And just like before, songs, images, and feelings overwhelm me. They pour out, heavy and intense, from his mind into mine. It takes me a moment to understand what I’m seeing behind my closed eyelids.
A pink, purple, and orange sky with four huge moons. A capital with pristine streets and pearly white buildings made from stone that seems to glow from the inside out.
The land beyond is sprawling, green hills, herbs, flowers, and bizarre animals I can’t make sense of. Some are on the ground, and some are flying.
Off in the distance, I swear I see an island in the sky with winged, humanoid creatures flying around it.
And then there are mountains covered in vast, rich trees with pink trunks and a canopy of gorgeous leaves. The sky changes to dark—a royal blue, the moons bright, and there are no stars.
There’s fire in the distance, and then I see a village. Little huts with Vyastil gathered—some smaller like young ones, some old with bent backs.
They look nothing like the Vyastil I’ve seen before now. They’re frail. Fragile. Overworked and tired. But they smile around the heat of the fire. And they sing.
The feeling rushing through me is love.
Then comes the woods—dark and shrouded, but the feeling I get from this space is safe. There’s a cave with a wide, yawning maw that leads to something—water, I think. There’s a flickering glow in the distance like fairy lights, but then I realize they’re moving. Insects flying in the pattern to a song that seems to be coming from the cave itself.
I feel safety but also fear. And a deep, aching sorrow from missing it all.
The images fade, and when I lean back slightly, I realize I’m crying. My tears are heavy but silent, and he stares for a moment before leaning in and licking them gently from my cheeks.
“Hurrrt my Dante?”
“No,” I whisper. I can’t seem to make a louder noise than that. “No, Cielo. Baby. No. Thank you for sharing that. It was so beautiful.” I don’t have the words to express just how much that made me feel. I see now what shaped him into the Vyastil he is—the kind, loving, strong, brave one that sits beneath me.
He doesn’t have the pampered arrogance that Rathyn has. He’s far removed from those in the capital. He’s rough and raw and from the land, and he is so, so fucking good. And I am so fucking lucky he’s mine.
I fold against him, and he holds me tightly. From his mind, I can feel he’s comforted by this too, that I help by just being here. That being with me takes the edge off the pain, and to me, that means something.
But it’s not everything. He deserves better than this. He deserves his family, his home, and to be happy again. No one should be banished the way he was for doing nothing more than saving a life.
I want to fix it.
I have to fix it.
And while I might not have strings to pull in my world or in his, I know people, and I will do everything in my power to get him home. Even if it’s only for a short moment.
Cielo wakes the next morning, and I feed him my cock. He sucks me gently, his tongue pulsing around my hard length, drawing a long orgasm out of me. I have half a mind to take some of the ruenox, to give him more, but he makes a satisfied purr and rolls over, so I let him sleep instead.
Right now, it’s too early to go to the shop. I have more design work to look over with Luca, but he won’t be up until at least noon. He’s been avoiding me ever since seeing Eissa at the party, so I figure I have time for something else.
After my shower, I do a quick assessment of my body, but I don’t seem to be close to a flare, so I put on a pair of Lycra shorts and a loose t-shirt, then hop in the car and make my way over to the gym.
The parking lot’s nearly empty, and I have no idea if Quilliyn will be there, but the moment I step inside, I see him. He’s on a treadmill doing a slow walk, sipping on a massive tumbler of what looks like a green smoothie.
When he sees me, he grins and lifts a hand in greeting. “Dante!”
I jog over and hop on the machine beside him without starting it. I know what I want to say, but I don’t know how to start this conversation. Not really.
“Can I be rude?” I ask.
He blinks at me.
“Well, more like blunt? It’s kind of a habit I picked up from the Deaf community.” I grimace and hope he doesn’t ask me about it because I don’t want to explain myself right now.
“You can say anything you wish. When have I ever stopped you?”
I blow out a puff of air, then start the treadmill because I need to do something with my body while I say all this. I choose an incline but keep it at a slow walk. “So, uh. You’re not, like, just a monster, right? I mean, a Vyastil. Sorry, shit.”
