EVEREST
Isee visions of Cielo standing over me, his ears bent low, his rainbow eyes almost dark. He pries my lips open, and something bitter is placed on my gums. It’s then that I remember how that herb healed Zane when he was injured, and when he healed my piercings.
Zitha.
This is definitely something worth having on hand at all times.
As soon as I ingest it, I start to feel it work its magic—a tingling up the spine, a slow crawl across my skin, stitching everything together.
By the time I’m blinking my eyes in the bright lights, I feel almost brand new. My hand moves up to my eye, and I feel the tender skin there, but even that starts to dissipate the longer I’m conscious.
“Wow, that stuff is awesome,” I say, my gaze meeting Cielo’s. He’s still looming over me, his tail wrapped around his waist. I lean up slightly and pat his chest. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“Prummmmmissss,” he hums, and I nod again.
“I mean it. I’m fine. Just embarrassed that I let them punch me and shit. Gah,” I say as I roll up into a seated position. “Hey, did you kill one of them?”
“Keeeel?” he says, and I sigh.
“Maybe I don’t want to know. Actually, don’t tell me.”
He says nothing, and I grunt as I push myself to my feet. The herb worked, almost too well. I know before I run my fingers along it that the bite Rathyn left on my neck is gone. But even though my body is healed, the room is slightly tilted, and I feel Cielo’s hand move around me as he steadies me.
I realize in that moment I have no idea where I am.
My eyes take in the crumbling concrete walls and the rust stains from water runoff. They dart over to the makeshift living spaces carved out with hanging blankets and metal poles. Mattresses are strewn about on the floor, some suspended by chains from the ceiling like makeshift hammocks. Extension cords run from one outlet to the various corners of the large area.
This is a fire hazard and most certainly uninhabitable.
“Where the fuck am I?” I ask when I meet Cielo’s gaze.
“Hommmm,” he hums softly, and my lips part as I take it all in once more. The second sweep is worse than the first. Now I hear the creaking pipes and the sound of water dripping in the distance.
“You live here?” He nods, and my eyes widen. “Why? I thought you all lived in The Foundry apartments.”
“Nooo,” he says as his tail wraps around me, and he brings me over to a small, unlevel chair. It wobbles as I sit, and he hands me a bottle of water.
I sip at it, my gaze taking in the Vyastil moving to and from the worn spaces. Do they live here, too? Why does Rathyn live in that luxurious loft while Cielo lives here? I want to ask, but I don’t think he can tell me. I don’t think he knows the words.
I let it be for now, sipping on the water as I watch everything unfold around me. Some Vyastil are making food around an open flame, others are sewing together clothing with rusted needles. A few are cradled in sleep, a worn quilt around their shoulders, their clawed feet poking out.
I shiver as the cold sneaks in from the cracked windows.
“Do you like it here?” I ask, and Cielo’s eyes meet mine.
He says nothing, and I swallow back the dread.
“Does Rathyn know you live like this?”
His chin dips, and my nostrils flare in disappointment. Oh my fucking god. He can’t be serious. I mean, to knowingly let your people live like this?
I glance at Cielo and then back at his living space, and I’m filled with a rage at Rathyn I wasn’t expecting to feel. How dare he. How dare he let something like this happen!
Cielo is my friend, and I can’t let him live like this. It’s…I don’t even have the words.
A Vyastil moves past us, and I watch as he peers over his shoulder at me. He has dark green hair and a tail that’s been cut off near the base.
My eyes flick to Cielo, and he shakes his head. I don’t ask about it.
