I do not like this and turn away, unable to watch him suffer anymore. I walk out of the room, finding Rathyn in the kitchen. He looks uncertain, and I do not blame him.
I think he knows what I am going to ask, and I have a feeling that when Everest volunteered the use of their portal, he did not ask Rathyn if that was allowed.
“Is he dying?” Rathyn asks me in Eretharian.
“I do not know. He says only that he is ill, and I cannot help him. The herbs here do not work, and the human doctors don’t understand what is wrong with his body.”
Rathyn scoffs. “They are so frail, and their medicine is barbaric. I have studied extensively what they used to treat diseases. It killed humans before we came along.”
“I don’t understand why the treatments we have provided humans now haven’t worked on him,” I confess.
Rathyn’s gaze darts away but I catch something on his face: guilt. After a moment, he meets my eyes. “It is very likely thatDante does not hold a high enough station to be granted the use of many herbs we have given the humans.”
The thought makes me want to rage. “Why not cure them all? The Outerlanders are treated worse than dirt, but we are healthy. We live.”
“It is a human thing,” Rathyn starts to explain, but his ears droop and he shakes his head. “They are, perhaps, as cruel as us. Sometimes better. Sometimes worse. But my rank is not high enough to change that.”
Quilliyn is, but I do not think he has enough influence over the humans to give Dante what he needs.
“Will you allow us through the portal?”
Rathyn stares at me for a long moment. His piercings glint, reminding me of who he is—the station he holds. Of what I lost. The empty holes in my body somehow ache.
Then he takes a breath. “I will assist, but you must acknowledge that this is dangerous. If you are caught, you cannot implicate Everest or me. We are…” He hesitates, then says, “We are working to change things. Everest has opened my eyes to so much I did not see before.”
I understand what he means. Dante has done the same for me.
“I wish to make changes, but I cannot do that immediately, and I cannot do that if I am imprisoned.”
I understand what he’s asking of me. I must take Dante through the portal and go alone. And I must hope and pray to the ancient gods that if we are seen—if anyone from the village recognizes me—they do not turn me in.
I want to believe I will be safe in the place I was reared and nurtured, but there is a very good chance they were promised cum and a higher station in exchange for information.
And I cannot blame them for wanting that.
Still, for my Dante, it is worth taking every risk.
“Promise me that if we are taken, you will speak to Eissa and Quilliyn and free him. I do not care what happens to me so long as he is safe.”
Rathyn is silent for a long moment, then he closes the distance between us and tips his forehead against mine. He holds it there for longer than would be appropriate for a Vyastil of his rank and towards someone who is banished.
And that alone says everything.
“He is VySytheh.”
It is not a question, but I nod anyway. I know that Everest holds that place in Rathyn’s soul as well.
“I will do everything I can to protect him, but do everything you can to ensure no one ever finds out. If they know?—”
“I know,” I tell him. I will take this secret, and I will not repeat it, even on my last breath.
Reaching into his pocket, Rathyn withdraws a small device I recognize. It calls small, personal portals. He is not of high enough rank to have gotten one legally, so I know what he’s giving up.
“I will return this to you if I am able.”
He nods as he steps back and calls out, “My Everest. We must go.”
Everest appears a moment later, looking worried. “He’s not doing well.”
