"There's a lot of difference between thirteen and sixteen, Aaden."There's a lot of difference between thirteen and sixteen, Aaden." "That there is. There's also a lot of difference between boys and girls, Ken." "But thirteen, Aaden?" I was stunned. I had trouble imagining Aaden, this beautiful Mephit in front of me, this mel who had raised two children with me, who I thought I understood and loved completely, as a... a... "That's paedophilia, Aaden." "Correction, Ken. It's paederasty." Aaden shifted closer to me, scattering some sand on my towel. He leaned even closer still and said, "Listen, what would you do if I told you that I've even slept with twelve-year-olds, Ken, and that in every case, they came to me." "What!" I said. "Aaden, that's sick. A twelve-year-old can't give his consent." This was not the Aaden I was used to hearing. I couldn't believe it. He tried to interrupt me, opening his mouth to speak. I reacted reflexively, raising my voice to a near shout. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I am not going to listen." "Okay, then listen to this," he said, his voice taking on a deadly seriousness. "Khai, and the ones before him, and the ones who come after him, are in their own way as important to me as P'nyssa is to you. Until now you've never seen me like this. We agreed two centuries ago that I was never going to come between you and P'nyssa, and that if I even thought about it, our relationship was off. |