Free Only You by Willa Okati

unscathed.
    “Sounds like you’ve got it figured out,” he said, sorting through his words and picking them as carefully as he could. Daniel might not be volatile, but vulnerable was a different story. Tread lightly . “Or are you asking for my opinion?”
    “Somewhat,” Daniel said. His gaze leveled on Barrett. “Your opinion, or Nick’s. Because even if you’re not really soulmates, you know more about love than I do.”
    Barrett’s mouth fell open.
    “You’re not wearing your cuff,” Daniel said, quiet and gentle, but not backing down. “Nick didn’t have his on last night. I’m not blind, Barrett. Nor am I stupid. I know courage when I see it. You both did what you wanted, and got what you needed. That’s why I thought you’d—”
    “Nick’s got a soulmark coming through,” Barrett blurted. He covered his mouth with one hand but then peeled it away. Even if the startled dismay in Daniel’s face made him want to hide his head, he kept going. He bent his head to show Daniel his bare nape. “It’s on his neck. Right about there. It started last night. He has a soulmark, Daniel. A true mate. Somewhere out there. You picked the wrong person to ask for help. I can’t tell you what to do. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
    “Stop.” Daniel touched the tip of his tongue to the bow of his upper lip a second time. He lifted his chin and made a turn-around motion. “Barrett…”
     
    * * * *
     
    It isn’t just me, is it? Nick’s mind wandered as he picked up detached branches and wood chips on body-autopilot. If it were only his pain, then fine. He’d deal with that all day long. As many days and years as it took. He’d never noticed Ivan fidgeting or rubbing a hole through his chest. It’d fade to something bearable—maybe even forgettable—as time went by.
    Someone else out there had a brand rising on the back of their neck, driving them half-mad. They’d be wondering— Who is it? Do I know him? Will I love him?
    Where is he? Why isn’t he looking for me?
    It’d be the breaking—no, the crumbling—of a heart. Worn away by care like limestone and water, leaving a yawning cavern behind where there could have been…
    If not love, then at least they could have friendship. Or just the knowledge of who, and what, and why.
    But Barrett… Nick pressed his knuckles hard over his mark. God, how cruel would it be to make him watch that? Like dying the death of a thousand cuts, one shallow slice per day. Maybe that was what he’d meant, when he seemed so ready to cut and run. Protecting himself, sure.
    Protecting them both, more so. He couldn’t bear to see the love in Barrett’s face change to resentment. Or worse, to hatred. He’d rather stick his neck under the ax and get it over with if that was all he had to look forward to—
    Nick sank down on the raw wood of the freshly cut tree stump and hid his face in his folded arms, atop his knees.
    What do I do? What can I do?
     
    * * * *
     
    “I what ?” Barrett said dumbly. He covered the back of his neck. “No, no, that’s not right. I’m not the one who has a soulmark coming in. It’s a spider bite, or—”
    “Barrett.” Daniel seemed more tired and sad than he had before. “I wouldn’t lie. Not about that. Look for yourself.”
    Barrett’s jaw tightened. “The hell I will.” He made a dive for a drawer in the end table by the door. Usually they kept keys, stamps, bits of odds and ends in there, and— yes . A tiny first-aid kit. He broke the plastic hinges, wrestling its latch open then shook out a square of gauze and some medical tape.
    “That’s not going to make it go away.”
    “No, but it’ll hide it,” Barrett said, strapping the gauze down with more tape than was strictly necessary. “I don’t—it doesn’t hurt. Nick’s is driving him crazy. It can’t really be a mark if—”
    “Everyone’s different,” Daniel said, patient as the moon. “You know that as well as anyone.” He drew his knuckles