“Huhmmmm,” Cielo says softly, and I know he’s asking if I feel well enough to make it back to the apartment.
I do. I can walk, and my head no longer feels like it’s going to roll off my shoulders. “Yeah, but you’re coming with me, okay?” I don’t want him here. I don’t want any of the Vyastil here.
I’m not sure what I can do about it, but I’m going to speak to Rath the moment he sets foot in the apartment.
My heart is heavy as we make our way out, then slowly up the small hill to where The Foundry sits. Cielo helps me walk up the incline, his tail moving around my back and gently pushing when I stop to catch my breath.
When I finally make it to the lobby entrance, I peer down from where we came, and I realize why I’ve never seen the warehouse before. It’s hidden behind thick trees, the view obstructed by their massive trunks and overhanging branches. Vines creep up the walls, hiding that there is anything there at all. I think the building used to be some kind of manufacturing plant that was put out of commission years ago.
But it’s now where certain Vyastil live.
Cielo. Myfriend. He lives there.
I pull him in for a long hug before we step inside the elevator, and his ears flutter slightly at the contact. When we finally make it into the loft, and we’re alone, I turn on my feet and stare at how grand all of this is. Especially when compared to that shitty, crumbling warehouse.
“You shouldn’t be living like that, Cielo. It’s not fair.”
He shrugs and moves toward the espresso machine. I get there faster, though, turning it on and shoving him out of the way.
“I’ve got this. I owe you.”
“Noooo,” he says, but I turn toward him and grab on to his wrists with both hands. “I mean it. I owe you for saving my life, and for healing me.”
“Frennnn,” he says, then signs it, and I nod.
“Yes, you’re my friend. Which is why I’m going to talk to Rath about that shithole.” When Cielo shakes his head quickly, looking almost terrified, I poke his chest. “I mean it. I will. You can’t convince me otherwise. It’s…disgraceful. I’m embarrassed we’ve treated you so poorly.”
He glances away, and I resist the urge to pull him in for another hug. Instead, I make him the biggest latte I can and hope it’s enough.
He shouldn’t be so fucking happy about something as simple and easy to make as a damn latte, though, but he treats it like I’ve given him a pile of gold. God, the deprivation they’re facing.
The Vyastil have so much. How are they okay letting their people live this way? I know I shouldn’t bother Rathyn while he’s…doing whatever the fuck he’s doing, but I’ve never been great at keeping shit to myself.
I close my eyes and search.
“Rath?”
Nothing. Just empty space.
“Rathyn!”
I don’t feel him at all. It’s like there’s a giant void between me and my monster, which is terrifying because even when he didn’t answer me, he was alwaysthere.
I look over at Cielo, who’s sipping on his latte, and I catch his attention. I need to tell him, but I don’t know if I should. I trust him, though. With my life. And he’s been loyal all this time.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Mm.”
“But I need you to keep it a secret. You know what a secret is, don’t you?”
He makes a loose fist and taps the back of his thumb against his lips twice. I don’t know that sign, but I can infer the meaning.
“No one can know. I…I don’t know what will happen to me if any of the other Vyastil find out.” I pause and look around. “No one can hear us here, right? No one’s listening.”
He must sense the urgency in my voice because he puts his latte down and walks over, laying his hands on my shoulder. His gaze meets mine and holds it, and he sings a long string of words that make no sense, and yet I can tell they’re meant to reassure me.
I let out a breath. “Okay. So…for a while now, I’ve been able to hear Rathyn. Like…his thoughts. They’re in my head.” I tap my temple, and Cielo’s eyes widen. “I can always hear him when I look for him, but right now it’s silent. I can’t find him.”
