Page 31
My heart leaps. Dante is falling hard for Cielo, and I know it was killing him to think he was going to have to be sucked by another Vyastil. My eyes find my brother, who looks pale all of a sudden, and he swallows so thickly I can see it catch in his throat.
“What is it?” Everest demands. It takes Dante a second to gather himself so he can repeat the words in sign.
Eissa nods toward him, regal and respectful. Something he does not do for me. “Dante, your medical records indicate that you have a pain you do not have a cure for…”
“Yeah,” Dante replies, his signs soft. It probably matches his voice.
Eissa leans forward and meets Dante’s eyes. “It is a shock that we have no cure. Does no one know what’s wrong with you?”
Those signs fall heavy from my brother’s hands, and I can’t help but push off the wall and move toward him, losing control of my vow of silence. ‘Nothing is wrong with him.’
My words are angry, and I see Dante’s lips moving. He has no idea Eissa knows ASL, and I have no desire to tell my brother why I know about Eissa’s language lexicon.
Eissa freezes for a moment, then bows his head. “I apologize if I offended you. I am just surprised you weren’t offered an effective treatment. We have found a cure for most diseases with our herbs. I wonder if the Tarek would know more about this…” His words seem to trail off, and then he shakes his head. “In any case. For now, you have a condition that makes you unfit for service. Just as your brother was able to be removed for being…” he hesitates and then adds, “Deaf.”
I say nothing as I watch Dante’s hands flow through Eissa’s words.
“All I need is for you to authorize a release of your medical records. I can enter them into our system, and you should not be contacted again.”
I can see the relieved exhale Dante gives. “And that’s it?”
“Yes. That is it.”
The relief is so profound that, for a moment, it overwhelms the anger I’m feeling. I smile at my brother even though he’s not looking at me.
“I can do that,” Dante says, his signs on shaking hands. “I can fill out the medical release and have my doctor send everything over as soon as they get it. This is a huge weight off. I don’t know what to say.” He stops, then he brings both hands to his chin and signs, ‘Thank you,’ without speaking.
“You are very welcome,” Eissa responds with his lips. I recognize every word, but I’m not sure if it’s because I can lip-read him, or if it’s because I still feel the odd pressure of language in my head every time I’m around him.
Dante turns to face me, his eyes wet with tears. ‘Finished.’
I nod. I know he means the clinic, not the pain. The pain is still obvious on his face. ‘Finished.’
He turns back to Eissa. “Will you stay for dinner?”
“If you do, I would not recommend consuming the blood worms,” Rathyn says, and Eissa gives a high-pitched trill that even I can hear, his face pulling in disgust.
I can’t help but laugh now, but then Eissa looks my way, and I feel something heavy in my chest. Something that doesn’t quite feel like it belongs to me. The moment stretches out as the laughter dies, and then Eissa turns and leaves the room without looking back, just like the way he left me in Vegas.
I hate him, I think viciously, even though it feels like a lie.
But fuck him for placing my emotions on an unruly rollercoaster. I’m fucking sick from all of it, and I just want it to stop.
Running a hand down my face, I feel just a little off-kilter, like I’m going to cry. I slip into the hallway and come to a sudden stop when I realize he’s standing there on his own, staring back at me.
No one is looking, so I lift my hands. ‘You’re an asshole for pretending like I’m nothing.’
‘You’re not nothing,’ he responds. ‘But I meant what I said before.’
Of fucking course he did. Without looking back, I shoulder him out of the way and head for the back door. With any luck, my dad’s still outside smoking. I don’t think I can be sober for the rest of the night and not lose my mind.
Not when I know that Eissa is here—that he knows my friends and my family—and try as I might, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to escape him.
seven
EISSA
It was a risk, coming to this human party. It’s a strange Earth tradition meant to be joyful, but all it does is remind me that the human lifespan is short. It’s tragic, really, though I don’t think they realize it.
