I’ll sleep with him wherever he is.
“He’s here,” Everest says, interrupting my thoughts as he reads a text on his phone. “Eissa, I mean. You’re cool if I let him know which apartment we’re in?”
“Of course.”
Everest nods, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth as he types back, then looks up at me. “He’s coming up now.”
And then, without a knock, the one I assume is Eissa sweeps into the apartment. He seems a bit different than the others. He has the same blue skin, and he’s wearing a matching linen top and pants that flow out behind him; his sea-green hair is in a complex braid that wraps around his ears and falls to oneshoulder. But he looks like he could be royalty. Though maybe that’s more about the way he carries himself.
Everyone turns to look as he enters, and then they all lift their glasses and say, “Salute!”
Eissa nods his head regally and takes in the loud, boisterous party. He doesn’t seem fascinated with the balloons like Cielo and Rathyn were. Instead, he finds Everest and Rathyn in the crowd and moves toward us.
As he does, the door opens, and Gia and Luca make an appearance without Cielo. The two of them have their heads tucked together, signing and giggling. I hope he’s sleeping well. I’ll text him to let him know where we are, but I bet he can hear us through the walls.
Eissa approaches, stopping in front of Rathyn, their foreheads touching in greeting, and I watch it with fascination as Eissa turns and greets Everest with a bow.
“Greetings. I find you in good health.”
Everest nods and smiles. “Of course. Rathyn takes great care of me.”
“I do,” Rathyn says, peering down at Everest.
Eissa glances at me. “And this is Dante?”
“Yes. Hello.” I give him an awkward wave and smile, and he bows his head toward me.
“It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Everest. He does not have many.”
Everest sighs loudly. “Dude, seriously. I have plenty of friends.”
Eissa’s eyes twinkle slightly at Everest’s snark, but then they dim a little when my brother appears next to me. Something shifts in the room, a feeling I can’t quite pinpoint. But it makes my joints ache, that tell-tale throb building inside of me.
I need the zitha soon.
“Who is this?” Eissa asks when Luca continues to stare at him. He looks as if he’s angry, as if the two of them have met. But I have no idea where they would have run into each other.
“My brother,” I say and sign at the same time.
Eissa peers at him but does not nod, instead turning his gaze back to me. It bothers me more than I care to express, but right now, I just want to discuss the plan to get me out of my governmental service, go home, take some zitha, and fall asleep next to Cielo.
That’s all I need.
I’ll ask Luca what the angry face was for later.
“May we speak in private?” Eissa says.
I interpret this for Luca, and he bristles slightly. I’m not sure why he’s offended. Eissa didn’t specifically exclude him. He probably just wants to speak to us without everyone interfering. Luca, as my brother, is always welcome to stay and listen.
“Yes, come. We can go into the bedroom.” Then I point to Luca and add, “You can come too, if you want to be nosy.”
He rolls his eyes, but I see him shoot a glance at Eissa for a split second, his cheeks red.
I don’t have time to dissect it, the pain now really starting to well up inside of me, so I lead the way down the short hallway to the guestroom. It’s filled with a bunch of knick-knacks that Amara and Gia have collected over the years and leaves very little space for us to stand, but I’m not one to judge. My spare room is full of shit, too.
I step toward the window, Eissa and Rathyn moving in behind me. Everest trails behind, and Luca follows, shutting the door behind us all. The room grows quieter, but not by much. But at least we can have this conversation without people butting in and asking what we’re talking about.
“Thanks for coming,” I say and sign, wanting to make sure Luca is included in the conversation.
