I wasn’t thirsty, but seeing all this water now made me want to drink some of it too.
“It is,” Zayr confirmed. “All of it.”
“From what he charges for each glass, his fortune is really infinite,” I muttered under my breath.
I cast a wary glance in Zayr’s direction. Was he trying to impress me by flaunting Ray’s wealth?
But Zayr just sat on the path, his feet dangling over the edge through the breach in the wall, his right shoulder leaning against the shimmering rock. With a deep breath, he brought the tumbler of water to his lips again, taking another drink, his eyelids blinking heavily.
The man was just really tired, I realized, and he seemed to find comfort in the grand view below us.
“Do you come here often?” I asked.
“Whenever I have a chance. Usually after work. Some find the view of the rushing water disturbing. But it kind of…soothes me.”
He winced, scratching the back of his bald head, then shifted awkwardly, as if realizing he’d probably shared a bit more than he should’ve.
With an uncomfortable grunt, he cleared his throat. “Anyway. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“What is Ray up to nowadays?” I asked, making him wince again.
“Listen, if it’s about the cave again, I’ve already told you, it’s not going to happen any time soon. He’s busy.”
“What is he so busy with that he can’t spare a minute to rent one of the many caves he has sitting empty right now? You keep evicting his renters. What is he planning to do with all those empty caves?”
“Ray isn’t planning shit.” Zayr spat through his teeth.
His frustration was palpable. Zayr clearly seethed with it. Now I believed I knew why he brought me here after all. Even the simple, brutal criminals like Zayr sometimes needed to vent to someone.
“He’s in his bedroom with those fucking Joy Vessels day and night. They hardly sleep, hardly eat anything, and drink only that cursed hyacinth tea, be it damned.”
The reason for Zayr’s choosing me to listen to this confession remained a mystery. But I had an idea about that too.
Despite our many meetings, Zayr had never seen my face. To him, I was a nobody, a shrouded shadow that stayed away from everyone and talked to no one. For Zayr, confessing to me must’ve felt the same as talking to the ocean or screaming into an abyss, with all secrets revealed disappearing into nothing.
“Ray didn’t get where he is by doing nothing, you know?” he said bitterly. “Everyone wants what he has. Many fae in Ashgate would pay a fortune to have him dead. He constantly has to fight for his life and to defend his position, and he used to be great at it. Now…” he groaned, taking a swig of his water. “Now I have to do everything for him, and it’s fucking exhausting.”
“Do you have to? Did you tie yourself to him with a promise?” I asked, already guessing the answer.
Ray wouldn’t trust his life to someone not bound to him by a formal promise.
Zayr nodded with a heavy sigh.
“What choice did I have? Starving and burning under the sun on the beach? Or working for Ray, who gave me a nice, cool cave and free water.” He raised his tumbler. “The promise of loyalty for life didn’t feel like much in exchange. All I had to do was collect the rent and kick out those who didn’t pay. Ray managed everything else himself. Now I have to handle all his security as well. His water business is falling apart. Do you think those thugs over there…” he gestured down the path toward the guards by the entrance, “don’t sell the water on the side or trade it for favors?”
“Didn’t they give the promise of loyalty too?”
“Some did, but to Ray, not to me. So now that he’s fuckingunavailable, they’re all slacking, and I don’t have enough hours in the night to keep them in line.”
“Why did he get like that?” I wondered. “You know I have a Joy Vessel too. Yet I still do whatever is necessary to survive and take care of her.”
Elaine. Something in my chest twitched at the thought of her. She’d become the main cause of all my worries but also the only source of my comfort.
A part of me understood Ray. I too wouldn’t mind locking myself in a cave with Elaine and spending my days and nights with her on my lap, and I hadn’t even tasted her joy. That was an important distinction between Ray and me. I couldn’t afford to lose myself in Elaine’s pleasure. I didn’t have someone like Zayr to keep us safe. She only had me, and I couldn’t let her down.
Zayr paused his gaze on me, and I shrank deeper into the shadows of my cloak. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring up Elaine, but I hoped to learn more from Zayr, now that we were alone, and he seemed to be in a talkative mood.
“You’re not tasting her pleasure, General, are you?” he asked.
