“Car,” I say with a very small smile.
The word flows easily off my lips, and Zynath cocks his head. “Currrr.”
I smile, and he does the same, happiness radiating off me.
“We thought he was going to return us to the capital. The things said about Prince Quilliyn are not favorable. We have been told he is a traitor.”
My eyes widen. “He is not. He is honorable.”
“We know this now, but it is not what we were led to believe. He is kind,” Alvayn peers over at Quilliyn, and I see his skin shimmer slightly.
“He is. We will make sure you are safe here, fed, and clothed. Happy even.”
“We have gotten cum,” Zynath says. “It was our first time.”
A trill leaves my throat because I know the way it tastes, how good, how right. The first experience is everything.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“I did not know I could enjoy something so much. I wish to partake of it daily.”
“I’m sure Quilliyn can arrange that. They have factories…”
Zynath hums low in his throat. “We know we are blessed, but we would eventually like our own humans. Just like you.”
My ears flutter as Dante and Quilliyn appear near my side. Dante leans into me, and I curl my tail around his waist, pulling him in.
“Will we find a human?” Alvayn asks. “Are they as good as we have been told?”
I nod, feeling my skin heat. They are so good in many ways, but I do not say this. “They are.”
“Then this is what we wish.”
Quilliyn eyes me and then nods. “I will see what I can arrange, but for now, the most important thing will be getting you acclimated to Earth.”
Zynath and Alvayn turn to one another, their eyes meeting. They are silently communicating. Not in the way Dante and I can, but in a way only siblings know how.
They turn back to Quilliyn. “Yes, we will do this. We are ready to make a home here. The Outerlands are no longer safe.”
“They are not.”
Quilliyn’s voice is sad and soft, and I hold on to Dante tighter. I am pushing into his mind, letting him know what is being discussed. He does not know the language, but I do not want him left out.
“How can we help?” Dante asks in English, and I quickly translate for my brothers, who glance down at his crotch and lick their lips.
They do not mean offense, but I will not share. The growl I give makes them pick up their hands and step back.
They know I will not allow it.
Dante seems to understand because he lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure we can find some horny guys who want to come over and let you suck. I promise.”
I allow Quilliyn to relay this, and my brothers are placated.
And then the conversation shifts, the five of us lowering ourselves onto the couches and speaking to one another. Theyfill me in on everything I missed out on after I left, when I was banished. I listen with breaking hearts. There is nothing I could have done, nothing I would have changed, but I ache for the home I once loved.
Our conversation moves to Earth, what Zynath and Alvayn can expect, and they listen with rapt attention, only interrupting when they are far too curious about something.
And when we leave hours later, I am relieved, happy, and excited to have my birth brothers here. People who will truly understand what it was like to grow up in the Outerlands, to rely on our hands and feet to keep us alive. It was survival, brutal, but we had joy.
