I frown but nod. “Yeah.”
I have a cute little backyard, and the door should be enough to hide away from prying Vyastil ears.
Everest sighs with relief and doesn’t hesitate as he follows me through the dining nook and out the sliding glass door. The yard isn’t much of anything. It’s barely eight feet wide and stretches between all three apartments in the triplex, but it’s cozy. And it’s ours.
When Luca and I first inherited this place, we considered putting up dividers in the fence and renting them out, but then Gia and Amara said they wanted to move in, and that felt better.
I’ve always been close with my family, and while moving out of my parents’ house had been the right thing to do—I could not be a thirty-something guy living with my mom and dad—I didn’t want to be alone.
I fucking hated being alone.
This was our compromise, and I love it. We have weekly meals at the long picnic table Gia found at the flea market a few years ago, and any time we need each other, we’re there. Luca spends half his time raiding my kitchen, and Gia’s place is always open if I need extra blankets or socks.
“This is cute,” Everest says with a hum. “You pay a lot for it?”
I laugh. “No. I own it.”
“Oh, shit. Mr. Businessman.”
I shove him gently toward the bench, and we sit. “Luca and I inherited it when one of my nonnas died. I also got a space that used to be a florist, which I turned into my shop, and Luca leases his building to a Vyastil couple who run a café.”
Everest looks startled. “Oh, shit. That’s cool.”
I shrug. It is what it is. I’m not changing lives or anything, but it’s a decent life in a small city, which is all I can really ask for. “Anyway. You wanted privacy?”
He nods, then bows his head again. “This is…I don’t know…kind of humiliating, and I still can’t fucking believe it, but Cielo wasn’t living at the Foundry.”
I frown. “What do you mean? Wasn’t he working for Rathyn?”
Everest’s flush deepens, and he looks almost devastated. “Yeah, uh…not all of them live there.”
“Well, yeah,” I say with a small scoff. “I know that. I know a ton of them who have bought houses and?—”
“No.” His voice is very quiet. He clears his throat, then says, “Not—not like them. Cielo and some of the others who work for their government aren’t…” He trails off, then leans in close to me. “Look, this is just between us, okay? Circle of trust.”
I lock my lips, then my wrists. “I won’t say a word. I swear.”
He takes a beat, assessing me, then he nods. “I saw some shit, and it’s not good. I can’t tell you everything. It’s not safe. But when Rathyn was gone for a while, a couple of bigoteddudes at the gym followed me home and beat the shit out of me. Cielo saved my life.”
“When he killed someone,” I murmur.
Everest doesn’t look the least bit sorry. “I think he did. I mean, I don’t actually know what happened to the guy. I was half-conscious when he found me. One of them got away, but he slashed one of them up pretty good. Anyway, I was in bad shape, so he took me back to his place, and it was…”
I wait on a knife’s edge, but Everest doesn’t speak for a long time.
When he does, it kind of sounds like he’s holding back tears. “It was worse than I’ve seen in a long time. No air, no heat, no electricity. They’re all sleeping on shitty old mattresses on the floor in one room. Fuck.” He passes a hand down his face. “I’ve been to Erethar, and I’ve seen his village. It’s not a palace, but it was nicer than the shit they gave him here. They treat the Vyastil from the Outerlands like they’re worthless. Expendable.”
“Outerlands?”
“Yeah, it’s a place outside the Vyastil capital. It’s where Cielo is from.”
I can’t fully comprehend everything he’s telling me, but I file everything he’s said away for later. If anything, I can ask Cielo when he’s healed, and he can communicate better.
“Most of the Vyastil, they’re touch-starved. Affection starved,” he adds. “I don’t think Cielo had ever been hugged before I met him, and I know for sure Rathyn hadn’t been.”
My heart twists in my chest. “What?”
Everest shakes his head. “Rathyn acted like it was normal, but the first time I kissed him, it was like I rearranged his entire reality. He’s addicted to it now. He loves sucking cock—I mean, they’re cum addicts. But now, he’ll choose cuddling over dick if I ask him to pick which one he wants.” Everest stops and rolls hiseyes. “Well, okay, not every time, but more than I ever expected him to.”
