Free Suture (The Bleeding Worlds) by Justus R. Stone

the fragile and transient nature of the human heart."
    "If that happens, will I know what name to call?"
    "Only if you can do what too many people fail at," Zeus said, walking out the door. "Listen to your heart."

5
In Dreams He Treads
    There was no safer place in the world. Lying on a double bed, with Fuyuko's head resting against his shoulder, the warmth over his heart from her hand resting on his chest. Seventeen years old. He should be frustrated as hell. No sex, and none any time soon, she'd set those rules quickly. Maybe, if life became normal, this wouldn't always be enough to satisfy him. But life would probably never be normal. Every day would be waiting for the next life threatening moment—blood, pain and sometimes, loss. Right now, this calm was enough. No, not just enough, vital for his sanity.
    "I'm sorry for earlier," Fuyuko said. She meant it this time. Even if Eir hadn't been able to restart her powers, being in her presence had helped calm her.
    "You don't need to be sorry for wanting to keep me close. If anything, it'd be worse if you were telling me to go." He ran his finger along the gentle curve of her cheek down to her chin. Her features contained an element of nobility. In another life, perhaps she'd been an empress, sending her armies of faithful subjects off to war. Yes, she had those qualities, especially in the depth of her eyes. He knew he would follow her lead. He'd never admit it openly, but when she'd told him to refuse to go, it was only fear keeping him from agreeing. This was the only life he'd ever known. Probably the only he'd ever know. How could he refuse it? "Did you catch what Gwynn said about Angie?" he asked, trying to avoid talking any further about his leaving.
    "Yes. Maybe we're just reading too much into it."
    He could see from her eyes she didn't believe that.
    "So I guess the question is, did she make the first move?" he asked.
    "She's never entered any of our dreams without consent—Woten would kill her."
    Jason shifted onto his side so he could look at her more directly. "So she's got it so bad for Gwynn she's willing to take the risk, or…"
    "Or you think she's been given permission? I doubt it. I mean, he's Woten's grandson. I can't believe he'd allow that level of manipulation. Besides, he said he couldn't remember having any other dreams for the past eight months. It's not odd to have some nights without having dreams, but eight months? Do you think she's been blocking his dreams?"
    "But why?" Jason started to regret bringing this up. He missed the quiet cuddling. "What reason would they have to block him from dreaming?"
    "I don't know. If that was her mission, she might've overstepped her boundaries last night. Maybe that's why she's being left behind."
    Jason shrugged. "Whatever. Angie's never been one for following the rules. Besides, with her ability, it's not like they'd do anything to her. She's too useful."
    "I guess…"
    Her gaze went far away. What could she be thinking?
    "So how'd things go with Eir?" 
    He'd try a new topic.
    "No change." She gave his cheek a gentle pat. "Why do you keep changing subjects?"
    Jason sighed and flopped on his back, staring at the blank white ceiling above him. "Because nothing gets us anywhere. We have no answers, no one else has any answers—or they keep the answers from us. I just feel…"
    "Frustrated?"
    "Yes," he smiled, "and maybe a little powerless."
    "I'm the one who's powerless."
    He couldn't tell if her tone contained any humour or not.
    "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean…"
    "It's ok. Besides, my session with Eir at least gave me something to focus on. We ended up talking about my brother. I realized I have unresolved issues about him. She thinks putting some of that behind me might help."
    "Unresolved issues?"
    "Yeah. You know, like how I kept pushing myself to be better than him."
    Jason outright chuckled. "Geez, aren't we all pushing ourselves to be better than Katsuro?" The hurt in her eyes quieted his