Chapter 22 #3
“Mmm, everything with you,” he murmurs. He leans in and licks my shoulder, and I feel the sting there. “I will heal you when we return.”
I touch the spot with my fingers. Two small pinpricks from his fangs, and I wonder what would happen if he didn’t heal them immediately? What if I let them heal on their own? It would scar.
I would carry his mark.
“Rathyn…”
I don’t get the chance to finish what I’m saying. There’s a noise, and then voices—the Vyastil guards are calling for him.
He stiffens and covers me with his body before realizing they’re not coming in, just asking for his presence. He presses his hands to my ears, and a moment later, I understand why.
His singing call is so loud it shakes my sternum, and even with his palms protecting my eardrums, I can hear their reply. I can’t understand it, but whatever it is, he goes stiff.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, tugging on his wrists.
He releases me and pulls me to my feet, the mossy floor going more stable than when I was lying on it. He’s not looking at me as he walks to the water’s edge and begins to clean himself.
It hurts. I don’t know why. I want him to carry my scent with him, and I don’t know if this feeling is left over from the herb, or something else.
He turns to look at me, and then I hear his voice in my head.
“My Everest, they cannot know.”
“Know what?”
His gaze holds mine firmly. “That I am yours.”
The words hit me like a blow to the chest. I have always been his. Since the damn clinic. Since the contract. Since giving myself to him in ways I’ve never wanted to give myself to anyone.
But it didn’t occur to me that he could be mine.
That he would want to be mine.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He walks over with palms full of water and washes me between my cheeks before pulling my cloak back over me. It only just occurred to me that there’s nothing leaking out of me. I’m still a little loose, but whatever he spilled inside me either isn’t moving or my body absorbed it.
That’s…interesting. Something to think about later.
“We must go,” he says after he leans in, sniffs, then pulls back with a satisfied hum.
The stern tone of his voice tells me that there’s something really serious going on. I pull him back as he leads me toward the entrance to the cave.
“What’s happening?”
He crowds me against the wall, taking my face between his hands, and he kisses me slow and deep.
And maybe a little desperate.
“I will tell you everything when I return. For now, I must get you to Cielo and back through the portal.”
“Rath—”
“Please,” he says, his voice low and serious. “My Everest, I need you to obey me now.”
He’s never asked like that before. He’s demanded. He’s expected. He’s always known I will defy him.
But this time, it’s not the same.
“Okay,” I whisper. Something in my gut tells me I should be afraid.
Maybe he reads that from my mind, because he dips his head in and kisses me again. “You will always be able to find me,” he tells me in my head. “Just reach out. I will be back as soon as I’m able.”
I close my eyes and search, and a moment later, I find him. His own mind is quieter than mine, I realize. It hums with his voice and is filled with a measure of affection I can’t quite understand. But I know it’s for me.
Shit.
Shit.
This is probably bad, isn’t it?
“We must go,” he says again.
And at this point, I have no other choice but to follow.
When we reach the portal, I see a collection of Vyastil there.
Most of them I don’t recognize, but I feel familiar and unwanted eyes on me, and it takes me a second to see the prince.
He’s watching me, his gaze flickering between me and Rathyn, who isn’t holding me in any way, but is standing slightly in front of me.
Protective, domineering.
It makes me shrink back a little more, trying to cut off the vision of him staring.
I’m still wearing the cloak, which covers most of me, including the bite mark that Rathyn left behind, but I feel strangely seen, and it makes me nervous.
There’s an air of anxiety in the room which I don’t understand, and no one is speaking English, so I’m completely lost. I can’t ask, either. Not even in Rathyn’s head.
I understand now why we have to be kept a secret, and I think giving away that we can communicate with one another via our minds would be dangerous for both of us.
I spot Cielo near the portal, and I feel a bit better. He’s not wearing his pink human coat, but he’s standing a little taller and gives me the slightest nod when our gazes connect.
“Rathyn.” I don’t realize the prince has come close enough to touch me until he speaks, and something in my gut squirms. “You did not introduce me to your companion earlier.”
Rathyn stiffens. “It was unnecessary.”
“I wish to meet him now.” His dark eyes pin me to the floor.
Rathyn is quiet for so long that I feel the tension around us rising. I have a feeling ignoring a prince’s orders is probably a bad idea. And after what feels like forever, he lets out the smallest breath.
“Everest, my human companion. Human,” I almost flinch at the way he says it. Not his human. Just a description of what I am. “This is Prince Jyrion.”
He leans in and sniffs, then pulls back and smiles wide enough to show fang. “You must be very important to him.”
“Uh. Well, you know. He needs a lot of my cum.”
“Indeed.” Jyrion looks over at Rathyn again, then turns and walks off without another word.
My stomach is still squirming, and I want to leap into Rath’s arms, but I can’t. A moment later, however, another friendly face appears, and I exhale in relief. Eissa steps through the portal, his ears flicking in worry, a crinkle between his brows.
He looks over at me, then Rathyn, and something passes between them. After a moment, he comes over and touches his forehead to Rathyn’s.
“You are needed,” he says in English, probably for my benefit. His gaze flicks at me. “Everest. It’s good to see you again. You look well.”
“I…thank you. You too?” God, I sound like a jackass. Why the hell did my voice squeak like that?
His ears flick in amusement. “You must accompany Cielo back through the portal.”
“I wish to take him,” Rathyn says.
Eissa shakes his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Not today.” I suck in a breath to protest, but Eissa makes unerring eye contact. “I can give you a single moment.”
Before I can protest that I need more than a fucking moment, Eissa says something, and the room clears. It takes at least a minute or two, but it’s not long before it’s just me and Rathyn with Cielo standing beside the portal.
“I want to kiss you,” I tell him.
His eyes flicker down. “I understand. We cannot.”
“I know. But this sucks. I’m scared.”
“Do not be afraid”, he answers. He walks over and cups my cock, which I have a feeling is probably the most non-taboo thing a Vyastil can do with a human. It’s so ass-backwards, but at least he’s touching me in some way.
My dick doesn’t twitch. I’m too scared to get hard and too spent from earlier. But I send him a rush of affection, and his ears flicker back and forth when he receives it.
“My Everest. Please trust me.”
“I do. Come home soon.”
He gives me a gentle squeeze, then steps back and nods to Cielo before turning on his heel and marching out of the room as his claws click on the floor.
I listen to the sound of them growing quieter until they fade into nothing. Cielo looks almost sad as he gestures to the portal, and I step ahead of him, prepared now for the feeling of transporting to another world.
My head still swims a bit as I step into the hallway, and I say nothing at all as I make my way back to our apartment with Cielo at my heels. At least I’m not alone, so that’s something.
But fuck, what if he’s in actual danger? What if something’s gone wrong?
What if someone knows about us?
The door closes, and the moment it does, I turn to Cielo. “Do you know what’s going on?”
He shakes his head, but I can tell he’s not giving me the whole truth.
I can’t really grill him on it, though. He won’t be able to speak most of the words, and even though he seems to be picking up sign language pretty quickly, I don’t know more than the alphabet and enough phrases to get me through polite conversation.
Pressing my hands to my eyes, I take a deep breath. “Tell me he’s okay.”
“Okeeeee,” he says with some ease. He steps forward and tilts his head to the side.
“It’s nothing serious, right? Like, he’s not going to battle?”
He shakes his head, which makes me slump forward in relief.
“Can I have a hug?”
“Hhhhuuu…” It’s all he can manage. He makes a questioning noise.
“It’s…comfort. Between friends.”
“Frreennnnnnn.”
“Yeah.” I show him the sign for friend, then I step close, carefully wrapping my arms around his waist. He stiffens, definitely afraid of getting de-limbed by Rathyn, but I don’t let go.
“It’s okay. Just put your arms around me.
This is what friends do when they need comfort. And I really need comfort right now.”
It takes him a moment to find the courage, but eventually he slips his massive arms around me and holds me. It’s not what I really want because he’s not Rathyn, but it’s something. I lean my head against his chest and take a deep breath before closing my eyes and searching.
I find Rathyn. I can’t see where he is or what he’s doing, but for now, I know he’s safe.
“Promise me you’ll come back.”
“My Everest. My little human. I promise.”