Free Rise: A Gay Fairy Tale by Keira Andrews, Leta Blake Page A

here?”
    Rion swallowed a piece of cheese and seemed to contemplate. “No. I haven’t.” He glanced at Jack. “I was always told your people carried terrible diseases. That you were disgusting and venal.”
    “And do you find me disgusting?” Jack held his breath.
    After a moment, Rion met his gaze, eyes dark. “No.”
    Jack’s heart skipped a beat, and he took another sip of ale as desire sparked within him. “I grew up being told a ghastly giant lived here. As I have found, things are not always what we believe.”
    “I suppose that’s true. But why would my parents warn us so strongly against the Outsiders?” He drank his ale, frowning. “It was the first thing we learned as children. To never, ever go down the beanstalk.”
    Jack had a feeling it was to keep Rion and his siblings trapped in the clouds, chained to the castle and their so-called duty. He wondered how many generations had been taught the evils of the Outsiders. “I don’t know. But from what I can tell, you’re no different from us.”
    “Yet I’ve never met an Outsider like you.” He smirked. “Granted, the others I only kept here long enough to frighten them into never returning. And I certainly never…” He glanced away.
    “No, I suppose you didn’t. Or else they might not have left.”
    They shared a small smile, and Jack’s mind spun. How strange to be sitting at the man’s table over ale and supper. He found he liked it more than he should, and hoped fervently the truce would hold. It had been so long since he’d sat and talked to another.
    Rion grew serious. “Why did you say your hair was hideous?”
    Instinctively, Jack reached up to tug down his cap to find he wasn’t wearing it. His face burned.
    “Why do you wish to hide it?” Rion frowned. “It must be rare, is it not?”
    Jack laughed ruefully. “Oh yes. It’s rare. I’m the only one in my land with this devil’s curse.”
    “A curse?” Rion sat up straighter.
    “Don’t worry, it isn’t catching. I’ve never really understood it. But my whole life people have hissed at me and spit on the ground after I pass. They say I’m the devil’s child. Perhaps I am. My desires have always been…unnatural.”
    At this, shame flickered across Rion’s face. “As have mine. My brothers all spoke of women; my sisters of men. I kept silent. I feared I was the only one who felt this way.”
    “No, there are others.” At the thought of Adair, Jack grimaced. “Although most would never admit it. They marry women and father children, but deep down are never satisfied.” He supposed it was what Adair deserved.
    Rion sighed heavily. “I am to marry.”
    For some strange reason, Jack’s stomach curdled at the thought. “Who? Where does she come from?”
    “I haven’t found her yet. Next winter I will go across the sea and return with a mate.”
    “You don’t seem pleased by the notion.”
    “I have no choice.” Rion shrugged. “It is my duty, and I have delayed it far too long.”
    “But why? Who says you have to take a wife?”
    “It’s the way it must be. It’s my duty to protect my family’s legacy. I am the youngest, and my brothers and sisters have all abandoned the cause. I swore to my parents I would not fail them. Or our ancestors.”
    Jack pondered this. “So it is your legacy to pretend to be a giant and to guard your forebearer’s treasure. And to have children so they can do the same?”
    “Yes. It is my sacred duty.”
    “But why ?”
    Rion exhaled sharply. “What do you mean, why ? Because it is the way! It is my path.”
    “What good is a treasure up here in a musty old castle by yourself?”
    Scraping back his chair, Rion stood and collected the dishes, slamming them into a cleaning pot. “I won’t be alone. I’ll have my family, just as I did growing up. I never wanted for anything as a child. This is my home, and I will never abandon it. Or my duty.”
    Jack raised his hands. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He