Chapter 17 #2
Still, I let it sink into my chest and carry it with me as Cielo is escorted out of Gia’s and back to our place. I hope they know to put him in my bed, but if they don’t, it’s fine.
I’ll sleep with him wherever he is.
“He’s here,” Everest says, interrupting my thoughts as he reads a text on his phone. “Eissa, I mean. You’re cool if I let him know which apartment we’re in?”
“Of course.”
Everest nods, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth as he types back, then looks up at me. “He’s coming up now.”
And then, without a knock, the one I assume is Eissa sweeps into the apartment.
He seems a bit different than the others.
He has the same blue skin, and he’s wearing a matching linen top and pants that flow out behind him; his sea-green hair is in a complex braid that wraps around his ears and falls to one shoulder.
But he looks like he could be royalty. Though maybe that’s more about the way he carries himself.
Everyone turns to look as he enters, and then they all lift their glasses and say, “Salute!”
Eissa nods his head regally and takes in the loud, boisterous party. He doesn’t seem fascinated with the balloons like Cielo and Rathyn were. Instead, he finds Everest and Rathyn in the crowd and moves toward us.
As he does, the door opens, and Gia and Luca make an appearance without Cielo. The two of them have their heads tucked together, signing and giggling. I hope he’s sleeping well. I’ll text him to let him know where we are, but I bet he can hear us through the walls.
Eissa approaches, stopping in front of Rathyn, their foreheads touching in greeting, and I watch it with fascination as Eissa turns and greets Everest with a bow.
“Greetings. I find you in good health.”
Everest nods and smiles. “Of course. Rathyn takes great care of me.”
“I do,” Rathyn says, peering down at Everest.
Eissa glances at me. “And this is Dante?”
“Yes. Hello.” I give him an awkward wave and smile, and he bows his head toward me.
“It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Everest. He does not have many.”
Everest sighs loudly. “Dude, seriously. I have plenty of friends.”
Eissa’s eyes twinkle slightly at Everest’s snark, but then they dim a little when my brother appears next to me. Something shifts in the room, a feeling I can’t quite pinpoint. But it makes my joints ache, that tell-tale throb building inside of me.
I need the zitha soon.
“Who is this?” Eissa asks when Luca continues to stare at him. He looks as if he’s angry, as if the two of them have met. But I have no idea where they would have run into each other.
“My brother,” I say and sign at the same time.
Eissa peers at him but does not nod, instead turning his gaze back to me. It bothers me more than I care to express, but right now, I just want to discuss the plan to get me out of my governmental service, go home, take some zitha, and fall asleep next to Cielo.
That’s all I need.
I’ll ask Luca what the angry face was for later.
“May we speak in private?” Eissa says.
I interpret this for Luca, and he bristles slightly. I’m not sure why he’s offended. Eissa didn’t specifically exclude him. He probably just wants to speak to us without everyone interfering. Luca, as my brother, is always welcome to stay and listen.
“Yes, come. We can go into the bedroom.” Then I point to Luca and add, “You can come too, if you want to be nosy.”
He rolls his eyes, but I see him shoot a glance at Eissa for a split second, his cheeks red.
I don’t have time to dissect it, the pain now really starting to well up inside of me, so I lead the way down the short hallway to the guestroom.
It’s filled with a bunch of knick-knacks that Amara and Gia have collected over the years and leaves very little space for us to stand, but I’m not one to judge. My spare room is full of shit, too.
I step toward the window, Eissa and Rathyn moving in behind me. Everest trails behind, and Luca follows, shutting the door behind us all. The room grows quieter, but not by much. But at least we can have this conversation without people butting in and asking what we’re talking about.
“Thanks for coming,” I say and sign, wanting to make sure Luca is included in the conversation.
His eyes move from me to Eissa and then back again.
“Thank you for having me,” Eissa responds, and I interpret. “It is an honor to be invited to a birthday party.”
Luca lifts his hands and slashes them through the air. ‘He wasn’t invited.’
When I just glower at him, thankful no one saw this but me, he sighs and shakes his head, folding his arms across his chest as if to try and keep his hands under control.
“I won’t keep you, as the celebration for the impending death is still ongoing…”
Everest bites back a laugh as Rathyn rumbles his approval.
“…but I have come to tell you that I have found a way around your service at the clinic. Permanently.”
“What is it?” Everest asks before I can.
“According to your medical records you have a pain you do not have a cure for…”
“Yeah,” I say softly.
Eissa leans forward slightly, his bright rainbow eyes meeting mine. “It is a shock that we have no cure. Does no one know what’s wrong with you?”
Those signs fall heavy from my hands, and Luca pushes off the wall and moves toward me. ‘Nothing is wrong with him.’
He signs this loudly, and I interpret it as best I can. Even if my voice does crack slightly when I say it. I blame it on my nerves misfiring right now.
Eissa inclines his head but does not look at Luca.
“I apologize if I offended you. I am just surprised. Human conditions are usually easily treatable. I wonder if the Tarek would know more about this…” His words trail off, and then he shakes his head.
“In any case. For now, you have a condition that makes you unfit for service. Just as your brother was able to be removed for being…” he catches himself.
I think he was about to utter what Rathyn had earlier. Instead, he says, “Deaf.”
My brother frowns, but says nothing, watching as I relay the information.
“I just need you to authorize a release of your medical records. I can enter them, and you should not be contacted again.”
I let out a long exhale, feeling relief filter through me. “That’s it?”
“Yes. That is it.”
“What exactly do you need?”
“A signature from your doctor allowing us to use this condition to remove you from service.”
The relief is so profound, for a moment, it overwhelms the pain I’m feeling. “I can do that. I can have my doctor send it over. This is a huge weight off. I don’t know what to say.”
Eissa nods and then glances at Rathyn and Everest, who give him a look I can’t read.
“Thank you,” I say, my eyes watering, from relief, but also from the throb in my hips and shoulders.
Fuck I need to go grab that zitha from my bag and take some, but I want to do it at home in the peace and quiet where Cielo’s warm arms and soft purr are waiting for me.
“Will you stay for dinner?” I ask.
“I would not recommend consuming the blood worms,” Rathyn says, and Eissa trills in distress, pulling a disgusted face.
Luca lets out a laugh and then smothers it when Eissa peers his way. He runs a hand down his face, his fingers flicking something I don’t understand before moving out of the space, leaving the door open as he goes.
It only invites people in. My mother is one of them.
She appears with two large socks in her hands.
“Oh, I was looking for you! I finished them. Record time.”
I stare at the large pink knitted socks and then tuck them into my chest. “Mama, this is amazing. Thank you. I’m gonna go give these to him and make sure he’s still breathing.”
I don’t mention the pain flaring inside of me, the fog closing in around my brain. Instead, I just make my way toward the door, grabbing the bag with the herbs inside.
I can’t wait to have that zitha dissolve on my tongue and for the pain to recede.
Pushing through my front door, I nearly fall onto the sofa, my hands trembling as I pull out the herbs Everest placed inside. I peel it open, and my vision blurs as I pinch a bunch between my fingers. This is a bad one. One of the worst flares I’ve felt. Everything has been too much.
Right now, I’m gonna take more than I usually do. Maybe then the pain will stay away for longer. I push the small pile of herbs between my lips and feel them dissolve on my tongue.
The pain subsides almost immediately, but something else zips through me. Something that makes my body warm and my cock perk up.
The bag of herbs falls to the floor, and I arch up, feeling suddenly loose and on edge. My cock leaks, and my hole seems to stretch open.
I should be afraid of the sudden change in my body, but I’m not.
Oh god, I’m not. I’m…I’m something else. Needy. Desperate. Horny as fuck, like if I don’t get something inside of me, I might actually die.
I reach between my legs and drag my palm over my hard, aching cock, letting out a low groan. Oh fuck, that feels too good, but it’s not enough.
I need to be sucked and filled.
I need Cielo.