriated for myself. I loved you even before you was created and I patiently waited for you to grow up. If our upcoming marriage bothers you so much, you can be my adopted son..."

"Okay," Eriolan nodded his head, wiping away tears. "The son, so be it! But you already have enough of your own."

"But there are no androgynes, only guys. Phoenixes are male creatures... but are capable of reproducing in different ways."

"Why do you like androgynes so much?"

"Rare and charming. Self-sufficient. They give inspiration. A lot of advantages, so to speak."

"Am I making you happy?"

"Very! For hundreds of years I have been touched by looking at you in dense lives. You are the bright delight of my eyes and the fiery thrill of my heart. Do not worry about your destiny. Everything will be wonderful, as you want, but on one condition - never ever leave me."

***

"You really do not remember anything about your past, Ray?" Eriolan asked after his insights to his young lover.

"This... It is better to let it be a secret for everyone," came the evasive answer. "I could really have escaped from some Master. And most likely he was extremely unpleasant to me. Why remember negative experiences? My heart is now leashed by Rohen, just like yours. This is the ability of phoenixes - to conquer! You are not going to run away, are you?"

"To where? If my Creator... Irmay bought me off? It is unlikely that he needs me, created as a knick-knack for a rich gentleman. What an irony of fate? Over the course of my life, I have purchased so many pretty things to admire, and I would never have thought that I myself was such an item."

"Eri..." Ray hugged the King. "You are not a trinket! Absolutely all creations are grown. It is just that some individuals are invested more than others and they are the beloved of the Creator. Irmay loves you, his son, and it is right that he wanted to hide his identity behind a veil, so as not to listen to complaints later. But you decided to get to the bottom of it. He still answered you, but he could have continued to ignore you, pretending to be a deaf Logos."

"Was my appearance copied from that same admirer of yours who was captured? That's why I look so much like him!"

"It is quite possible that from Aruel. It adds value to you. Do not think that you are a thing. Nobody needs resigned dolls. You will show your character from time to time. Insist on your interests."

"Rohen said that he would never let me go and would try to make me happy."

"And he will keep his promise."

"How many of them are there, such customised fiancés as me? What do you think?"

"It is unlikely that there is anyone else. Finding a charming partner who will accept your feelings is really not easy. You can't make your own husband, but you can find inspiration in other worlds. Therefore, you were ordered as a desired spouse with warmth in your heart and a dream for reciprocity. Many thousands of years of waiting have passed and this causes respect. Perhaps, me too, was ordered by someone..."

***

Eriolan could not have imagined that his relationship with Ray would end abruptly due to his disappearance.

"He sailed away with Arlow without even saying goodbye to me?" The excited King hurried to Taylor's estate.

"What makes you think that?" The Earl was alarmed.

"There has been no one in his house for several days."

Taylor tensed, his eyes widening and he cursed loudly:

"...! He did it! Scoundrel Yarion! How screwed I am!"

He closed his eyes and sat down on the mowed lawn, digging his fingers into the coarse grass with obvious annoyance.

"What did he do!?" Eriolan screamed.

"He stole Ray!"