He does not hesitate in his answer. “Yes. It was agony. But it was glorious agony, and I would not change a moment of it, except perhaps when my unwillingness to bend hurt my Everest. I would go back and remove the pain I caused him.”
I have never hurt Dante. At least, I do not believe I have, but I can imagine it. And I would feel the same.
“Everest believes there can be a change made with the Vyastil. If more discover bonds with each other and with humans—if more find VySytheh—then it will be impossible for the royal house and the council to ignore.” He sounds worried, and I suppose he should be.
I do not have Rathyn’s education, but I know enough of our history to know this could be the start of a war. Vyastil against Vyastil. It was how we came to be as we are now.
And violence terrifies me, but perhaps it is the only way to change.
“I want to help.”
Rathyn nods his head deep with respect. “It will take a long time to make this change. It might require sacrifice. And there is the matter of the human rebellion to deal with as well. Eissa has told me recently that there have been more attempts to breach our portal locations.”
“They cannot use portal keys. Not as humans,” I say.
“No. But all they will need to do is convince one Vyastil of their cause.” He lets out a soft, frustrated hum. “And knowing what I know now—seeing what they have done to you, and the humiliation they have made me cause my Everest simply tosatisfy their own sadistic needs—I do not believe they would have a difficult time finding someone to assist.”
He is likely right. And I do not know what that will mean for the treaty between our worlds. The humans’ weapons are dangerous. They cause widespread destruction. They built them, not caring that they would kill not only their enemies, but themselves.
They would sacrifice innocent lives for power.
And the Vyastil would fight them off. They would have every being in our realm to destroy them, but what would happen when that war was over?
“We must find a way to stop them without giving the Vyastil capital more power,” Rathyn says.
That is far above what I am capable of understanding. It would take me several moon cycles of study to grasp it. But he is a commander. He was trained for these tactics.
“I am your ally,” I tell him.
He leans over and drops his forehead against mine for a brief but lingering moment. “Keep your brothers safe.”
The thought clings to me as I attempt to go back to my knitting, but when Rathyn rises to find Everest, the seat does not remain empty for long.
During our conversation, I did not hear another person come through the door, but the person beside me now is Zane. He looks freshly washed, smelling like Earthen fruit. His curls are slightly damp and hang over his forehead.
“Am I interrupting?”
I shake my head.
“I just wanted to see how you were. You haven’t been at the barista counter lately.”
No. I was occupied with too many things that Zane cannot know. “Broooken,” I tell him.
He scoffs. “Q fixed that shit days ago. You can tell me if something’s wrong. You look upset.”
He sounds sincere. “Fammmily,” I tell him. I do not have the capability to give him the words he wants, and his sign lexicon in his small human brain does not extend to something so complex.
He frowns. “I thought you didn’t have family.”
“Brothers,” I tell him.
He bites his lip, then says, “Can I meet them?”
Before I can answer, Luca appears, nudging Zane slightly. Zane looks up at him, and for a moment, irritation crosses his features. Then he breathes out and offers a fist for Luca to bump.
Luca does not look friendly with him, but when he beckons Zane along, after some hesitation, Zane follows. Dante is quick to slide back against me, and I curl my tail around his ankle, letting it squeeze him tight.
“Is everything okay?”I ask him in his head.
